The desire of the righteous is only good: but the expectation of the wicked is wrath.
Parallel translations
- WEB The desire of the righteous is only good. The expectation of the wicked is wrath.
- BSB The desire of the righteous leads only to good, but the hope of the wicked brings wrath.
- NKJV The desire of the righteous is only good, But the expectation of the wicked is wrath.
- NASB The desire of the righteous is only good, But the expectation of the wicked is wrath.
- NLT The godly can look forward to a reward, while the wicked can expect only judgment.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
The righteous desire only good, but the wicked can expect only wrath. Our deepest desires shape the outcomes we receive.
Overview
This proverb contrasts the wholesome longings of the righteous, which end in good, with the expectations of the wicked, which end in wrath. Desire reveals character and points toward destiny. The believer's renewed desires, formed by the Spirit, increasingly aim at the good God intends and promises in Christ.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 13
- Rom 2:8–9But unto them that are contentious, and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness, indignation and wrath,
- Ps 37:4Delight thyself also in the LORD: and he shall give thee the desires of thine heart.
- Matt 5:6Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled.
- Ps 10:17LORD, thou hast heard the desire of the humble: thou wilt prepare their heart, thou wilt cause thine ear to hear:
- Ps 119:10With my whole heart have I sought thee: O let me not wander from thy commandments.
- Ps 27:4One thing have I desired of the LORD, that will I seek after; that I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of the LORD, and to enquire in his temple.
- Isa 26:9With my soul have I desired thee in the night; yea, with my spirit within me will I seek thee early: for when thy judgments are in the earth, the inhabitants of the world will learn righteousness.
- Jer 17:16As for me, I have not hastened from being a pastor to follow thee: neither have I desired the woeful day; thou knowest: that which came out of my lips was right before thee.
- Prov 10:28The hope of the righteous shall be gladness: but the expectation of the wicked shall perish.
- Ps 39:7–8And now, Lord, what wait I for? my hope is in thee.
- Prov 11:7When a wicked man dieth, his expectation shall perish: and the hope of unjust men perisheth.
- Ps 119:5O that my ways were directed to keep thy statutes!
- Heb 10:27But a certain fearful looking for of judgment and fiery indignation, which shall devour the adversaries.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Christ at the center
Wisdom personified, with God before creation and the agent of all things, anticipates Christ 'in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom' — the wisdom of God made flesh.
How Proverbs 11:23 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.