The integrity of the upright shall guide them: but the perverseness of transgressors shall destroy them.
Parallel translations
- WEB The integrity of the upright shall guide them, but the perverseness of the treacherous shall destroy them.
- BSB The integrity of the upright guides them, but the perversity of the faithless destroys them.
- NKJV The integrity of the upright will guide them, But the perversity of the unfaithful will destroy them.
- NASB The integrity of the upright will guide them, But the perversity of the treacherous will destroy them.
- NLT Honesty guides good people; dishonesty destroys treacherous people.
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
Integrity guides the upright, but duplicity destroys the treacherous. A sound and honest character keeps us on a safe path.
Overview
The verse contrasts wholeness of character, which steers a person rightly, with deceitful crookedness, which leads to self-ruin. Integrity is not just morally good but practically protective, while betrayal undermines those who practice it. This wholeness is restored in Christ, who makes His people sincere and blameless before God.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 10
- Prov 28:18Whoso walketh uprightly shall be saved: but he that is perverse in his ways shall fall at once.
- Prov 13:6Righteousness keepeth him that is upright in the way: but wickedness overthroweth the sinner.
- Ps 25:21Let integrity and uprightness preserve me; for I wait on thee.
- Ps 26:1Judge me, O LORD; for I have walked in mine integrity: I have trusted also in the LORD; therefore I shall not slide.
- John 7:17If any man will do his will, he shall know of the doctrine, whether it be of God, or whether I speak of myself.
- Prov 19:3The foolishness of man perverteth his way: and his heart fretteth against the LORD.
- Eccl 7:17Be not over much wicked, neither be thou foolish: why shouldest thou die before thy time?
- Prov 11:5The righteousness of the perfect shall direct his way: but the wicked shall fall by his own wickedness.
- Isa 1:28And the destruction of the transgressors and of the sinners shall be together, and they that forsake the LORD shall be consumed.
- Prov 21:7The robbery of the wicked shall destroy them; because they refuse to do judgment.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
Resources, by level
Commentaries & study tools
Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.
Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.
Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.
Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.
The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).
Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.
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 11:3 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.