The godly are directed by honesty; the wicked fall beneath their load of sin.
Parallel translations
- WEB The righteousness of the blameless will direct his way, but the wicked shall fall by his own wickedness.
- KJV The righteousness of the perfect shall direct his way: but the wicked shall fall by his own wickedness.
- BSB The righteousness of the blameless directs their path, but the wicked fall by their own wickedness.
- NKJV The righteousness of the blameless will direct his way aright, But the wicked will fall by his own wickedness.
- NASB The righteousness of the blameless will smooth his way, But the wicked will fall by his own wickedness.
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
Righteousness clears the path of the blameless, while the wicked fall by their own sin. Godly living smooths the way, but evil trips up the evildoer.
Overview
This proverb teaches that a person's moral course shapes his destiny: integrity makes the way straight, while wickedness becomes a snare to the one who practices it. Sin is self-destructive by nature. The contrast anticipates the gospel truth that only in Christ's righteousness is our way truly made straight before God.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 8
- Prov 5:22The evil deeds of the wicked ensnare him. The cords of his sin hold him firmly.
- Ps 9:15–16The nations have sunk down in the pit that they made. In the net which they hid, their own foot is taken.
- Prov 1:31–32Therefore they will eat of the fruit of their own way, and be filled with their own schemes.
- Prov 3:6In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight.
- Esth 7:3–10Then Esther the queen answered, “If I have found favor in your sight, O king, and if it please the king, let my life be given me at my petition, and my people at my request.
- Matt 27:4–5saying, “I have sinned in that I betrayed innocent blood.” But they said, “What is that to us? You see to it.”
- Prov 11:3The integrity of the upright shall guide them, but the perverseness of the treacherous shall destroy them.
- 2 Sam 17:23When Ahithophel saw that his counsel was not followed, he saddled his donkey, arose, and went home, to his city, and set his house in order, and hanged himself; and he died, and was buried in the tomb of his father.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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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 11:5 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.