The righteousness of the upright shall deliver them, but the unfaithful will be trapped by evil desires.
Parallel translations
- KJV The righteousness of the upright shall deliver them: but transgressors shall be taken in their own naughtiness.
- BSB The righteousness of the upright delivers them, but the faithless are trapped by their own desires.
- NKJV The righteousness of the upright will deliver them, But the unfaithful will be caught by their lust.
- NASB The righteousness of the upright will rescue them, But the treacherous will be caught by their own greed.
- NLT The godliness of good people rescues them; the ambition of treacherous people traps them.
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 righteousness of the upright rescues them, but the unfaithful are trapped by their own cravings. Right living delivers, while sinful desire ensnares.
Overview
Mirroring the previous verse, this proverb shows righteousness as a delivering power and treacherous desire as a trap of one's own making. Evil cravings turn back on those who harbor them. The believer is rescued not by self-generated virtue but by being made righteous in Christ and freed from the tyranny of sinful desire.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 8
- Eccl 10:8He who digs a pit may fall into it; and whoever breaks through a wall may be bitten by a snake.
- 1 Kgs 2:44The king said moreover to Shimei, “You know in your heart all the wickedness that you did to David my father. Therefore Yahweh will return your wickedness on your own head.
- Ps 7:15–16He has dug a hole, and has fallen into the pit which he made.
- Prov 5:22The evil deeds of the wicked ensnare him. The cords of his sin hold him firmly.
- 1 Sam 12:3–4Here I am. Witness against me before Yahweh, and before his anointed. Whose ox have I taken? Whose donkey have I taken? Whom have I defrauded? Whom have I oppressed? Of whose hand have I taken a ransom to make me blind my eyes? I will restore it to you.”
- 1 Kgs 2:32–33Yahweh will return his blood on his own head, because he fell on two men more righteous and better than he, and killed them with the sword, and my father David didn’t know it: Abner the son of Ner, captain of the army of Israel, and Amasa the son of Jether, captain of the army of Judah.
- Gen 30:33So my righteousness will answer for me hereafter, when you come concerning my hire that is before you. Every one that is not speckled and spotted among the goats, and black among the sheep, that might be with me, will be considered stolen.”
- Gen 31:37Now that you have felt around in all my stuff, what have you found of all your household stuff? Set it here before my relatives and your relatives, that they may judge between us two.
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 11:6 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.