The righteousness of the upright shall deliver them: but transgressors shall be taken in their own naughtiness.
Parallel translations
- WEB The righteousness of the upright shall deliver them, but the unfaithful will be trapped by evil desires.
- 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 that diggeth a pit shall fall into it; and whoso breaketh an hedge, a serpent shall bite him.
- 1 Kgs 2:44The king said moreover to Shimei, Thou knowest all the wickedness which thine heart is privy to, that thou didst to David my father: therefore the LORD shall return thy wickedness upon thine own head;
- Ps 7:15–16He made a pit, and digged it, and is fallen into the ditch which he made.
- Prov 5:22His own iniquities shall take the wicked himself, and he shall be holden with the cords of his sins.
- 1 Sam 12:3–4Behold, here I am: witness against me before the LORD, and before his anointed: whose ox have I taken? or whose ass have I taken? or whom have I defrauded? whom have I oppressed? or of whose hand have I received any bribe to blind mine eyes therewith? and I will restore it you.
- 1 Kgs 2:32–33And the LORD shall return his blood upon his own head, who fell upon two men more righteous and better than he, and slew them with the sword, my father David not knowing thereof, to wit, Abner the son of Ner, captain of the host of Israel, and Amasa the son of Jether, captain of the host of Judah.
- Gen 30:33So shall my righteousness answer for me in time to come, when it shall come for my hire before thy face: every one that is not speckled and spotted among the goats, and brown among the sheep, that shall be counted stolen with me.
- Gen 31:37Whereas thou hast searched all my stuff, what hast thou found of all thy household stuff? set it here before my brethren and thy brethren, that they may judge betwixt us both.
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.