When a wicked man dieth, his expectation shall perish: and the hope of unjust men perisheth.
Parallel translations
- WEB When a wicked man dies, hope perishes, and expectation of power comes to nothing.
- BSB When the wicked man dies, his hope perishes, and the hope of his strength vanishes.
- NKJV When a wicked man dies, his expectation will perish, And the hope of the unjust perishes.
- NASB When a wicked person dies, his expectation will perish, And the hope of strong people perishes.
- NLT When the wicked die, their hopes die with them, for they rely on their own feeble strength.
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
When the wicked die, all their hopes and expectations die with them. Hope built on this life alone perishes at death.
Overview
The proverb observes that the wicked man's confidence, often placed in power and earthly gain, comes to nothing at death. It exposes the emptiness of hope that has no anchor beyond the grave. By contrast, the gospel offers a living hope through Christ's resurrection, a hope that death cannot extinguish.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 8
- Prov 10:28The hope of the righteous shall be gladness: but the expectation of the wicked shall perish.
- Job 8:13–14So are the paths of all that forget God; and the hypocrite’s hope shall perish:
- Job 11:20But the eyes of the wicked shall fail, and they shall not escape, and their hope shall be as the giving up of the ghost.
- Exod 15:9–10The enemy said, I will pursue, I will overtake, I will divide the spoil; my lust shall be satisfied upon them; I will draw my sword, my hand shall destroy them.
- Ps 146:4His breath goeth forth, he returneth to his earth; in that very day his thoughts perish.
- Luke 12:19–20And I will say to my soul, Soul, thou hast much goods laid up for many years; take thine ease, eat, drink, and be merry.
- Prov 14:32The wicked is driven away in his wickedness: but the righteous hath hope in his death.
- Ezek 28:9Wilt thou yet say before him that slayeth thee, I am God? but thou shalt be a man, and no God, in the hand of him that slayeth thee.
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 11:7 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.