When a wicked man dies, his expectation will perish, And the hope of the unjust perishes.
Parallel translations
- WEB When a wicked man dies, hope perishes, and expectation of power comes to nothing.
- KJV When a wicked man dieth, his expectation shall perish: and the hope of unjust men perisheth.
- BSB When the wicked man dies, his hope perishes, and the hope of his strength vanishes.
- 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 prospect of the righteous is joy, but the hope of the wicked will perish.
- Job 8:13–14So are the paths of all who forget God. The hope of the godless man shall perish,
- Job 11:20But the eyes of the wicked shall fail. They shall have no way to flee. Their hope shall be the giving up of the spirit.”
- Exod 15:9–10The enemy said, ‘I will pursue. I will overtake. I will divide the plunder. My desire shall be satisfied on them. I will draw my sword, my hand shall destroy them.’
- Ps 146:4His spirit departs, and he returns to the earth. In that very day, his thoughts perish.
- Luke 12:19–20I will tell my soul, “Soul, you have many goods laid up for many years. Take your ease, eat, drink, be merry.”’
- Prov 14:32The wicked is brought down in his calamity, but in death, the righteous has a refuge.
- Ezek 28:9Will you yet say before him who kills you, I am God? but you are man, and not God, in the hand of him who wounds you.
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.