No harm befalls the righteous, but the wicked are filled with trouble.
Parallel translations
- WEB No mischief shall happen to the righteous, but the wicked shall be filled with evil.
- KJV There shall no evil happen to the just: but the wicked shall be filled with mischief.
- ESV No ill befalls the righteous, but the wicked are filled with trouble.
- NKJV No grave trouble will overtake the righteous, But the wicked shall be filled with evil.
- NASB No harm happens to the righteous, But the wicked are filled with trouble.
- NLT No harm comes to the godly, but the wicked have their fill of trouble.
Scripture quotations are from the ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
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
No lasting harm overtakes the righteous, but the wicked are filled with trouble. God's care guards the righteous, while evil brings its own affliction.
Overview
This proverb expresses the general truth that the righteous are kept from ultimate harm, while the wicked are overwhelmed by trouble. As wisdom literature it states God's overarching protection of His people, not a guarantee against all suffering in this life. Its full assurance rests in God's care for those who are His in Christ, whom nothing can ultimately separate from His love.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 10
- 1 Pet 3:13Who can harm you if you are zealous for what is good?
- Ps 91:10no evil will befall you, no plague will approach your tent.
- Rom 8:28And we know that God works all things together for the good of those who love Him, who are called according to His purpose.
- Prov 1:31So they will eat the fruit of their own way, and be filled with their own devices.
- Jer 13:12–14Therefore you are to tell them that this is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says: ‘Every wineskin shall be filled with wine.’ And when they reply, ‘Don’t we surely know that every wineskin should be filled with wine?’
- Hab 2:16You will be filled with shame instead of glory. You too must drink and expose your uncircumcision! The cup in the LORD’s right hand will come around to you, and utter disgrace will cover your glory.
- Rev 18:6Give back to her as she has done to others; pay her back double for what she has done; mix her a double portion in her own cup.
- Prov 14:14The backslider in heart receives the fill of his own ways, but a good man is rewarded for his ways.
- 1 Cor 3:22–23whether Paul or Apollos or Cephas or the world or life or death or the present or the future. All of them belong to you,
- 2 Cor 4:17For our light and momentary affliction is producing for us an eternal weight of glory that is far beyond comparison.
Resources, by level
Commentaries & study tools
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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 12:21 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.