In the way of righteousness is life; in its path there is no death.
Parallel translations
- KJV In the way of righteousness is life: and in the pathway thereof there is no death.
- BSB There is life in the path of righteousness, but another path leads to death.
- NKJV In the way of righteousness is life, And in its pathway there is no death.
- NASB In the way of righteousness there is life, And in its pathway there is no death.
- NLT The way of the godly leads to life; that path does not lead to death.
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
In the way of righteousness there is life, and along its path there is no death. Walking in righteousness leads to life itself.
Overview
This proverb gathers up the chapter's two-ways theme, declaring that the path of righteousness leads to life and not death. It holds out the deepest promise of wisdom literature. Its fullest meaning is found in Christ, the way that leads to eternal life, who has conquered death for all who walk in Him.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 13
- 3 Jn 1:11Beloved, don’t imitate that which is evil, but that which is good. He who does good is of God. He who does evil hasn’t seen God.
- Rom 5:21that as sin reigned in death, even so grace might reign through righteousness to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.
- Ezek 18:20–24The soul who sins, he shall die. The son shall not bear the iniquity of the father, neither shall the father bear the iniquity of the son. The righteousness of the righteous shall be on him, and the wickedness of the wicked shall be on him.
- Titus 2:11–12For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation to all men,
- Prov 11:19He who is truly righteous gets life. He who pursues evil gets death.
- Ezek 18:9has walked in my statutes, and has kept my ordinances, to deal truly; he is just, he shall surely live,” says the Lord Yahweh.
- 1 Jn 2:29If you know that he is righteous, you know that everyone who practices righteousness has been born of him.
- Prov 8:35For whoever finds me, finds life, and will obtain favor from Yahweh.
- Prov 10:16The labor of the righteous leads to life. The increase of the wicked leads to sin.
- 1 Jn 3:7Little children, let no one lead you astray. He who does righteousness is righteous, even as he is righteous.
- Deut 30:15Behold, I have set before you today life and prosperity, and death and evil.
- Rom 6:22–23But now, being made free from sin, and having become servants of God, you have your fruit of sanctification, and the result of eternal life.
- Prov 9:11For by me your days will be multiplied. The years of your life will be increased.
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 12:28 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.