A man shall not be established by wickedness, but the root of the righteous shall not be moved.
Parallel translations
- KJV A man shall not be established by wickedness: but the root of the righteous shall not be moved.
- BSB A man cannot be established through wickedness, but the righteous cannot be uprooted.
- NKJV A man is not established by wickedness, But the root of the righteous cannot be moved.
- NASB A person will not be established by wickedness, But the root of the righteous will not be moved.
- NLT Wickedness never brings stability, but the godly have deep roots.
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 one is made secure by wickedness, but the righteous cannot be uprooted. Evil provides no lasting foundation; righteousness does.
Overview
Using the image of being established and rooted, the proverb contrasts the instability of wickedness with the deep security of the righteous. Evil may seem to gain ground, but it has no enduring foundation. The righteous are firmly rooted because their stability rests in God, a security made unshakable for those grounded in Christ.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 11
- Prov 10:25When the whirlwind passes, the wicked is no more; but the righteous stand firm forever.
- Eph 3:17that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; to the end that you, being rooted and grounded in love,
- Prov 12:12The wicked desires the plunder of evil men, but the root of the righteous flourishes.
- Col 2:7rooted and built up in him, and established in the faith, even as you were taught, abounding in it in thanksgiving.
- Ps 125:1–2A Song of Ascents. Those who trust in Yahweh are as Mount Zion, which can’t be moved, but remains forever.
- Job 27:16–18Though he heap up silver as the dust, and prepare clothing as the clay;
- Ps 15:5he who doesn’t lend out his money for usury, nor take a bribe against the innocent. He who does these things shall never be shaken.
- Job 5:3–5I have seen the foolish taking root, but suddenly I cursed his habitation.
- 1 Sam 25:33Blessed is your discretion, and blessed are you, who have kept me today from blood guiltiness, and from avenging myself with my own hand.
- Job 20:5–9that the triumphing of the wicked is short, the joy of the godless but for a moment?
- Job 15:29He shall not be rich, neither shall his substance continue, neither shall their possessions be extended on the earth.
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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 12:3 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.