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The wicked are overthrown, and are not: but the house of the righteous shall stand.
Proverbs 12:7 · King James Version
Parallel translations
  • WEB The wicked are overthrown, and are no more, but the house of the righteous shall stand.
  • BSB The wicked are overthrown and perish, but the house of the righteous will stand.
  • NKJV The wicked are overthrown and are no more, But the house of the righteous will stand.
  • NASB The wicked are overthrown and are no more, But the house of the righteous will stand.
  • NLT The wicked die and disappear, but the family of the godly stands firm.

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

The wicked are overthrown and gone, but the house of the righteous stands. Evil is impermanent, while righteousness endures.

Overview

This proverb contrasts the swift downfall of the wicked with the lasting stability of the righteous household. It reaffirms the wisdom theme that godliness has staying power while evil does not. The enduring house points to the security of those built on the firm foundation of God's truth, fully realized in Christ.

Cross-references & the web

Cross-references · 19

  • Matt 7:24–27Therefore whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house upon a rock:
  • Prov 10:25As the whirlwind passeth, so is the wicked no more: but the righteous is an everlasting foundation.
  • Prov 11:21Though hand join in hand, the wicked shall not be unpunished: but the seed of the righteous shall be delivered.
  • Job 5:3–4I have seen the foolish taking root: but suddenly I cursed his habitation.
  • Esth 9:6–10And in Shushan the palace the Jews slew and destroyed five hundred men.
  • Ps 37:10For yet a little while, and the wicked shall not be: yea, thou shalt diligently consider his place, and it shall not be.
  • Job 18:15–20It shall dwell in his tabernacle, because it is none of his: brimstone shall be scattered upon his habitation.
  • Job 27:18–23He buildeth his house as a moth, and as a booth that the keeper maketh.
  • 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.
  • 2 Sam 7:16And thine house and thy kingdom shall be established for ever before thee: thy throne shall be established for ever.
  • 2 Sam 7:26And let thy name be magnified for ever, saying, The LORD of hosts is the God over Israel: and let the house of thy servant David be established before thee.
  • Esth 9:14And the king commanded it so to be done: and the decree was given at Shushan; and they hanged Haman’s ten sons.
  • Job 34:25Therefore he knoweth their works, and he overturneth them in the night, so that they are destroyed.
  • Ps 37:35–37I have seen the wicked in great power, and spreading himself like a green bay tree.
  • Ps 73:18–19Surely thou didst set them in slippery places: thou castedst them down into destruction.
  • Prov 14:11The house of the wicked shall be overthrown: but the tabernacle of the upright shall flourish.
  • Prov 24:3–4Through wisdom is an house builded; and by understanding it is established:
  • Prov 14:1Every wise woman buildeth her house: but the foolish plucketh it down with her hands.
  • Prov 15:25The LORD will destroy the house of the proud: but he will establish the border of the widow.

Resources, by level

Commentaries & study tools

  • VideoBibleProject — Proverbs videosBibleProject · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.

  • VideoWatch teaching on Proverbs 12:7YouTube · Lay · Free

    Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.

  • CommentaryEnduring Word — verse-by-verseDavid Guzik · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.

  • CommentaryClassic commentaries for this verseBibleHub (20+ works) · Pastoral · Free

    Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.

  • CommentaryMatthew Henry on ProverbsMatthew Henry · Pastoral · Free · evangelical

    The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).

  • ReferenceInterlinear, lexicon & Strong'sBlue Letter Bible · Seminary · Free

    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 12:7 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.