Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but desire fulfilled is a tree of life.
Parallel translations
- WEB Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but when longing is fulfilled, it is a tree of life.
- KJV Hope deferred maketh the heart sick: but when the desire cometh, it is a tree of life.
- NKJV Hope deferred makes the heart sick, But when the desire comes, it is a tree of life.
- NASB Hope deferred makes the heart sick, But desire fulfilled is a tree of life.
- NLT Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but a dream fulfilled is a tree of life.
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
Postponed hope makes the heart sick, but fulfilled longing is life-giving. Hope rightly placed brings deep flourishing.
Overview
This tender proverb acknowledges the real ache of waiting and disappointed expectation, then celebrates the joy of desire fulfilled as 'a tree of life.' It validates human longing while implicitly directing it toward worthy ends. For the believer, the surest hope is in Christ, who does not disappoint (Romans 5:5) and who is Himself the tree of life restored.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 16
- John 16:22So also you have sorrow now, but I will see you again and your hearts will rejoice, and no one will take away your joy.
- Prov 13:19Desire fulfilled is sweet to the soul, but turning from evil is detestable to fools.
- Ps 119:81–83My soul faints for Your salvation; I wait for Your word.
- Ps 17:15As for me, I will behold Your face in righteousness; when I awake, I will be satisfied in Your presence.
- Prov 3:18She is a tree of life to those who embrace her, and those who lay hold of her are blessed.
- Prov 11:30The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life, and he who wins souls is wise.
- Ps 69:3I am weary from my crying; my throat is parched. My eyes fail, looking for my God.
- Ps 143:7Answer me quickly, O LORD; my spirit fails. Do not hide Your face from me, or I will be like those who descend to the Pit.
- Gen 21:6–7Then Sarah said, “God has made me laugh, and everyone who hears of this will laugh with me.”
- Ps 40:2–3He lifted me up from the pit of despair, out of the miry clay; He set my feet upon a rock, and made my footsteps firm.
- Song 5:8O daughters of Jerusalem, I adjure you, if you find my beloved, tell him I am sick with love.
- 1 Sam 1:26–28“Please, my lord,” said Hannah, “as surely as you live, my lord, I am the woman who stood here beside you praying to the LORD.
- Gen 46:30Then Israel said to Joseph, “Finally I can die, now that I have seen your face and know that you are still alive!”
- Luke 2:29–30“Sovereign Lord, as You have promised, You now dismiss Your servant in peace.
- Rev 22:2down the middle of the main street of the city. On either side of the river stood a tree of life, bearing twelve kinds of fruit and yielding a fresh crop for each month. And the leaves of the tree are for the healing of the nations.
- Ps 42:1–3For the choirmaster. A Maskil of the sons of Korah. As the deer pants for streams of water, so my soul longs after You, O God.
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 13:12 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.