Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but a dream 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.
- BSB Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but desire fulfilled 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.
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 16:22Therefore you now have sorrow, but I will see you again, and your heart will rejoice, and no one will take your joy away from you.
- Prov 13:19Longing fulfilled is sweet to the soul, but fools detest turning from evil.
- Ps 119:81–83My soul faints for your salvation. I hope in your word.
- Ps 17:15As for me, I shall see your face in righteousness. I shall be satisfied, when I awake, with seeing your form.
- Prov 3:18She is a tree of life to those who lay hold of her. Happy is everyone who retains her.
- Prov 11:30The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life. He who is wise wins souls.
- Ps 69:3I am weary with my crying. My throat is dry. My eyes fail, looking for my God.
- Ps 143:7Hurry to answer me, Yahweh. My spirit fails. Don’t hide your face from me, so that I don’t become like those who go down into the pit.
- Gen 21:6–7Sarah said, “God has made me laugh. Everyone who hears will laugh with me.”
- Ps 40:2–3He brought me up also out of a horrible pit, out of the miry clay. He set my feet on a rock, and gave me a firm place to stand.
- Song 5:8I adjure you, daughters of Jerusalem, If you find my beloved, that you tell him that I am faint with love.
- 1 Sam 1:26–28She said, “Oh, my lord, as your soul lives, my lord, I am the woman who stood by you here, praying to Yahweh.
- Gen 46:30Israel said to Joseph, “Now let me die, since I have seen your face, that you are still alive.”
- Luke 2:29–30“Now you are releasing your servant, Master, according to your word, in peace;
- Rev 22:2in the middle of its street. On this side of the river and on that was the tree of life, bearing twelve kinds of fruits, yielding its fruit every month. The leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations.
- Ps 42:1–3For the Chief Musician. A contemplation by the sons of Korah. As the deer pants for the water brooks, so my soul pants after you, God.
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 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.