Disaster pursues sinners, but prosperity is the reward of the righteous.
Parallel translations
- WEB Misfortune pursues sinners, but prosperity rewards the righteous.
- KJV Evil pursueth sinners: but to the righteous good shall be repayed.
- NKJV Evil pursues sinners, But to the righteous, good shall be repaid.
- NASB Adversity pursues sinners, But the righteous will be rewarded with prosperity.
- NLT Trouble chases sinners, while blessings reward the righteous.
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
Disaster dogs sinners, but good comes to the righteous. God's moral order generally rewards righteousness.
Overview
Personifying misfortune as a pursuer of sinners and prosperity as a reward for the righteous, the proverb affirms the broad pattern of divine justice. It speaks of general tendencies under God's governance rather than absolute, immediate outcomes in every case. The fullest 'good' awaits the righteous in Christ, whose final reward is sure (Romans 8:28).
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 8
- Ps 32:10Many are the sorrows of the wicked, but loving devotion surrounds him who trusts in the LORD.
- Isa 3:10–11Tell the righteous it will be well with them, for they will enjoy the fruit of their labor.
- Prov 13:13He who despises instruction will pay the penalty, but the one who respects a command will be rewarded.
- Rom 2:7–10To those who by perseverance in doing good seek glory, honor, and immortality, He will give eternal life.
- Gen 4:7If you do what is right, will you not be accepted? But if you refuse to do what is right, sin is crouching at your door; it desires you, but you must master it.”
- Ps 140:11May no slanderer be established in the land; may calamity hunt down the man of violence.
- Num 32:23But if you do not do this, you will certainly sin against the LORD—and be assured that your sin will find you out.
- Acts 28:4When the islanders saw the creature hanging from his hand, they said to one another, “Surely this man is a murderer. Although he was saved from the sea, Justice has not allowed him to live.”
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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 13:21 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.