The righteous eateth to the satisfying of his soul: but the belly of the wicked shall want.
Parallel translations
- WEB The righteous one eats to the satisfying of his soul, but the belly of the wicked goes hungry.
- BSB A righteous man eats to his heart’s content, but the stomach of the wicked is empty.
- NKJV The righteous eats to the satisfying of his soul, But the stomach of the wicked shall be in want.
- NASB The righteous has enough to satisfy his appetite, But the stomach of the wicked is in need.
- NLT The godly eat to their hearts’ content, but the belly of the wicked goes hungry.
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 righteous are satisfied, while the wicked go hungry. God provides for those who walk with Him.
Overview
The proverb contrasts the contentment and provision of the righteous with the want of the wicked, picturing God's care for His own. It speaks generally of God's gracious provision, not promising that the righteous never lack. Jesus deepens the truth: those who hunger and thirst for righteousness shall be satisfied (Matthew 5:6), filled at last in Him.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 13
- Ps 34:10The young lions do lack, and suffer hunger: but they that seek the LORD shall not want any good thing.
- Prov 10:3The LORD will not suffer the soul of the righteous to famish: but he casteth away the substance of the wicked.
- Heb 13:5Let your conversation be without covetousness; and be content with such things as ye have: for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee.
- 1 Tim 4:8For bodily exercise profiteth little: but godliness is profitable unto all things, having promise of the life that now is, and of that which is to come.
- Prov 6:11So shall thy poverty come as one that travelleth, and thy want as an armed man.
- Deut 32:24They shall be burnt with hunger, and devoured with burning heat, and with bitter destruction: I will also send the teeth of beasts upon them, with the poison of serpents of the dust.
- Ps 37:16A little that a righteous man hath is better than the riches of many wicked.
- Ps 37:18–19The LORD knoweth the days of the upright: and their inheritance shall be for ever.
- Prov 24:34So shall thy poverty come as one that travelleth; and thy want as an armed man.
- Deut 28:48Therefore shalt thou serve thine enemies which the LORD shall send against thee, in hunger, and in thirst, and in nakedness, and in want of all things: and he shall put a yoke of iron upon thy neck, until he have destroyed thee.
- Isa 65:13–14Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD, Behold, my servants shall eat, but ye shall be hungry: behold, my servants shall drink, but ye shall be thirsty: behold, my servants shall rejoice, but ye shall be ashamed:
- Ps 37:3Trust in the LORD, and do good; so shalt thou dwell in the land, and verily thou shalt be fed.
- 2 Th 3:10For even when we were with you, this we commanded you, that if any would not work, neither should he eat.
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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 13:25 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.