The godly eat to their hearts’ content, but the belly of the wicked goes hungry.
Parallel translations
- WEB The righteous one eats to the satisfying of his soul, but the belly of the wicked goes hungry.
- KJV The righteous eateth to the satisfying of his soul: but the belly of the wicked shall want.
- 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.
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 those who seek Yahweh shall not lack any good thing.
- Prov 10:3Yahweh will not allow the soul of the righteous to go hungry, but he thrusts away the desire of the wicked.
- Heb 13:5Be free from the love of money, content with such things as you have, for he has said, “I will in no way leave you, neither will I in any way forsake you.”
- 1 Tim 4:8For bodily exercise has some value, but godliness has value in all things, having the promise of the life which is now, and of that which is to come.
- Prov 6:11so your poverty will come as a robber, and your scarcity as an armed man.
- Deut 32:24They shall be wasted with hunger, and devoured with burning heat and bitter destruction. I will send the teeth of animals on them, with the venom of vipers that glide in the dust.
- Ps 37:16Better is a little that the righteous has, than the abundance of many wicked.
- Ps 37:18–19Yahweh knows the days of the perfect. Their inheritance shall be forever.
- Prov 24:34so your poverty will come as a robber, and your want as an armed man.
- Deut 28:48therefore you will serve your enemies whom Yahweh sends against you, in hunger, in thirst, in nakedness, and in lack of all things. He will put an iron yoke on your neck, until he has destroyed you.
- Isa 65:13–14Therefore thus says the Lord Yahweh, “Behold, my servants will eat, but you will be hungry; behold, my servants will drink, but you will be thirsty. Behold, my servants will rejoice, but you will be disappointed;
- Ps 37:3Trust in Yahweh, and do good. Dwell in the land, and enjoy safe pasture.
- 2 Th 3:10For even when we were with you, we commanded you this: “If anyone will not work, don’t let him 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.