The light of the righteous shines brightly, but the lamp of the wicked is extinguished.
Parallel translations
- WEB The light of the righteous shines brightly, but the lamp of the wicked is snuffed out.
- KJV The light of the righteous rejoiceth: but the lamp of the wicked shall be put out.
- NKJV The light of the righteous rejoices, But the lamp of the wicked will be put out.
- NASB The light of the righteous rejoices, But the lamp of the wicked goes out.
- NLT The life of the godly is full of light and joy, but the light of the wicked will be snuffed out.
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 shine brightly with enduring life, but the wicked's lamp is extinguished. The destinies of the two ways differ utterly.
Overview
Light and lamp imagery throughout Proverbs symbolizes life, joy, and a flourishing future. The righteous person's life radiates and endures, while the wicked person's light is snuffed out, picturing a future cut off in judgment. This points to Christ, the light of the world, in whom believers walk in light rather than darkness (John 8:12).
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 12
- Prov 24:20For the evil man has no future; the lamp of the wicked will be extinguished.
- Prov 4:18The path of the righteous is like the first gleam of dawn, shining brighter and brighter until midday.
- Prov 20:20Whoever curses his father or mother, his lamp will be extinguished in deepest darkness.
- Ps 97:11Light shines on the righteous, gladness on the upright in heart.
- Ps 112:4Light dawns in the darkness for the upright—for the gracious, compassionate, and righteous.
- Job 18:5–6Indeed, the lamp of the wicked is extinguished; the flame of his fire does not glow.
- Matt 25:8The foolish ones said to the wise, ‘Give us some of your oil; our lamps are going out.’
- Isa 50:10–11Who among you fears the LORD and obeys the voice of His Servant? Who among you walks in darkness and has no light? Let him trust in the name of the LORD; let him lean on his God.
- 1 Kgs 11:36I will give one tribe to his son, so that My servant David will always have a lamp before Me in Jerusalem, the city where I chose to put My Name.
- Job 21:17How often is the lamp of the wicked put out? Does disaster come upon them? Does God, in His anger, apportion destruction?
- Job 29:3when His lamp shone above my head, and by His light I walked through the darkness,
- Matt 22:13Then the king told the servants, ‘Tie him hand and foot, and throw him into the outer darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’
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 13:9 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.