The light of the righteous rejoiceth: but the lamp of the wicked shall be put out.
Parallel translations
- WEB The light of the righteous shines brightly, but the lamp of the wicked is snuffed out.
- BSB The light of the righteous shines brightly, but the lamp of the wicked is extinguished.
- 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 there shall be no reward to the evil man; the candle of the wicked shall be put out.
- Prov 4:18But the path of the just is as the shining light, that shineth more and more unto the perfect day.
- Prov 20:20Whoso curseth his father or his mother, his lamp shall be put out in obscure darkness.
- Ps 97:11Light is sown for the righteous, and gladness for the upright in heart.
- Ps 112:4Unto the upright there ariseth light in the darkness: he is gracious, and full of compassion, and righteous.
- Job 18:5–6Yea, the light of the wicked shall be put out, and the spark of his fire shall not shine.
- Matt 25:8And the foolish said unto the wise, Give us of your oil; for our lamps are gone out.
- Isa 50:10–11Who is among you that feareth the LORD, that obeyeth the voice of his servant, that walketh in darkness, and hath no light? let him trust in the name of the LORD, and stay upon his God.
- 1 Kgs 11:36And unto his son will I give one tribe, that David my servant may have a light alway before me in Jerusalem, the city which I have chosen me to put my name there.
- Job 21:17How oft is the candle of the wicked put out! and how oft cometh their destruction upon them! God distributeth sorrows in his anger.
- Job 29:3When his candle shined upon my head, and when by his light I walked through darkness;
- Matt 22:13Then said the king to the servants, Bind him hand and foot, and take him away, and cast him into outer darkness; there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
Resources, by level
Commentaries & study tools
Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.
Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.
Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.
Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.
The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).
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 13:9 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.