The house of the wicked will be destroyed, but the tent of the upright will flourish.
Parallel translations
- WEB The house of the wicked will be overthrown, but the tent of the upright will flourish.
- KJV The house of the wicked shall be overthrown: but the tabernacle of the upright shall flourish.
- BSB The house of the wicked will be destroyed, but the tent of the upright will flourish.
- NKJV The house of the wicked will be overthrown, But the tent of the upright will flourish.
- NASB The house of the wicked will be destroyed, But the tent of the upright will flourish.
- NLT The house of the wicked will be destroyed, but the tent of the godly will flourish.
Scripture quotations are from the ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
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 wicked's house will be overthrown, but the upright's tent will flourish. Even modest righteousness outlasts impressive wickedness.
Overview
The proverb contrasts the seemingly solid 'house' of the wicked, destined to fall, with the humble 'tent' of the upright, which will thrive. The reversal of expectations underscores that moral foundations, not outward grandeur, determine endurance. This anticipates Jesus' teaching that the house built on His words stands when storms come (Matthew 7:24-27).
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 18
- Prov 3:33Yahweh’s curse is in the house of the wicked, but he blesses the habitation of the righteous.
- Prov 12:7The wicked are overthrown, and are no more, but the house of the righteous shall stand.
- Matt 7:26–27Everyone who hears these words of mine, and doesn’t do them will be like a foolish man, who built his house on the sand.
- Prov 21:12The Righteous One considers the house of the wicked, and brings the wicked to ruin.
- Zech 5:4I will cause it to go out,” says Yahweh of Armies, “and it will enter into the house of the thief, and into the house of him who swears falsely by my name; and it will remain in the middle of his house, and will destroy it with its timber and its stones.”
- Job 21:28For you say, ‘Where is the house of the prince? Where is the tent in which the wicked lived?’
- Job 18:14–15He shall be rooted out of the security of his tent. He shall be brought to the king of terrors.
- Isa 58:11–12and Yahweh will guide you continually, and satisfy your soul in dry places, and make your bones strong; and you shall be like a watered garden, and like a spring of water, whose waters don’t fail.
- Job 8:15He shall lean on his house, but it shall not stand. He shall cling to it, but it shall not endure.
- Prov 11:28He who trusts in his riches will fall, but the righteous shall flourish as the green leaf.
- Prov 21:20There is precious treasure and oil in the dwelling of the wise; but a foolish man swallows it up.
- Ps 128:3Your wife will be as a fruitful vine, in the innermost parts of your house; your children like olive plants, around your table.
- Job 8:6If you were pure and upright, surely now he would awaken for you, and make the habitation of your righteousness prosperous.
- Job 15:34For the company of the godless shall be barren, and fire shall consume the tents of bribery.
- Job 18:21Surely such are the dwellings of the unrighteous. This is the place of him who doesn’t know God.”
- Job 20:26–28All darkness is laid up for his treasures. An unfanned fire shall devour him. It shall consume that which is left in his tent.
- Ps 112:2–3His offspring will be mighty in the land. The generation of the upright will be blessed.
- Job 27:13–23“This is the portion of a wicked man with God, the heritage of oppressors, which they receive from the Almighty.
Resources, by level
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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 14:11 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.