He that justifieth the wicked, and he that condemneth the just, even they both are abomination to the LORD.
Parallel translations
- WEB He who justifies the wicked, and he who condemns the righteous, both of them alike are an abomination to Yahweh.
- BSB Acquitting the guilty and condemning the righteous—both are detestable to the LORD.
- NKJV He who justifies the wicked, and he who condemns the just, Both of them alike are an abomination to the Lord.
- NASB One who justifies the wicked and one who condemns the righteous, Both of them alike are an abomination to the Lord.
- NLT Acquitting the guilty and condemning the innocent— both are detestable to the Lord.
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
Acquitting the guilty and condemning the innocent are both detestable to God. It matters because perverting justice in either direction is an abomination to the Lord.
Overview
This proverb declares that both justifying the wicked and condemning the righteous are alike abominations to Yahweh. God is deeply committed to true justice and hates its perversion. Strikingly, the gospel shows God justifying the ungodly not by ignoring justice but by satisfying it through Christ, so He remains just (Romans 3:26).
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 16
- Exod 23:7Keep thee far from a false matter; and the innocent and righteous slay thou not: for I will not justify the wicked.
- Prov 18:5It is not good to accept the person of the wicked, to overthrow the righteous in judgment.
- Isa 5:23Which justify the wicked for reward, and take away the righteousness of the righteous from him!
- Prov 24:23–24These things also belong to the wise. It is not good to have respect of persons in judgment.
- Amos 6:12Shall horses run upon the rock? will one plow there with oxen? for ye have turned judgment into gall, and the fruit of righteousness into hemlock:
- Prov 15:8The sacrifice of the wicked is an abomination to the LORD: but the prayer of the upright is his delight.
- Isa 55:8–9For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the LORD.
- Amos 5:12For I know your manifold transgressions and your mighty sins: they afflict the just, they take a bribe, and they turn aside the poor in the gate from their right.
- Amos 5:7Ye who turn judgment to wormwood, and leave off righteousness in the earth,
- 1 Kgs 21:13And there came in two men, children of Belial, and sat before him: and the men of Belial witnessed against him, even against Naboth, in the presence of the people, saying, Naboth did blaspheme God and the king. Then they carried him forth out of the city, and stoned him with stones, that he died.
- Jas 5:6Ye have condemned and killed the just; and he doth not resist you.
- Prov 6:16These six things doth the LORD hate: yea, seven are an abomination unto him:
- Rom 4:5But to him that worketh not, but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness.
- Luke 23:18–25And they cried out all at once, saying, Away with this man, and release unto us Barabbas:
- Ezek 22:27–29Her princes in the midst thereof are like wolves ravening the prey, to shed blood, and to destroy souls, to get dishonest gain.
- Prov 11:1A false balance is abomination to the LORD: but a just weight is his delight.
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 17:15 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.