He who justifies the wicked, and he who condemns the just, Both of them alike are an 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.
- KJV He that justifieth the wicked, and he that condemneth the just, even they both are abomination to the LORD.
- BSB Acquitting the guilty and condemning the righteous—both are detestable 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 23:7“Keep far from a false charge, and don’t kill the innocent and righteous: for I will not justify the wicked.
- Prov 18:5To be partial to the faces of the wicked is not good, nor to deprive the innocent of justice.
- Isa 5:23who acquit the guilty for a bribe, but deny justice for the innocent!
- Prov 24:23–24These also are sayings of the wise. To show partiality in judgment is not good.
- Amos 6:12Do horses run on the rocky crags? Does one plow there with oxen? But you have turned justice into poison, and the fruit of righteousness into bitterness;
- Prov 15:8The sacrifice made by the wicked is an abomination to Yahweh, but the prayer of the upright is his delight.
- Isa 55:8–9“For my thoughts are not your thoughts, and your ways are not my ways,” says Yahweh.
- Amos 5:12For I know how many your offenses, and how great are your sins — you who afflict the just, who take a bribe, and who turn aside the needy in the courts.
- Amos 5:7You who turn justice to wormwood, and cast down righteousness to the earth:
- 1 Kgs 21:13The two men, the base fellows, came in and sat before him. The base fellows testified against him, even against Naboth, in the presence of the people, saying, “Naboth cursed God and the king!” Then they carried him out of the city and stoned him to death with stones.
- Jas 5:6You have condemned, you have murdered the righteous one. He doesn’t resist you.
- Prov 6:16There are six things which Yahweh hates; yes, seven which are an abomination to him:
- Rom 4:5But to him who doesn’t work, but believes in him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is accounted for righteousness.
- Luke 23:18–25But they all cried out together, saying, “Away with this man! Release to us Barabbas!” —
- Ezek 22:27–29Her princes within it are like wolves ravening the prey, to shed blood, and to destroy souls, that they may get dishonest gain.
- Prov 11:1A false balance is an abomination to Yahweh, but accurate weights are 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.