Also to punish the just is not good, nor to strike princes for equity.
Parallel translations
- WEB Also to punish the righteous is not good, nor to flog officials for their integrity.
- BSB It is surely not good to punish the innocent or to flog a noble for his honesty.
- NKJV Also, to punish the righteous is not good, Nor to strike princes for their uprightness.
- NASB It is also not good to fine the righteous, Nor to strike the noble for their uprightness.
- NLT It is wrong to punish the godly for being good or to flog leaders for being honest.
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
Punishing the innocent or righteous is plainly wrong. It is an injustice to penalize people for their integrity.
Overview
This proverb condemns the perversion of justice that fines or flogs the righteous and upright officials precisely because of their integrity. It exposes how wickedness inverts moral order, punishing good rather than evil. Scripture honors those who suffer for righteousness' sake (1 Pet. 3:14), and ultimately Christ Himself, the wholly innocent One, was unjustly condemned (Isa. 53:9), securing salvation for the guilty.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 10
- Prov 17:15He that justifieth the wicked, and he that condemneth the just, even they both are abomination to the LORD.
- Prov 18:5It is not good to accept the person of the wicked, to overthrow the righteous in judgment.
- John 18:22And when he had thus spoken, one of the officers which stood by struck Jesus with the palm of his hand, saying, Answerest thou the high priest so?
- Job 34:18–19Is it fit to say to a king, Thou art wicked? and to princes, Ye are ungodly?
- 2 Sam 3:39And I am this day weak, though anointed king; and these men the sons of Zeruiah be too hard for me: the LORD shall reward the doer of evil according to his wickedness.
- Mic 5:1Now gather thyself in troops, O daughter of troops: he hath laid siege against us: they shall smite the judge of Israel with a rod upon the cheek.
- Gen 18:25That be far from thee to do after this manner, to slay the righteous with the wicked: and that the righteous should be as the wicked, that be far from thee: Shall not the Judge of all the earth do right?
- 2 Sam 16:7–8And thus said Shimei when he cursed, Come out, come out, thou bloody man, and thou man of Belial:
- 2 Sam 3:23–25When Joab and all the host that was with him were come, they told Joab, saying, Abner the son of Ner came to the king, and he hath sent him away, and he is gone in peace.
- 2 Sam 19:7Now therefore arise, go forth, and speak comfortably unto thy servants: for I swear by the LORD, if thou go not forth, there will not tarry one with thee this night: and that will be worse unto thee than all the evil that befell thee from thy youth until now.
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 17:26 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.