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For surely there is an end; and thine expectation shall not be cut off.
Proverbs 23:18 · King James Version
Parallel translations
  • WEB Indeed surely there is a future hope, and your hope will not be cut off.
  • BSB For surely there is a future, and your hope will not be cut off.
  • NKJV For surely there is a hereafter, And your hope will not be cut off.
  • NASB Certainly there is a future, And your hope will not be cut off.
  • NLT You will be rewarded for this; your hope will not be disappointed.

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

There is a sure future and a hope for the righteous that will not be cut off.

Overview

This grounds the call not to envy sinners: the godly have a guaranteed future that the wicked lack. "Hope will not be cut off" assures that fearing God leads to a secure end. For the believer this hope is anchored in Christ and the resurrection, an inheritance kept in heaven that cannot perish (1 Pet. 1:3-4).

Cross-references & the web

Cross-references · 9

  • Heb 10:35Cast not away therefore your confidence, which hath great recompence of reward.
  • Jer 29:11For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the LORD, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end.
  • Ps 9:18For the needy shall not alway be forgotten: the expectation of the poor shall not perish for ever.
  • Phil 1:20According to my earnest expectation and my hope, that in nothing I shall be ashamed, but that with all boldness, as always, so now also Christ shall be magnified in my body, whether it be by life, or by death.
  • Prov 24:14So shall the knowledge of wisdom be unto thy soul: when thou hast found it, then there shall be a reward, and thy expectation shall not be cut off.
  • Prov 24:20For there shall be no reward to the evil man; the candle of the wicked shall be put out.
  • Rom 6:21–22What fruit had ye then in those things whereof ye are now ashamed? for the end of those things is death.
  • Ps 37:37Mark the perfect man, and behold the upright: for the end of that man is peace.
  • Luke 16:25But Abraham said, Son, remember that thou in thy lifetime receivedst thy good things, and likewise Lazarus evil things: but now he is comforted, and thou art tormented.

Themes, concepts, people & topics

Topics (2)

Resources, by level

Commentaries & study tools

  • VideoBibleProject — Proverbs videosBibleProject · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.

  • VideoWatch teaching on Proverbs 23:18YouTube · Lay · Free

    Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.

  • CommentaryEnduring Word — verse-by-verseDavid Guzik · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.

  • CommentaryClassic commentaries for this verseBibleHub (20+ works) · Pastoral · Free

    Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.

  • CommentaryMatthew Henry on ProverbsMatthew Henry · Pastoral · Free · evangelical

    The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).

  • ReferenceInterlinear, lexicon & Strong'sBlue Letter Bible · Seminary · Free

    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 23:18 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.