An unjust man is detestable to the righteous, and one whose way is upright is detestable to the wicked.
Parallel translations
- WEB A dishonest man detests the righteous, and the upright in their ways detest the wicked.
- KJV An unjust man is an abomination to the just: and he that is upright in the way is abomination to the wicked.
- NKJV An unjust man is an abomination to the righteous, And he who is upright in the way is an abomination to the wicked.
- NASB An unjust person is an abomination to the righteous, And one who is upright in the way is an abomination to the wicked.
- NLT The righteous despise the unjust; the wicked despise the godly.
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 righteous and the wicked are mutually repugnant to one another, revealing a deep moral divide.
Overview
This closing proverb of the chapter names an enduring antithesis: the unjust loathe the upright, and the upright are repelled by wickedness. The two ways cannot be blended, for they spring from opposed loves and allegiances. The gospel does not erase this divide but answers it, transferring sinners from darkness to light so that they come to love righteousness through Christ.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 9
- 1 Jn 3:13So do not be surprised, brothers, if the world hates you.
- Ps 139:21Do I not hate those who hate You, O LORD, and detest those who rise against You?
- John 15:17–19This is My command to you: Love one another.
- John 7:7The world cannot hate you, but it hates Me, because I testify that its works are evil.
- John 15:23Whoever hates Me hates My Father as well.
- Prov 29:10Men of bloodshed hate a blameless man, but the upright care for his life.
- Zech 11:8And in one month I dismissed three shepherds. My soul grew impatient with the flock, and their souls also detested me.
- Prov 24:9A foolish scheme is sin, and a mocker is detestable to men.
- Ps 119:115Depart from me, you evildoers, that I may obey the commandments of my God.
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 29:27 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.