An unjust man is an abomination to the just: and he that is upright in the way is abomination to the wicked.
Parallel translations
- WEB A dishonest man detests the righteous, and the upright in their ways detest the wicked.
- BSB An unjust man is detestable to the righteous, and one whose way is upright is detestable 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 3:13Marvel not, my brethren, if the world hate you.
- Ps 139:21Do not I hate them, O LORD, that hate thee? and am not I grieved with those that rise up against thee?
- John 15:17–19These things I command you, that ye love one another.
- John 7:7The world cannot hate you; but me it hateth, because I testify of it, that the works thereof are evil.
- John 15:23He that hateth me hateth my Father also.
- Prov 29:10The bloodthirsty hate the upright: but the just seek his soul.
- Zech 11:8Three shepherds also I cut off in one month; and my soul lothed them, and their soul also abhorred me.
- Prov 24:9The thought of foolishness is sin: and the scorner is an abomination to men.
- Ps 119:115Depart from me, ye evildoers: for I will keep the commandments of my God.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
Resources, by level
Commentaries & study tools
Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.
Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.
Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.
Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.
The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).
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 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.