Do not envy a violent man or choose any of his ways;
Parallel translations
- WEB Don’t envy the man of violence. Choose none of his ways.
- KJV Envy thou not the oppressor, and choose none of his ways.
- NKJV Do not envy the oppressor, And choose none of his ways;
- NASB Do not envy a violent person, And do not choose any of his ways.
- NLT Don’t envy violent people or copy their ways.
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
Do not envy the violent man or choose any of his ways. The success of the ruthless is not to be desired or imitated.
Overview
It is tempting to envy those who get ahead through violence and oppression, but the wise reject both the envy and the path. Their apparent gain is fleeting and abhorrent to God (as the next verses make clear). Scripture repeatedly cautions against envying the wicked, whose end is ruin (Ps 37:1; 73:17-20).
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 12
- Prov 24:1Do not envy wicked men or desire their company;
- Ps 37:1Of David. Do not fret over those who do evil; do not envy those who do wrong.
- Gal 5:21and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.
- Eccl 5:8If you see the oppression of the poor and the denial of justice and righteousness in the province, do not be astonished at the matter; for one official is watched by a superior, and others higher still are over them.
- Prov 23:17Do not let your heart envy sinners, but always continue in the fear of the LORD.
- Prov 12:12The wicked desire the plunder of evil men, but the root of the righteous flourishes.
- Prov 24:19–20Do not fret over evildoers, and do not be envious of the wicked.
- Ps 37:7–9Be still before the LORD and wait patiently for Him; do not fret when men prosper in their ways, when they carry out wicked schemes.
- Prov 1:15–18my son, do not walk the road with them or set foot upon their path.
- Prov 2:12–15to deliver you from the way of evil, from the man who speaks perversity,
- Ps 73:3For I envied the arrogant when I saw the prosperity of the wicked.
- Prov 22:22–25Do not rob a poor man because he is poor, and do not crush the afflicted at the gate,
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 3:31 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.