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The curse of the LORD is in the house of the wicked: but he blesseth the habitation of the just.
Proverbs 3:33 · King James Version
Parallel translations
  • WEB Yahweh’s curse is in the house of the wicked, but he blesses the habitation of the righteous.
  • BSB The curse of the LORD is on the house of the wicked, but He blesses the home of the righteous.
  • NKJV The curse of the Lord is on the house of the wicked, But He blesses the home of the just.
  • NASB The curse of the Lord is on the house of the wicked, But He blesses the home of the righteous.
  • NLT The Lord curses the house of the wicked, but he blesses the home of the upright.

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 LORD's curse rests on the house of the wicked, but he blesses the home of the righteous. God himself governs the outcomes of wicked and righteous households.

Overview

Using the language of curse and blessing, the proverb declares that God's favor or judgment reaches into the daily life and households of people. These are general patterns of God's moral governance, not mechanical guarantees in every case. The righteousness ultimately blessed is found in those justified by faith in Christ, who bore the curse for us (Gal 3:13).

Cross-references & the web

Cross-references · 15

  • Ps 37:22For such as be blessed of him shall inherit the earth; and they that be cursed of him shall be cut off.
  • Lev 26:14–46But if ye will not hearken unto me, and will not do all these commandments;
  • Job 8:6–7If thou wert pure and upright; surely now he would awake for thee, and make the habitation of thy righteousness prosperous.
  • Ps 91:10There shall no evil befall thee, neither shall any plague come nigh thy dwelling.
  • Mal 2:2If ye will not hear, and if ye will not lay it to heart, to give glory unto my name, saith the LORD of hosts, I will even send a curse upon you, and I will curse your blessings: yea, I have cursed them already, because ye do not lay it to heart.
  • Deut 7:26Neither shalt thou bring an abomination into thine house, lest thou be a cursed thing like it: but thou shalt utterly detest it, and thou shalt utterly abhor it; for it is a cursed thing.
  • Prov 21:12The righteous man wisely considereth the house of the wicked: but God overthroweth the wicked for their wickedness.
  • 2 Sam 6:11And the ark of the LORD continued in the house of Obededom the Gittite three months: and the LORD blessed Obededom, and all his household.
  • Deut 29:19–29And it come to pass, when he heareth the words of this curse, that he bless himself in his heart, saying, I shall have peace, though I walk in the imagination of mine heart, to add drunkenness to thirst:
  • Deut 28:2–68And all these blessings shall come on thee, and overtake thee, if thou shalt hearken unto the voice of the LORD thy God.
  • Ps 1:3And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not wither; and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper.
  • Zech 5:3–4Then said he unto me, This is the curse that goeth forth over the face of the whole earth: for every one that stealeth shall be cut off as on this side according to it; and every one that sweareth shall be cut off as on that side according to it.
  • Josh 7:13Up, sanctify the people, and say, Sanctify yourselves against to morrow: for thus saith the LORD God of Israel, There is an accursed thing in the midst of thee, O Israel: thou canst not stand before thine enemies, until ye take away the accursed thing from among you.
  • Deut 11:28And a curse, if ye will not obey the commandments of the LORD your God, but turn aside out of the way which I command you this day, to go after other gods, which ye have not known.
  • Josh 6:18And ye, in any wise keep yourselves from the accursed thing, lest ye make yourselves accursed, when ye take of the accursed thing, and make the camp of Israel a curse, and trouble it.

Themes, concepts, people & topics

Topics (1)

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 3:33YouTube · 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 3:33 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.