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Therefore calamity will come upon him suddenly; in an instant he will be shattered beyond recovery.
Proverbs 6:15 · Berean Standard Bible
Parallel translations
  • WEB Therefore his calamity will come suddenly. He will be broken suddenly, and that without remedy.
  • KJV Therefore shall his calamity come suddenly; suddenly shall he be broken without remedy.
  • NKJV Therefore his calamity shall come suddenly; Suddenly he shall be broken without remedy.
  • NASB Therefore his disaster will come suddenly; Instantly he will be broken and there will be no healing.
  • NLT But they will be destroyed suddenly, broken in an instant beyond all hope of healing.

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

Such a troublemaker will be shattered suddenly and beyond repair. Persistent wickedness ends in irreversible ruin.

Overview

The schemer's calamity comes upon him unexpectedly and without remedy, mirroring the suddenness of his own crafty harm. The proverb assures that God's moral order eventually overtakes the unrepentant deceiver. It is a sober warning that hidden evil does not escape its just end.

Cross-references & the web

Cross-references · 8

  • 2 Chr 36:16But they mocked the messengers of God, despising His words and scoffing at His prophets, until the wrath of the LORD against His people was stirred up beyond remedy.
  • Jer 19:11and you are to proclaim to them that this is what the LORD of Hosts says: I will shatter this nation and this city, like one shatters a potter’s jar that can never again be repaired. They will bury the dead in Topheth until there is no more room to bury them.
  • 1 Th 5:3While people are saying, “Peace and security,” destruction will come upon them suddenly, like labor pains on a pregnant woman, and they will not escape.
  • Isa 30:13–14this iniquity of yours is like a breach about to fail, a bulge in a high wall, whose collapse will come suddenly—in an instant!
  • Ps 73:18–20Surely You set them on slick ground; You cast them down into ruin.
  • Prov 1:27when your dread comes like a storm, and your destruction like a whirlwind, when distress and anguish overwhelm you.
  • Prov 29:1A man who remains stiff-necked after much reproof will suddenly be shattered beyond recovery.
  • Ps 50:22Now consider this, you who forget God, lest I tear you to pieces, with no one to rescue you:

Themes, concepts, people & topics

Topics (3)

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 6:15YouTube · 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 6:15 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.