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Therefore shall his calamity come suddenly; suddenly shall he be broken without remedy.
Proverbs 6:15 · King James Version
Parallel translations
  • WEB Therefore his calamity will come suddenly. He will be broken suddenly, and that without remedy.
  • BSB Therefore calamity will come upon him suddenly; in an instant he will be shattered beyond recovery.
  • 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, and despised his words, and misused his prophets, until the wrath of the LORD arose against his people, till there was no remedy.
  • Jer 19:11And shalt say unto them, Thus saith the LORD of hosts; Even so will I break this people and this city, as one breaketh a potter’s vessel, that cannot be made whole again: and they shall bury them in Tophet, till there be no place to bury.
  • 1 Th 5:3For when they shall say, Peace and safety; then sudden destruction cometh upon them, as travail upon a woman with child; and they shall not escape.
  • Isa 30:13–14Therefore this iniquity shall be to you as a breach ready to fall, swelling out in a high wall, whose breaking cometh suddenly at an instant.
  • Ps 73:18–20Surely thou didst set them in slippery places: thou castedst them down into destruction.
  • Prov 1:27When your fear cometh as desolation, and your destruction cometh as a whirlwind; when distress and anguish cometh upon you.
  • Prov 29:1He, that being often reproved hardeneth his neck, shall suddenly be destroyed, and that without remedy.
  • Ps 50:22Now consider this, ye that forget God, lest I tear you in pieces, and there be none to deliver.

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.