The righteous will see and fear; they will mock the evildoer, saying,
Parallel translations
- WEB The righteous also will see it, and fear, and laugh at him, saying,
- KJV The righteous also shall see, and fear, and shall laugh at him:
- NKJV The righteous also shall see and fear, And shall laugh at him, saying,
- NASB The righteous will see and fear, And they will laugh at him, saying,
- NLT The righteous will see it and be amazed. They will laugh and say,
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 will witness God's judgment with awe and vindicated relief. It shows that God's justice strengthens the faith of his people.
Overview
When the wicked falls, the godly respond with reverent fear and a sober laughter at the collapse of arrogant evil. Their reaction is not cruel gloating but recognition that God has acted justly. Such vindication anticipates the final judgment when every wrong is set right in Christ.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 13
- Job 22:19The righteous see it and are glad; the innocent mock them:
- Ps 40:3He put a new song in my mouth, a hymn of praise to our God. Many will see and fear and put their trust in the LORD.
- Ps 37:34Wait for the LORD and keep His way, and He will raise you up to inherit the land. When the wicked are cut off, you will see it.
- Rev 15:4Who will not fear You, O Lord, and glorify Your name? For You alone are holy. All nations will come and worship before You, for Your righteous acts have been revealed.”
- Rev 18:20Rejoice over her, O heaven, O saints and apostles and prophets, because God has pronounced for you His judgment against her.
- Ps 97:8Zion hears and rejoices, and the towns of Judah exult because of Your judgments, O LORD.
- Isa 37:22this is the word that the LORD has spoken against him: ‘The Virgin Daughter of Zion despises you and mocks you; the Daughter of Jerusalem shakes her head behind you.
- Ps 58:10–11The righteous will rejoice when they see they are avenged; they will wash their feet in the blood of the wicked.
- Ps 64:9Then all mankind will fear and proclaim the work of God; so they will ponder what He has done.
- Ps 119:120My flesh trembles in awe of You; I stand in fear of Your judgments.
- Rev 16:5–7And I heard the angel of the waters say: “Righteous are You, O Holy One, who is and was, because You have brought these judgments.
- Mal 1:5You will see this with your own eyes, and you yourselves will say, ‘The LORD is great—even beyond the borders of Israel.’”
- Rev 19:1–2After this I heard a sound like the roar of a great multitude in heaven, shouting: “Hallelujah! Salvation and glory and power belong to our God!
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Christ at the center
The Psalms are Christ's own prayer book and a gallery of his portraits — the suffering one of Psalm 22, the risen Lord of Psalm 16, the priest-king of Psalm 110, the Son to whom the nations are given.
How Psalms 52:6 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.