English Standard Version
Proverbs 10:16
16The wage of the righteous leads to life, the gain of the wicked to sin.
Proverbs 10:16 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)The labour of the righteous tendeth to life: the fruit of the wicked to sin.
- New International Version (NIV)The wages of the righteous is life, but the earnings of the wicked are sin and death.
- New King James Version (NKJV)The labor of the righteous leads to life, The wages of the wicked to sin.
- New Living Translation (NLT)The earnings of the godly enhance their lives, but evil people squander their money on sin.
Context of Proverbs 10:16
14The wise lay up knowledge, but the mouth of a fool brings ruin near. 15A rich man's wealth is his strong city; the poverty of the poor is their ruin. The wage of the righteous leads to life, the gain of the wicked to sin. 17Whoever heeds instruction is on the path to life, but he who rejects reproof leads others astray. 18The one who conceals hatred has lying lips, and whoever utters slander is a fool.
Read all of Proverbs 10Proverbs 10:16 word by word
פְּעֻלַּ֣ת צַדִּ֣יק לְחַיִּ֑ים תְּבוּאַ֖ת רָשָׁ֣ע לְחַטָּֽאת׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
Cross-references for Proverbs 10:16
- Proverbs 11:30The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life, and whoever captures souls is wise.
- Isaiah 3:10Tell the righteous that it shall be well with them, for they shall eat the fruit of their deeds.
- Matthew 7:17So, every healthy tree bears good fruit, but the diseased tree bears bad fruit.
- Matthew 12:33"Either make the tree good and its fruit good, or make the tree bad and its fruit bad, for the tree is known by its fruit.
- Matthew 15:19For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false witness, slander.
- Romans 6:23For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
- 2 Timothy 2:17and their talk will spread like gangrene. Among them are Hymenaeus and Philetus,
- 2 Timothy 3:13while evil people and impostors will go on from bad to worse, deceiving and being deceived.
Commentaries on Proverbs 10:16
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 16The labor of the righteous - The good man labors that he may be able to support life; this is his first object: and then to have something to divide with the poor; this is his next object. The fruit of the wicked to sin - This man lives to eat and drink, and his property he spends in riot and excess. God's blessings are cursed to him.Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 16A warning against the conclusion to seek wealth first of all, which men of lower natures might draw from Proverbs 10:15. “Quaerenda pecunia primum est; Virtus post nummos?” Horace, Ep. 1. i. 53. Such an inference is met by the experience, that while wealth gotten by honest industry is not only, like inherited riches a defense, but also a blessing, the seeming profit (rather than “fruit”) of the wicked tends to further sin 1 Timothy 6:10, and so to…Read the comment
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 16Verse 16 Perhaps a righteous man has no more than what he works hard for, but that labour tends to life.Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 1616. The industry of the righteous is alone truly successful, while the earnings of the wicked tempt and lead to sin.Read the comment
Topics related to Proverbs 10:16
In the dictionaries
Commentaries on Proverbs 10
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
- Tyndale Open Study Notes
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
- Rashi on Tanakh
- Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
- John Wesley’s Notes
- Darby Translation Notes
- Geneva Bible Translation Notes
- Kingcomments
- Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
- Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
- Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
- Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
- EGW Writings
English Standard Version — © 2001 Crossway Bibles
Commentaries