English Standard Version
Proverbs 21:18
18The wicked is a ransom for the righteous, and the traitor for the upright.
Proverbs 21:18 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)The wicked shall be a ransom for the righteous, and the transgressor for the upright.
- New International Version (NIV)The wicked become a ransom for the righteous, and the unfaithful for the upright.
- New King James Version (NKJV)The wicked shall be a ransom for the righteous, And the unfaithful for the upright.
- New Living Translation (NLT)The wicked are punished in place of the godly, and traitors in place of the honest.
Context of Proverbs 21:18
16One who wanders from the way of good sense will rest in the assembly of the dead. 17Whoever loves pleasure will be a poor man; he who loves wine and oil will not be rich. The wicked is a ransom for the righteous, and the traitor for the upright. 19It is better to live in a desert land than with a quarrelsome and fretful woman. 20Precious treasure and oil are in a wise man's dwelling, but a foolish man devours it.
Read all of Proverbs 21Proverbs 21:18 word by word
כֹּ֣פֶר לַצַּדִּ֣יק רָשָׁ֑ע וְתַ֖חַת יְשָׁרִ֣ים בּוֹגֵֽד׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
Cross-references for Proverbs 21:18
- Proverbs 11:8The righteous is delivered from trouble, and the wicked walks into it instead.
- Isaiah 43:3For I am the Lord your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior. I give Egypt as your ransom, Cush and Seba in exchange for you.
- Isaiah 53:4Surely he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted.
- Isaiah 55:8For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the Lord.
- 1 Peter 3:18For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh but made alive in the spirit,
Commentaries on Proverbs 21:18
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 18The wicked shall be a ransom for the righteous - God often in his judgments cuts off the wicked, in order to prevent them from destroying the righteous. And in general, we find that the wicked fall into the traps and pits they have digged for the righteous.Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 18Compare the marginal reference. Evil doers seem to draw down the wrath of God upon their heads, and so become, as it were, the scapegoats of the comparatively righteous.Read the comment
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 18Verse 18 The righteous is often delivered out of trouble, and the wicked comes in his stead, and so seems as a ransom for him.Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 18The wicked will get caught in the traps they set for others (Proverbs 26:27; see also 11:8).Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 1818. (Compare Pr 11:8). By suffering what they had devised for the righteous, or brought on them, the wicked became their ransom, in the usual sense of substitutes (compare Jos 7:26; Es 7:9).Read the comment
Topics related to Proverbs 21:18
In the dictionaries
Commentaries on Proverbs 21
- 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
- Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
- EGW Writings
English Standard Version — © 2001 Crossway Bibles
Commentaries