Proverbs 21:18

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.
• English Standard Version (ESV)The wicked is a ransom for the righteous, and the traitor for the upright.
• New King James Version (NKJV)The wicked shall be a ransom for the righteous, And the unfaithful for the upright.

Context of Proverbs 21:18

16A person who wanders from the way of wise behavior will rest in the assembly of the dead. 17Whoever loves pleasure will become poor. Whoever loves wine and expensive food will not become rich. Wicked people become a ransom for righteous people, and treacherous people will take the place of decent people. 19Better to live in a desert than with a quarreling and angry woman. 20Costly treasure and wealth are in the home of a wise person, but a fool devours them.

Proverbs 21:18 word by word

כֹּ֣פֶר לַצַּדִּ֣יק רָשָׁ֑ע וְתַ֖חַת יְשָׁרִ֣ים בּוֹגֵֽד׃Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• The wickedרָשָׁעrâshâ‛ · wickedH7563
• a ransomכֹּפֶרkôpher · ransomH3724
• for the righteousצַדִּיקtsaddîyq · righteousH6662
• and the transgressorבָּגַדbâgad · to act treacherouslyH898
• for the uprightיָשָׁרyâshâr · uprightH3477

Cross-references for Proverbs 21:18

• Proverbs 11:8A righteous person is rescued from trouble, and a wicked person takes his place.
• Isaiah 43:3I am the Lord your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior. Egypt is the ransom I exchanged for you. Sudan and Seba are the price I paid for you.
• Isaiah 53:4He certainly has taken upon himself our suffering and carried our sorrows, but we thought that God had wounded him, beat him, and punished him.
• Isaiah 55:8“My thoughts are not your thoughts, and my ways are not your ways,” declares the Lord.
• 1 Peter 3:18This is true because Christ suffered for our sins once. He was an innocent person, but he suffered for guilty people so that he could bring you to God. His body was put to death, but he was brought to life through his 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

• Wicked (People)

In the dictionaries

• Mind
• Ponder
• Toss
• Proverb
• Proverbs, the Book of
• Ransom

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