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.
• 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.
• 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

16Whoever strays from the path of prudence comes to rest in the company of the dead. 17Whoever loves pleasure will become poor; whoever loves wine and olive oil will never be rich. The wicked become a ransom for the righteous, and the unfaithful for the upright. 19Better to live in a desert than with a quarrelsome and nagging wife. 20The wise store up choice food and olive oil, but fools gulp theirs down.

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 11:8The righteous person is rescued from trouble, and it falls on the wicked instead.
• Isaiah 43:3For I am the Lord your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior; I give Egypt for your ransom, Cush and Seba in your stead.
• Isaiah 53:4Surely he took up our pain and bore our suffering, yet we considered him punished by God, stricken by him, and afflicted.
• Isaiah 55:8“For 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, to bring you to God. He was put to death in the body 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

• 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