Proverbs 29:2
in Proverbs 29When the righteous flourish, the people rejoice, but when the wicked rule, the people groan.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
When the righteous are increased, the people rejoice; But when a wicked man beareth rule, the people sigh.
KJV
When the righteous are in authority, the people rejoice: but when the wicked beareth rule, the people mourn.
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This verse in Proverbs 29
Commentary
2 notes on this verseThis site's exposition
When the righteous are in authority, the people rejoice
on Proverbs 29:2-4
When the righteous are in authority, the people rejoice, but when the wicked beareth rule, the people mourn, opens a governance cluster the chapter returns to throughout, a ruler's character setting the public mood beneath him. Whoso loveth wisdom rejoiceth his father, but he that keepeth company with harlots spendeth his substance, applies the same principle at the scale of one household and one son's choices. The king by judgment establisheth the land, but he that receiveth gifts overthroweth it, names the single practice, bribery, that turns a throne from a foundation into a ruin.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
When the righteous are in authority,....
The words behind it
8 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| בִּרְב֣וֹת | birvot | when increase | H7235 → | 227 times |
| צַ֭דִּיקִים | tzadikim | righteous [people] | H6662 → | 206 times |
| יִשְׂמַ֣ח | yismach | it rejoices | H8055 → | 155 times |
| הָעָ֑ם | haam | the people | H5971 → | 1873 times |
| וּבִמְשֹׁ֥ל | uvimshol | and when rules | H4910 → | 81 times |
| רָ֝שָׁ֗ע | rasha' | a wicked [person] | H7563 → | 263 times |
| יֵאָ֥נַֽח | yeanach | it sighs | H584 → | |
| עָֽם׃ | ʾam | a people | H5971 → | 1873 times |
בִּרְב֣וֹתwhen increase
birvotH7235 →227 times
צַ֭דִּיקִיםrighteous [people]
tzadikimH6662 →206 times
יִשְׂמַ֣חit rejoices
yismachH8055 →155 times
הָעָ֑םthe people
haamH5971 →1873 times
וּבִמְשֹׁ֥לand when rules
uvimsholH4910 →81 times
רָ֝שָׁ֗עa wicked [person]
rasha'H7563 →263 times
יֵאָ֥נַֽחit sighs
yeanachH584 →
עָֽם׃a people
ʾamH5971 →1873 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Proverbs 28:28When the wicked come to power, people hide themselves; but when they perish, the righteous flourish.
it leads to
- Proverbs 28:12
When the righteous triumph, there is great glory, but when the wicked rise, men hide themselves.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Job 24:4
They push the needy off the road and force all the poor of the land into hiding.
- Acts 12:23–24
Immediately, because Herod did not give glory to God, an angel of the Lord struck him down, and he was eaten by worms and died.
- Proverbs 28:12
Through
Proverbs 28:12When the righteous triumph, there is great glory, but when the wicked rise, men hide themselves.
it leads to
- Proverbs 28:28
When the wicked come to power, people hide themselves; but when they perish, the righteous flourish.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Proverbs 11:10
When the righteous thrive, the city rejoices, and when the wicked perish, there are shouts of joy.
- Proverbs 28:28
Through
Esther 8:15Mordecai went out from the presence of the king in royal garments of blue and white, with a large gold crown and a purple robe of fine linen. And the city of Susa shouted…
it leads to
- Luke 16:19
Now there was a rich man dressed in purple and fine linen, who lived each day in joyous splendor.
- Esther 6:8
have them bring a royal robe that the king himself has worn and a horse on which the king himself has ridden—one with a royal crest placed on its head.
- Genesis 41:42
Then Pharaoh removed the signet ring from his finger, put it on Joseph’s finger, clothed him in garments of fine linen, and placed a gold chain around his neck.
- Luke 16:19
About Proverbs

This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Charles Bridges, An Exposition of the Book of Proverbs and John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763).
