Proverbs 10:3
in Proverbs 10The LORD does not let the righteous go hungry, but He denies the craving of the wicked.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Jehovah will not suffer the soul of the righteous to famish; But he thrusteth away the desire of the wicked.
KJV
The Lord will not suffer the soul of the righteous to famish: but he casteth away the substance of the wicked.
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This verse in Proverbs 10
Commentary
9 notes on this verseDo you fear that your patrimony may fail if you begin to act generously from it? For when did it happen that resources could fail a just person, when it is written, "The Lord will not afflict the soul of the just with famine."
This site's exposition
The proverbs of Solomon
on Proverbs 10:1-5
The header “The proverbs of Solomon” marks a new collection, whose couplets set the righteous against the wicked in a single line. Its opening pair compresses the family theme of chapters 1 to 9, and the next verses turn to wealth, where “diligent hands bring wealth”.
This site's exposition
He denies the craving of the wicked
The LORD feeds the righteous and refuses the wicked what they crave. Albert Barnes compares the wicked to Tantalus in the Greek story, always reaching for the fruit and the water that pull away from him. The appetite stays and the meal never comes.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers1 voice
If the life of the wicked is malicious and the Lord will overturn it, then it is clear that at some point the wicked will no longer be wicked. For, after that "reversal," "the Lord will pass the kingdom over to God the Father," so …
The Medieval Church1 voice
The Lord will not let the soul of the righteous be famished, etc. And if at any time the unjust afflict or even kill the righteous with famine, they will not hurt his soul, whom the Lord will comfort in the future life with the …
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
), and so their righteousness delivers from death, purely by the favour of God to them, which is their life and livelihood, and which will keep them alive in famine. The soul of the righteous shall be kept alive by the word of God, and faith in his promise, when young lions shall lack and suffer hunger.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — leading-punctuation+unbalanced-parens
The Lord will not suffer the soul of the righteous to famish,....
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
Casteth away ... - Better, “overturns, disappoints the strong desire of the wicked.” Tantalus-like, they never get the enjoyment they thirst after.
1 more voice on this verse
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
But he casteth away the substance of the wicked - But instead of רשעים reshaim, the wicked, בוגדים bogedim, hypocrites, or perfidious persons, is the reading of twelve or fourteen of Kennicott’s and De Rossi’s MSS., and some editions; but it is not acknowledged by any of the ancient versions. The righteous have God for their feeder; and because of his infinite bounty, they can never famish for want of the bread of life. On the contrary, the wicked are often, in the course of his providence, deprived of the property of which they make a bad use.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| לֹֽא־ | lo'- | not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| יַרְעִ֣יב | yariv | he allows to hunger | H7456 → | 13 times |
| יְ֭הוָה | yahweh | Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
| נֶ֣פֶשׁ | nefesh | [the] appetite of | H5315 → | 754 times |
| צַדִּ֑יק | tzadik | [the] righteous | H6662 → | 206 times |
| וְהַוַּ֖ת | vehavat | and [the] craving of | H1942 → | 16 times |
| רְשָׁעִ֣ים | reshaim | wicked [people] | H7563 → | 263 times |
| יֶהְדֹּֽף׃ | yehdof | he rejects | H1920 → |
לֹֽא־not
lo'-H3808 →5168 times
יַרְעִ֣יבhe allows to hunger
yarivH7456 →13 times
יְ֭הוָהYahweh
yahwehH3068 →6520 times
נֶ֣פֶשׁ[the] appetite of
nefeshH5315 →754 times
צַדִּ֑יק[the] righteous
tzadikH6662 →206 times
וְהַוַּ֖תand [the] craving of
vehavatH1942 →16 times
רְשָׁעִ֣יםwicked [people]
reshaimH7563 →263 times
יֶהְדֹּֽף׃he rejects
yehdofH1920 →
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
Psalms 37:3Trust in the LORD and do good; dwell in the land and cultivate faithfulness.
it leads to
- Jeremiah 17:7–8
But blessed is the man who trusts in the LORD, whose confidence is in Him.
- Matthew 6:31–33
Therefore do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’
- Psalms 62:8
Trust in Him at all times, O people; pour out your hearts before Him. God is our refuge. Selah
- 1 Corinthians 15:57–58
But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ!
- Jeremiah 17:7–8
Through
Psalms 37:25I once was young and now am old, yet never have I seen the righteous abandoned or their children begging for bread.
it leads to
- Hebrews 13:5
Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, for God has said: “Never will I leave you, never will I forsake you.”
- Psalms 37:28
For the LORD loves justice and will not forsake His saints. They are preserved forever, but the offspring of the wicked will be cut off.
- Psalms 112:2
His descendants will be mighty in the land; the generation of the upright will be blessed.
- Psalms 25:13
His soul will dwell in prosperity, and his descendants will inherit the land.
- Hebrews 13:5
Where this verse is studied
About Proverbs
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Bede, Commentary on Proverbs; Charles Bridges, An Exposition of the Book of Proverbs; Cyprian, Treatise VIII. On Works and Alms 11; Evagrius Ponticus, SCHOLIA ON PROVERBS 118:10.3; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.