Proverbs 10:7
in Proverbs 10The memory of the righteous is a blessing, but the name of the wicked will rot.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
The memory of the righteous is blessed; But the name of the wicked shall rot.
KJV
The memory of the just is blessed: but the name of the wicked shall rot.
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This verse in Proverbs 10
Commentary
8 notes on this verseThe memory of the just is blessed - Or, is a blessing. But the name of the wicked shall rot - This is another antithesis; but there are only two antithetic terms, for memory and name are synonymous - Lowth. The very name of the wicked is as offensive as putrid carrion.
This site's exposition
Blessings are on the head of the righteous
on Proverbs 10:6-10
This cluster turns on standing and reception: “Blessings are on the head of the righteous,” and “the name of the wicked will rot”. Verse 8 sets the rule the rest of the chapter assumes: “A wise heart will receive commandments, but foolish lips will come to ruin”.
This site's exposition
The memory of the righteous is a blessing
Adam Clarke, following Lowth, notes that memory and name are one thing in this couplet, so the contrast falls wholly on blessing and rot. A righteous man's name is spoken as a blessing after his death. The wicked man's name decays like a carcass.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers3 voices
Those who are humble should thank God and remain in humility to the end of their lives. Thus, the blessing of the angels and patriarchs and prophets and apostles and all the Scriptures will come upon them, as is given to all who persevere in …
What wonder is it, dearest brethren, that a dancing girl killed the prophet [John the Baptist]? For we know that dissipation is always the enemy of justice and that error ceaselessly persecutes the truth. Wantonness, moreover, associates with cruelty. The head of the prophet is …
"The memory of the just man will be praised." But he did not say this because he meant that the departed souls are helped by our praise. He said it because those who praise the departed derive the greatest benefits from remembering them. Since, therefore, we have so much to gain from keeping their memory sacred, let us not reject the wise man's words but rather let us heed them.
The Medieval Church1 voice
The memory of the righteous is a blessing, etc. And in this life, the good praise the good, whether living or dead; but they detest the actions and name of the wicked. In the future life, the righteous live in God's praises, but the honor, …
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
The memory of the just is blessed,.... Men to whom he has been useful, either in temporals or spirituals, bless him, or wish all blessings to him while alive, whenever they make mention of his name; and after death they speak well of him, and pronounce him blessed; for such are had in everlasting remembrance; the memory of them is sweet and precious; their name is famous and valuable, and always spoken of with honour and commendation; see Psa 112:
The words behind it
6 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| זֵ֣כֶר | zekher | [the] memory of | H2143 → | |
| צַ֭דִּיק | tzadik | [the] righteous | H6662 → | 206 times |
| לִבְרָכָ֑ה | livrakhah | [is] for a blessing | H1293 → | 69 times |
| וְשֵׁ֖ם | veshem | and [the] name of | H8034 → | 864 times |
| רְשָׁעִ֣ים | reshaim | wicked [people] | H7563 → | 263 times |
| יִרְקָֽב׃ | yirkav | it will rot | H7537 → |
זֵ֣כֶר[the] memory of
zekherH2143 →
צַ֭דִּיק[the] righteous
tzadikH6662 →206 times
לִבְרָכָ֑ה[is] for a blessing
livrakhahH1293 →69 times
וְשֵׁ֖םand [the] name of
veshemH8034 →864 times
רְשָׁעִ֣יםwicked [people]
reshaimH7563 →263 times
יִרְקָֽב׃it will rot
yirkavH7537 →
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 112:6Surely he will never be shaken; the righteous man will be remembered forever.
it leads to
- Hebrews 6:10
For God is not unjust. He will not forget your work and the love you have shown for His name as you have ministered to the saints and continue to do so.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Psalms 125:1
Those who trust in the LORD are like Mount Zion. It cannot be moved; it abides forever.
- Psalms 62:2
He alone is my rock and my salvation. He is my fortress; I will never be shaken.
- Hebrews 6:10
Through
Luke 1:48For He has looked with favor on the humble state of His servant. From now on all generations will call me blessed.
it leads to
- Psalms 138:6
Though the LORD is on high, He attends to the lowly; but the proud He knows from afar.
- 1 Corinthians 1:26–28
Brothers, consider the time of your calling: Not many of you were wise by human standards; not many were powerful; not many were of noble birth.
- Malachi 3:12
“Then all the nations will call you blessed, for you will be a land of delight,” says the LORD of Hosts.
- Luke 11:27
As Jesus was saying these things, a woman in the crowd raised her voice and said, “Blessed is the womb that bore You, and blessed are the breasts that nursed You!”
- Psalms 136:23
He remembered us in our low estate His loving devotion endures forever.
- Psalms 138:6
Where this verse is studied
About Proverbs
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Bede, Commentary on Proverbs; Caesarius of Arles, SERMON 48:6; Caesarius of Arles, SERMON 218:4; John Chrysostom, AGAINST THE ANOMOEANS, HOMILY 6:3; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.