Proverbs 11:19
in Proverbs 11Genuine righteousness leads to life, but the pursuit of evil brings death.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
He that is stedfast in righteousness shall attain unto life; And he that pursueth evil doeth it to his own death.
KJV
As righteousness tendeth to life: so he that pursueth evil pursueth it to his own death.
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This verse in Proverbs 11
Commentary
4 notes on this verseAs righteousness tendeth to life,.... Or, is unto life: not mere outward acts of moral righteousness; these may be done where there is no principle of spiritual life, and are no other than dead works, and will never bring to everlasting life; indeed the best righteousness of man's is no justification of life, nor can it entitle to it, nor is meritorious of it. Godliness, or true holiness, has the promise of this life and that to come, 1Ti 4:8; and so here in the Hebrew text it is, "unto lives" (x), in the plural number.
This site's exposition
A kind man benefits himself
on Proverbs 11:17-19
“A kind man benefits himself, but a cruel man brings trouble on himself,” so kindness and cruelty pay wages to the one who deals them. “The wicked man earns an empty wage,” gain promised and loss delivered, while “he who sows righteousness reaps a true reward”.
This site's exposition
Genuine righteousness leads to life
Righteousness and evil are both pursued here, and each runs to its own end. John Gill notes the Hebrew reads unto lives, in the plural, which he takes as the life that now is and the life to come. The pursuit of evil runs to death.
The record, by era
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
Righteousness tendeth to life - True godliness promotes health, and is the best means of lengthening out life; but wicked men live not out half their days.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| כֵּן־ | ken- | true | H3651 → | 771 times |
| צְדָקָ֥ה | tzedakah | righteousness | H6666 → | 157 times |
| לְחַיִּ֑ים | lechaiyim | [is] to life | H2416 → | 498 times |
| וּמְרַדֵּ֖ף | umeradef | and [one who] pursues | H7291 → | 143 times |
| רָעָ֣ה | raah | evil | H7451 → | 662 times |
| לְמוֹתֽוֹ׃ | lemoto | [is] to own death his | H4194 → | 156 times |
כֵּן־true
ken-H3651 →771 times
צְדָקָ֥הrighteousness
tzedakahH6666 →157 times
לְחַיִּ֑ים[is] to life
lechaiyimH2416 →498 times
וּמְרַדֵּ֖ףand [one who] pursues
umeradefH7291 →143 times
רָעָ֣הevil
raahH7451 →662 times
לְמוֹתֽוֹ׃[is] to own death his
lemotoH4194 →156 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 19:23The fear of the LORD leads to life, that one may rest content, without visitation from harm.
it leads to
- Matthew 5:6
Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.
- Proverbs 14:26–27
He who fears the LORD is secure in confidence, and his children shall have a place of refuge.
- Proverbs 12:21
No harm befalls the righteous, but the wicked are filled with trouble.
- Isaiah 58:10–11
and if you give yourself to the hungry and satisfy the afflicted soul, then your light will go forth in the darkness, and your night will be like noonday.
- 1 Timothy 4:8
For physical exercise is of limited value, but godliness is valuable in every way, holding promise for the present life and for the one to come.
- Matthew 5:6
Through
Proverbs 12:28There is life in the path of righteousness, but another path leads to death.
it leads to
- 3 John 1:11
Beloved, do not imitate what is evil, but what is good. The one who does good is of God; the one who does evil has not seen God.
- Romans 5:21
so that, just as sin reigned in death, so also grace might reign through righteousness to bring eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.
- Ezekiel 18:20–24
The soul who sins is the one who will die. A son will not bear the iniquity of his father, and a father will not bear the iniquity of his son. The righteousness of…
- 3 John 1:11
Where this verse is studied
About Proverbs
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.