Proverbs 13:9
in Proverbs 13The light of the righteous shines brightly, but the lamp of the wicked is extinguished.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
The light of the righteous rejoiceth; But the lamp of the wicked shall be put out.
KJV
The light of the righteous rejoiceth: but the lamp of the wicked shall be put out.
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This verse in Proverbs 13
Commentary
6 notes on this verseA commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
Very beautiful in its poetry is the idea of the light “rejoicing” in its brightness (compare Psa 19:5; Job 38:7). Note also the distinction between the “light” and the “lamp.” The righteous ones have the true light in them. That which belongs to the wicked is only derived and temporary, and even that shall be extinguished before long. Compare a like distinction in Joh 1:8; Joh 5:35.
This site's exposition
One pretends to be rich, but has nothing
on Proverbs 13:7-9
“One pretends to be rich, but has nothing,” and the same verse sets its opposite: “another pretends to be poor, yet has great wealth”. “Riches may ransom a man’s life,” since money can buy a way out of trouble, while “a poor man hears no threat”.
This site's exposition
The light of the righteous shines brightly
Albert Barnes notes that the Hebrew has the light of the righteous rejoicing, as the sun does in Psalm 19:5. He marks the difference between light and lamp. The righteous carry light within, and the lamp of the wicked shines for a while and is extinguished.
The record, by era
The Medieval Church1 voice
"The light of the righteous rejoices," etc. The light of the righteous, which perpetually rejoices, is the hope of future things; the lamp of the impious, which suddenly goes out, is the happiness of this fleeting world. Among the proud, there are always quarrels, but …
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
The light of the righteous rejoiceth,....
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
The light of the righteous rejoiceth - They shall have that measure of prosperity which shall be best for them; but the wicked, howsoever prosperous for a time, shall be brought into desolation. Light and lamp in both cases may signify posterity. The righteous shall have a joyous posterity; but that of the wicked shall be cut off. So 1Ki 11:36: “And unto his son will I give one tribe, that David my servant may have a light (נר ner, a lamp) always before me.” 1Ki 15:4: “Nevertheless for David’s sake did the Lord give them a lamp, to set up his son after him.” See also Psa 132:17, and several other places.
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
On the verses either side of this one
Only with wickedness does one cause quarrels Heb. מצה, controversy.
This section is reception history: how the passage was read and kept in the Jewish tradition. Where a reading parts from an essential of the Christian faith, the section says so at that point.
Texts and citation data: Sefaria; each excerpt follows its version’s licence. 3 further sources are cited on this chapter that carry no English text this site may quote or only restate the verse.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| אוֹר־ | ʾor- | [the] light of | H216 → | 121 times |
| צַדִּיקִ֥ים | tzadikim | righteous [people] | H6662 → | 206 times |
| יִשְׂמָ֑ח | yismach | it rejoices | H8055 → | 155 times |
| וְנֵ֖ר | vener | and [the] lamp of | H5216 → | 49 times |
| רְשָׁעִ֣ים | reshaim | wicked [people] | H7563 → | 263 times |
| יִדְעָֽךְ׃ | yidakh | it is extinguished | H1846 → | 9 times |
אוֹר־[the] light of
ʾor-H216 →121 times
צַדִּיקִ֥יםrighteous [people]
tzadikimH6662 →206 times
יִשְׂמָ֑חit rejoices
yismachH8055 →155 times
וְנֵ֖רand [the] lamp of
venerH5216 →49 times
רְשָׁעִ֣יםwicked [people]
reshaimH7563 →263 times
יִדְעָֽךְ׃it is extinguished
yidakhH1846 →9 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 4:18The path of the righteous is like the first gleam of dawn, shining brighter and brighter until midday.
it leads to
- Job 11:17
Your life will be brighter than noonday; its darkness will be like the morning.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- John 8:12
Once again, Jesus spoke to the people and said, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows Me will never walk in the darkness, but will have the light of life.”
- Daniel 12:3
Then the wise will shine like the brightness of the heavens, and those who lead many to righteousness will shine like the stars forever and ever.
- Philippians 2:15
so that you may be blameless and pure, children of God without fault in a crooked and perverse generation, in which you shine as lights in the world
- 2 Corinthians 3:18
And we, who with unveiled faces all reflect the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into His image with intensifying glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit.
- Job 11:17
Through
Psalms 97:11Light shines on the righteous, gladness on the upright in heart.
it leads to
- James 5:7–11
Be patient, then, brothers, until the Lord’s coming. See how the farmer awaits the precious fruit of the soil—how patient he is for the fall and spring rains.
- John 12:46
I have come into the world as a light, so that no one who believes in Me should remain in darkness.
- Proverbs 4:18
The path of the righteous is like the first gleam of dawn, shining brighter and brighter until midday.
- James 5:7–11
Where this verse is studied
On this page
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 and John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763).