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 flourish
on Proverbs 29:2-4
"When the righteous flourish, the people rejoice, but when the wicked rule, the people groan" opens a thread on rulers. Verse 3 applies the principle to one household and one son's choices. Verse 4 names what makes or breaks a land: "By justice a king brings stability to the land."
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
Where this verse is studied
On this page
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).
