Proverbs 11:18

18 A wicked person earns deceptive wages, but the one who sows righteousness reaps a sure reward.

Proverbs 11:18 in Other Translations

18 The wicked worketh a deceitful work: but to him that soweth righteousness shall be a sure reward.

18 The wicked earns deceptive wages, but one who sows righteousness gets a sure reward.

18 Evil people get rich for the moment, but the reward of the godly will last.

18 Bad work gets paid with a bad check; good work gets solid pay.

18 The wicked earneth deceitful wages; But he that soweth righteousness [hath] a sure reward.

18 A wicked person earns dishonest wages, but whoever spreads righteousness earns honest pay.

18 The wicked man earns an empty wage, but the one who sows righteousness, a true reward.

18 Those who do what is wrong really earn nothing. But those who plant what is right will certainly be rewarded.

Proverbs 11:18 Meaning and Commentary

Proverbs 11:18

The wicked worketh a deceitful work
Such a wicked man as before described; that neither enjoys the good things of life he has, nor suffers others to enjoy them; and all to accumulate riches, which are deceitful and perishing; and who abstains from meats, which God has created for use, under a pretence of religion, and so deceives his own soul; and indeed every sin which a wicked man commits is a deceitful work; it promises him that pleasure, or profit, or liberty, which it does not give him, and in the issue is the ruin of him; and so all false doctrines, propagated by deceitful workers, are deceitful works, by which they deceive the simple, and at last themselves; they "obtain a deceitful reward of [their] work", as Gussetius ^F23 renders it; but to him that soweth righteousness;
does acts of beneficence and liberality; see ( 2 Corinthians 9:9 2 Corinthians 9:10 ) ; and all other good works, or works of righteousness, [shall be] a sure reward;
according to what a man sows, and the manner in which he sows, so shall he reap, ( 2 Corinthians 9:6 ) ( Galatians 6:8 ) ; or, "a reward of truth"; instead of being given up to believe a lie, he shall receive the love of the truth, and abide in it, which will bring him to eternal glory and happiness; he being chosen to it through sanctification of the Spirit, and belief of the truth, ( 2 Thessalonians 2:10-13 ) ; and, instead of a deceitful reward, shall have a true, real, solid, and substantial one.

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FOOTNOTES:

F23 Ebr. Comment. p. 692.

Proverbs 11:18 In-Context

16 A kindhearted woman gains honor, but ruthless men gain only wealth.

17 Those who are kind benefit themselves, but the cruel bring ruin on themselves.

18 A wicked person earns deceptive wages, but the one who sows righteousness reaps a sure reward.

19 Truly the righteous attain life, but whoever pursues evil finds death.

20 The LORD detests those whose hearts are perverse, but he delights in those whose ways are blameless.

Cross References

• 1. S Exodus 1:20; S Job 4:8; Hosea 10:12-13