Proverbs 13:21
Evil chases sinners, but goodness rewards the righteous.
21 Misfortune pursues sinners, but prosperity rewards the righteous.
Evil chases sinners, but goodness rewards the righteous.
To affirm the moral certainty that evil ultimately pursues sinners while goodness rewards the righteous.
Proverbs 13 is a collection of short, contrastive sayings that train the reader in discernment through repeated two-way outcomes. In the immediate flow, the prior proverb warns that companionship shapes whether one grows wise or comes to harm, preparing for the next saying about the outcomes that follow a moral path. Proverbs 13:21 continues the righteousness/wickedness contrast by personifying consequence: evil chases, good repays. The verse functions as both warning and encouragement, pushing the reader to interpret daily choices as trajectory-setting. The next proverb moves from moral outcomes to generational outcomes (inheritance), widening the horizon of consequences beyond the individual moment. Together these sayings reinforce Proverbs’ consistent patterning: moral character and moral outcomes are linked within God’s order, even when timing varies.
Proverbs presents covenant-shaped wisdom for life under the LORD’s moral order, using concise sayings to form character in the community of God’s people.
Instruction, Speech, Desire, Wealth, and the Way of the Wise
Wisdom receives instruction, guards speech, walks with the wise, handles desire and wealth patiently, and embraces loving discipline, while folly rejects correction and reaps ruin, shame, and hunger.