Proverbs 24:22
20 For the evil man has no future; the lamp of the wicked will be extinguished.
21 My son, fear the LORD and the king, and do not associate with the rebellious.
For they will bring sudden destruction. Who knows what ruin they can bring?
23 These also are sayings of the wise: To show partiality in judgment is not good.
24 Whoever tells the guilty, “You are innocent”— peoples will curse him, and nations will denounce him;
Do read the surrounding verses too, because the context often says more than a single verse.
Compare
- BSB
- For they will bring sudden destruction. Who knows what ruin they can bring?
- KJV
- For their calamity shall rise suddenly; and who knoweth the ruin of them both?
- WEB
- for their calamity will rise suddenly. Who knows what destruction may come from them both?
- ASV
- For their calamity shall rise suddenly; And the destruction from them both, who knoweth it?
- DARBY
- For their calamity shall rise suddenly; and who knoweth the ruin of them both?
- BLB
- for suddenly their downfall will arise, and the ruin of them both—who knows?
- ÅB
- for ulykken kommer brått over dem, og ødeleggelsen fra dem begge[^2] -- hvem kjenner den?
- OTB
- for deres ulykke vil komme plutselig, og hvem vet hvilken ødeleggelse de kan bringe?
- B1930
- for ulykken kommer brått over dem, og ødeleggelsen fra dem begge - hvem kjenner den?
Study notes (Tyndale)
Original text and word study
Cross references
Numbers 16:31–35
As soon as Moses had finished saying all this, the ground beneath them split open,
Read in contextPsalms 90:11
Who knows the power of Your anger? Your wrath matches the fear You are due.
Read in context2 Samuel 18:7–8
There the people of Israel were defeated by David’s servants, and the slaughter was great that day—twenty thousand men.
Read in contextHosea 5:11
Ephraim is oppressed, crushed in judgment, for he is determined to follow worthless idols.
Read in context2 Chronicles 13:16–17
So the Israelites fled before Judah, and God delivered them into their hands.
Read in contextProverbs 16:14
The wrath of a king is a messenger of death, but a wise man will pacify it.
Read in contextHosea 13:10–11
Where is your king now to save you in all your cities, and the rulers to whom you said, “Give me a king and princes”?
Read in contextProverbs 20:2
The terror of a king is like the roar of a lion; whoever provokes him forfeits his own life.
Read in context