Bible Strands
Proverbs 10:30
The righteous will never be shaken, but the wicked will not inhabit the land.
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — The book of Proverbs delivers wisdom instruction to a general audience, contrasting the permanent outcomes of moral and immoral conduct. This verse functions as an antithetical couplet within a sequence of practical warnings and affirmations.
The words — The verse hinges on יִמּוֹט (yi.Mot), literally "he will be shaken," and יִשְׁכְּנוּ (yish.ke.nu), literally "they will dwell." Combined with the negations בַּל (bal) and לֹא (lo), the phrasing establishes a fixed contrast between unshaken stability and permanent non-inhabitation of the land.
The thread — The image of the unshaken righteous appears in Psalm 125:1, which describes those who trust in the LORD as Mount Zion that cannot be moved. The theme of the wicked being permanently excluded from the land runs through Psalm 37:9 and Psalm 37:22, where evildoers are cut off or destroyed.
Why it lands — The text states the outcomes of two divergent paths without offering intermediate conditions: the righteous remain secure, while the wicked do not inhabit the land. A reader must recognize the verse as a descriptive boundary that demands alignment with the path of stability.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Hebrew words
King James Version
The righteous shall never be removed: but the wicked shall not inhabit the earth.
Cross-references
- Psalms 37:22 Surely those He blesses will inherit the land, but the cursed will be destroyed.
- Psalms 125:1 A song of ascents. Those who trust in the LORD are like Mount Zion. It cannot be moved; it abides forever.
- Psalms 37:9 For the evildoers will be cut off, but those who hope in the LORD will inherit the land.
- Psalms 37:28 For the LORD loves justice and will not forsake His saints. They are preserved forever, but the offspring of the wicked will be cut off.
- Proverbs 2:21 For the upright will inhabit the land, and the blameless will remain in it;
- Proverbs 10:25 When the whirlwind passes, the wicked are no more, but the righteous are secure forever.
- Psalms 16:8 I have set the LORD always before me. Because He is at my right hand, I will not be shaken.
- Psalms 112:6 Surely he will never be shaken; the righteous man will be remembered forever.
- Matthew 21:41 “He will bring those wretches to a wretched end,” they replied, “and will rent out the vineyard to other tenants who will give him his share of the fruit at harvest time.”
- 2 Peter 1:10 Therefore, brothers, strive to make your calling and election sure. For if you practice these things you will never stumble,