Proverbs 10:7

The memory of the just is blessed: but the name of the wicked shall rot.

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Word by word — the Hebrew

Word	Hebrew	Strong’s	Meaning
memory	זֵ֣כֶר Ze.kher	H2143	a memento · noun, common masculine singular construct
just	צַ֭דִּיק Tza.dik	H6662	just · adjective, masculine singular absolute
blessed	לִבְרָכָ֑ה liv.ra.Khah	H1293	benediction · preposition + noun, common feminine singular absolute
name	וְשֵׁ֖ם ve.Shem	H8034	an appellation · conjunction + noun, common masculine singular construct
wicked	רְשָׁעִ֣ים re.sha.'Im	H7563	morally wrong · noun, common masculine plural absolute
rot	יִרְקָֽב yir.Kav	H7537	to decay (as by worm-eating) · verb, qal imperfect, 3rd person masculine singular

Strong's Exhaustive Concordance (James Strong, 1890/1894), public domain; digitized by Open Scriptures (CC BY-SA). KJV word tagging: eBible.org (public domain). Original-language text, parsing and brief lexicon: STEPBible.org data from Tyndale House, Cambridge (CC BY 4.0).

Cross-references

Psalms 112:6 Surely he shall not be moved for ever: the righteous shall be in everlasting remembrance.
Luke 1:48 For he hath regarded the low estate of his handmaiden: for, behold, from henceforth all generations shall call me blessed.
Mark 14:9 Verily I say unto you, Wheresoever this gospel shall be preached throughout the whole world, this also that she hath done shall be spoken of…
Psalms 109:13 Let his posterity be cut off; and in the generation following let their name be blotted out.
2 Chronicles 24:16 And they buried him in the city of David among the kings, because he had done good in Israel, both toward God, and toward his house.
Psalms 109:15 Let them be before the LORD continually, that he may cut off the memory of them from the earth.
Job 18:17 His remembrance shall perish from the earth, and he shall have no name in the street.
Psalms 9:5-6 Thou hast rebuked the heathen, thou hast destroyed the wicked, thou hast put out their name for ever and ever.

Cross-references from OpenBible.info (CC BY), in the lineage of the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain).

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Proverbs 10:7

Both the just and the wicked, when their days are fulfilled, must die. Between their bodies in the grave thee is no visible difference; between the souls of the one and the other, in the world of spirits, thee is a vast difference, and so there is, or ought to be, between their memories, which survive them. I. Good men are and ought to be well spoken of when they are gone; it is one of the blessings that comes upon the head of the just, even when their head is laid. Blessed men leave behind them blessed memories. 1. It is part of the dignity of the saints, especially those who excel in virtue and are eminently useful, that they are remembered with respect when they are dead. Their good name,…

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Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Proverbs 10:7

blessed--literally, "for a blessing," or praise. shall rot--literally, "be worm-eaten," useless and disgusting.

John Gill on Proverbs 10:7

The memory of the just is blessed,.... Men to whom he has been useful, either in temporals or spirituals, bless him, or wish all blessings to him while alive, whenever they make mention of his name; and after death they speak well of him, and pronounce him blessed; for such are had in everlasting remembrance; the memory of them is sweet and precious; their name is famous and valuable, and always spoken of with honour and commendation; see Psalm 112:6. The Jewish writers take it for a command, and render it, "let the memory of the just be blessed"; and say, that he that transgresses it breaks an affirmative precept; they make an abbreviation of the word by the initial letters, and join them t…

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Keil & Delitzsch on Proverbs 10:7

Thus, as Pro 10:6 says how it goes with the righteous and the wicked in this life, so this verse tells how it fares with them after death: The memory of the righteous remains in blessings, And the name of the godless rots. The tradition regarding the writing of זכר with five (זכר) or six points (זכר) is doubtful (vid., Heidenheim in his ed. of the Pentateuch, Mer Enajim, under Exo 17:14); the Cod. 1294 and old printed copies have here זכר. Instead of לברכה, יברך might be used; the phrase היה לברכה (opp. היה לקללה, often used by Jeremiah), subordinate to the substantival clause, paraphrases the passive, for it expresses a growing to something, and thus the entrance into a state of endurance.…

The Church Fathers

"The memory of the just man will be praised." But he did not say this because he meant that the departed souls are helped by our praise. He said it because those who praise the departed derive the greatest benefits from remembering them. Since, therefore, we have so much to gain from keeping their memory sacred, let us not reject the wise man's words but rather let us heed them.
— John Chrysostom, AGAINST THE ANOMOEANS, HOMILY 6:3

The memory of the righteous is a blessing, etc. And in this life, the good praise the good, whether living or dead; but they detest the actions and name of the wicked. In the future life, the righteous live in God's praises, but the honor, name, and praises of the reprobate are changed into putrid torments of hell, where their worm does not die, and their fire is not quenched (Isaiah 66).
— Bede, Commentary on Proverbs

Those who are humble should thank God and remain in humility to the end of their lives. Thus, the blessing of the angels and patriarchs and prophets and apostles and all the Scriptures will come upon them, as is given to all who persevere in humility. With those blessings they will reach eternal rewards, while there will be fulfilled in them the words "The blessing of the Lord is upon the head of the just."
— Caesarius of Arles, SERMON 48:6

The Church Fathers: public-domain translations (Ante-Nicene and Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers), verse-indexed by SermonIndex (CC BY 4.0).

Dictionary and topics

Poetry — Has been well defined as “the measured language of emotion.” Hebrew poetry deals almost exclusively with the great question of man’s relation to God. “Guilt, condemnation, punishment, pardon,…
Proverbs, Book of — A collection of moral and philosophical maxims of a wide range of subjects presented in a poetic form. This book sets forth the “philosophy of practical life. It is the sign to us that the Bible does…
Death Of The Wicked, The · The remembrance of them perishes in — The remembrance of them perishes in

Dictionary: Easton's (1897) and Smith's (1863), public domain. Topics: Nave's Topical Bible (1896) and Torrey's Topical Textbook (1897), public domain. Both as parsed by NEUU (CC BY 4.0).

Proverbs 10:7

Word by word — the Hebrew

Cross-references

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Proverbs 10:7

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Proverbs 10:7

John Gill on Proverbs 10:7

Keil & Delitzsch on Proverbs 10:7

The Church Fathers

Dictionary and topics

Proverbs 10:7

Word by word — the Hebrew

Cross-references

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Proverbs 10:7

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Proverbs 10:7

John Gill on Proverbs 10:7

Keil & Delitzsch on Proverbs 10:7

The Church Fathers

Dictionary and topics

Tyndale Open Study Notes on Proverbs 10:7

Rashi on Proverbs 10:7