Proverbs 4:19
New International Version
But the way of the wicked is like deep darkness; they do not know what makes them stumble.

New Living Translation
But the way of the wicked is like total darkness. They have no idea what they are stumbling over.

English Standard Version
The way of the wicked is like deep darkness; they do not know over what they stumble.

Berean Standard Bible
But the way of the wicked is like the darkest gloom; they do not know what makes them stumble.

King James Bible
The way of the wicked is as darkness: they know not at what they stumble.

New King James Version
The way of the wicked is like darkness; They do not know what makes them stumble.

New American Standard Bible
The way of the wicked is like darkness; They do not know over what they stumble.

NASB 1995
The way of the wicked is like darkness; They do not know over what they stumble.

NASB 1977
The way of the wicked is like darkness; They do not know over what they stumble.

Legacy Standard Bible
The way of the wicked is like thick darkness; They do not know over what they stumble.

Amplified Bible
The way of the wicked is like [deep] darkness; They do not know over what they stumble.

Christian Standard Bible
But the way of the wicked is like the darkest gloom; they don’t know what makes them stumble.

Holman Christian Standard Bible
But the way of the wicked is like the darkest gloom; they don’t know what makes them stumble.

American Standard Version
The way of the wicked is as darkness: They know not at what they stumble.

Contemporary English Version
The lifestyle of the wicked is like total darkness, and they will never know what makes them stumble.

English Revised Version
The way of the wicked is as darkness: they know not at what they stumble.

GOD'S WORD® Translation
The way of wicked people is like deep darkness. They do not know what makes them stumble.

Good News Translation
The road of the wicked, however, is dark as night. They fall, but cannot see what they have stumbled over.

International Standard Version
But the way of the wicked is like deep darkness, and they do not know what they are stumbling over.

Majority Standard Bible
But the way of the wicked is like the darkest gloom; they do not know what makes them stumble.

NET Bible
The way of the wicked is like gloomy darkness; they do not know what causes them to stumble.

New Heart English Bible
The way of the wicked is like darkness. They do not know what they stumble over.

Webster's Bible Translation
The way of the wicked is as darkness: they know not at what they stumble.

World English Bible
The way of the wicked is like darkness. They don’t know what they stumble over.
Literal Translations
Literal Standard Version
The way of the wicked [is] as darkness, "" They have not known at what they stumble.

Young's Literal Translation
The way of the wicked is as darkness, They have not known at what they stumble.

Smith's Literal Translation
The way of the unjust as darkness: they shall not know in what they shall stumble.
Catholic Translations
Douay-Rheims Bible
The way of the wicked is darksome: they know not where they fall.

Catholic Public Domain Version
The way of the impious is darkened. They do not know where they may fall.

New American Bible
The way of the wicked is like darkness; they do not know on what they stumble.

New Revised Standard Version
The way of the wicked is like deep darkness; they do not know what they stumble over.
Translations from Aramaic
Lamsa Bible
The way of the wicked is like darkness; they do not know at what they stumble.

Peshitta Holy Bible Translated
But the way of the wicked is darkness and they do not know on what they stumble.
OT Translations
JPS Tanakh 1917
The way of the wicked is as darkness; They know not at what they stumble.

Brenton Septuagint Translation
But the ways of the ungodly are dark; they know not how they stumble.

Additional Translations ...
Audio Bible



Context
A Father's Instruction
18The path of the righteous is like the first gleam of dawn, shining brighter and brighter until midday. 19But the way of the wicked is like the darkest gloom; they do not know what makes them stumble. 20My son, pay attention to my words; incline your ear to my sayings.…

Cross References
John 12:35
Then Jesus told them, “For a little while longer, the Light will be among you. Walk while you have the Light, so that darkness will not overtake you. The one who walks in the darkness does not know where he is going.

1 John 2:11
But whoever hates his brother is in the darkness and walks in the darkness. He does not know where he is going, because the darkness has blinded his eyes.

Isaiah 59:9-10
Therefore justice is far from us, and righteousness does not reach us. We hope for light, but there is darkness; for brightness, but we walk in gloom. / Like the blind, we feel our way along the wall, groping like those without eyes. We stumble at midday as in the twilight; among the vigorous we are like the dead.

Matthew 15:14
Disregard them! They are blind guides. If a blind man leads a blind man, both will fall into a pit.”

Ephesians 4:18
They are darkened in their understanding and alienated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them due to the hardness of their hearts.

2 Corinthians 4:4
The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so they cannot see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.

Job 18:5-6
Indeed, the lamp of the wicked is extinguished; the flame of his fire does not glow. / The light in his tent grows dark, and the lamp beside him goes out.

Isaiah 8:20
To the law and to the testimony! If they do not speak according to this word, they have no light of dawn.

Jeremiah 23:12
“Therefore their path will become slick; they will be driven away into the darkness and fall into it. For I will bring disaster upon them in the year of their punishment,” declares the LORD.

Psalm 82:5
They do not know or understand; they wander in the darkness; all the foundations of the earth are shaken.

Isaiah 60:2
For behold, darkness covers the earth, and thick darkness is over the peoples; but the LORD will rise upon you, and His glory will appear over you.

2 Peter 2:17
These men are springs without water and mists driven by a storm. Blackest darkness is reserved for them.

Matthew 6:23
But if your eyes are bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light within you is darkness, how great is that darkness!

Romans 1:21
For although they knew God, they neither glorified Him as God nor gave thanks to Him, but they became futile in their thinking and darkened in their foolish hearts.

Isaiah 5:20
Woe to those who call evil good and good evil, who turn darkness to light and light to darkness, who replace bitter with sweet and sweet with bitter.


Treasury of Scripture

The way of the wicked is as darkness: they know not at what they stumble.

1 Samuel 2:9
He will keep the feet of his saints, and the wicked shall be silent in darkness; for by strength shall no man prevail.

Job 5:14
They meet with darkness in the daytime, and grope in the noonday as in the night.

Job 12:25
They grope in the dark without light, and he maketh them to stagger like a drunken man.

Jump to Previous
Cause Dark Darkness Deep Fall Makes Sinners Stumble Way Wicked
Jump to Next
Cause Dark Darkness Deep Fall Makes Sinners Stumble Way Wicked
Proverbs 4
1. persuades to wisdom
14. and to show wickedness
20. He exhorts to sanctification














But the way of the wicked
This phrase sets a stark contrast between the righteous and the wicked, a common theme in Proverbs. The "way" refers to the path or lifestyle one chooses. In Hebrew, "derek" (דֶּרֶךְ) signifies a road or course of life. The "wicked" (רְשָׁעִים, "reshayim") are those who live in opposition to God's commandments. Historically, the wicked are often depicted as those who reject divine wisdom, choosing instead a path of moral and spiritual darkness. This path is not just a physical journey but a metaphor for the choices and actions that lead away from God's light.

is like the darkest gloom
The imagery of "darkest gloom" evokes a sense of profound obscurity and confusion. The Hebrew word "אֲפֵלָה" ("aphelah") can be translated as thick darkness or deep shadow. This darkness is not merely the absence of light but a tangible, oppressive force that envelops the wicked. In biblical times, darkness was often associated with chaos, evil, and judgment. The comparison suggests that the wicked are enveloped in a spiritual blindness, unable to perceive truth or righteousness.

they do not know
This phrase highlights the ignorance and lack of awareness that characterizes the wicked. The Hebrew verb "יָדַע" ("yada") means to know or perceive. In this context, it underscores a willful ignorance, a refusal to acknowledge or understand the consequences of one's actions. This lack of knowledge is not due to a lack of information but a deliberate choice to reject wisdom and understanding.

what makes them stumble
The word "stumble" (כָּשַׁל, "kashal") implies a fall or failure, often due to a hidden obstacle. In the spiritual sense, it represents moral and ethical failings. The wicked are unaware of the stumbling blocks in their path because they are blinded by their own sin and rebellion. This ignorance leads to repeated failures and ultimately, spiritual ruin. The verse serves as a warning that without the light of God's wisdom, one is doomed to stumble through life, unable to find true direction or purpose.

(19) The way of the wicked is as darkness.--By refusing to "walk in the light" of God's Word, and conscience (1John 1:7), the light that was in them has become darkness (Matthew 6:23); they know not whither they are going (John 12:35), and stumble (Proverbs 11:10) over difficulties which in the light they might have avoided.

Verse 19. - The way of the wicked is as darkness. In contrast with the path of the just is the way of the wicked, which is described as darkness itself: i.e. so deeply enveloped in gloom that the wicked are not able even to see the obstacles and impediments against which they stumble, and which are the cause of their ruin. It is a way dark throughout - a via tenebrosa (Vulgate) - terminating at length in "the blackness of darkness." As light is emblematical of knowledge, holiness, and joy, so darkness represents ignorance, unholiness, and misery (see Isaiah 8:22). Darkness (aphelah); strictly, thick darkness, midnight gloom, the entire absence of light. It is the word used of the plague of "thick darkness" that settled over all the land of Egypt, even a darkness that "might be felt," when the Egyptians "saw not one another, nor any arose from his place for three days" (Exodus 10:21-23). It occurs again in ch. 7:9, "in the black and dark night." In this darkness the wicked cannot help but stumble. Compare our Lord's teaching, "But if a man walk in the night, he stumbleth, because there is no light in him" (John 11:10; cf. 12:36). The expression, they know not at what they stumble, carries with it the idea that they are so ignorant that they neither know wickedness as wickedness, nor do they apprehend the destruction which it involves. "Sins, however great and detestable they may be, are looked upon as trivial, or as not sins at all, when men get accustomed to them" (St. Augustine, 'Enchiridion,' cap. 80). On "stumble" (kashal), see ver. 12; and on the destruction of the wicked implied in the stumbling, see Proverbs 1:27, seq., 2:18-22; 3:35.

Parallel Commentaries ...


Hebrew
But the way
דֶּ֣רֶךְ (de·reḵ)
Noun - common singular construct
Strong's 1870: A road, a course of life, mode of action

of the wicked
רְ֭שָׁעִים (rə·šā·‘îm)
Adjective - masculine plural
Strong's 7563: Wrong, an, bad person

is like the darkest gloom;
כָּֽאֲפֵלָ֑ה (kā·’ă·p̄ê·lāh)
Preposition-k, Article | Noun - feminine singular
Strong's 653: Duskiness, misfortune, concealment

they do not
לֹ֥א (lō)
Adverb - Negative particle
Strong's 3808: Not, no

know
יָ֝דְע֗וּ (yā·ḏə·‘ū)
Verb - Qal - Perfect - third person common plural
Strong's 3045: To know

what
בַּמֶּ֥ה (bam·meh)
Preposition-b | Interrogative
Strong's 4100: What?, what!, indefinitely what

makes them stumble.
יִכָּשֵֽׁלוּ׃ (yik·kā·šê·lū)
Verb - Nifal - Imperfect - third person masculine plural
Strong's 3782: To totter, waver, to falter, stumble, faint, fall


Links
Proverbs 4:19 NIV
Proverbs 4:19 NLT
Proverbs 4:19 ESV
Proverbs 4:19 NASB
Proverbs 4:19 KJV

Proverbs 4:19 BibleApps.com
Proverbs 4:19 Biblia Paralela
Proverbs 4:19 Chinese Bible
Proverbs 4:19 French Bible
Proverbs 4:19 Catholic Bible

OT Poetry: Proverbs 4:19 The way of the wicked is like (Prov. Pro Pr)
Proverbs 4:18
Top of Page
Top of Page