Proverbs 11:27 - Printer Friendly

ESV: Whoever diligently seeks good seeks favor, but evil comes to him who searches for it.

NIV: Whoever seeks good finds favor, but evil comes to one who searches for it.

NASB: One who diligently seeks good seeks favor, But one who seeks evil, evil will come to him.

CSB: The one who searches for what is good seeks favor, but if someone looks for trouble, it will come to him.

NLT: If you search for good, you will find favor; but if you search for evil, it will find you!

KJV: He that diligently seeketh good procureth favour: but he that seeketh mischief, it shall come unto him.

NKJV: He who earnestly seeks good finds favor, But trouble will come to him who seeks evil.

It has been said that those who seek trouble are sure to find it. It is equally true that those who truly seek good will find it (Matthew 7:7–8). In the eternal sense, this is always true. Those who truly want to know and understand God will respond to Him in faith (Matthew 6:33). Those who reject Him will, eventually, be in a state of eternal destruction (Matthew 25:41, 46).

If we look for good in others' lives or seek ways to enrich their lives, we will receive favor from both God and man. However, trouble seekers will receive distress or tragedy. The farmer who withholds his grain to sell it at obscene prices when the public's need is critical will fall into the public's disfavor. Those same people will hold him in high regard if he sells with no thought of waiting until he can exact a higher price (Proverbs 11:26).

Because Jesus always did what pleased His Father, we read in Luke 2:52: "Jesus increased in wisdom and in stature and in favor with God and man." His pursuit of godly things brought Him into goodness. Caleb was 85 when he requested the hill country of Hebron as his inheritance, and Joshua granted Caleb's request because he "wholly followed the LORD" (see Joshua 14:6–14). Psalm 84:11 affirms: "No good thing does [the Lord] withhold from those who walk uprightly." Troublemakers can expect nothing but trouble as the natural consequence of their evil attitude and actions.

Many of the proverbs in this section deal with contrasts between those who are righteous and those who are wicked. Righteous people follow God's will, bring honor and blessing on themselves, and have hope. Evil people disobey God, bring trouble on others, are hated, and their lives lead to disaster.

This continues a long passage filled with Solomon's general, common-sense observations. As in chapter 10, Solomon presents a variety of contrasts. We see distinctions such as those between integrity and dishonesty, trust in wealth and trust in the Lord, wise and foolish talk, true riches and false riches, the blessing of the righteous and the harm caused by the wicked, and the respective rewards of the godly and those who are evil.

Proverbs is best understood in context with the books of Ecclesiastes and Job. In Proverbs, “wisdom” is given in short, simple, general terms. Ecclesiastes represents wisdom based on observation and experience. This often shows how the general principles of the book of Proverbs don’t apply in absolutely every circumstance. Job represents wisdom based on the experience of suffering and injustice. All three come to the conclusion that God does indeed know best, and the most sensible course of action is to follow His will.