The Meaning of Proverbs 10:2 Explained

Proverbs 10:2

KJV: Treasures of wickedness profit nothing: but righteousness delivereth from death.

YLT: Treasures of wickedness profit not, And righteousness delivereth from death.

Darby: Treasures of wickedness profit nothing; but righteousness delivereth from death.

ASV: Treasures of wickedness profit nothing; But righteousness delivereth from death.

KJV Reverse Interlinear

Treasures  of wickedness  profit  nothing: but righteousness  delivereth  from death. 

What does Proverbs 10:2 Mean?

Verse Meaning

At face value both statements in this verse may seem untrue. The solution to this puzzling proverb, as well as the solution to many that follow, lies in remembering that Solomon had the whole course of a life in view, not just the immediate consequences of an act or condition. The righteous escape death in that they have greater true riches (as God"s beneficiaries) than the wicked, simply because they are righteous, regardless of their financial condition.

Context Summary

Proverbs 10:1-16 - The Righteous And The Wicked
Wealth has its advantages, which are more than apparent. The rich man's wealth is his strong city, Proverbs 10:15; but the treasures which have been obtained by wickedness are soon dissipated. They profit nothing, Proverbs 10:2. This book contains the striking thought that ill-earned wealth is never gathered for the benefit of the possessor, but rather for the benefit of the righteous, and must be useless until it gets into hands which will use it benevolently and rightly.
But there is another kind of wealth, which will never take wings to fly away, which no moth can corrupt nor thief steal, and which will avail not only here but here-after. Note the antithesis of Proverbs 10:2. If you would increase your wealth, give it away. See Proverbs 10:4.
The covering work of love, referred to in Proverbs 10:12, is emphasized in 1 Corinthians 13:7, r.v., margin, 1 Peter 4:8, and James 5:20. God covers sin, so that the memory of it is obliterated, Ezekiel 33:16. [source]

Chapter Summary: Proverbs 10

1  Proverbs of Solomon: observations of moral virtues, and their contrary vices

What do the individual words in Proverbs 10:2 mean?

Nothing profit Treasures of wickedness but righteousness delivers from death
לֹא־ י֭וֹעִילוּ אוֹצְר֣וֹת רֶ֑שַׁע וּ֝צְדָקָ֗ה תַּצִּ֥יל מִמָּֽוֶת

לֹא־  Nothing 
Parse: Adverb, Negative particle
Root: הֲלֹא 
Sense: not, no.
י֭וֹעִילוּ  profit 
Parse: Verb, Hifil, Imperfect, third person masculine plural
Root: יָעַל  
Sense: (Hiphil) to gain, profit, benefit, avail.
אוֹצְר֣וֹת  Treasures 
Parse: Noun, masculine plural construct
Root: אֹוצָר  
Sense: treasure, storehouse.
רֶ֑שַׁע  of  wickedness 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular
Root: רֶשַׁע  
Sense: wrong, wickedness, guilt.
וּ֝צְדָקָ֗ה  but  righteousness 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Noun, feminine singular
Root: צְדָקָה  
Sense: justice, righteousness.
תַּצִּ֥יל  delivers 
Parse: Verb, Hifil, Imperfect, third person feminine singular
Root: נָצַל  
Sense: to snatch away, deliver, rescue, save, strip, plunder.
מִמָּֽוֶת  from  death 
Parse: Preposition-m, Noun, masculine singular
Root: מָוֶת  
Sense: death, dying, Death (personified), realm of the dead.