Proverbs 10:16

The reward ¹  which the righteous receive ²  is life; the recompense ³  which the wicked receive ⁴  is judgment. ⁵ 

Pr 11:30; Isa 3:10,11; Mt 7:17,18; Mt 12:33,34; Mt 15:19; Joh 6:27; Ro 6:23; 1Co 15:58; Ga 6:7-9; 2Ti 2:17,18; 2Ti 3:13; Heb 6:10

¹ tn Heb “recompense” (so NAB); NASB, NIV “wages.” The noun פְּעֻלַּה (pÿ’ullah) has a two-fold range of meanings: (1) “work; deed” and (2) “reward; recompense” (BDB 821 s.v.). There is a clear correlation between a person’s conduct and its consequences. Rewards are determined by moral choices. What one receives in life depends on the use of gifts and a righteous character.

² tn Heb “the recompense of the righteous.”

³ tn Heb “harvest.” The term תְּבוּאַת (tÿvu’at, “harvest; yield”) is used figuratively here (hypocatastasis), drawing an implied comparison between the agricultural yield of a farmer’s labors with the consequences of the actions of the wicked. They will “reap” (= judgment) what they “sow” (= sin).

⁴ tn Heb “the harvest of the wicked.”

⁵ tn Heb “sin.” The term חַטָּאת (khatta’t, “sin”) functions as a metonymy of cause (= sin) for effect (= punishment). In contrast to the righteous who receive a reward, the wicked receive punishment for their sin (cf. NASB, NIV, NCV). See D. W. Thomas, “The Meaning of חַטָּאת in Proverbs X.16,” JTS 15 (1964): 295-96.