Proverbs 13:9

The light ¹  of the righteous shines brightly, ²  but the lamp ³  of the wicked goes out. ⁴ 

The light of the righteous shines brightly, but the lamp of the wicked is snuffed out.

The light of the righteous rejoices, But the lamp of the wicked goes out.

The life of the godly is full of light and joy, but the sinner’s light is snuffed out.

The lives of good people are brightly lit streets; the lives of the wicked are dark alleys.

There is a glad dawn for the upright man, but the light of the sinner will be put out.

The light of the righteous rejoices, but the lamp of the wicked goes out.

The light of the righteous rejoices, But the lamp of the wicked will be put out.

The light ¹  of the righteous shines brightly, ²  but the lamp ³  of the wicked goes out. ⁴ 

¹ sn The images of “light” and “darkness” are used frequently in scripture. Here “light” is an implied comparison: “light” represents life, joy, and prosperity; “darkness” signifies adversity and death. So the “light of the righteous” represents the prosperous life of the righteous.

² tn The verb יִשְׂמָח (yismah) is normally translated “to make glad; to rejoice.” But with “light” as the subject, it has the connotation “to shine brightly” (see G. R. Driver, “Problems in the Hebrew Text of Proverbs,” Bib 32 [1951]: 180).

³ sn The lamp is an implied comparison as well, comparing the life of the wicked to a lamp that is going to be extinguished.

⁴ tc The LXX adds, “Deceitful souls go astray in sins, but the righteous are pitiful and merciful.”

tn The verb דָּעַךְ (da’akh) means “to go out [in reference to a fire or lamp]; to be extinguished.” The idea is that of being made extinct, snuffed out (cf. NIV, NLT). The imagery may have been drawn from the sanctuary where the flame was to be kept burning perpetually. Not so with the wicked.