My Notes
What Does Proverbs 13:21 Mean?
"Evil pursueth sinners: but to the righteous good shall be repayed." The imagery is of evil as a hunter — not something sinners occasionally encounter but something that actively chases them. Evil pursues. It tracks. It follows. The sinner doesn't have to seek out consequences; consequences seek them.
The word "pursueth" (radaph) is a hunting term — to chase, to pursue relentlessly. Evil isn't a passive consequence that sinners stumble into; it's an active force that hunts them down. The sinner running from consequences is being chased by something that won't stop.
The parallel — "good shall be repayed" to the righteous — uses commercial language. "Repayed" (shalam) means to make complete, to compensate, to restore to wholeness. Good doesn't just happen to the righteous; it's repayed to them — as if goodness is a debt the universe owes them for living rightly.
Reflection Questions
- 1.Have you ever experienced evil 'pursuing' you — consequences catching up despite your attempts to outrun them?
- 2.How does the image of evil as a hunter rather than a pothole change your understanding of consequence?
- 3.Do you trust that 'good shall be repayed' to the righteous, even when you can't see it happening?
- 4.What consequences are you currently running from that might catch you anyway?
Devotional
Evil chases sinners. It hunts them. It doesn't wait passively — it pursues actively. You can run from consequences, but they're faster than you and they don't get tired.
This proverb treats evil as a stalker, not a pothole. It's not something you accidentally step in — it's something that follows you, tracks you, finds you wherever you go. The sinner who thinks they've escaped consequence is just in the part of the chase where they can't see the pursuer. It's still coming.
The righteous side of the equation is equally active but in the opposite direction. Good is "repayed" — it's owed to the righteous, like wages earned. The universe treats righteousness as a claim that will be honored. Not immediately, not always visibly, but inevitably. Good is coming because goodness has an account that's being settled.
This isn't karma. It's not the universe self-balancing. It's God — the moral architect of reality — ensuring that evil catches sinners and goodness catches the righteous. The timing is His. The certainty is absolute.
What's pursuing you right now? If you're running from consequences, they're gaining. If you're walking in righteousness, good is accumulating behind you like interest on an investment. The question isn't whether it's coming. The question is what's coming.
Commentary
Trusted original commentary from respected historical Bible scholars and theologians.
Evil pursueth sinners,.... They pursue the evil of sin, and the evil of punishment pursues them, and at last overtakes…
Here see, 1. How unavoidable the destruction of sinners is; the wrath of God pursues them, and all the terrors of that…
Cross References
Related passages throughout Scripture