Proverbs 23:17-18 Let not thine heart envy sinners: but be thou in the fear of the LORD all the day long. For surely there is an end; and thine expectation shall not be cut off.
‘For surely there is an end; and thine expectation shall not be cut off.’ This verse gives the reason for rejecting envy and holding fast to the fear of the Lord: there is a certain future outcome. The prosperity of sinners is temporary, but the future of the righteous is secure. “There is an end” points to the outcome – the conclusion of life and ultimately the judgment of God. What appears successful now will be revealed for what it truly is in the end.
In contrast, the expectation of the righteous is not cut off. Hope in God is not empty optimism; it is a secure, covenantal expectation rooted in God’s promises. While the world’s rewards fade, the hope of the godly extends beyond present life into eternity. This includes both present spiritual stability and future eternal reward.
The New Testament echoes this perspective: the true beauty and inheritance of the godly is “incorruptible, undefiled, and that fadeth not away” (1Pet. 1:4). What is rooted in God cannot be cancelled by time, circumstance, or death. Therefore, wisdom calls believers to live by long-term reality rather than short-term appearance.
Together, Proverbs 23:16-18 form a progression: Inward integrity (“reins”) produces righteous speech (“lips speak right things”), which is protected by a heart free from envy and grounded in the fear of the Lord, because the future outcome of the righteous is secure and unshakable.
Living the Word 