The wicked is a ransom for the righteous, the treacherous for the upright.
World English Bible
Proverbs 21:18
This verse is examined in more than one Scripture Analysis section. Each lens is shown on its own terms, in the section's own words; GEBible reaches no verdict of its own.
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Examined in Scripture Analysis
Contradictions (2)
Questions where the Bible appears to say two different things, with the passages on each side set together.
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Has there ever been a righteous person?
Job 15:14, Isaiah 64:6, and Romans 3:10 deny anyone is righteous — all our righteousness is as filthy rags, there is none righteous, no, not one. Hebrews 11:4, 2 Peter 2:5-8, Ezekiel 14:14, Luke 1:6, and Matthew 23:35 name specific righteous people — Abel, Noah, Lot, Daniel, Job, Elisabeth, Zacharias.
Critical scholarship: Leans toward reconciliation.
Theology
More on this question
The proposed answers and sources for each reading are on the question page.
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Who (or what) is a ransom for the righteous?
The Bible offers at least four mutually incompatible answers to who or what serves as a ransom for the righteous. Proverbs 21:18 says the wicked are the ransom; the Synoptic ransom logion and the deutero-Pauline pastorals say Jesus is; Proverbs 13:8 says it's a man's riches; and a separate stream from Job, Isaiah, and Romans denies there are any righteous people for whom to pay a ransom in the first place.
Critical scholarship: Leans toward a genuine contradiction.
Theology
More on this question
The proposed answers and sources for each reading are on the question page.
Each section sets the viewpoints side by side; you weigh the evidence. Here, "critical scholarship" means academic study, not a value judgment. How this is built →
Other verses examined for the same kind of question or claim
Within each section, grouped by shared field or question type — not a cross-section comparison.
Cite this page
This citation refers to this GEBible page — the verse and the analysis gathered here. To cite the underlying scholarship, cite those sources directly.
"Proverbs 21:18 — Scripture Analysis" GEBible, https://gebible.app/analysis/verse/proverbs/21/18?version=WEB (retrieved 26 August 2026).