The Meaning of Proverbs 10:7 Explained

Proverbs 10:7

KJV: The memory of the just is blessed: but the name of the wicked shall rot.

YLT: The remembrance of the righteous is for a blessing, And the name of the wicked doth rot.

Darby: The memory of the righteous man shall be blessed; but the name of the wicked shall rot.

ASV: The memory of the righteous is blessed; But the name of the wicked shall rot.

KJV Reverse Interlinear

The memory  of the just  [is] blessed:  but the name  of the wicked  shall rot. 

What does Proverbs 10:7 Mean?

Context Summary

Proverbs 10:1-16 - The Righteous And The Wicked
Wealth has its advantages, which are more than apparent. The rich man's wealth is his strong city, Proverbs 10:15; but the treasures which have been obtained by wickedness are soon dissipated. They profit nothing, Proverbs 10:2. This book contains the striking thought that ill-earned wealth is never gathered for the benefit of the possessor, but rather for the benefit of the righteous, and must be useless until it gets into hands which will use it benevolently and rightly.
But there is another kind of wealth, which will never take wings to fly away, which no moth can corrupt nor thief steal, and which will avail not only here but here-after. Note the antithesis of Proverbs 10:2. If you would increase your wealth, give it away. See Proverbs 10:4.
The covering work of love, referred to in Proverbs 10:12, is emphasized in 1 Corinthians 13:7, r.v., margin, 1 Peter 4:8, and James 5:20. God covers sin, so that the memory of it is obliterated, Ezekiel 33:16. [source]

Chapter Summary: Proverbs 10

1  Proverbs of Solomon: observations of moral virtues, and their contrary vices

What do the individual words in Proverbs 10:7 mean?

The memory of the righteous [is] blessed but the name of the wicked will rot
זֵ֣כֶר צַ֭דִּיק לִבְרָכָ֑ה וְשֵׁ֖ם רְשָׁעִ֣ים יִרְקָֽב

זֵ֣כֶר  The  memory 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular construct
Root: זֵכֶר 
Sense: memorial, remembrance.
צַ֭דִּיק  of  the 
Parse: Adjective, masculine singular
Root: צַדִּיק  
Sense: just, lawful, righteous.
לִבְרָכָ֑ה  righteous  [is]  blessed 
Parse: Preposition-l, Noun, feminine singular
Root: בְּרָכָה  
Sense: blessing.
וְשֵׁ֖ם  but  the  name 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Noun, masculine singular construct
Root: שֵׁם  
Sense: name.
רְשָׁעִ֣ים  of  the  wicked 
Parse: Adjective, masculine plural
Root: רָשָׁע  
Sense: wicked, criminal.
יִרְקָֽב  will  rot 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Imperfect, third person masculine singular
Root: רָקַב  
Sense: (Qal) to rot.