Proverbs 24:16
“For a just man falleth seven times, and riseth up again: but the wicked shall fall into mischief.”
King James Version (KJV)
Read this verse in context with translation switching:
Read Full Chapter →Context
This saying appears among warnings not to envy the wicked or rejoice at an enemy's downfall, contrasting the lasting security of the just with the collapse of the wicked.
What Does Proverbs 24:16 Mean?
Proverbs 24:16 teaches that the mark of a righteous person is not the absence of failure but the resolve to rise again after every fall. The verse openly admits that "a just man falleth seven times" -- the number seven signifying completeness, so this means repeatedly, fully, again and again. Righteousness is not portrayed as a flawless, unbroken record. The just stumble, suffer setbacks, and are knocked down by trouble.
The decisive word is "riseth up again." What distinguishes the righteous is their resilience -- they get back up, over and over, because their lives are anchored in something beyond their own strength. By contrast, "the wicked shall fall into mischief," and their fall is ruinous; they go down and stay down, swept away by calamity. The difference is not that the righteous never fall but that they do not stay fallen. This is a profound encouragement to anyone discouraged by repeated failure: falling does not disqualify you, and a single defeat is not the end of the story. The wise response to a fall is to rise again, trusting that God upholds those who keep turning back to Him. Perseverance, not perfection, marks the path of the righteous.
In the Original Language
The verb "falleth" is "naphal," to fall or be cast down. "Riseth up" is "qum," to arise or stand again, and "seven times" ("sheva") signals completeness rather than a literal count.
Cross References
“when I fall, I shall arise; when I sit in darkness, the LORD shall be a light unto me.”
- Micah 7:8
“Though he fall, he shall not be utterly cast down: for the LORD upholdeth him with his hand.”
- Psalm 37:24
“He that covereth his sins shall not prosper: but whoso confesseth and forsaketh them shall have mercy.”
- Proverbs 28:13
Application
When you fail or suffer a setback, do not stay down -- rise again in trust, knowing that perseverance, not perfection, marks a faithful life.