Proverbs 13:22
A good man leaves an inheritance to his children's children, but the wealth of the sinner is stored up for the righteous.
Proverbs 13:22 (NKJV)
A good person leaves an inheritance for their children's children, but a sinner's wealth is stored up for the righteous.
Proverbs 13:22 (NIV)
A good man leaveth an inheritance to his children's children: and the wealth of the sinner is laid up for the just.
Proverbs 13:22 (KJV)
Good people leave an inheritance to their grandchildren, but the sinner's wealth passes to the godly.
Proverbs 13:22 (NLT)
A good man leaves an inheritance to his children's children, but the sinner's wealth is laid up for the righteous.
Proverbs 13:22 (ESV)
A good man leaves an inheritance to his children's children, and the wealth of the sinner is stored up for the righteous.
Proverbs 13:22 (NASB)Scripture taken from the NEW AMERICAN STANDARD BIBLE®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. www.lockman.org
A good man leaves an inheritance [of moral stability and goodness] to his children's children, and the wealth of the sinner [finds its way eventually] to the righteous, for whom it was laid up.
Proverbs 13:22 (AMP)Scripture quotations taken from the Amplified® Bible (AMP), Copyright © 2015 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. www.lockman.org
A good man leaves an inheritance [of moral stability and goodness] to his children's children, and the wealth of the sinner [finds its way eventually] to the righteous, for whom it was laid up.
Proverbs 13:22 (AMPC)Scripture quotations taken from the Amplified® Bible (AMPC), Copyright © 1954, 1962, 1964, 1965, 1987 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. www.lockman.org
A good life gets passed on to the grandchildren; ill-gotten wealth ends up with good people.
Proverbs 13:22 (MSG)Scripture quotations from The Message. Copyright © 1993, 2002, 2018 by Eugene H. Peterson. Used by permission of NavPress. All rights reserved. Represented by Tyndale House Publishers.
New Covenant Meaning
Multigenerational Vision: You Are Building More Than Your Lifetime
The good man of Proverbs 13:22 is not thinking one generation ahead. He is thinking two. He leaves inheritance not just to his children but to his children's children. This is a posture that only makes sense if you believe God's blessing is real and cumulative. Generational thinking about wealth is not greed or hoarding; it is the natural expression of a person who understands that they are a link in a longer chain. In Christ, you are the righteousness of God (2 Corinthians 5:21). That means you qualify as the good man this verse describes. Your identity in Christ positions you to think and build multigenerationally, not just to survive this year.
Wealth Stored Up for the Righteous: A Theological Pattern
The second half of the verse is bold: the wealth of the sinner is stored up for the righteous. The Hebrew tsaphan means to hide, to store away, to lay up in reserve. The same word appears in Psalm 31:19 where God stores up goodness for those who fear Him. This is not a promise that the righteous will acquire wealth by doing nothing. It is a theological declaration about how divine history moves: what appears to be accumulating in the wrong hands has a divine appointment to end up in the right ones. Job had his wealth doubled (Job 42:10). Israel left Egypt loaded with Egypt's wealth (Exodus 12:36). The Canaanite cities with their vineyards and houses went to Israel. The pattern throughout Scripture is consistent: God has appointed wealth for His people.
Both halves of Proverbs 13:22 are identity-rooted, not performance-rooted. The good man leaves inheritance because of who he is, not because he worked hard enough. The wealth goes to the righteous because of who they are, not because they earned a transfer. In Christ, righteousness is already yours (2 Corinthians 5:21). You are already positioned in the category this verse is describing. The question is whether you think and live like it.
Application for Your Life
Start Thinking Two Generations Ahead
The posture of Proverbs 13:22 is multigenerational. The good man is not managing his wealth with only his own comfort in mind. He is stewarding resources with an eye toward grandchildren who may not yet be born. This changes the decisions you make today. It changes how you save, invest, give, and pass on values alongside assets. The inheritance is not just financial; it is a way of life, a relationship with God, a set of values that outlasts any single generation. Start asking: what am I building that will still be standing and producing for my grandchildren's generation?
Recognize Your Position in the Wealth-Transfer Narrative
The second half of Proverbs 13:22 says something that requires faith to receive: wealth stored up by sinners is appointed for the righteous. You are the righteous. That is not a self-righteous claim; it is a New Covenant fact based on 2 Corinthians 5:21 and Romans 5:17. You are not waiting to be worthy of this positioning. The cross already accomplished that. What does this mean practically? It means you can hold your financial future with confidence rather than anxiety. You can be generous without fear of lack. You can trust that what God has appointed for His people will arrive in His timing, and you are one of His people.
Prayer Based on This Verse
Father, I receive my identity as the righteous one You have made me in Christ. I am not working to become worthy of the position this verse describes. I already stand in that position because of what Jesus accomplished for me. I choose to think multigenerationally today. I am not just managing my own present circumstances; I am building something that will outlast me. And I trust Your Word that wealth stored up is divinely appointed for Your people. I am one of Your people. I stand in that with confidence and without anxiety. In Jesus name. Amen.