When the righteous rejoice, ¹  great is the glory, ²  but when the wicked rise to power, people are sought out. ³ 

biblegateway Pro 28:12

When the righteous triumph, there is great glory, But when the wicked rise, men hide themselves.

When the righteous triumph, there is great rejoicing, but when the wicked come to power, people hide themselves.

When righteous people triumph, there is great glory, but when wicked people rise, people hide themselves.

biblegateway Pro 28:12

When the righteous triumph, there is great elation; but when the wicked rise to power, men go into hiding.

When the righteous triumph, there is great glory, but when the wicked rise, people hide themselves.

bibleoremus Pro 28:12

When the righteous triumph, there is great glory, but when the wicked prevail, people go into hiding.

When the just triumph, morale is high, but when the wicked come to the top, the people are downtrodden.

biblegateway Pro 28:12

When the righteous rejoice, there is great glory; But when the wicked arise, men hide themselves.

When righteous [men] do rejoice, [there is] great glory: but when the wicked rise, a man is hidden.

biblegateway Pro 28:12

When the righteous rejoice, ¹  great is the glory, ²  but when the wicked rise to power, people are sought out. ³ 

¹ tn The form בַּעֲלֹץ (ba’alots) is the infinitive construct with the preposition indicating a temporal clause (“when…”); the “righteous” are the subject of this clause (subjective genitive). The word may be taken as a metonymy of adjunct – the righteous exult or rejoice because they are prosperous (cf. NLT “succeed”).

² sn “Glory” here may have the sense of elation and praise.

³ tn The meaning of “sought out” (יְחֻפַּשׂ, yÿkhuppas) indicates that people have gone into hiding. So the development of the ideas for this proverb require in the first line that “rejoice” be connected with “triumph” that means they have come to power; and in the second line that “are sought out” means people have gone into hiding (cf. ASV, NIV, NRSV, NLT). C. H. Toy thinks this is too strained; he offers this rendering: “When the righteous are exalted there is great confidence, but when the wicked come into power men hide themselves” (Proverbs [ICC], 500). For the verb G. R. Driver posits an Arabic cognate hafasa, “prostrated; trampled on” (“Problems in the Hebrew Text of Proverbs,” Bib 32 [1951]: 192-93), which gives a clearer result of wicked rule, but is perhaps unnecessary (e.g., Prov 28:28; 29:2). See J. A. Emerton, “Notes on Some Passages in the Book of Proverbs,” JTS 20 (1969): 202-20.