Paranoid?

(Proverbs 13:21 KJV)  Evil pursueth sinners: but to the righteous good shall be repayed.

When I look at this in the NASB I almost convert to the prosperity gospel. 

(Proverbs 13:21 NAS77)  Adversity pursues sinners, But the righteous will be rewarded with prosperity.

So I look a little deeper.  This is a place where the NASB misses it.  It uses “adversity” (7663a) when most translations use “evil.”  Even the NASB usually translates it “evil.”  To adapt a quote, “Translators:  You can’t live with them and you can’t live without them.”

Here evil is personified like wisdom is throughout Proverbs.  It is out to get you.  This is a place to apply that bit of wisdom that says, “Just because you are paranoid doesn’t mean someone isn’t out to get you.”

That is the bad news. 

The good news is that if you are a follower of Jesus you are no longer classified as a “sinner” (2400) in the sense this verse uses.  You are now a saint, or as Proverbs calls you, “the righteous” (6662).

So?  You are promised persecution for following Jesus but also that evil will not catch you.  Let the evil be paranoid and rejoice in the God of your salvation.