Solomon has at this time in his proverbs well defined the righteous and the wicked. Simply looking at what each type of person loves and fears assists in understanding and believing this verse. “The fear of the LORD adds length to life, but the years of the wicked are cut short.” The things each believe in and does either extend their life or shorten it.
The righteous fear the Lord (also in 1:7, 29; 2:5, etc.). The righteous will not join the sinner and the violent (1:10-19; 2:12-15) and keep away from immorality with the adulteress and prostitute (2:16-20), they are full of love and faith (3:3), they trust in and acknowledge the Lord (3:5-6), they have sound judgment and discernment (3:21), they are humble (3:33), the Lord is their confidence (3:26), they are generous (3:27), and they are teachable (9:9).
The wicked are the opposite. They do not fear the Lord. They shun him. They are violet and lay with the immoral adulterous and prostitutes. They do not love others and do not have faith in God. They trust and honor only themselves. They lack sound judgment and discernment. They are proud and boast in their deeds and self. They have confidence in only themselves. They hoard and steal. They are not teachable.
The things that the righteous love and fear adds length to their life. While the things that the wicked love and fear shorten their life.
