Proverbs 16:22
in Proverbs 16Understanding is a fountain of life to its possessor, but the discipline of fools is folly.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Understanding is a well-spring of life unto him that hath it; But the correction of fools is their folly.
KJV
Understanding is a wellspring of life unto him that hath it: but the instruction of fools is folly.
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This verse in Proverbs 16
Commentary
4 notes on this verseUnderstanding is a well-spring of life - מקור חיים mekor chaiyim; another allusion to the artery that carries the blood from the heart to distribute it to all the extremities of the body.
This site's exposition
Understanding is a wellspring of life
on Proverbs 16:22-24
Understanding is a wellspring of life to the man who has it, while the instruction fools offer is nothing but folly, the same water and dryness imagery the book uses elsewhere for wisdom and its absence. The heart of the wise teaches his own mouth, training his speech from the inside before a single word is spoken, and adds learning to his lips over time rather than all at once. Pleasant words close the group as honeycomb, sweet to the soul and health to the bones, the chapter's recurring claim that a good word does a real, physical good to the body that hears it.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
Understanding is a wellspring of life unto him that hath it,.... "The master" or "owner of it" (k). As he only is to whom an understanding is given; for, whatever understanding men may have of natural and civil things, they have none of things spiritual and divine, unless it be given them by Christ.
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
Wellspring of life - Compare Pro 10:11 note. “the instruction of fools” Not that which they give, but that which they receive. Compare Pro 14:24. “Folly” is its own all-sufficient punishment.
The words behind it
7 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| מְק֣וֹר | mekor | [is] a fountain of | H4726 → | 18 times |
| חַ֭יִּים | chaiyim | life | H2416 → | 498 times |
| שֵׂ֣כֶל | sekhel | [the] prudence of | H7922 → | 16 times |
| בְּעָלָ֑יו | bealav | owners its | H1167 → | 84 times |
| וּמוּסַ֖ר | umusar | and [the] discipline of | H4148 → | 50 times |
| אֱוִלִ֣ים | ʾevilim | fools | H191 → | 26 times |
| אִוֶּֽלֶת׃ | ʾivelet | [is] foolishness | H200 → | 25 times |
מְק֣וֹר[is] a fountain of
mekorH4726 →18 times
חַ֭יִּיםlife
chaiyimH2416 →498 times
שֵׂ֣כֶל[the] prudence of
sekhelH7922 →16 times
בְּעָלָ֑יוowners its
bealavH1167 →84 times
וּמוּסַ֖רand [the] discipline of
umusarH4148 →50 times
אֱוִלִ֣יםfools
ʾevilimH191 →26 times
אִוֶּֽלֶת׃[is] foolishness
ʾiveletH200 →25 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
John 6:63The Spirit gives life; the flesh profits nothing. The words I have spoken to you are spirit and they are life.
it leads to
- Galatians 5:25
Since we live by the Spirit, let us walk in step with the Spirit.
- Hebrews 4:12
For the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it pierces even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow. It judges the thoughts and intentions of the heart.
- Psalms 119:93
I will never forget Your precepts, for by them You have revived me.
- John 6:68
Simon Peter replied, “Lord, to whom would we go? You have the words of eternal life.
- Psalms 119:130
The unfolding of Your words gives light; it informs the simple.
- Galatians 5:25
Through
John 5:24Truly, truly, I tell you, whoever hears My word and believes Him who sent Me has eternal life and will not come under judgment. Indeed, he has crossed over from death to life.
it leads to
- John 3:36
Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life. Whoever rejects the Son will not see life. Instead, the wrath of God remains on him.”
- John 6:40
For it is My Father’s will that everyone who looks to the Son and believes in Him shall have eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day.”
- 1 John 5:11–13
And this is that testimony: God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son.
- John 3:36
Where this verse is studied
About Proverbs
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Charles Bridges, An Exposition of the Book of Proverbs and John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763).