Proverbs 19:8
in Proverbs 19He who acquires wisdom loves himself; one who safeguards understanding will find success.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
He that getteth wisdom loveth his own soul: He that keepeth understanding shall find good.
KJV
He that getteth wisdom loveth his own soul: he that keepeth understanding shall find good.
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This verse in Proverbs 19
Commentary
3 notes on this verseA commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
Wisdom - literally, as in the margin, to gain a “heart,” i. e., the higher faculties both of reason and feeling, is identical with gaining wisdom, i. e., the faculty which seeks and finds.
This site's exposition
Wealth maketh many friends
on Proverbs 19:4-9
The poor-and-friends cluster opens plainly: wealth makes many friends while the poor is separated even from his own neighbour, a social fact the book states without approving. A false witness draws the same two-fold sentence twice in the cluster, unpunished and perishing, the repetition at verses 5 and 9 read by the bench as deliberate emphasis rather than careless doubling. The poor man's brothers hating him and his friends going far, pursued with words that go unanswered, is the cluster's hardest line, and getting wisdom is named loving one's own soul against that backdrop.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
He that getteth wisdom loveth his own soul,.... Wisdom and knowledge in things natural and civil; and especially in things divine, spiritual, and evangelical; particularly he that gets Christ, the Wisdom of God, and a saving knowledge of him; see Pro 3:
The words behind it
8 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| קֹֽנֶה־ | koneh- | [one who] acquires | H7069 → | 84 times |
| לֵּ֭ב | lev | heart | H3820 → | 595 times |
| אֹהֵ֣ב | ʾohev | [is] loving | H157 → | 211 times |
| נַפְשׁ֑וֹ | nafsho | own self his | H5315 → | 754 times |
| שֹׁמֵ֥ר | shomer | [one who] keeps | H8104 → | 468 times |
| תְּ֝בוּנָ֗ה | tevunah | understanding | H8394 → | 42 times |
| לִמְצֹא־ | limtzo'- | [is] to find | H4672 → | 455 times |
| טֽוֹב׃ | tov | good | H2896 → | 538 times |
קֹֽנֶה־[one who] acquires
koneh-H7069 →84 times
לֵּ֭בheart
levH3820 →595 times
אֹהֵ֣ב[is] loving
ʾohevH157 →211 times
נַפְשׁ֑וֹown self his
nafshoH5315 →754 times
שֹׁמֵ֥ר[one who] keeps
shomerH8104 →468 times
תְּ֝בוּנָ֗הunderstanding
tevunahH8394 →42 times
לִמְצֹא־[is] to find
limtzo'-H4672 →455 times
טֽוֹב׃good
tovH2896 →538 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
1 Peter 3:10For, “Whoever would love life and see good days must keep his tongue from evil and his lips from deceitful speech.
it leads to
- Psalms 34:12–16
Who is the man who delights in life, who desires to see good days?
- James 1:26
If anyone considers himself religious and yet does not bridle his tongue, he deceives his heart and his religion is worthless.
- 1 Peter 2:1
Rid yourselves, therefore, of all malice, deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and slander.
- 1 Peter 2:22
“He committed no sin, and no deceit was found in His mouth.”
- Psalms 34:12–16
Through
Proverbs 3:18She is a tree of life to those who embrace her, and those who lay hold of her are blessed.
it leads to
- Proverbs 11:30
The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life, and he who wins souls is wise.
- Revelation 2:7
He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To the one who overcomes, I will grant the right to eat from the tree of life in the…
- Proverbs 11:30
Through
Proverbs 4:6Do not forsake wisdom, and she will preserve you; love her, and she will guard you.
it leads to
- 2 Thessalonians 2:10
and with every wicked deception directed against those who are perishing, because they refused the love of the truth that would have saved them.
- 2 Thessalonians 2:10
Through
Proverbs 16:20Whoever heeds instruction will find success, and blessed is he who trusts in the LORD.
it leads to
- Jeremiah 17:7–8
But blessed is the man who trusts in the LORD, whose confidence is in Him.
- Jeremiah 17:7–8
About Proverbs
This page draws on Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Franz Delitzsch, Biblical Commentary on the Proverbs of Solomon; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament and John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763).