Proverbs 4:7
in Proverbs 4Wisdom is supreme; so acquire wisdom. And whatever you may acquire, gain understanding.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Wisdom is the principal thing; therefore get wisdom; Yea, with all thy getting get understanding.
KJV
Wisdom is the principal thing; therefore get wisdom: and with all thy getting get understanding.
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This verse in Proverbs 4
Commentary
8 notes on this verseWisdom is the principal thing,.... Or principal, one; the principal of persons and things; the principal of persons, angels or men: Christ is superior to angels, having a more excellent name and nature than they; he is the God, the Creator, and head of them, and is above them in the human nature; he is superior to men, to the greatest of men, he is King of kings and Lord of lords, and to the best of men the saints.
This site's exposition
forget it not; neither decline from the words of my mouth
on Proverbs 4:5-9
Wisdom is personified as a bride to be gotten and embraced, exalted so that she in turn exalts the one who holds her fast. The ornament of grace and the crown of glory promised in verse nine read as court language, the very honors a king bestows, and the commentators note that this fits a father instructing a son born to reign. Forsake her not is paired with love her, so that the pursuit of wisdom becomes as much affection as duty.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers1 voice
A commentator
Desert FathersThe Desert Fathers, Sayings of the Early Christian Monks · Written before 500.
proposed
A brother asked a hermit, 'Abba, look here, I ask my elders questions, and they talk to me for the good of my soul, and I remember nothing they say. Is it any use asking questions when I gain nothing by it? I am deeply …
The Medieval Church1 voice
And in all your possessions acquire prudence. In all the good things you possess, remember to act wisely, or in all your possessions acquire prudence. Contemn all the earthly possessions you hold; provided you acquire wisdom. This is what Solomon himself did, when given the …
The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices
It is the whole of man, Eccl. xii. It is that which recommends us to God, which beautifies the soul, which enables us to answer the end of our creation, to live to some good purpose in the world, and to get to heaven at last; and therefore it is the principal thing. [2.] It has reason and equity on its side (
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — unbalanced-parens
(1.) By way of precept and exhortation. David, in teaching his son, though he was a child of great capacity and quick apprehension, yet to show that he was in good earnest, and to affect his child the more with what he said, expressed himself with great warmth and importunity, and inculcated the same thing again and again.
Pray for it, take pains for it, give diligence in the use of all appointed means to attain it. Wait at wisdom's gate, Prov. viii. Get dominion over thy corruptions, which are thy follies: get possession of wise principles and the habits of wisdom.
1 more voice on this verse
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
Wisdom is the principal thing - ראשית חכמה reshith chochmah, “wisdom is the principle.” It is the punctum saliens in all religion to know the true God, and what he requires of man, and for what he has made man; and to this must be added, under the Christian dispensation, to know Jesus Christ whom he hath sent, and for what end He was sent, the necessity of his being sent, and the nature of that salvation which he has bought by his own blood.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| רֵאשִׁ֣ית | reshit | [is] first | H7225 → | 51 times |
| חָ֭כְמָה | chokhmah | wisdom | H2451 → | 153 times |
| קְנֵ֣ה | keneh | acquire | H7069 → | 84 times |
| חָכְמָ֑ה | chokhmah | wisdom | H2451 → | 153 times |
| וּבְכָל־ | uvekhol- | and by all | H3605 → | 5413 times |
| קִ֝נְיָנְךָ֗ | kinyanecha | acquisition your | H7075 → | |
| קְנֵ֣ה | keneh | acquire | H7069 → | 84 times |
| בִינָֽה׃ | vinah | understanding | H998 → | 38 times |
רֵאשִׁ֣ית[is] first
reshitH7225 →51 times
חָ֭כְמָהwisdom
chokhmahH2451 →153 times
קְנֵ֣הacquire
kenehH7069 →84 times
חָכְמָ֑הwisdom
chokhmahH2451 →153 times
וּבְכָל־and by all
uvekhol-H3605 →5413 times
קִ֝נְיָנְךָ֗acquisition your
kinyanechaH7075 →
קְנֵ֣הacquire
kenehH7069 →84 times
בִינָֽה׃understanding
vinahH998 →38 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
Philippians 3:8More than that, I count all things as loss compared to the surpassing excellence of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have lost all things. I consider them rubbish, that I may…
it leads to
- Jeremiah 9:23–24
This is what the LORD says: “Let not the wise man boast in his wisdom, nor the strong man in his strength, nor the wealthy man in his riches.
- Romans 8:18
I consider that our present sufferings are not comparable to the glory that will be revealed in us.
- Acts 20:24
But I consider my life of no value to me, if only I may finish my course and complete the ministry I have received from the Lord Jesus—the ministry of testifying to the good…
- Philippians 3:7
But whatever was gain to me I count as loss for the sake of Christ.
- John 17:3
Now this is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom You have sent.
- Jeremiah 9:23–24
Through
Proverbs 23:23Invest in truth and never sell it—in wisdom and instruction and understanding.
it leads to
- Proverbs 18:15
The heart of the discerning acquires knowledge, and the ear of the wise seeks it out.
- Matthew 13:44
The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field. When a man found it, he hid it again, and in his joy he went and sold all he had and bought that…
- Psalms 119:72
The law from Your mouth is more precious to me than thousands of pieces of gold and silver.
- Proverbs 18:15
Where this verse is studied
By subject
Wisdom35 verses
On this page
About Proverbs
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Bede, Commentary on Proverbs; Charles Bridges, An Exposition of the Book of Proverbs; Desert Fathers, The Desert Fathers, Sayings of the Early Christian Monks; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.