Proverbs 8:15
in Proverbs 8By me kings reign, and rulers enact just laws;
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
By me kings reign, And princes decree justice.
KJV
By me kings reign, and princes decree justice.
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This verse in Proverbs 8
Commentary
8 notes on this verseBy me kings reign,.... Christ is the Prince of the kings of the earth, the King of kings, and Lord of lords; they are made kings by him, and are under him; he sets them up, and deposes them at pleasure; they have their kingdoms, crowns, and sceptres from him, and are accountable to him. The Syriac version renders it, "for me"; it is for the sake of Christ they reign; and they ought to seek his glory, and the good of his kingdom and interest.
This site's exposition
I wisdom dwell with prudence
on Proverbs 8:12-16
Wisdom keeps company: prudence, counsel, understanding, strength. The fear of the Lord is to hate evil plants the book's motto inside her self-description, and the hate list that follows (pride, arrogancy, the evil way, the froward mouth) makes the fear of the Lord concrete rather than a mood. By me kings reign is the claim that government itself runs on wisdom's credit, which Henry applies in both directions: rulers rule well by her, and rule at all by God's providence.
The record, by era
The Medieval Church1 voice
By me kings reign, etc. He calls apostles kings, or other saints, who know how to rule both themselves first and then the church subject to them well: lawmakers, the authors of both Testaments, and the following writers of the Church; he calls princes and …
The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices
Civil government is a divine institution, and those that are entrusted with the administration of it have their commission from Christ; it is a branch of his kingly office that by him kings reign; from him to whom all judgment is committed their power is derived.
The redeemer is the eternal Word and wisdom, the Logos. He is the Wisdom that speaks to the children of men in the former part of the chapter. All divine revelation passes through his hand, and centres in him; but of him as the personal Wisdom, the second person in the Godhead, in the judgment of many of the ancients, Solomon here speaks,
By me - They rule their kingdoms wisely and justly, by my counsel and assistance. Their injustice is from themselves, but all the good they do, they owe to my conduct.
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
Not only the common life of common men, but the exercise of the highest sovereignty, must have this Wisdom as its ground. Compare with this passage Pro 8:15-21 the teaching of 1Ki 3:5-14. The word rendered “princes” Pro 8:15 is different from that in Pro 8:16; the first might, perhaps, be rendered “rulers.”
1 more voice on this verse
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
By me kings reign - Every wise and prudent king is such through the influence of Divine wisdom. And just laws and their righteous administration come from this source. In this and the following verse five degrees of civil power and authority are mentioned. 1. מלכים melachim, Kings. 2. רזנים rozenim, Consuls. 3. שרים sarim, Princes, Chiefs of the people. 4. נדיבים nedibim, Nobles. And 5. שפטים shophetim, Judges or Civil Magistrates All orders of government are from God. Instead of שפטי ארץ shophetey arets,”judges of the earth,” שפטי צרק shophetey tsedek, “righteous judges,” or “judges of righteousness,” is the reading of one hundred and sixty-two of Kennicott’s and De Rossi’s MSS., both in the text and in the margin, and of several ancient editions. And this is the reading of the Vulgate, the Chaldee, and the Syriac, and should undoubtedly supersede the other.
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
Kings reign with me for the judges and the judgments I teach them.
This section is reception history: how the passage was read and kept in the Jewish tradition. Where a reading parts from an essential of the Christian faith, the section says so at that point.
Texts and citation data: Sefaria; each excerpt follows its version’s licence. 4 further sources are cited on this chapter that carry no English text this site may quote or only restate the verse.
The words behind it
6 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| בִּ֭י | bi | by <the> me | ||
| מְלָכִ֣ים | melakhim | kings | H4428 → | 2525 times |
| יִמְלֹ֑כוּ | yimlokhu | they reign | H4427 → | |
| וְ֝רוֹזְנִ֗ים | veroznim | and rulers | H7336 → | |
| יְחֹ֣קְקוּ | yechokeku | they enact | H2710 → | 19 times |
| צֶֽדֶק׃ | tzedek | righteousness | H6664 → | 119 times |
בִּ֭יby <the> me
bi
מְלָכִ֣יםkings
melakhimH4428 →2525 times
יִמְלֹ֑כוּthey reign
yimlokhuH4427 →
וְ֝רוֹזְנִ֗יםand rulers
veroznimH7336 →
יְחֹ֣קְקוּthey enact
yechokekuH2710 →19 times
צֶֽדֶק׃righteousness
tzedekH6664 →119 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
Matthew 28:18Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to Me.
it leads to
- John 3:35
The Father loves the Son and has placed all things in His hands.
- 1 Peter 3:22
who has gone into heaven and is at the right hand of God, with angels, authorities, and powers subject to Him.
- Matthew 11:27
All things have been entrusted to Me by My Father. No one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and those to whom the Son chooses…
- Ephesians 1:20–22
which He exerted in Christ when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly realms,
- John 3:35
Through
Romans 13:1Everyone must submit himself to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which is from God. The authorities that exist have been appointed by God.
it leads to
- Titus 3:1
Remind the believers to submit to rulers and authorities, to be obedient and ready for every good work,
- 1 Peter 2:13–17
Submit yourselves for the Lord’s sake to every human institution, whether to the king as the supreme authority,
- Daniel 2:21
He changes the times and seasons; He removes kings and establishes them. He gives wisdom to the wise and knowledge to the discerning.
- Titus 3:1
Through
Daniel 2:21He changes the times and seasons; He removes kings and establishes them. He gives wisdom to the wise and knowledge to the discerning.
it leads to
- Psalms 75:5–7
Do not lift up your horn against heaven or speak with an outstretched neck.’”
- Psalms 75:5–7
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies3
On this verse
On this chapter
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); Bede, Commentary on Proverbs; Franz Delitzsch, Biblical Commentary on the Proverbs of Solomon; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.