Proverbs 2:3
in Proverbs 2if you truly call out to insight and lift your voice to understanding,
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Yea, if thou cry after discernment, And lift up thy voice for understanding;
KJV
Yea, if thou criest after knowledge, and liftest up thy voice for understanding;
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This verse in Proverbs 2
Commentary
6 notes on this verseGod's wisdom … [works] "in many forms and many ways" through technical skill, scientific knowledge, faith, prophecy; it shows us its power to our benefit, because "all wisdom comes from the Lord and is with him to all eternity," as the wisdom of Jesus puts it. "For if you call for practical wisdom and perception at the top of your voice, if you seek it as you would a treasure of silver, and if you track it down ardently, then you will realize the meaning of reverence for God and you will grasp the perception of God."
This site's exposition
My son, if you accept my words
on Proverbs 2:1-4
In the Hebrew the whole chapter is one long conditional sentence, a single sweep from if to then. The line “if you seek it like silver and search it out like hidden treasure” borrows from mining, the digging that fills Job 28's picture.
This site's exposition
lift your voice to understanding
The search now becomes a loud cry, the voice lifted as for something lost. Clement of Alexandria quotes this verse to teach that God gives wisdom in many forms, from skill of hand to prophecy. Verse 6 names the One who answers the call.
The record, by era
The Medieval Church1 voice
For if you call out for wisdom, etc. We ought to call upon, that is, to invoke through prayer, none but God. When therefore he teaches that wisdom is to be invoked, he shows beyond doubt, that not just any wisdom, that is, knowledge of …
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
Yea, if thou criest after knowledge,....
We must cry after knowledge, as one that is ready to perish for hunger begs hard for bread. Faint desires will not prevail; we must be importunate, as those that know the worth of knowledge and our own want of it. We must cry, as new-born babes, after the sincere milk of the word.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| כִּ֤י | ki | that | H3588 → | 4482 times |
| אִ֣ם | ʾim | except | H518 → | 1069 times |
| לַבִּינָ֣ה | labinah | to <the> discernment | H998 → | 38 times |
| תִקְרָ֑א | tikra' | you will call | H7121 → | 733 times |
| לַ֝תְּבוּנָ֗ה | latevunah | to <the> understanding | H8394 → | 42 times |
| תִּתֵּ֥ן | titen | you will give | H5414 → | 2011 times |
| קוֹלֶֽךָ׃ | kolecha | voice your | H6963 → | 506 times |
כִּ֤יthat
kiH3588 →4482 times
אִ֣םexcept
ʾimH518 →1069 times
לַבִּינָ֣הto <the> discernment
labinahH998 →38 times
תִקְרָ֑אyou will call
tikra'H7121 →733 times
לַ֝תְּבוּנָ֗הto <the> understanding
latevunahH8394 →42 times
תִּתֵּ֥ןyou will give
titenH5414 →2011 times
קוֹלֶֽךָ׃voice your
kolechaH6963 →506 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
Proverbs 3:6in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make your paths straight.
it leads to
- Proverbs 16:3
Commit your works to the LORD and your plans will be achieved.
- Psalms 32:8
I will instruct you and teach you the way you should go; I will give you counsel and watch over you.
- Philippians 4:6
Be anxious for nothing, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.
- Proverbs 16:9
A man’s heart plans his course, but the LORD determines his steps.
- Jeremiah 10:23
I know, O LORD, that a man’s way is not his own; no one who walks directs his own steps.
- Proverbs 16:3
Through
James 1:5Now if any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him.
it leads to
- Proverbs 2:3–6
if you truly call out to insight and lift your voice to understanding,
- John 15:7
If you remain in Me and My words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you.
- Jeremiah 29:12–13
Then you will call upon Me and come and pray to Me, and I will listen to you.
- Proverbs 2:3–6
About Proverbs
This page draws on Bede, Commentary on Proverbs; Clement of Alexandria, The Stromata Book 1; Franz Delitzsch, Biblical Commentary on the Proverbs of Solomon; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.