Proverbs 2:5
in Proverbs 2then you will discern the fear of the LORD and discover the knowledge of God.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Then shalt thou understand the fear of Jehovah, And find the knowledge of God.
KJV
Then shalt thou understand the fear of the Lord, and find the knowledge of God.
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This verse in Proverbs 2
Commentary
8 notes on this verseSolomon says, "You will find a divine sense." For he knew that there were in us two kinds of senses, the one being mortal, corruptible and human, and the other immortal and intellectual, which here he calls "divine." By this divine sense, therefore, not of the eyes but of a pure heart, that is, the mind, God can be seen by those who are worthy.
This site's exposition
then you will discern the fear of the LORD
on Proverbs 2:5-6
The line “then you will discern the fear of the LORD” answers the conditions. The fear of the LORD is here the reward of a diligent search. “For the LORD gives wisdom” grounds the search in a giver, and the seeking is answered “from His mouth,” from outside the seeker.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers1 voice
Wisdom and understanding must precede, in order for the fear of God to coexist along with them.
The Medieval Church2 voices
Then you will understand the fear of the Lord, etc. If you seek with a careful heart, you will come to the experience of the loving fear of the Lord, which is not only the beginning but the perfection of heavenly wisdom in this life …
A commentator
BonaventureCollationes de Septem Donis, Collation 8 · Written in the 13th century.
proposed
"If you call upon wisdom and incline your heart to prudence and seek her as money and dig for her as for treasures, then you will understand the fear of the Lord and find the knowledge of God." Prudential understanding teaches what is to be …
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
), that is, thou shalt know how to worship him aright, shalt be led into the meaning and mystery of every ordinance, and be enabled to answer the end of its institution." Thou shalt find the knowledge of God, which is necessary to our fearing him aright.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — leading-punctuation+unbalanced-parens+odd-straight-quotes
Then shalt thou understand the fear of the Lord,.... The grace of fear, and the exercise of it: which is the beginning of wisdom and knowledge, and is a treasure itself, Pro 1:
1 more voice on this verse
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
The promise. The highest blessedness is to know God Joh 17:3. If any distinction between “the Lord” יהוה yehovâh and “God” אלהים 'elohı̂ym can be pressed here, it is that in the former the personality, in the latter the glory, of the divine nature is prominent.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| אָ֗ז | ʾaz | then | H227 → | 141 times |
| תָּ֭בִין | tavin | you will discern | H995 → | 170 times |
| יִרְאַ֣ת | yirat | [the] fear of | H3374 → | 45 times |
| יְהוָ֑ה | yahweh | Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
| וְדַ֖עַת | vedaat | and [the] knowledge of | H1847 → | 92 times |
| אֱלֹהִ֣ים | ʾelohim | God | H430 → | 2601 times |
| תִּמְצָֽא׃ | timtza' | you will find | H4672 → | 455 times |
אָ֗זthen
ʾazH227 →141 times
תָּ֭בִיןyou will discern
tavinH995 →170 times
יִרְאַ֣ת[the] fear of
yiratH3374 →45 times
יְהוָ֑הYahweh
yahwehH3068 →6520 times
וְדַ֖עַתand [the] knowledge of
vedaatH1847 →92 times
אֱלֹהִ֣יםGod
ʾelohimH430 →2601 times
תִּמְצָֽא׃you will find
timtza'H4672 →455 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 1:7The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and discipline.
it leads to
- Job 28:28
And He said to man, ‘Behold, the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom, and to turn away from evil is understanding.’”
- Psalms 111:10
The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom; all who follow His precepts gain rich understanding. His praise endures forever!
- Proverbs 9:10
The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom, and knowledge of the Holy One is understanding.
- Ecclesiastes 12:13
When all has been heard, the conclusion of the matter is this: Fear God and keep His commandments, because this is the whole duty of man.
- Proverbs 15:33
The fear of the LORD is the instruction of wisdom, and humility comes before honor.
- Job 28:28
Through
1 John 5:20And we know that the Son of God has come and has given us understanding, so that we may know Him who is true; and we are in Him who is true—in His Son…
it leads to
- John 17:3
Now this is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom You have sent.
- Luke 24:45
Then He opened their minds to understand the Scriptures.
- John 14:9
Jesus replied, “Philip, I have been with you all this time, and still you do not know Me? Anyone who has seen Me has seen the Father. How can you say, ‘Show us the…
- John 17:3
About Proverbs
This page draws on 9 works. Open the list of works
This page draws on Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Bede, Commentary on Proverbs; Bonaventure, Collationes de Septem Donis, Collation 8; Charles Bridges, An Exposition of the Book of Proverbs; Evagrius Ponticus, SCHOLIA ON PROVERBS 20:2.5; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible and Origen of Alexandria, ON FIRST PRINCIPLES 1:1.9.