Proverbs 21:22
in Proverbs 21A wise man scales the city of the mighty and pulls down the stronghold in which they trust.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
A wise man scaleth the city of the mighty, And bringeth down the strength of the confidence thereof.
KJV
A wise man scaleth the city of the mighty, and casteth down the strength of the confidence thereof.
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This verse in Proverbs 21
Commentary
7 notes on this verse"The wise person assaults strong cities and demolishes the fortifications in which the ungodly trusted." Do you think when Solomon said this he wanted to teach us that the wise person seized cities and demolished fortifications built from stones? Or, rather, is he indicating that the city and the walls are the doctrines of the ungodly and the syllogisms of philosophers, with which they augment every impiety that is contrary to the divine law and that is observed among pagans or barbarians?
This site's exposition
He who pursues righteousness and loving devotion
on Proverbs 21:21-23
"He who pursues righteousness and loving devotion finds life, righteousness, and honor," three rewards answering one pursuit, what the wandering man of verse 16 forfeited. A wise man scales the city of the mighty and pulls down its stronghold, wisdom pictured as a siege weapon stronger than defended walls.
This site's exposition
pulls down the stronghold in which they trust
John Gill reads the verse of warfare, a wise man taking the city of the mighty by stratagem, and he cites Ecclesiastes 9:16. Origen of Alexandria reads the stronghold as the doctrines of the ungodly, in which they trust. Wisdom outlasts strength.
The record, by era
The Medieval Church1 voice
The wise man ascends the city of the mighty, etc. The city of the mighty, he calls the world, which once, subjected to the tyranny of evil spirits, foolishly served, having confidence in the worship of those who are not gods, but the works of …
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
A wise man scaleth the city of the mighty,.... Which makes good what is elsewhere said, that "wisdom is better than strength", Ecc 9:16; and sometimes more is done by prudence and wisdom, by art and cunning, by schemes and stratagems, than by power and force; especially in military affairs, and particularly in besieging and taking fortified cities; when one wise man, by his wisdom, may so order and manage things, as to be able, with a few under his command, to mount the walls of a city and take it, though defended by a mighty garrison in it.
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
A wise man scaleth the city of the mighty - Wisdom is in many respects preferable to strength, even in the case of defense. See what skill does in the fortification and reduction of strong places.
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
Even in war, counsel does more than brute strength. So of the warfare which is carried on in the inner battlefield of the soul. There also wisdom is mighty to the “pulling down of strongholds” (2Co 10:4, where Paul uses the very words of the Septuagint Version of this passage), and the wise man scales and keeps the city which the strong man armed has seized and made his own.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| עִ֣יר | ʾir | a city of | H5892 → | 1090 times |
| גִּ֭בֹּרִים | giborim | warriors | H1368 → | 158 times |
| עָלָ֣ה | ʾalah | he goes up | H5927 → | 890 times |
| חָכָ֑ם | chakham | a wise [person] | H2450 → | 138 times |
| וַ֝יֹּ֗רֶד | vaiyored | and he brought down | H3381 → | 381 times |
| עֹ֣ז | ʾoz | [the] strength of | H5797 → | 92 times |
| מִבְטֶחָֽה׃ | mivtechah | trust its | H4009 → | 15 times |
עִ֣ירa city of
ʾirH5892 →1090 times
גִּ֭בֹּרִיםwarriors
giborimH1368 →158 times
עָלָ֣הhe goes up
ʾalahH5927 →890 times
חָכָ֑םa wise [person]
chakhamH2450 →138 times
וַ֝יֹּ֗רֶדand he brought down
vaiyoredH3381 →381 times
עֹ֣ז[the] strength of
ʾozH5797 →92 times
מִבְטֶחָֽה׃trust its
mivtechahH4009 →15 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 24:5A wise man is strong, and a man of knowledge enhances his strength.
it leads to
- Ecclesiastes 7:19
Wisdom makes the wise man stronger than ten rulers in a city.
- Colossians 1:11
being strengthened with all power according to His glorious might so that you may have full endurance and patience, and joyfully
- Proverbs 8:14
Counsel and sound judgment are mine; I have insight and strength.
- Isaiah 40:31
But those who wait upon the LORD will renew their strength; they will mount up with wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not faint.
- Psalms 84:7
They go from strength to strength, until each appears before God in Zion.
- Ecclesiastes 7:19
Through
Ecclesiastes 7:19Wisdom makes the wise man stronger than ten rulers in a city.
it leads to
- Colossians 1:9–11
For this reason, since the day we heard about you, we have not stopped praying for you and asking God to fill you with the knowledge of His will in all spiritual wisdom and…
- Proverbs 24:5
A wise man is strong, and a man of knowledge enhances his strength.
- Ecclesiastes 9:13–18
I have also seen this wisdom under the sun, and it was great to me:
- Colossians 1:9–11
Where this verse is studied
On this page
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; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible and Origen of Alexandria, HOMILIES ON JOSHUA 18:3.