Proverbs 22:4
in Proverbs 22The rewards of humility and the fear of the LORD are wealth and honor and life.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
The reward of humility and the fear of Jehovah Is riches, and honor, and life.
KJV
By humility and the fear of the Lord are riches, and honour, and life.
⋯
This verse in Proverbs 22
Commentary
5 notes on this verseBy humility and the fear of the Lord,.... Some render it, "the reward of humility, which is the fear of the Lord" (r); so the Targum; an humble man is blessed with it.
This site's exposition
The prudent see danger and take cover
on Proverbs 22:3-5
"The prudent see danger and take cover, but the simple keep going and suffer the consequences." Humility and the fear of the LORD bring "wealth and honor and life." Thorns and snares lie on the path of the perverse, and he who guards his soul stays far from them.
This site's exposition
The rewards of humility
John Gill reports a second way of reading the line, with the fear of the LORD as the reward that humility receives. The Targum takes it so. On that reading the humble man is blessed with the fear of the LORD itself, beside the wealth and honor and life.
The record, by era
The Medieval Church1 voice
The reward of humility is the fear of the Lord, etc. By humility, he means the steadfastness of good works; by the fear of the Lord, he means that fear which remains forever. Since indeed the perfection of virtues is to ascend to this state …
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
Better, (compare the margin) The reward of humility (is) the fear of the Lord, “riches, and honor, and life.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| עֵ֣קֶב | ʾekev | [the] consequence of | H6118 → | |
| עֲ֭נָוָה | ʾanavah | humility | H6038 → | 5 times |
| יִרְאַ֣ת | yirat | [the] fear of | H3374 → | 45 times |
| יְהוָ֑ה | yahweh | Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
| עֹ֖שֶׁר | ʾosher | [is] wealth | H6239 → | 37 times |
| וְכָב֣וֹד | vekhavod | and honor | H3519 → | 200 times |
| וְחַיִּֽים׃ | vechaiyim | and life | H2416 → | 498 times |
עֵ֣קֶב[the] consequence of
ʾekevH6118 →
עֲ֭נָוָהhumility
ʾanavahH6038 →5 times
יִרְאַ֣ת[the] fear of
yiratH3374 →45 times
יְהוָ֑הYahweh
yahwehH3068 →6520 times
עֹ֖שֶׁר[is] wealth
ʾosherH6239 →37 times
וְכָב֣וֹדand honor
vekhavodH3519 →200 times
וְחַיִּֽים׃and life
vechaiyimH2416 →498 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 6:33But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things will be added unto you.
it leads to
- Matthew 5:6
Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Luke 12:31
But seek His kingdom, and these things will be added unto you.
- John 6:27
Do not work for food that perishes, but for food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you. For on Him God the Father has placed His seal of…
- Psalms 34:9–10
Fear the LORD, you His saints, for those who fear Him lack nothing.
- Psalms 84:11–12
For the LORD God is a sun and a shield; the LORD gives grace and glory; He withholds no good thing from those who walk with integrity.
- Matthew 5:6
Through
James 4:10Humble yourselves before the Lord, and He will exalt you.
it leads to
- Psalms 147:6
The LORD sustains the humble, but casts the wicked to the ground.
- Matthew 23:12
For whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted.
- 1 Peter 5:6
Humble yourselves, therefore, under God’s mighty hand, so that in due time He may exalt you.
- Psalms 147:6
Where this verse is studied
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) and John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament.