Proverbs 3:4
in Proverbs 3Then you will find favor and high regard in the sight of God and man.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
So shalt thou find favor and good understanding In the sight of God and man.
KJV
So shalt thou find favour and good understanding in the sight of God and man.
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This verse in Proverbs 3
Commentary
9 notes on this verseSo shall thou find favour,.... Or "grace" (i); the grace of God, and larger measures of it; as Noah did, Gen 6:8; which are communicated to men when in the way of their duty: or good will, esteem, and respect, among men; as Joseph had with Potiphar, and the keeper of the prison, Gen 39:4; and good understanding in the sight of God and man; as Christ, as man, had in the sight of both, Luk 2:52; that is, to be taken notice of, regarded, and approved by both.
This site's exposition
My son, do not forget my teaching
on Proverbs 3:1-4
“My son, do not forget my teaching” opens the section's standing address. “Never let loving devotion or faithfulness leave you” pairs two words joined across the Old Testament, worn like jewelry at the neck. The command to “write them on the tablet of your heart” moves from ornament to inscription.
This site's exposition
favor and high regard
Favor in the sight of God and man is what Luke 2:52 says of the boy Jesus. John Gill adds Joseph, who found favor with Potiphar at Genesis 39:4. High regard translates a phrase for good sense, the name of one who acts wisely.
The record, by era
The Medieval Church1 voice
And you will find grace and good discipline, etc. One finds grace and good discipline before God, who by continual practice of virtues merits from the Lord to become more perfect and better day by day; but also finds grace and good discipline before men, …
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
Understanding - Whereby to know thy duty, and to discern between good and evil. Of God - Grace or favour with God, and that understanding which is good in God's sight.
He shall have good success (so some translate it), the common effect of good understanding. We must have a continual regard to God's providence, must own and depend upon it in all our affairs, both by faith and prayer.
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
favour--grace, amiability (Pr 22:11; Ps 45:2); united with this, a good understanding--(Compare Margin), a discrimination, which secures success. in the sight . . . man--such as God and man approve.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — starts-lowercase
So shalt thou find favor - Thou shalt be acceptable to God, and thou shalt enjoy a sense of his approbation. And good understanding - Men shall weigh thy character and conduct; and by this appreciate thy motives, and give thee credit for sincerity and uprightness. Though religion is frequently persecuted, and religious people suffer at first where they are not fully known; yet a truly religious and benevolent character will in general be prized wherever it is well known. The envy of men is a proof of the excellence of that which they envy.
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)
proposed
Compare Luk 2:52. These are the two conditions of true human growth.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וּמְצָא־ | umetza'- | and find | H4672 → | 455 times |
| חֵ֖ן | chen | favor | H2580 → | 69 times |
| וְשֵֽׂכֶל־ | vesekhel- | and insight | H7922 → | 16 times |
| ט֑וֹב | tov | good | H2896 → | 538 times |
| בְּעֵינֵ֖י | beeinei | in [the] eyes of | H5869 → | 887 times |
| אֱלֹהִ֣ים | ʾelohim | God | H430 → | 2601 times |
| וְאָדָֽם׃ פ | veadam | and humankind | H120 → | 551 times |
וּמְצָא־and find
umetza'-H4672 →455 times
חֵ֖ןfavor
chenH2580 →69 times
וְשֵֽׂכֶל־and insight
vesekhel-H7922 →16 times
ט֑וֹבgood
tovH2896 →538 times
בְּעֵינֵ֖יin [the] eyes of
beeineiH5869 →887 times
אֱלֹהִ֣יםGod
ʾelohimH430 →2601 times
וְאָדָֽם׃ פand humankind
veadamH120 →551 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
Luke 2:52And Jesus grew in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and man.
it leads to
- Luke 2:40
And the Child grew and became strong. He was filled with wisdom, and the grace of God was upon Him.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Luke 1:80
And the child grew and became strong in spirit; and he lived in the wilderness until the time of his public appearance to Israel.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Proverbs 3:3–4
Never let loving devotion or faithfulness leave you; bind them around your neck, write them on the tablet of your heart.
- 1 Samuel 2:26
And the boy Samuel continued to grow in stature and in favor with the LORD and with man.
- Romans 14:18
For whoever serves Christ in this way is pleasing to God and approved by men.
- Luke 2:40
Through
Psalms 111:10The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom; all who follow His precepts gain rich understanding. His praise endures forever!
it leads to
- Proverbs 1:7
The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and discipline.
- Proverbs 9:10
The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom, and knowledge of the Holy One is understanding.
- Proverbs 1:7
Through
1 Samuel 2:26And the boy Samuel continued to grow in stature and in favor with the LORD and with man.
it leads to
- Luke 2:52
And Jesus grew in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and man.
- Luke 2:52
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; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament; John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.