Proverbs 8:35
in Proverbs 8For whoever finds me finds life and obtains the favor of the LORD.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
For whoso findeth me findeth life, And shall obtain favor of Jehovah.
KJV
For whoso findeth me findeth life, and shall obtain favour of the Lord.
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This verse in Proverbs 8
Commentary
8 notes on this verseA commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
Wisdom then is the only true life. The Word, the Light, is also the Life of man Joh 1:4. The eternal life is to know God and Christ Joh 17:3.
This site's exposition
Now therefore, my sons, listen to me
on Proverbs 8:32-36
The poem turns back into the father's appeal. “For whoever finds me finds life and obtains the favor of the LORD” gathers the chapter's promise into one line. The alternative is stated plainly: “he who fails to find me harms himself; all who hate me love death”.
This site's exposition
whoever finds me finds life
The same favor from the LORD returns at 18:22 for the man who finds a wife. Here the one found is Wisdom herself. Barnes calls her the only true life.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers1 voice
Man in paradise was capable of self-destruction by abandoning justice by an act of will; yet if the life of justice was to be maintained, his will alone would not have sufficed, unless he who made him had given him aid. But, after the fall, God's mercy was even more abundant, for then the will itself had to be freed from the bondage in which sin and death are the masters. There is no way at all by which it can be freed by itself, but only though God's grace, which is made effectual in the faith of Christ. Thus, as it is written, even the will by which "the will itself is prepared by the Lord" so that we may receive the other gifts of God through which we come to the Gift eternal—this too comes from God.
The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices
6 Hear; for I will speak of excellent things; and the opening of my lips shall be right things. 7 For my mouth shall speak truth; and wickedness is an abomination to my lips. 8 All the words of my mouth are in righteousness; there is nothing froward or perverse in them.
quarantine:scripture (2026-07-29) — verbatim-scripture
For whoso findeth me findeth life,.... Of finding Christ; see Gill on Pro 3:
Christ is Wisdom, and he that finds Christ, that obtains an interest in him, he finds life; for Christ is life to all believers. He that has the Son of God has life, eternal life, and he shall obtain favour of the Lord, who is well-pleased with all those that are in Christ; nor can we obtain God's favour, unless we find Christ and be found in him.
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
Whoso findeth me - The wisdom that comes from God, teaching to avoid evil and cleave to that which is good; findeth life - gets that knowledge which qualifies him to answer the purposes for which he was made; for he is quickened with Christ, and made a partaker of the Divine life. Christ dwells in his heart by faith; he lives a new life, for Christ liveth in him; the law of the spirit of life in Christ Jesus makes him free from the law of sin and death. And shall obtain favor of the Lord. The more he walks after the Divine counsel, the more he obtains of the Divine image; and the more he resembles his Maker, the more he partakes of the Divine favor.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| כִּ֣י | ki | for | H3588 → | 4482 times |
| מֹ֭צְאִי | motzei | [one who] finds me | H4672 → | 455 times |
| מָצָ֣א | motzeei' | he finds | H4672 → | 455 times |
| חַיִּ֑ים | chaiyim | life | H2416 → | 498 times |
| וַיָּ֥פֶק | vaiyafek | and he obtained | H6329 → | 7 times |
| רָ֝צ֗וֹן | ratzon | favor | H7522 → | 56 times |
| מֵיְהוָֽה׃ | meyahweh | from Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
כִּ֣יfor
kiH3588 →4482 times
מֹ֭צְאִי[one who] finds me
motzeiH4672 →455 times
מָצָ֣אhe finds
motzeei'H4672 →455 times
חַיִּ֑יםlife
chaiyimH2416 →498 times
וַיָּ֥פֶקand he obtained
vaiyafekH6329 →7 times
רָ֝צ֗וֹןfavor
ratzonH7522 →56 times
מֵיְהוָֽה׃from Yahweh
meyahwehH3068 →6520 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
John 17:3Now this is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom You have sent.
it leads to
- Jeremiah 9:23–24
This is what the LORD says: “Let not the wise man boast in his wisdom, nor the strong man in his strength, nor the wealthy man in his riches.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- 1 John 5:20
And 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…
- 1 John 5:11–12
And this is that testimony: God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son.
- John 3:17
For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through Him.
- John 17:25
Righteous Father, although the world has not known You, I know You, and they know that You sent Me.
- Jeremiah 9:23–24
Through
John 3:36Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life. Whoever rejects the Son will not see life. Instead, the wrath of God remains on him.”
it leads to
- John 5:24
Truly, truly, I tell you, whoever hears My word and believes Him who sent Me has eternal life and will not come under judgment. Indeed, he has crossed over from death to life.
- John 1:12
But to all who did receive Him, to those who believed in His name, He gave the right to become children of God—
- John 5:24
Through
Philippians 3:8More than that, I count all things as loss compared to the surpassing excellence of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have lost all things. I consider them rubbish, that I may…
it leads to
- Romans 8:18
I consider that our present sufferings are not comparable to the glory that will be revealed in us.
- Romans 8:18
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies4
On this verse
On this chapter
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); Augustine of Hippo, Enchiridion 28:106; Charles Bridges, An Exposition of the Book of Proverbs; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.