Psalms 111:10
in Psalms 111The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom; all who follow His precepts gain rich understanding. His praise endures forever!
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
The fear of Jehovah is the beginning of wisdom; A good understanding have all they that do his commandments: His praise endureth for ever.
KJV
The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom: a good understanding have all they that do his commandments: his praise endureth for ever.
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This verse in Psalms 111
Commentary
3 notes on this verseI think I shall not seem to be taking too much on myself, if, in the midst of my children, I yield to my desire to teach, seeing that the master of humility himself has said, "Come, you children, listen to me: I will teach you the fear of the Lord." Therein one may observe both the humility and the grace of his reverence for God. For in saying "the fear of the Lord," which seems to be common to all, he has described the chief mark of reverence for God.
This site's exposition
the beginning of wisdom
Wisdom starts with the fear of the LORD. Proverbs 9:10 says it in the same words, and Job 28:28 calls that fear wisdom itself. Understanding comes to those who follow His precepts, and the psalm closes on praise that endures forever.
The record, by era
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. It is its first principle, but it is also its head and chief attainment. The word "beginning" in Scripture sometimes means the chief; and true religion is at once the first element of wisdom, and its chief fruit. To know God so as to walk aright before him is the greatest of all the applied sciences. Holy reverence of God leads us to praise him, and this is the point which the psalm drives at, for it is a wise act on the part of a creature towards his Creator.
The words behind it
11 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| רֵ֘אשִׁ֤ית | reshit | [is the] beginning of | H7225 → | 51 times |
| חָכְמָ֨ה׀ | chokhmah | wisdom | H2451 → | 153 times |
| יִרְאַ֬ת | yirat | [the] fear of | H3374 → | 45 times |
| יְהוָ֗ה | yahweh | Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
| שֵׂ֣כֶל | sekhel | an understanding | H7922 → | |
| ט֭וֹב | tov | good | H2896 → | 538 times |
| לְכָל־ | lekhol | [belongs] to all | H3605 → | 5413 times |
| עֹשֵׂיהֶ֑ם | ʾoseihem | [those who] do them | H6213 → | 2628 times |
| תְּ֝הִלָּת֗וֹ | tehilato | praise his | H8416 → | 56 times |
| עֹמֶ֥דֶת | ʾomedet | [is] enduring | H5975 → | 521 times |
| לָעַֽד׃ | laad | for ever | H5703 → | 49 times |
רֵ֘אשִׁ֤ית[is the] beginning of
reshitH7225 →51 times
חָכְמָ֨ה׀wisdom
chokhmahH2451 →153 times
יִרְאַ֬ת[the] fear of
yiratH3374 →45 times
יְהוָ֗הYahweh
yahwehH3068 →6520 times
שֵׂ֣כֶלan understanding
sekhelH7922 →
ט֭וֹבgood
tovH2896 →538 times
לְכָל־[belongs] to all
lekholH3605 →5413 times
עֹשֵׂיהֶ֑ם[those who] do them
ʾoseihemH6213 →2628 times
תְּ֝הִלָּת֗וֹpraise his
tehilatoH8416 →56 times
עֹמֶ֥דֶת[is] enduring
ʾomedetH5975 →521 times
לָעַֽד׃for ever
laadH5703 →49 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.’”
Reached by 4 separate paths from here.
- 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.
Reached by 3 separate paths from here.
- Proverbs 9:10
The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom, and knowledge of the Holy One is understanding.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Proverbs 15:33
The fear of the LORD is the instruction of wisdom, and humility comes before honor.
- Job 28:28
Through
Proverbs 9:10The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom, and knowledge of the Holy One is understanding.
it leads to
- Proverbs 1:7
The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and discipline.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Proverbs 1:7
Through
Ecclesiastes 12:13When 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.
it leads to
- Deuteronomy 10:12
And now, O Israel, what does the LORD your God ask of you but to fear the LORD your God by walking in all His ways, to love Him, to serve the LORD your…
- Micah 6:8
He has shown you, O man, what is good. And what does the LORD require of you but to act justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God?
- Deuteronomy 6:2
so that you and your children and grandchildren may fear the LORD your God all the days of your lives by keeping all His statutes and commandments that I give you, and so that…
- Deuteronomy 10:12
Where this verse is studied
By subject
Wisdom35 verses
On this page
About Psalms
This page draws on Ambrose of Milan, On the Duties of the Clergy 1.1; Charles Spurgeon, The Treasury of David, Vol. 5; Franz Delitzsch, Biblical Commentary on the Psalms and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.