Where there is no guidance the people fall, But in an abundance of counselors there is victory.
Parallel translations
- WEB Where there is no wise guidance, the nation falls, but in the multitude of counselors there is victory.
- KJV Where no counsel is, the people fall: but in the multitude of counsellors there is safety.
- BSB For lack of guidance, a nation falls, but with many counselors comes deliverance.
- NKJV Where there is no counsel, the people fall; But in the multitude of counselors there is safety.
- NLT Without wise leadership, a nation falls; there is safety in having many advisers.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
Without wise guidance a nation falls, but many counselors bring safety. Seeking counsel from many wise people leads to good decisions.
Overview
The proverb commends humble reliance on a breadth of wise advisers rather than isolated self-confidence, whether for a nation or an individual. It warns that leadership without counsel courts disaster. This humility to seek wisdom together reflects the believer's dependence on God and the value of the counsel found within the community of faith.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 7
- Prov 24:6for by wise guidance you wage your war; and victory is in many advisors.
- Prov 15:22Where there is no counsel, plans fail; but in a multitude of counselors they are established.
- Prov 20:18Plans are established by advice; by wise guidance you wage war!
- Prov 16:22Understanding is a fountain of life to one who has it, but the punishment of fools is their folly.
- 1 Kgs 12:1–19Rehoboam went to Shechem, for all Israel had come to Shechem to make him king.
- Acts 15:6–21The apostles and the elders were gathered together to see about this matter.
- Isa 19:11–14The princes of Zoan are utterly foolish. The counsel of the wisest counselors of Pharaoh has become stupid. How do you say to Pharaoh, “I am the son of the wise, the son of ancient kings?”
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Christ at the center
Wisdom personified, with God before creation and the agent of all things, anticipates Christ 'in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom' — the wisdom of God made flesh.
How Proverbs 11:14 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.