He that handleth a matter wisely shall find good: and whoso trusteth in the LORD, happy is he.
Parallel translations
- WEB He who heeds the Word finds prosperity. Whoever trusts in Yahweh is blessed.
- BSB Whoever heeds instruction will find success, and blessed is he who trusts in the LORD.
- NKJV He who heeds the word wisely will find good, And whoever trusts in the Lord, happy is he.
- NASB One who pays attention to the word will find good, And blessed is one who trusts in the Lord.
- NLT Those who listen to instruction will prosper; those who trust the Lord will be joyful.
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
Attending to instruction brings good, and trusting the Lord brings blessing. It matters because heeding God's word and trusting Him are the path to true happiness.
Overview
This proverb links wise attention to the word with prosperity and trust in Yahweh with blessedness. Wisdom is not merely heard but heeded, and it rests ultimately on trust in God Himself. It anticipates the gospel call to hear and trust, for the one who believes is blessed (cf. Psalm 2:12; John 20:29).
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 20
- Jer 17:7–8Blessed is the man that trusteth in the LORD, and whose hope the LORD is.
- Ps 2:12Kiss the Son, lest he be angry, and ye perish from the way, when his wrath is kindled but a little. Blessed are all they that put their trust in him.
- Isa 30:18And therefore will the LORD wait, that he may be gracious unto you, and therefore will he be exalted, that he may have mercy upon you: for the LORD is a God of judgment: blessed are all they that wait for him.
- Isa 26:3–4Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee: because he trusteth in thee.
- Ps 34:8O taste and see that the LORD is good: blessed is the man that trusteth in him.
- Prov 19:8He that getteth wisdom loveth his own soul: he that keepeth understanding shall find good.
- Prov 8:35For whoso findeth me findeth life, and shall obtain favour of the LORD.
- Dan 1:19–21And the king communed with them; and among them all was found none like Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah: therefore stood they before the king.
- Dan 6:23Then was the king exceeding glad for him, and commanded that they should take Daniel up out of the den. So Daniel was taken up out of the den, and no manner of hurt was found upon him, because he believed in his God.
- Ps 146:5Happy is he that hath the God of Jacob for his help, whose hope is in the LORD his God:
- Prov 24:3–5Through wisdom is an house builded; and by understanding it is established:
- Matt 10:16Behold, I send you forth as sheep in the midst of wolves: be ye therefore wise as serpents, and harmless as doves.
- Dan 3:28Then Nebuchadnezzar spake, and said, Blessed be the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, who hath sent his angel, and delivered his servants that trusted in him, and have changed the king’s word, and yielded their bodies, that they might not serve nor worship any god, except their own God.
- Prov 13:15Good understanding giveth favour: but the way of transgressors is hard.
- Ps 125:1They that trust in the LORD shall be as mount Zion, which cannot be removed, but abideth for ever.
- Gen 41:38–40And Pharaoh said unto his servants, Can we find such a one as this is, a man in whom the Spirit of God is?
- 1 Chr 5:20And they were helped against them, and the Hagarites were delivered into their hand, and all that were with them: for they cried to God in the battle, and he was intreated of them; because they put their trust in him.
- Prov 17:2A wise servant shall have rule over a son that causeth shame, and shall have part of the inheritance among the brethren.
- Prov 22:19–20That thy trust may be in the LORD, I have made known to thee this day, even to thee.
- Eph 1:12–13That we should be to the praise of his glory, who first trusted in Christ.
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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 16:20 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
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