Gray hair is a crown of glory; it is attained along the path of righteousness.
Parallel translations
- WEB Gray hair is a crown of glory. It is attained by a life of righteousness.
- KJV The hoary head is a crown of glory, if it be found in the way of righteousness.
- NKJV The silver-haired head is a crown of glory, If it is found in the way of righteousness.
- NASB A gray head is a crown of glory; It is found in the way of righteousness.
- NLT Gray hair is a crown of glory; it is gained by living a godly life.
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
Gray hair is an honorable crown when gained through a righteous life. It matters because a long life lived in godliness is worthy of honor.
Overview
This proverb dignifies old age as a crown of glory, especially when attained through righteousness. It links the honor of age to a life well-lived before God, not merely to years. Scripture commands respect for the aged and sees godly longevity as a blessing (Leviticus 19:32).
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 12
- Prov 20:29The glory of young men is their strength, and gray hair is the splendor of the old.
- Lev 19:32You are to rise in the presence of the elderly, honor the aged, and fear your God. I am the LORD.
- Prov 3:1–2My son, do not forget my teaching, but let your heart keep my commandments;
- Prov 17:6Grandchildren are the crown of the aged, and the glory of a son is his father.
- 1 Sam 12:2–5Now here is the king walking before you, and I am old and gray, and my sons are here with you. I have walked before you from my youth until this day.
- Phlm 1:9I prefer to appeal on the basis of love. For I, Paul, am now aged, and a prisoner of Christ Jesus as well.
- Eccl 4:13Better is a poor but wise youth than an old but foolish king who no longer knows how to take a warning.
- Gen 47:7–10Then Joseph brought in his father Jacob and presented him before Pharaoh, and Jacob blessed Pharaoh.
- Luke 2:29–38“Sovereign Lord, as You have promised, You now dismiss Your servant in peace.
- Luke 1:6Both of them were righteous in the sight of God, walking blamelessly in all the commandments and decrees of the Lord.
- Job 32:6–7So Elihu son of Barachel the Buzite declared: “I am young in years, while you are old; that is why I was timid and afraid to tell you what I know.
- 1 Chr 29:10–25Then David blessed the LORD in the sight of all the assembly and said: “May You be blessed, O LORD, God of our father Israel, from everlasting to everlasting.
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 16:31 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.