Set plans by consultation, and wage war under sound guidance.
Parallel translations
- WEB Plans are established by advice; by wise guidance you wage war!
- KJV Every purpose is established by counsel: and with good advice make war.
- NKJV Plans are established by counsel; By wise counsel wage war.
- NASB Prepare plans by consultation, And make war by wise guidance.
- NLT Plans succeed through good counsel; don’t go to war without wise advice.
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
Plans succeed through counsel, and war is waged wisely with guidance. It matters because wise decisions require seeking good advice.
Overview
Whether in daily plans or weighty matters like warfare, success depends on sound counsel rather than going it alone (Proverbs 11:14; 15:22). The verse commends humility to seek wisdom from others. Ultimately, all true counsel flows from God, the 'Wonderful Counselor' (Isaiah 9:6; Proverbs 19:21).
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 13
- Prov 15:22Plans fail for lack of counsel, but with many advisers they succeed.
- Luke 14:31Or what king on his way to war with another king will not first sit down and consider whether he can engage with ten thousand men the one coming against him with twenty thousand?
- Prov 24:6Only with sound guidance should you wage war, and victory lies in a multitude of counselors.
- Prov 11:14For lack of guidance, a nation falls, but with many counselors comes deliverance.
- Judg 1:1–2After the death of Joshua, the Israelites inquired of the LORD, “Who will be the first to go up and fight for us against the Canaanites?”
- Judg 20:18The Israelites set out, went up to Bethel, and inquired of God, “Who of us shall go up first to fight against the Benjamites?” “Judah will be first,” the LORD replied.
- 2 Sam 2:26–27Then Abner called out to Joab: “Must the sword devour forever? Do you not realize that this will only end in bitterness? How long before you tell the troops to stop pursuing their brothers?”
- Judg 20:7Behold, all you Israelites, give your advice and verdict here and now.”
- Prov 25:8do not bring hastily to court. Otherwise, what will you do in the end when your neighbor puts you to shame?
- 2 Chr 25:17–23Then Amaziah king of Judah took counsel and sent word to the king of Israel Jehoash son of Jehoahaz, the son of Jehu. “Come, let us meet face to face,” he said.
- Judg 20:26–28Then the Israelites, all the people, went up to Bethel, where they sat weeping before the LORD. That day they fasted until evening and presented burnt offerings and peace offerings to the LORD.
- Judg 9:29If only this people were under my authority, I would remove Abimelech; I would say to him, ‘Muster your army and come out!’”
- Judg 20:23They went up and wept before the LORD until evening, inquiring of Him, “Should we again draw near for battle against our brothers the Benjamites?” And the LORD answered, “Go up against them.”
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.
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 20:18 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.