The glory of young men is their strength. The splendor of old men is their gray hair.
Parallel translations
- KJV The glory of young men is their strength: and the beauty of old men is the grey head.
- BSB The glory of young men is their strength, and gray hair is the splendor of the old.
- NKJV The glory of young men is their strength, And the splendor of old men is their gray head.
- NASB The glory of young men is their strength, And the honor of old men is their gray hair.
- NLT The glory of the young is their strength; the gray hair of experience is the splendor of the old.
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
The strength of youth and the gray hair of age each have their own glory. It matters because it honors both vigor and the dignity of age.
Overview
This observation celebrates the complementary honors of life's stages — the strength of the young and the experience and wisdom symbolized by an elder's gray hair (Proverbs 16:31). Far from despising age, Scripture esteems it. Each season of life bears God-given dignity and a place in his ordered world.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 4
- 1 Jn 2:14I have written to you, fathers, because you know him who is from the beginning. I have written to you, young men, because you are strong, and the word of God remains in you, and you have overcome the evil one.
- Prov 16:31Gray hair is a crown of glory. It is attained by a life of righteousness.
- Lev 19:32“‘You shall rise up before the gray head, and honor the face of an old man, and you shall fear your God. I am Yahweh.
- Jer 9:23–24Yahweh says, “Don’t let the wise man glory in his wisdom, neither let the mighty man glory in his might. Don’t let the rich man glory in his riches.
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 20:29 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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