The wise conquer the city of the strong and level the fortress in which they trust.
Parallel translations
- WEB A wise man scales the city of the mighty, and brings down the strength of its confidence.
- KJV A wise man scaleth the city of the mighty, and casteth down the strength of the confidence thereof.
- BSB A wise man scales the city of the mighty and pulls down the stronghold in which they trust.
- NKJV A wise man scales the city of the mighty, And brings down the trusted stronghold.
- NASB A wise person scales the city of the mighty And brings down the stronghold in which they trust.
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
A wise man can conquer a fortified city and topple its defenses. It matters because wisdom is mightier than mere strength.
Overview
Wisdom accomplishes what brute force cannot, overcoming the strongholds in which the mighty trust (Ecclesiastes 9:14-16; Proverbs 24:5). The verse exalts wisdom above military power. It reminds us that God's wisdom, not human might, secures true victory (1 Corinthians 1:25).
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 5
- Eccl 7:19Wisdom is a strength to the wise man more than ten rulers who are in a city.
- Prov 24:5A wise man has great power; and a knowledgeable man increases strength;
- Eccl 9:13–18I have also seen wisdom under the sun in this way, and it seemed great to me.
- 2 Sam 20:16–22Then a wise woman cried out of the city, “Hear, hear! Please say to Joab, ‘Come near here, that I may speak with you.’”
- 2 Sam 5:6–9The king and his men went to Jerusalem against the Jebusites, the inhabitants of the land, who spoke to David, saying, “The blind and the lame will keep you out of here”; thinking, “David can’t come in here.”
Resources, by level
Commentaries & study tools
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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 21:22 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.