A wise man is strong; yea, a man of knowledge increaseth strength.
Parallel translations
- WEB A wise man has great power; and a knowledgeable man increases strength;
- BSB A wise man is strong, and a man of knowledge enhances his strength.
- NKJV A wise man is strong, Yes, a man of knowledge increases strength;
- NASB ¶A wise man is strong, And a person of knowledge increases power.
- NLT The wise are mightier than the strong, and those with knowledge grow stronger and stronger.
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
Wisdom and knowledge make a person stronger than mere physical might.
Overview
True power lies in wisdom, not just in strength, and knowledge increases a person's effective force. The proverb elevates discernment above raw ability. This anticipates the gospel truth that God's wisdom, seen as weakness by the world, is in fact the greater power for salvation and life (1 Cor. 1:25).
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 8
- Eccl 7:19Wisdom strengtheneth the wise more than ten mighty men which are in the city.
- Col 1:11Strengthened with all might, according to his glorious power, unto all patience and longsuffering with joyfulness;
- Prov 21:22A wise man scaleth the city of the mighty, and casteth down the strength of the confidence thereof.
- Prov 8:14Counsel is mine, and sound wisdom: I am understanding; I have strength.
- Isa 40:31But they that wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint.
- Ps 84:7They go from strength to strength, every one of them in Zion appeareth before God.
- Prov 10:29The way of the LORD is strength to the upright: but destruction shall be to the workers of iniquity.
- Eccl 9:14–18There was a little city, and few men within it; and there came a great king against it, and besieged it, and built great bulwarks against it:
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 24:5 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.