A wise man is strong, Yes, a man of knowledge increases strength;
Parallel translations
- WEB A wise man has great power; and a knowledgeable man increases strength;
- KJV A wise man is strong; yea, a man of knowledge increaseth strength.
- BSB A wise man is strong, and a man of knowledge enhances his strength.
- ESV A wise man is full of strength, and a man of knowledge enhances his might,
- 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 quotations are from the ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
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 is a strength to the wise man more than ten rulers who are in a city.
- Col 1:11strengthened with all power, according to the might of his glory, for all endurance and perseverance with joy;
- Prov 21:22A wise man scales the city of the mighty, and brings down the strength of its confidence.
- Prov 8:14Counsel and sound knowledge are mine. I have understanding and power.
- Isa 40:31But those who wait for Yahweh will renew their strength. They will mount up with wings like eagles. They will run, and not be weary. They will walk, and not faint.
- Ps 84:7They go from strength to strength. Everyone of them appears before God in Zion.
- Prov 10:29The way of Yahweh is a stronghold to the upright, but it is a destruction to the workers of iniquity.
- Eccl 9:14–18There was a little city, and few men within it; and a great king came against it, 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.