For the transgression of a land many are the princes thereof: but by a man of understanding and knowledge the state thereof shall be prolonged.
Parallel translations
- WEB In rebellion, a land has many rulers, but order is maintained by a man of understanding and knowledge.
- BSB A land in rebellion has many rulers, but a man of understanding and knowledge maintains order.
- NKJV Because of the transgression of a land, many are its princes; But by a man of understanding and knowledge Right will be prolonged.
- NASB Due to a wrongdoing of a land its leaders are many, But by a person of understanding and knowledge, so it endures.
- NLT When there is moral rot within a nation, its government topples easily. But wise and knowledgeable leaders bring stability.
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
Lawlessness fractures a nation into many rivals, but wise leadership brings stability. It shows how godly understanding sustains social order.
Overview
When a land is rebellious, it suffers many competing rulers and instability, but a person of understanding maintains lasting order. The verse links national well-being to wise, righteous governance. It anticipates the longing for a perfectly wise and just ruler, fulfilled in Christ, whose government and peace will have no end (Isaiah 9:7).
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 13
- 1 Kgs 16:8–29In the twenty and sixth year of Asa king of Judah began Elah the son of Baasha to reign over Israel in Tirzah, two years.
- Job 22:28–30Thou shalt also decree a thing, and it shall be established unto thee: and the light shall shine upon thy ways.
- Gen 45:5–8Now therefore be not grieved, nor angry with yourselves, that ye sold me hither: for God did send me before you to preserve life.
- 1 Kgs 15:28Even in the third year of Asa king of Judah did Baasha slay him, and reigned in his stead.
- 2 Kgs 15:8–31In the thirty and eighth year of Azariah king of Judah did Zachariah the son of Jeroboam reign over Israel in Samaria six months.
- Dan 4:27Wherefore, O king, let my counsel be acceptable unto thee, and break off thy sins by righteousness, and thine iniquities by shewing mercy to the poor; if it may be a lengthening of thy tranquillity.
- 2 Chr 32:20–26And for this cause Hezekiah the king, and the prophet Isaiah the son of Amoz, prayed and cried to heaven.
- 1 Kgs 15:25And Nadab the son of Jeroboam began to reign over Israel in the second year of Asa king of Judah, and reigned over Israel two years.
- 2 Chr 36:1–12Then the people of the land took Jehoahaz the son of Josiah, and made him king in his father’s stead in Jerusalem.
- Isa 3:1–7For, behold, the Lord, the LORD of hosts, doth take away from Jerusalem and from Judah the stay and the staff, the whole stay of bread, and the whole stay of water.
- Hos 13:11I gave thee a king in mine anger, and took him away in my wrath.
- Isa 58:12And they that shall be of thee shall build the old waste places: thou shalt raise up the foundations of many generations; and thou shalt be called, The repairer of the breach, The restorer of paths to dwell in.
- Eccl 9:15Now there was found in it a poor wise man, and he by his wisdom delivered the city; yet no man remembered that same poor man.
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 28:2 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.