Forsake her not, and she shall preserve thee: love her, and she shall keep thee.
Parallel translations
- WEB Don’t forsake her, and she will preserve you. Love her, and she will keep you.
- BSB Do not forsake wisdom, and she will preserve you; love her, and she will guard you.
- NKJV Do not forsake her, and she will preserve you; Love her, and she will keep you.
- NASB “Do not abandon her, and she will guard you; Love her, and she will watch over you.
- NLT Don’t turn your back on wisdom, for she will protect you. Love her, and she will guard you.
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
Do not forsake wisdom, and she will protect you; love her, and she will guard you. A relationship of devotion to wisdom brings her protection.
Overview
Wisdom is personified as a guardian who keeps those who love and cling to her. The language of love shows that wisdom is pursued not merely with the mind but with the affections. To love wisdom is, ultimately, to love the God who is wise and to cleave to Christ in whom wisdom is found.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 4
- 2 Th 2:10And with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish; because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved.
- Prov 4:21–22Let them not depart from thine eyes; keep them in the midst of thine heart.
- Eph 3:17That Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith; that ye, being rooted and grounded in love,
- Prov 2:10–12When wisdom entereth into thine heart, and knowledge is pleasant unto thy soul;
Themes, concepts, people & topics
Resources, by level
Commentaries & study tools
Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.
Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.
Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.
Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.
The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).
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 4:6 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.