Wisdom is supreme; so acquire wisdom. And whatever you may acquire, gain understanding.
Parallel translations
- WEB Wisdom is supreme. Get wisdom. Yes, though it costs all your possessions, get understanding.
- KJV Wisdom is the principal thing; therefore get wisdom: and with all thy getting get understanding.
- NKJV Wisdom is the principal thing; Therefore get wisdom. And in all your getting, get understanding.
- NASB “The beginning of wisdom is: Acquire wisdom; And with all your possessions, acquire understanding.
- NLT Getting wisdom is the wisest thing you can do! And whatever else you do, develop good judgment.
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 is the supreme thing to get, worth more than all you own. Acquiring wisdom and understanding is life's highest priority.
Overview
Often called the 'principal thing,' wisdom is declared worth the cost of all one's possessions. This is the language of the surpassing value that should govern our pursuits. It anticipates Jesus' parables of the treasure and pearl, where everything is gladly given up to gain the kingdom and the wisdom of God (Matt 13:44-46).
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 14
- Eccl 7:12For wisdom, like money, is a shelter, and the advantage of knowledge is that wisdom preserves the life of its owner.
- Eccl 9:16–18And I said, “Wisdom is better than strength, but the wisdom of the poor man is despised, and his words are not heeded.”
- Prov 23:23Invest in truth and never sell it—in wisdom and instruction and understanding.
- Prov 16:16How much better to acquire wisdom than gold! To gain understanding is more desirable than silver.
- Phil 3:8More than that, I count all things as loss compared to the surpassing excellence of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have lost all things. I consider them rubbish, that I may gain Christ
- Mark 8:36–37What does it profit a man to gain the whole world, yet forfeit his soul?
- Matt 13:44–46The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field. When a man found it, he hid it again, and in his joy he went and sold all he had and bought that field.
- Ps 119:104I gain understanding from Your precepts; therefore I hate every false way.
- Luke 12:20But God said to him, ‘You fool! This very night your life will be required of you. Then who will own what you have accumulated?’
- Ps 49:16–20Do not be amazed when a man grows rich, when the splendor of his house increases.
- Prov 21:6Making a fortune by a lying tongue is a vanishing mist, a deadly pursuit.
- Luke 10:42But only one thing is necessary. Mary has chosen the good portion, and it will not be taken away from her.”
- Eccl 2:4–9I expanded my pursuits. I built houses and planted vineyards for myself.
- Eccl 4:8There is a man all alone, without even a son or brother. And though there is no end to his labor, his eyes are still not content with his wealth: “For whom do I toil and bereave my soul of enjoyment?” This too is futile—a miserable task.
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 4:7 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.