By me princes rule, and nobles, even all the judges of the earth.
Parallel translations
- WEB By me princes rule; nobles, and all the righteous rulers of the earth.
- BSB By me princes rule, and all nobles who govern justly.
- NKJV By me princes rule, and nobles, All the judges of the earth.
- NASB “By me princes rule, and nobles, All who judge rightly.
- NLT Rulers lead with my help, and nobles make righteous judgments.
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
Princes, nobles, and all righteous rulers govern by wisdom. Every form of just authority depends on her.
Overview
Continuing from the previous verse, wisdom extends her claim to all levels of legitimate rule. The phrase 'all the righteous rulers of the earth' shows that genuine, upright governance everywhere flows from God's wisdom. Earthly authority finds its model and fulfillment in Christ, the righteous ruler whose reign is everlasting.
Cross-references & the web
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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 8:16 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.