Limitless Word
She takes her stand on the top of the high hill, Beside the way, where the paths meet.
Proverbs 8:2 · New King James Version
Parallel translations
  • WEB On the top of high places by the way, where the paths meet, she stands.
  • KJV She standeth in the top of high places, by the way in the places of the paths.
  • BSB On the heights overlooking the road, at the crossroads she takes her stand.
  • NASB On top of the heights beside the way, Where the paths meet, she takes her stand;
  • NLT On the hilltop along the road, she takes her stand at the crossroads.

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 stands at the heights and crossroads where people pass. She makes herself available in the midst of everyday life.

Overview

Unlike the adulteress lurking in shadows, wisdom takes her stand in prominent, public places where paths meet. She offers herself openly at the decision points of life. The setting stresses that wisdom is accessible to anyone willing to heed her call.

Cross-references & the web

Cross-references · 2

  • Prov 9:14She sits at the door of her house, on a seat in the high places of the city,
  • Prov 9:3She has sent out her maidens. She cries from the highest places of the city:

Themes, concepts, people & topics

Topics (2)

Resources, by level

Commentaries & study tools

  • VideoBibleProject — Proverbs videosBibleProject · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.

  • VideoWatch teaching on Proverbs 8:2YouTube · Lay · Free

    Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.

  • CommentaryEnduring Word — verse-by-verseDavid Guzik · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.

  • CommentaryClassic commentaries for this verseBibleHub (20+ works) · Pastoral · Free

    Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.

  • CommentaryMatthew Henry on ProverbsMatthew Henry · Pastoral · Free · evangelical

    The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).

  • ReferenceInterlinear, lexicon & Strong'sBlue Letter Bible · Seminary · Free

    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 8:2 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.