“To you, O men, I call out, and my cry is to the sons of men.
Parallel translations
- WEB “To you men, I call! I send my voice to the sons of mankind.
- KJV Unto you, O men, I call; and my voice is to the sons of man.
- NKJV “To you, O men, I call, And my voice is to the sons of men.
- NASB “To you, people, I call, And my voice is to mankind.
- NLT “I call to you, to all of you! I raise my voice to all people.
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 addresses all people, calling out to every human being. Her invitation is universal.
Overview
Wisdom directs her appeal to all men and to the sons of mankind without exception. No one is excluded from her summons to understanding. This universal call reflects the breadth of God's invitation to know and walk in truth.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 10
- Matt 11:15He who has ears, let him hear.
- Ps 49:1–3For the choirmaster. A Psalm of the sons of Korah. Hear this, all you peoples; listen, all inhabitants of the world,
- John 3:16For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that everyone who believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life.
- Ps 50:1A Psalm of Asaph. The Mighty One, God the LORD, speaks and summons the earth from where the sun rises to where it sets.
- Rev 22:17The Spirit and the bride say, “Come!” Let the one who hears say, “Come!” And let the one who is thirsty come, and the one who desires the water of life drink freely.
- Titus 2:11–12For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation to everyone.
- Col 1:28We proclaim Him, admonishing and teaching everyone with all wisdom, so that we may present everyone perfect in Christ.
- 2 Cor 5:19–20that God was reconciling the world to Himself in Christ, not counting men’s trespasses against them. And He has committed to us the message of reconciliation.
- Col 1:23if indeed you continue in your faith, established and firm, not moved from the hope of the gospel you heard, which has been proclaimed to every creature under heaven, and of which I, Paul, have become a servant.
- 1 Tim 2:4–6who wants everyone to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
Resources, by level
Commentaries & study tools
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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 8:4 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.