They are all plain to the discerning, and upright to those who find knowledge.
Parallel translations
- WEB They are all plain to him who understands, right to those who find knowledge.
- KJV They are all plain to him that understandeth, and right to them that find knowledge.
- NKJV They are all plain to him who understands, And right to those who find knowledge.
- NASB “They are all straightforward to him who understands, And right to those who find knowledge.
- NLT My words are plain to anyone with understanding, clear to those with knowledge.
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's words are clear and right to those who seek understanding. The discerning readily grasp her truth.
Overview
To the person who understands and pursues knowledge, wisdom's words are plain and upright. The teachable heart perceives their rightness, while the unwilling remain blind. The verse reminds us that receiving wisdom requires a humble, seeking spirit ready to embrace the truth.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 16
- Prov 14:6A mocker seeks wisdom and finds none, but knowledge comes easily to the discerning.
- John 7:17If anyone desires to do His will, he will know whether My teaching is from God or whether I speak on My own.
- Jas 1:5Now if any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him.
- Ps 25:12–14Who is the man who fears the LORD? He will instruct him in the path chosen for him.
- John 6:45It is written in the Prophets: ‘And they will all be taught by God.’ Everyone who has heard the Father and learned from Him comes to Me—
- Prov 15:24The path of life leads upward for the wise, that he may avoid going down to Sheol.
- Matt 13:11–12He replied, “The knowledge of the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven has been given to you, but not to them.
- Prov 18:1–2He who isolates himself pursues selfish desires; he rebels against all sound judgment.
- Ps 19:7–8The Law of the LORD is perfect, reviving the soul; the testimony of the LORD is trustworthy, making wise the simple.
- Ps 119:98–100Your commandments make me wiser than my enemies, for they are always with me.
- Isa 35:8And there will be a highway called the Way of Holiness. The unclean will not travel it—only those who walk in the Way—and fools will not stray onto it.
- Prov 15:14A discerning heart seeks knowledge, but the mouth of a fool feeds on folly.
- Prov 18:15The heart of the discerning acquires knowledge, and the ear of the wise seeks it out.
- Prov 17:24Wisdom is the focus of the discerning, but the eyes of a fool wander to the ends of the earth.
- 1 Cor 2:14–15The natural man does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God. For they are foolishness to him, and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually discerned.
- Mic 2:7Should it be said, O house of Jacob, “Is the Spirit of the LORD impatient? Are these the things He does?” Do not My words bring good to him who walks uprightly?
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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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 8:9 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.