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Proverbs 9:10

WEBKJVBSBESVNKJVNASBNLT
The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom, and knowledge of the Holy One is understanding.
Proverbs 9:10 · Berean Standard Bible
Parallel translations
  • WEB The fear of Yahweh is the beginning of wisdom. The knowledge of the Holy One is understanding.
  • KJV The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom: and the knowledge of the holy is understanding.
  • NKJV “Thefear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, And the knowledge of the Holy One is understanding.
  • NASB The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, And the knowledge of the Holy One is understanding.
  • NLT Fear of the Lord is the foundation of wisdom. Knowledge of the Holy One results in 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

The fear of Yahweh is the beginning of wisdom, and knowing the Holy One is understanding. True wisdom starts with reverent knowledge of God.

Overview

This restates the central theme of Proverbs: reverent awe of God is the foundation and starting point of all genuine wisdom (cf. 1:7). To know 'the Holy One' is to have real understanding, because all true insight flows from rightly relating to God. This knowledge of God is offered fully in Christ, in whom God is most clearly revealed (John 17:3; Colossians 2:3).

Cross-references & the web

Theme

  • Wisdom"The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom."

Cross-references · 10

  • Ps 111:10The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom; all who follow His precepts gain rich understanding. His praise endures forever!
  • Job 28:28And He said to man, ‘Behold, the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom, and to turn away from evil is understanding.’”
  • Prov 1:7The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and discipline.
  • Eccl 12:13When all has been heard, the conclusion of the matter is this: Fear God and keep His commandments, because this is the whole duty of man.
  • Prov 2:5then you will discern the fear of the LORD and discover the knowledge of God.
  • 1 Jn 5:20And we know that the Son of God has come and has given us understanding, so that we may know Him who is true; and we are in Him who is true—in His Son Jesus Christ. He is the true God and eternal life.
  • John 17:3Now this is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom You have sent.
  • 1 Chr 28:9As for you, Solomon my son, know the God of your father and serve Him wholeheartedly and with a willing mind, for the LORD searches every heart and understands the intent of every thought. If you seek Him, He will be found by you; but if you forsake Him, He will reject you forever.
  • Prov 30:3I have not learned wisdom, and I have no knowledge of the Holy One.
  • Matt 11:27All things have been entrusted to Me by My Father. No one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and those to whom the Son chooses to reveal Him.

Themes, concepts, people & topics

Topics (2)
FEARWISDOM

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 9:10YouTube · 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 9:10 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.

The fearיִרְאָהof the LORDיְהֹוָהis the beginningתְּחִלָּהof wisdomחׇכְמָהand the knowledgeדַּעַתof the holyקָדוֹשׁis understandingבִּינָה
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