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Proverbs 9:10

WEBKJVBSBESVNKJVNASBNLT
The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom: and the knowledge of the holy is understanding.
Proverbs 9:10 · King James Version
Parallel translations
  • WEB The fear of Yahweh is the beginning of wisdom. The knowledge of the Holy One is understanding.
  • BSB The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom, and knowledge of the Holy One 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: a good understanding have all they that do his commandments: his praise endureth for ever.
  • Job 28:28And unto man he said, Behold, the fear of the LORD, that is wisdom; and to depart from evil is understanding.
  • Prov 1:7The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge: but fools despise wisdom and instruction.
  • Eccl 12:13Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God, and keep his commandments: for this is the whole duty of man.
  • Prov 2:5Then shalt thou understand the fear of the LORD, and find the knowledge of God.
  • 1 Jn 5:20And we know that the Son of God is come, and hath given us an understanding, that we may know him that is true, and we are in him that is true, even in his Son Jesus Christ. This is the true God, and eternal life.
  • John 17:3And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent.
  • 1 Chr 28:9And thou, Solomon my son, know thou the God of thy father, and serve him with a perfect heart and with a willing mind: for the LORD searcheth all hearts, and understandeth all the imaginations of the thoughts: if thou seek him, he will be found of thee; but if thou forsake him, he will cast thee off for ever.
  • Prov 30:3I neither learned wisdom, nor have the knowledge of the holy.
  • Matt 11:27All things are delivered unto me of my Father: and no man knoweth the Son, but the Father; neither knoweth any man the Father, save the Son, and he to whomsoever the Son will 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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