Lectionary Calendar
Saturday, July 19th, 2025
the Week of Proper 10 / Ordinary 15
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Read the Bible

Christian Standard Bible ®

Proverbs 4:8

Cherish her, and she will exalt you;if you embrace her, she will honor you.

Bible Study Resources

Concordances:

- Nave's Topical Bible - Young Men;   Thompson Chain Reference - Call, Divine;   God's;   Honour;   Honour-Dishonour;   Wisdom;   Wisdom-Folly;  

Dictionaries:

- Bridgeway Bible Dictionary - Education;   Charles Buck Theological Dictionary - Holiness;   Integrity;   Holman Bible Dictionary - Glory;   Proverbs, Book of;   People's Dictionary of the Bible - Proverbs book of;  

Encyclopedias:

- International Standard Bible Encyclopedia - Bring;   Embrace;   Exalt;   The Jewish Encyclopedia - Honor;  

Parallel Translations

Hebrew Names Version
Esteem her, and she will exalt you. She will bring you to honor, when you embrace her.
King James Version
Exalt her, and she shall promote thee: she shall bring thee to honour, when thou dost embrace her.
English Standard Version
Prize her highly, and she will exalt you; she will honor you if you embrace her.
New Century Version
Treasure wisdom, and it will make you great; hold on to it, and it will bring you honor.
New English Translation
Esteem her highly and she will exalt you; she will honor you if you embrace her.
Amplified Bible
"Prize wisdom [and exalt her], and she will exalt you; She will honor you if you embrace her.
New American Standard Bible
"Prize her, and she will exalt you; She will honor you if you embrace her.
World English Bible
Esteem her, and she will exalt you. She will bring you to honor, when you embrace her.
Geneva Bible (1587)
Exalt her, and she shall exalt thee: she shall bring thee to honour, if thou embrace her.
Legacy Standard Bible
Prize her, and she will exalt you;She will honor you if you embrace her.
Berean Standard Bible
Prize her, and she will exalt you; if you embrace her, she will honor you.
Contemporary English Version
If you value Wisdom and hold tightly to her, great honors will be yours.
Complete Jewish Bible
Cherish her, and she will exalt you; embrace her, and she will bring you honor;
Darby Translation
Exalt her, and she shall promote thee; she shall bring thee to honour when thou dost embrace her.
Easy-to-Read Version
Love wisdom, and she will make you great. Hold on to wisdom, and she will bring you honor.
George Lamsa Translation
Love her, and she shall exalt you; embrace her, and she shall honor you.
Good News Translation
Love wisdom, and she will make you great. Embrace her, and she will bring you honor.
Lexham English Bible
Cherish her and she will exalt you; she will honor you if you embrace her.
Literal Translation
Exalt her, and she will lift you up; she shall bring you to honor when you embrace her.
Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
Make moch of her, and she shal promote the: Yee yf thou embracest her, she shal brynge the vnto honoure.
American Standard Version
Exalt her, and she will promote thee; She will bring thee to honor, when thou dost embrace her.
Bible in Basic English
Put her in a high place, and you will be lifted up by her; she will give you honour, when you give her your love.
JPS Old Testament (1917)
Extol her, and she will exalt thee; she will bring thee to honour, when thou dost embrace her.
King James Version (1611)
Exalt her, and shee shall promote thee: shee shall bring thee to honour, when thou doest imbrace her.
Bishop's Bible (1568)
Make much of her, and she shall promote thee, yea if thou embrace her, she shall bryng thee vnto honour:
Brenton's Septuagint (LXX)
Secure it, and it shall exalt thee: honour it, that it may embrace thee;
English Revised Version
Exalt her, and she shall promote thee: she shall bring thee to honour, when thou dost embrace her.
Wycliffe Bible (1395)
Take thou it, and it schal enhaunse thee; thou schalt be glorified of it, whanne thou hast biclippid it.
Update Bible Version
Exalt her, and she will promote you; She will bring you to honor, when you embrace her.
Webster's Bible Translation
Exalt her, and she shall promote thee: she shall bring thee to honor, when thou dost embrace her.
New King James Version
Exalt her, and she will promote you; She will bring you honor, when you embrace her.
New Living Translation
If you prize wisdom, she will make you great. Embrace her, and she will honor you.
New Life Bible
Honor her and she will honor you. She will honor you if you hold her to your heart.
New Revised Standard
Prize her highly, and she will exalt you; she will honor you if you embrace her.
J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
Exalt her, and she will set thee on high, she will bring thee to honour, when thou dust embrace her:
Douay-Rheims Bible
Take hold on her, and she shall exalt thee: thou shalt be glorified by her, when thou shalt embrace her.
Revised Standard Version
Prize her highly, and she will exalt you; she will honor you if you embrace her.
Young's Literal Translation
Exalt her, and she doth lift thee up, She honoureth thee, when thou dost embrace her.
New American Standard Bible (1995)
"Prize her, and she will exalt you; She will honor you if you embrace her.

Contextual Overview

1Listen, sons, to a father’s discipline, 2for I am giving you good instruction.Don’t abandon my teaching. 3When I was a son with my father,tender and precious to my mother, 4he taught me and said:“Your heart must hold on to my words.Keep my commands and live. 5Get wisdom, get understanding;don’t forget or turn away from the words from my mouth. 6Don’t abandon wisdom, and she will watch over you;love her, and she will guard you. 7Wisdom is supreme—so get wisdom.And whatever else you get, get understanding. 8Cherish her, and she will exalt you;if you embrace her, she will honor you.9She will place a garland of favor on your head;she will give you a crown of beauty.” 10Listen, my son. Accept my words,and you will live many years.

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

Proverbs 3:35, Proverbs 22:4, 1 Samuel 2:30, 1 Kings 3:5-13, Daniel 12:3

Reciprocal: Proverbs 14:29 - exalteth Ecclesiastes 8:1 - a man's James 1:4 - perfect and

Cross-References

Genesis 4:3
In the course of time Cain presented some of the land’s produce as an offering to the Lord.
Genesis 4:6
Then the Lord said to Cain, “Why are you furious? And why do you look despondent?
Genesis 4:9
Then the Lord said to Cain, “Where is your brother Abel?”
Genesis 4:10
Then he said, “What have you done? Your brother’s blood cries out to me from the ground!
Genesis 4:12
If you work the ground, it will never again give you its yield. You will be a restless wanderer on the earth.”
Genesis 4:15
Then the Lord replied to him, “In that case, whoever kills Cain will suffer vengeance seven times over.” And he placed a mark on Cain so that whoever found him would not kill him.
Genesis 4:24
If Cain is to be avenged seven times over,then for Lamech it will be seventy-seven times!
Genesis 4:26
A son was born to Seth also, and he named him Enosh. At that time people began to call on the name of the Lord.
2 Samuel 3:27
When Abner returned to Hebron, Joab pulled him aside to the middle of the city gate, as if to speak to him privately, and there Joab stabbed him in the stomach. So Abner died in revenge for the death of Asahel, Joab’s brother.
2 Samuel 14:6
“Your servant had two sons. They were fighting in the field with no one to separate them, and one struck the other and killed him.

Gill's Notes on the Bible

Exalt her, and she shall promote thee,.... Christ is to be exalted in his person, by asserting his proper deity; by ascribing all divine perfections to him; by allowing him to be the author of all divine works; by giving him divine worship and homage; by owning his divine and eternal sonship, and distinct personality: he is to be exalted in all his offices of Prophet, Priest, and King, and as the only Redeemer and Saviour; by trusting in him, embracing his Gospel, and submitting to his ordinances, and such that exalt him, he will "promote" them here and hereafter; of which more in the next clause. According to the Talmudists u, the word for "exalt" signifies a diligent search, by turning things about to find out what is sought; and so the Septuagint interpret the word in the sense of "searching",

Jeremiah 50:26;

she shall bring thee to honour, when thou dost embrace her: by faith: for this is an act of faith, and a very considerable one, and is expressive of great nearness to Christ, of much intimacy and familiarity with him, of strong love and affection to him, of a good degree of boldness used with him, and of joy and exaltation in him; for such an action is used by persons near akin, and are very familiar with, and have a very great affection for one another, and use much freedom with each other, and rejoice at meeting together. Now such who embrace Christ, in the arms of their faith, as their alone Saviour, such he promotes and "brings to honour"; not to honour among men, for to embrace Christ and exalt him is the way to disgrace, though the disgrace is an honour, and will be before long rolled off; but to honour hereafter. Such will be set at his right hand, and be owned by him before his Father and his angels; and they will be placed on the same throne with him, and will reign with him for ever and ever; see 1 Samuel 2:30.

u T. Bab. Roshhashanah, fol. 26. 2.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

The counsel which has come to him, in substance, from his father. Compare it with 2 Samuel 23:2 etc.; 1 Chronicles 28:9; 1 Chronicles 29:17; Psalms 15:1-5; Psalms 24:1-10; Psalms 37:0.

Proverbs 4:7

Or, “The beginning of wisdom is - get wisdom.” To seek is to find, to desire is to obtain.

Proverbs 4:12

The ever-recurring parable of the journey of life. In the way of wisdom the path is clear and open, obstacles disappear; in the quickest activity (“when thou runnest”) there is no risk of falling.

Proverbs 4:13

She is thy life - Another parallel between personified Wisdom in this book and the Incarnate Wisdom in John 1:4.

Proverbs 4:16

A fearful stage of debasement. Sin is the condition without which there can be no repose.

Proverbs 4:17

i. e., Bread and wine gained by unjust deeds. Compare Amos 2:8. A less probable interpretation is, “They eat wickedness as bread, and drink violence as wine.” Compare Job 15:16; Job 34:7.

Proverbs 4:18

Shining ... shineth - The two Hebrew words are different; the first having the sense of bright or clear. The beauty of a cloudless sunshine growing on, shining as it goes, to the full and perfect day, is chosen as the fittest figure of the ever increasing brightness of the good man’s life. Compare the marginal reference.

Proverbs 4:19

Compare our Lord’s teaching John 11:10; John 12:35.

Proverbs 4:20

The teacher speaks again in his own person.

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse Proverbs 4:8. She shall bring thee to honour — There is nothing, a strict life of piety and benevolence excepted, that has such a direct tendency to reflect honour upon a man, as the careful cultivation of his mind. One of Bacon's aphorisms was, Knowledge is power; and it is truly astonishing to see what influence true learning has. Nothing is so universally respected, provided the learned man be a consistent moral character, and be not proud and overbearing; which is a disgrace to genuine literature.


 
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