yea, if thou criest after discernment [and] liftest up thy voice to understanding;
Verse 2 asks for a listening ear. Verse 3 adds a raised voice. Why must a seeker ask out loud at all, and who answers?
One writer lists the Hebrew words behind Solomon's teaching and names the one used in this verse:
We have several words connected with this. Wisdom is a common Hebrew word, chokmah, meaning practised, experienced, skilful... We also have beenah, which means discernment; Prov. 2:3.
Each phrase in verses 3 and 4 marks a step in the seeker's heart:
"If you call out for insight" — you understand your lack of it. "And raise your voice for understanding" — you are in earnest to have it. "If you seek it like silver" — you have a sense of what it is worth. "And search for it as for hidden treasures" — you are willing to dig the whole field over rather than fail in your search. Then "you will understand the fear of the Lord and find the knowledge of God."
Verses 1 and 2 are about taking in God's words. Verse 3 turns the seeker around to speak to God:
Verse 3 mentions prayer. There must be crying after knowledge and for understanding, and then seeking and searching must follow. If you meet these conditions, the fear of the Lord is yours, and so is the knowledge of God. These are excellent instructions for studying the Word of God.
One writer ties the cry to the Lord's teaching on prayer in Luke 11:
It really means turning the ear to wisdom and applying the heart to understanding. Yet this is not all. At the start of Luke 11 our Lord shows the need and the value of earnest prayer too. So here, crying out for discernment and raising the voice for understanding comes, in God's order, after receiving His words. God calls us to depend on Him and to be confident as we keep looking up to Him and pleading with Him.
The next verse compares the search to mining. Think of what men already go through to find treasure:
Our age can testify how eagerly men seek silver and gold and other hidden treasures. But now, as then, the labour is huge and the dangers never stop. The suffering is extreme, the experience is full of bitter trial and frequent disappointment, and the moral atmosphere is shameless. Whatever else, the search demands steadiness, endurance and unshaken resolve. From that the Holy Spirit draws the lesson in the one search where no disappointment is possible.
God has put much of His truth below the surface, where only a digger finds it:
Most truth is not in the plain language of the epistles. The Lord taught much in parables. The book of Revelation uses symbols almost entirely... We even are told that "it is the glory of God to conceal a thing" (Prov. 25:2) — hiding it where a diligent person can find it as a reward.
The cry does not produce wisdom. It puts the heart in place to receive what God alone gives:
This turns man's dream of education upside down. Man is proud of what he has gained for himself. "The Lord gives wisdom; from His mouth [not from man's mind or heart] come knowledge and understanding." And where do we find what "His mouth" gives out, except in His Word?
Some expect the Spirit's teaching to make effort unnecessary. But verse 5 promises its result only to those who meet the conditions of verses 3 and 4:
They no longer "call out for insight," or "raise the voice for understanding." They do not "seek it like silver," or "search for it as for hidden treasures." Yet they have no doubt that they "understand the fear of the Lord and find the knowledge of God" (Prov. 2:3-5). They expect a harvest without sowing any seed. They expect carelessness now to do the work of diligence, and to find the blessing it has never looked for.
- Cry — Verse 3 is prayer. First you take in God's words; then you raise your voice and ask Him for understanding.
- Lack — Calling out starts with admitting you lack insight. Raising your voice shows you are in earnest to have it.
- Value — You seek wisdom as men seek silver, ready to dig the whole field over rather than fail.
- Given — What the search finds is still a gift. The Lord gives wisdom, and knowledge and understanding come from His mouth — that is, from His Word.
- Harvest — The promise follows the conditions. Nobody reaps who never sowed, and carelessness will not do the work of diligence.
if thou seekest her as silver and searchest for her as for hidden treasures
Proverbs 2:4 sits inside a long "if". It runs from verse 1 and only lands in verse 5. Verse 4 closes the condition with two pictures: silver, and buried treasure. The real question is not whether wisdom can be had, but whether we want it enough to dig. (The writers quoted here use an older wording, "her," where the ESV has "it." Both stand for wisdom.)
One writer takes the two images in turn, adding a short gloss to each, and then names the price.
"If you seek her as silver [with an estimate of her value], and search for her as for hidden treasure [willing to dig the whole field over rather than fail in your search]…" It is the heart's estimate of the truth that quickens diligence in seeking it. This, and not the mind's dry activity, decides the rate and measure of progress in it. … "Buy the truth, and sell it not": no price is too great to pay for it, and no gain is enough to repay its loss.
The comparison is not decorative. It points to something anyone can watch happening — the effort, risk and stubbornness that people pour into getting rich — and then turns that same energy toward a search that ends better.
Our age can testify to the zeal with which men seek silver and gold and other hidden treasures… But now, as then, the toil is immense and the dangers are constant. The sufferings are extreme, the experience full of bitter trial and frequent disappointment, the moral atmosphere shameless. Yet in any case the search demands constancy, endurance and undaunted resolve. From that the Holy Spirit draws the lesson where no disappointment can be.
Silver does not lie on the surface. Neither does the wisdom of God.
The Bible does not give us truth in neat formulas, nor does it treat us to precise definitions. Had it been built on that principle, no doubt we might have saved ourselves much trouble and escaped a good deal of controversy. But such a method would have been harmful rather than helpful. It would have put a premium on laziness. Only diligence and taking pains uncover its deeper meaning.
The same point has an uncomfortable edge. Some skip the digging and still expect the promised result.
There are many who seem to think that the teaching of the Spirit of God should set all this aside. They speak dismissively of the "study" even of the Word of God. They do not "seek her as silver," nor "search for her as for hidden treasures." Yet they have no doubt they will "understand the fear of the Lord, and find the knowledge of God." Without sowing seed, they expect harvests, and expect that negligence now will do the work of diligence, and find the blessing it never sought.
Verse 4 does not stand alone. Searching is the last step in a chain, and prayer comes before it.
You must receive the sayings of Wisdom, that is the Word of the Lord, and store them up. Your ear must listen to them and your heart must apply itself to understanding. Verse 3 mentions prayer. There must be crying after knowledge and for understanding, and then seeking and searching must follow. If you meet these conditions, then the fear of the Lord is your portion, and the knowledge of God with it.
The digging never becomes a purchase. Wisdom has a giver.
It is not merely that I get wiser by my own understanding, but that Jehovah gives true wisdom. It is what He has said, His Word, that gives true knowledge and understanding, and the one who seeks it will get it.
Another writer holds both sides in one line.
Given it is: no mere earnestness or toil would gain it otherwise, and yet it is given in a way that needs diligence of heart to receive it.
Does the hidden treasure here mean Christ, as in the parable of Matthew 13? One writer urges caution.
Some have been too quick to assume from Prov. 2:4 that the treasure is Christ. They take the parable as a picture of how we obtain the blessings of the gospel. Without doubt, in Proverbs the point is to build a spirit of earnestness in seeking wisdom… But in Matt. 13 a similar figure serves a different purpose. There it is not the diligence of the searcher so much as the value of the treasure sought that stands out.
- Value first. Silver stands for what you think wisdom is worth. Your estimate sets how hard you will look.
- Then effort. Hidden treasure stands for what you will go through. The searcher digs the whole field rather than come away empty.
- Hidden on purpose. Truth does not come in tidy formulas. That would reward laziness. Only those who take pains reach the depths.
- Ask, then dig. Verse 4's searching follows verse 3's crying out: receive the Word, pray, then dig.
- Given, not bought. The Lord gives wisdom. No effort can buy it, and no neglect will receive it.
then shalt thou understand the fear of Jehovah, and find the knowledge of God.
Proverbs 2 opens with a chain of conditions: receiving, storing up, listening, calling out, digging. Verse 5 is the "then" they all lead to, and it names the reward — reverence for God, and knowledge of Him.
The verse begins with "then," so everything depends on verses 1–4. One writer sees two conditions at work: taking in God's words, and asking Him for more.
God gave us birth by His own will, through the word of truth. In the same way, receiving His words and storing up His commandments is the constant condition of blessing. We see in Luke 10 our Lord deciding for Mary the good part that would not be taken from her... It is really to incline the ear to wisdom and to apply the heart to understanding. Yet this is not all, for at the beginning of Luke 11 our Lord shows the need and the value of earnest prayer as well.
The four phrases are not repetition. One writer explains each in turn, and adds that your reason for searching counts as much as the search.
As to the study of truth, it must be with the intent to obey, and not to speculate... If your secret aim is to feed the imagination, or to satisfy the craving to know, then know this: you will be "always learning and never able to arrive at a knowledge of the truth." It is otherwise when you "call out for insight" [understand your lack of it], "raise your voice for understanding" [in earnest to have it], "seek it like silver" [with an estimate of its value], and "search for it as for hidden treasures" [willing to dig the whole field over rather than fail in your search]. Then you will "understand the fear of the LORD and find the knowledge of God."
Another writer presses the picture of digging, and marks one difference from any hunt for buried treasure.
Suppose we had an earthly treasure in our gardens, and did not quite know where it was. Would there be any part of the garden that we would not turn over with pick and spade to get at it? Yet here is heavenly treasure! And with one difference: here our work is certain to be rewarded.
The word does not mean terror. One writer defines it, and shows where knowledge starts.
The word "fear" means a godly fear, reverence... This childlike reverence is the beginning of knowledge, and it is sadly lacking among young people today. There is no true knowledge apart from the fear of the Lord. It means to acknowledge the Lord, to adore and worship Him, to bow in faith to His revelation and to put it above everything else.
The seeking is real, but what the seeker finds is a gift. (Some of these writers quote an older translation, which prints God's covenant name "Jehovah" where the ESV has "the LORD.")
Jehovah is full of goodness and mercy. So He "gives wisdom," when the heart is in earnest. It is the reversal of man's dream of education. Man is proud of his own acquisitions. "Jehovah gives wisdom; out of His mouth [not out of man's mind or heart] come knowledge and understanding." And where do we find what "His mouth" gives out? Only in His Word.
One writer notes the shift here: from a call sent out to men, to a heart seeking for itself.
It takes the place of the son — the obedient soul who receives the words of counsel and keeps the commandments inside himself... So here we do not have a call to men. Instead the heart itself seeks true wisdom as its portion and treasure, and in that way it gains the understanding of relationship with Jehovah and the knowledge of God.
Some claim the promise while skipping the conditions attached to it.
There are many who seem to think that the teaching of the Spirit of God should set all this aside. They even speak dismissively of "studying" the word of God. They no longer "call out for insight," nor "raise the voice for understanding." They do not "seek it like silver," nor "search for it as for hidden treasures." Yet they have no doubt that they will "understand the fear of the LORD and find the knowledge of God." They expect harvests without sowing seed. They expect that carelessness will now do the work of diligence, and find the blessing it has never sought.
- Value — you dig for what you think is worth digging for. The seeker treats wisdom like silver because he has already priced it.
- Cry — taking in God's words is only half the condition. The other half is asking Him for understanding.
- Dig — the search is heavenly treasure hunting, and it is the one search where the reward is certain.
- Given — the outcome is not an achievement of the mind but a gift from God's mouth, and His mouth speaks in His Word.
- Know — the reward is not facts but reverence and relationship: you know God, and you give Him His place.
For Jehovah giveth wisdom; out of his mouth [come] knowledge and understanding.
Proverbs 2 opens with a long "if": receive, treasure, listen, cry out, search as for hidden treasure. This verse is the "for" behind it — wisdom is not dug out of the human mind; God gives it.
The verse gives the reason behind the promise of verses 4-5: the seeking is real, but the giving is what makes it work. (Where the quotations below say "Jehovah," the ESV has "the LORD.")
If you seek wisdom as something priceless, search for her as for hidden treasure, and seek her openly and deliberately, you grasp the fear of Jehovah. You arrive at the knowledge of God. So here it is not a call to men that we have, but the heart itself seeking true wisdom as its portion and treasure... "For Jehovah gives wisdom." It is not merely that I get wiser by man's understanding, but Jehovah gives true wisdom. It is what He has said, His word, which gives true knowledge and understanding, and he who seeks it will get it.
The second half of the verse names where knowledge and understanding come from, and naming it rules out a rival.
Jehovah is full of goodness and mercy. So here He "gives wisdom," when the heart is in earnest like this. It is the reversal of man's dream of education. Man is proud of what he has gained. "Jehovah gives wisdom; out of His mouth [not out of man's mind or heart] come knowledge and understanding." Where can we find what "His mouth" gives out? Only in His Word.
Since the words come from His mouth, one writer turns this into advice for young Christians:
One of the first obligations of the believer is to study the Word of God... In this spirit you must search and systematically study the Scriptures, if you would be "complete, equipped for every good work" (2 Tim. 3:17). I do not say, Read no other book; but I do say, Make the Bible your chief companion.
"Gives" is generous language, and the New Testament echoes it. Yet the wisdom is stored up for one kind of person.
For it is the Lord Himself who gives wisdom. James 1:5 tells us He "gives generously to all without reproach." From His mouth come knowledge and understanding, and Scripture certainly supplies us with the words of His mouth. He has stored up sound wisdom there, and only the upright can appreciate it. Those who are lost in their rebellion consider God's wisdom to be foolishness (1 Cor. 1:18).
The chapter tells the son to receive words and also to cry out for understanding. One writer sets these beside two scenes from Luke's Gospel — Mary sitting at Jesus' feet to listen, and His teaching on prayer.
We see in Luke 10 our Lord deciding for Mary that she had chosen the good portion, which would not be taken from her... It is really to incline the ear to wisdom, and to apply the heart to understanding. Yet this is not all, for at the beginning of Luke 11 our Lord shows the need and the value of earnest prayer too. So here, crying out for discernment and lifting up the voice for understanding comes after receiving His words — that is God's order. We are called to dependence and confidence as we keep looking up to Him.
Because wisdom is a gift and not an achievement, no one can store it up or hand it down. Solomon's own family shows it.
Solomon failed to keep the brightness of his beginning. Old age found him foolish about his wives, and unfaithful to the glory of the One who had given him all that made him what he was at first. Still less could Solomon guarantee wisdom for the son who succeeded him on his throne. No one acted less wisely than Rehoboam, and his humiliation was not small. But "Jehovah gives wisdom" — He alone, and surely. He gives it to those who wait on Him with purpose of heart, and who diligently search into and value the treasures of that Word which He has magnified above all His name.
The same truth cuts the other way for the mocker, who wants wisdom on his own terms:
A scorner is more boldly evil and presumptuous. He "seeks wisdom," but in his own way, which is as far as possible from the Lord. So, as is said here, there is none for him. "For Jehovah gives wisdom" (Prov. 2:6); and blessed is he that finds it (Prov. 3:13).
- Source. Wisdom has one origin: the Lord gives it. Getting cleverer by your own understanding is a different thing altogether.
- Channel. What "His mouth" says is found in His Word. So the search means systematic study of Scripture, with the Bible as your chief companion.
- Manner. He gives generously and without reproach. Yet He stores sound wisdom where only the upright value it; to the rebellious it looks like foolishness.
- Posture. Receiving His words and crying out for understanding go together. Sit and listen, then ask — with dependence and confidence.
- Limit. No one can store this gift or hand it to the next generation. Solomon lost his brightness, and Rehoboam never had it. God gives it afresh to those who wait on Him.