Hear, ye children, the instruction of a father, and attend to know intelligence;
Chapter four opens with a father calling his children to listen. Two questions shape everything that follows: who is this voice, and what does a hearer gain by paying attention?
One writer points to the form this appeal takes:
The form chosen is that of a father, not of a lawgiver. So it is not even a catechism of the Ten Commandments. It is a parent's instruction. Attention is called for so that understanding, or discernment, may follow. The same Spirit who took His part in creation, who gave skill for the glory of Jehovah, who worked in all that was good and great and holy, would here draw the young heart to listen.
The difference is not only in tone. It shapes what the father hands down:
It is not law, but wisdom and wisdom's commandments, good doctrine, understanding. There is responsibility, commandment, and counsel. It is divine wisdom about our path, followed in obedience, but it is not law. It is divine knowledge in the middle of evil, which the law is not — the law forbids all evil.
He adds that this knowledge has to be searched out:
Taught in this way, it was to be kept in the heart. It was to be discovered and gained. You could not say that of law. There was nothing to discover.
The father speaking here can point back to his own childhood, and that is part of why the appeal lands.
The one teaching here can speak of the loving care given to him in his own early days, when he was "a son with his father, tender, the only one in the sight of his mother." So the affections are stirred first, to awaken the new duties. The teacher had himself been taught — and saying so made the appeal deeply moving.
Another writer names the father and son behind this, then turns to parents today:
As Solomon grew up, his father David taught him how important wisdom is. He insisted that Solomon get wisdom (Proverbs 4:1-9)… Parents today should also encourage their children to seek true wisdom. They should praise them when they show godly wisdom. The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, we are told over and over.
Listening is not the whole of it. What the father asks for goes deeper than agreement:
Obedience is sought — obedience of the heart. Could Jehovah be content with anything less? Could one of His people want anything else? Self-will is the great and constant hindrance. The enemy would stir it up, and shut God out by the things outside us and the passions within. The need for instruction is all the deeper… Here a father's authority is pressed, and the responsibility of sons is claimed.
This call first went to hearers inside Israel. One writer does not leave it there:
Deliverance, as we all recognize, is not the subject here. The subject is instruction, given to obedient hearts within God's ancient people, as in the rest of the Old Testament. But now the Christian is to profit by it to the full, for "all things are ours."
One writer hears the language of this chapter again in the words of Jesus:
The Sermon on the Mount is simply the sayings of wisdom that are to be kept. So the Lord says, "If anyone keeps my word, he will never see death." "If my words abide in you," says Christ… He takes the place of wisdom in all He says.
A father's teaching can still be ignored. One writer points to Solomon's own family:
How many of Solomon's children paid close attention to this may be a question. But the son who inherited the throne, Rehoboam, was far from wise in his first dealings with the people (1 Kings 12:1-15). The result was a split between the ten tribes and the two, and it has never yet been healed.
- Father — this voice is a father's, not a lawgiver's. It gives instruction, not a catechism of the Ten Commandments.
- Wisdom — what the father hands over is not law. It is wisdom, understanding, good doctrine: divine knowledge for a path through evil, and it must be searched out and gained.
- Taught — the teacher was once a taught son himself, loved and cared for. David pressed wisdom on Solomon, and parents today have the same work.
- Response — a father's authority is pressed, and sons carry the responsibility. Nothing less than heart obedience will do, against the constant pull of self-will.
- Reach — these words were spoken inside Israel. Yet the Christian is to profit by them to the full, and their language sounds again in Christ, who takes the place of wisdom in all He says.
for I give you good doctrine forsake ye not my law.
Proverbs 4 opens with a father calling his sons to listen, and verse 2 gives the reason: what he hands them is worth keeping. He calls that teaching "good," which raises three questions: who is really speaking, what "law" means here, and why a son should hold on to it.
These words come from a home, not a courtroom. The appeal is to understanding, not to bare obedience.
The form chosen is that of a father, not of a legislator. So it is not even a catechism of the Ten Commandments, but parental instruction. It calls for attention, so that the hearer may gain intelligence or discernment. The same Spirit took His part in creation. He gave skill for the glory of Jehovah. He worked in all that was good and great and holy. Here He would engage the young heart to hear. For He surely has good doctrine to give, and would guard against forsaking His law or teaching.
The ESV renders it "teaching"; older translations, which the commentators follow, say "law." Hebrew has several words for law, and the one used in these family appeals means instruction.
A Hebrew concordance shows six different words translated "law." Deuteronomy 33:2, which speaks of the "fiery law," uses the word dahth. But another word, tohr-ah, appears 25 times in Psalm 119 (dahth not at all), and the margin of Psalm 19:7 renders it "doctrine." The same word appears in Proverbs 6:20: "Forsake not the law," that is, doctrine, "of your mother." "Law" here covers, no doubt, the whole teaching of Jehovah to His people, whether found in the Ten Commandments or elsewhere.
Teaching works differently from legislation. You can keep or break a command; wisdom you have to go after and take in.
It is not law, but wisdom and wisdom's commandments, good doctrine, understanding. There is responsibility, commandment, and counsel; divine wisdom for our path, followed in obedience, but not law. It is divine knowledge in the middle of evil — which the law is not; the law forbids all evil... God founded the earth by wisdom, not by law. It is a far larger thing — the whole mind of God... Taught in that way, it was to be kept in the heart; it was to be discovered, attained. You could not say that of law. There was nothing to discover.
The verses that follow show where Solomon's teaching came from, and what it later produced in him.
Solomon looks back to his own youth, and to a father and mother plainly united in their care for him (vv. 2-3). David taught him to keep his father's words, and to find true life in obedience (v. 4). David's words in verses 5 to 9 may have moved Solomon so deeply that they led to his prayer to God for wisdom and knowledge (2 Chronicles 1:7-9).
The way this father speaks about his words — keep them, retain them, live — reappears later on the lips of Jesus.
There is something very striking in the likeness of the language here to the language of Christ in the New Testament. The Sermon on the Mount is just the sayings of wisdom, and they are to be kept. So the Lord says, "If anyone keeps my word, he will never see death." "If my words abide in you," says Christ. "Whoever does not love me does not keep my words." "If anyone loves me, he will keep my word." There is more than that in Christ; but He takes the place of wisdom in all He says.
Proverbs was first given to Israel, so a reader today may wonder how much of it belongs to them.
But now the Christian is to profit by it to the fullest, for "all things are ours." The Book does not give us the exalted Head. It does not give the heavenly glory we are to share with Him as members of His body, nor the duties that flow from that relationship. But it does reveal divine wisdom for a saint here below.
- Given — The father hands over what he calls good. It is home teaching, not law-making, and it asks for discernment, not bare obedience.
- Named — The "law" of this verse translates a Hebrew word also rendered "doctrine." It is the same word used of a mother's teaching in Proverbs 6:20.
- Sought — Wisdom has to be discovered and gained, then kept in the heart. A bare command holds nothing to discover.
- Passed on — Solomon gives what David first gave him. That early teaching may lie behind his own prayer for wisdom.
- Fulfilled — Christ speaks the same way about keeping His words. This wisdom for life here below is still ours to use to the fullest.
For I was a son unto my father, tender and an only one in the sight of my mother.
Solomon stops for a moment to tell us where he learned his teaching. Before he taught anyone, he was a small boy in his father's house and under his mother's eye. Two questions follow. What do the words "tender" and "the only one" mean here? And why does a teacher base his appeal on his own childhood?
Solomon speaks here as a parent, not as a lawgiver. He does not hand down rules. He remembers being loved, and that memory becomes his argument.
The form chosen is that of a father, not of a legislator. So it is not even a summary of the Ten Commandments, but parental instruction. The father calls for attention, to bring understanding or discernment... The one who teaches can speak of the loving care given to his own early days. He was "a son with his father, tender, the only one in the sight of his mother." This calls the affections back, to awaken the new duties. It was not only that the teacher had himself been taught; saying so gave his appeal its touching force.
The Hebrew word behind "the only one" is yachid; older translations render it "only beloved." It speaks of depth of love, not a count of children.
The expression also suggests the thought of the deepest affection. It matches the Old Testament word yachid, which is translated "only one" (Genesis 22:2, 12), "only son" (Jeremiah 6:26; Amos 8:10; Zechariah 12:10), "only beloved" (Proverbs 4:3), and "darling" (Psalm 22:20; 35:17).
The word does not count children. It marks Solomon out as the treasured one.
The other word in the verse is "tender." Solomon was still soft and young when the teaching began. One writer draws the practical lesson with a picture from the garden.
A wise and skilful gardener starts training the branches while his fruit trees are young and tender. He trains them along the wall, where they may catch the warm rays of the sun. We should do the same. While our children are young and easily shaped, we should seek to mould them for God. It would be sheer folly for the gardener to wait until the branches grow old and gnarled. If he tried to train them then, he would find it a hopeless task.
Solomon names both parents in one line. One writer notes that they were united in their care for him.
Solomon speaks of giving good doctrine, urging his children not to forsake his law (v. 2). Then he refers to his own youth, and to his father and mother being clearly united in their care for him (vv. 2-3). David taught him to hold on to his father's words, to find true life in obedience (v. 4).
The teaching bore fruit later. One writer links David's counsel with what Solomon asked God for at Gibeon, and with what God gave him.
David's earnest counsel will account, at least in part, for Solomon's answer to the LORD at Gibeon. How remarkably God met his desire. Solomon pleaded that Israel was "so great": how could he carry the responsibility of guiding such a nation? Now compare verses 20 and 29 of 1 Kings 4. One says, "Judah and Israel were as many as the sand by the sea." The other says, "God gave Solomon wisdom and understanding beyond measure, and breadth of mind like the sand on the seashore." Wisdom according to the need!
The verse describes a chain: David taught Solomon, Solomon teaches his own sons. The next generation shows that this chain can break.
How many of Solomon's children paid close attention to this may be a question. But the son who inherited the throne, Rehoboam, was far from wise in his first dealings with the people (1 Kings 12:1-15). That led to a break between the ten tribes and the two, and it has never yet been healed.
- Loved. "The only one" translates yachid, the word also rendered "darling" in the Psalms. It measures love, not numbers.
- Tender. The child was young and soft when the teaching began. You shape a branch while it bends, not after it hardens.
- Taught. Both parents stand in the verse, united in their care, and the teacher speaks as a father, not as a lawgiver.
- Asked. What David poured in came back out at Gibeon. God met Solomon's desire and gave him wisdom in the measure the task demanded.
- Passed on. Solomon now says to his sons what David said to him. Rehoboam did not listen, so every generation must receive the words for itself.
And he taught me, and said unto me, Let thy heart retain my words; keep my commandments and live.
Solomon, writing to his own children, stops to tell them where he first learned wisdom: at his father David's knee. What he passes on is not his own rule but a charge he received, and its promise is life.
One commentator points to the form these words take. It is family affection, not legal authority.
The form chosen is that of a father, not of a lawgiver. So it is not even a catechism of the "ten words," but a parent's teaching; and the call for attention aims at understanding and discernment... The writer God uses can speak of the loving care given to his own early days, when he was, in his own words, "a son with my father, tender, the only one in the sight of my mother." So the affections are stirred to awaken the new duties. The teacher had not only been taught himself; that he had been taught made his appeal touch the heart.
"My commandments" here does not point to the law. The difference matters. Law forbids evil; wisdom is knowledge for living in the middle of it.
It is not law, but wisdom and wisdom's commandments, good doctrine, understanding. There is responsibility, commandment, and counsel. There is divine wisdom about our path, followed in obedience, but it is not law. It is divine knowledge in the middle of evil, which the law is not; the law forbids all evil... God founded the earth by wisdom, not by law. It is a far larger thing — the whole mind of God... Taught in this way, it was to be kept in the heart. It was to be discovered and gained. You could not say that of law. There was nothing to discover.
The same writer hears something familiar in this way of speaking. It returns in the words of Jesus.
There is something very striking in how the language here is like the language of Christ in the New Testament. The Sermon on the Mount is simply the sayings of wisdom that we are to keep. So the Lord says, "If anyone keeps my word, he will never see death." "If my words abide in you," says Christ... There is more than that in Christ; but He takes the place of wisdom in everything He says. There was a person and source of grace, One in whom, in subjection, these words were filled full. When He spoke, His words were the exact expression of what He was.
Why are obedience and life joined here? One commentator answers that God's words are not payment for good behaviour. They are food.
That is the path of life, for man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God. So here we read, "keep my commandments, and live." Yet self-will easily spoils the teaching that comes from God, though that teaching alone feeds us. It needs close guarding in a world of evil, full of things that defile.
Elsewhere Scripture records what David charged his son to do. It fills in the commandments Solomon received.
"Serve Him (the LORD) with a whole heart and with a willing mind, for the LORD searches all hearts and understands every plan and thought. If you seek Him, He will be found by you, but if you forsake Him, He will cast you off forever" (1 Chr. 28:9)... In simple words — obey God's Word — God judges motives as well as acts — be brave for God — God's righteous government goes with sin — depend on God for His lasting support in His work. These were wise, solemn and encouraging words from a father to a son. Did Solomon pay any attention to his father? Yes, he did.
Later, at Gibeon, Solomon asked God for wisdom to guide Israel. One writer traces that answer back to his father's counsel.
David's earnest counsel explains, at least in part, Solomon's answer to the LORD at Gibeon. How wonderfully He met his desire. Solomon pleaded that Israel was "so great": how could he carry the weight of guiding such a nation?... "God gave Solomon wisdom and understanding beyond measure, and breadth of mind like the sand on the seashore." Wisdom to match the need!
This responsibility did not end with Israel's kings.
Here a father presses his authority, and claims the responsibility of sons. This was always true for man on earth, as the law recognised long afterwards. It still holds good now that we are no longer guided as children.
- Taught — this comes as a father's instruction, not a lawgiver's code. It stirs the affections before it commands the will.
- Treasured — the teaching is to be kept in the heart. Wisdom is something to discover and gain; law gave nothing to discover.
- Kept — self-will easily spoils this teaching, so it needs close guarding in a world full of evil.
- Lived — the promise "and live" rests on this: man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.
- Passed on — David's counsel shaped Solomon's answer at Gibeon, and God gave wisdom to match the need. The same claim on sons still holds good.
Get wisdom, get intelligence forget [it] not; neither decline from the words of my mouth.
A father is speaking here. He passes on to his own sons the words his father once spoke to him, so the call to get wisdom comes as a family inheritance, not as a law. That raises three questions. What kind of authority is speaking? Why must wisdom be got rather than just obeyed? And what does it take not to lose it?
How the teaching is given matters as much as what it says.
The form chosen is that of a father, not of a legislator. So it is not even a catechism of the "ten words," but a parent's teaching, and it calls for attention so that there may be understanding or discernment... The teacher himself can speak of the loving care given to his own early days, when he was "a son to his father, tender and only beloved in the sight of his mother." This calls the affections back, to awaken the new duties.
The verb is "get." Wisdom is something you go after and gain. One writer explains why you could never say that of the law.
It is not law, but wisdom and wisdom's commandments, good doctrine, understanding. There is responsibility, commandment, and counsel. It is divine wisdom about our path, followed in obedience, but not law... It was taught so that the heart would hold on to it. It was there to be discovered and gained, and you could never say that of law. In the law there was nothing to discover. They were then neither to forget it nor to turn from it (v. 5).
You can gain wisdom and then lose it. The verse guards against that, and one writer names what causes the loss.
So the exhortation is, "Get wisdom; get insight; do not forget, and do not turn away from the words of my mouth." What God seeks is obedience, obedience of the heart... Self-will is certainly the great and constant hindrance. The enemy would stir it up, and shut God out by the things outside and the passions within. All the deeper is the need of instruction.
The father asks his son to hold on to his words. One writer hears the same note in the way Jesus spoke.
The language here is strikingly close to the language of Christ in the New Testament. The Sermon on the Mount is simply the sayings of wisdom that are to be kept. So the Lord says, "If anyone keeps my word, he will never see death." "If you abide in me, and my words abide in you," says Christ. "Whoever does not love me does not keep my words."... There was a Person and source of grace, One in whom these words were filled out in subjection. When He spoke, His words were the exact expression of what He was.
If wisdom must be got, where do we get it? One writer points us away from our own resources.
Christ in glory is the Head of His Body, the Church — and all wisdom is in the Head, so that though we have no wisdom in ourselves, we have full wisdom in Christ. One has truly said, "Christ is made wisdom to us, that is intelligence. He alone could lead men through the perplexities of this world of moral confusion, where there is no way." So the most important thing of all is to give up our own "heads" and look to Christ as "the Head" to guide us.
Years later Solomon gave his answer to God at Gibeon. One writer traces that answer back to his father's counsel.
David's earnest counsel will account, at least in part, for Solomon's answer to Jehovah at Gibeon. How remarkably He met his desire. Solomon pleaded that Israel was "so great": how could he carry the responsibility of guiding such a nation?... "God gave Solomon wisdom and understanding beyond measure, and breadth of mind like the sand on the seashore." Wisdom to match the need!
- Source — a father's instruction, not a legislator's code. Affection carries the authority, and it reaches the heart first.
- Getting — wisdom is there to be discovered and gained. You could never say that of law: in law there was nothing to discover.
- Guarding — "do not forget" names the real enemy of what you have gained: self-will, stirred up by things outside and passions within.
- Growing — the sayings to be kept sound like the way Christ spoke; His words were the exact expression of what He was.
- Given — Solomon asked, and God gave wisdom to match the need. We look to Christ, who holds all wisdom for us.
Forsake her not, and she shall keep thee; love her, and she shall preserve thee.
This verse gives two commands — do not forsake, and love — and answers each with a promise of keeping. A father is passing on to his son what his own father taught him, which raises two questions: what is this "wisdom," and how can it keep the person who keeps it?
This is not law handed down by an official. One writer points to the form the teaching takes:
The form chosen is that of a father, not of a lawmaker. So it is not even a lesson book on the Ten Commandments. It is a parent teaching his child, calling for attention so that the child will understand... The man God uses here can speak of the loving care given to him in his own early days, when, as he says, he was "a son with my father, tender, the only one in the sight of my mother." So he stirs the affections first, to awaken the new duties.
If the son must hold onto wisdom, what is he holding? The same writer rules out the obvious answers:
It is not language or literature or science. It is the kind of education whose foundation is the fear of the Lord.
Another writer puts it in four practical habits:
Diligence in attention to the Word, avoiding evil, self-judgment, and single-eyed purpose of heart.
You can study a subject, but you cannot love one the way you love a person. One writer lines up the commands of this passage with the promises that answer them:
Note the different commands about wisdom: do not forget it; do not forsake her; love her; exalt her. Then the promises: she will preserve you; she will keep you; she will promote you; she gives honour; an ornament of grace for the head and a crown of glory. If we take wisdom and make it the Lord Jesus Christ and His Word, what blessed food for the soul we will enjoy!
Later in the same book, wisdom speaks for herself. One writer says that settles what she is:
Wisdom speaks, not as an abstract quality, but as a Person capable of loving and being loved. "I love those who love Me, and those who seek Me diligently find Me."
The promise assumes danger. One writer says what kind of world the reader walks through, and what exalting wisdom leads to:
They were not to forsake wisdom, which has power to preserve: "love her, and she will guard you"... Those who are of God pass through a world of evil. They need wisdom from above to keep them. This world is a wilderness with no path, except the one grace provides for faith. There will be suffering for Christ's sake as well as for righteousness. But "Prize her highly [her, not yourself], and she will exalt you."
How does holding onto something protect you? One writer applies the verse to Mephibosheth. He was lame in both feet, and King David gave him a seat at the royal table for life. Safety, this writer says, came from enjoying that place:
To find fault with the Lord results in leaving Him; to be satisfied with the Lord keeps us in the safe place... Why was Mephibosheth in the safe place? Why did he stay there? "For he ate always at the king's table." To enjoy the Lord's fellowship according to the favour given to us is in itself a protective power. "Do not forsake her, and she will keep you; love her, and she will guard you" (Prov. 4:6). If we cling to the truth, the truth itself will be our protection from all evil ways.
The son who received this counsel later became king. He asked God for the very thing his father had urged him to get. One writer shows how the answer matched the need:
Solomon pleaded that Israel was "so great": how could he carry the responsibility of guiding such a nation? Now compare 1 Kings 4:20 and 29. "Judah and Israel were as many as the sand by the sea." "God gave Solomon wisdom and understanding beyond measure, and breadth of mind like the sand on the seashore." Wisdom according to the need!
- Father, not lawgiver. The words come as a father's teaching. He stirs love first, and duty grows out of it.
- Not learning, but fear. Wisdom here is not language, literature or science. It rests on the fear of the Lord, and it shows up as attention to the Word, avoiding evil, self-judgment and a single-eyed heart.
- A Person, not a quality. Commentators read wisdom as Christ and His Word. In Proverbs 8 wisdom speaks as someone who loves in return. That is why a son can be asked to love her.
- Hold on and be held. The world is a wilderness with no path except the one grace provides. Whoever refuses to let wisdom go is the one wisdom keeps.
- Nearness is the guard. Mephibosheth stayed at the king's table, and that nearness kept him safe. The wisdom God gives is always sized to the need.
The beginning of wisdom [is], Get wisdom; and with all thy getting get intelligence.
Solomon passes on the charge his own father gave him, and it sounds circular: the first thing wisdom asks is that you go and get wisdom. So why does this one pursuit come before everything else, and what does it cost?
Older translations read "wisdom is the principal thing" here. One writer ties the call to the kind of world the reader has to cross:
The beginning of wisdom, as we are told so strongly, is to "get wisdom, and with all your getting get understanding." Those who are of God pass through a world of evil. They need wisdom from above to keep them. It is a wilderness with no way through, except the one grace provides for faith.
Wisdom is not one fine interest among many. One writer sets this path beside the walk of Christ, who never stumbled:
He walked in the daylight of God's will — in the day, and did not stumble. So here, the one who follows wisdom will not stumble. That is why "wisdom is the principal thing." It is really "life," the path of life. The power that will set the world right has not come yet — it will. Our path now is wisdom: the good mind of God, followed in the middle of evil.
The verse asks for two things: wisdom and insight (older translations say understanding). Neither one is just information. One writer defines wisdom by what a person does with what he knows:
And what is wisdom? It is putting knowledge to the right use. Without that, knowledge is a dangerous thing.
Another writer sorts the same two words the other way round:
Wisdom is no doubt the proper perception of knowledge, while understanding is the proper application of knowledge.
So commentators differ on which word carries which sense. They agree that knowledge on its own is not the goal.
The cost is real, but you do not pay it in money. On a later call to buy truth and not sell it, one writer names the price:
It is true that no money can buy the truth. What buys it is the heart's desire, and waiting on Him who gives freely and does not find fault. But many things tempt us to sell it for the attractions of the flesh and of the world, and He alone can keep us from them.
The search is hard work, but the supply comes from God:
If she is sought as something priceless, searched out like hidden treasure, and openly named as what you are after, the result follows. You take hold of the fear of Jehovah and arrive at the knowledge of God... "For Jehovah gives wisdom." It is not just that I grow wiser by man's understanding. 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 one who has no wisdom of his own is not left short:
All wisdom is in the Head, so that though we have no wisdom in ourselves, we have full wisdom in Christ. One has truly said, "Christ is made wisdom to us, that is intelligence. He alone could lead men through the perplexities of this world of moral confusion, where there is no way."
God matched His supply to the size of Solomon's task. One writer applies that to every reader who feels out of his depth:
A great lesson is here. The greater the responsibility and need, the greater the divine provision to meet it. Let us take courage! Solomon's God is ours. We can trust Him to stand by us with all the fullness of His wisdom and grace, in any place He is pleased to set us, however hard it may be.
Giving wisdom the first place is not a loss. The verses that follow promise honour, and one writer notes where that honour comes from:
Verse 8 shows the result of giving wisdom her proper place: we receive honour even in our present life. The world may despise us. Even so, those who are wise will honour us.
- Priority. Wisdom comes first because it is the path of life. The world is a wilderness with no way through, except the one grace provides.
- Price. No money buys it. The price is the heart's desire and waiting on God. The danger is selling it for the attractions of the world.
- Provider. Search for it like hidden treasure, yet God gives it: "Jehovah gives wisdom" — through His word.
- Person. We have no wisdom in ourselves and full wisdom in Christ, who alone leads through the confusion.
- Promotion. The supply grows with the need. Giving wisdom its proper place brings honour — not from the world, but from the wise.
Exalt her, and she shall promote thee; she shall bring thee to honour when thou dost embrace her.
Proverbs 4:8 sits inside a father's plea to his children, where wisdom is a person to pursue, love and hold close. The verse offers a trade: lift wisdom high, and she lifts you — so who is she, and what honour does she give?
One writer draws out who is speaking in this chapter, and the warmth behind the words.
The form chosen is that of a father, not of a legislator. So it is not even a catechism of the Ten Commandments, but a parent's teaching. The father asks for attention, so that his children may gain understanding or discernment... The one who teaches here can speak of the loving care given to his own early days, when he was "a son to his father, tender and only beloved in the sight of his mother." He stirs those affections to awaken the new duties.
The command is pointed. Where the ESV says "prize her highly," the older wording the writers quote reads "exalt her." One writer marks in a bracket what must not be exalted, then points to a young man who lived this way.
Those who are of God pass through a world of evil and need wisdom from above to keep them; it is a wilderness with no path except the one grace provides for faith. There will be suffering for Christ's sake as well as for righteousness. But "exalt her [not self], and she shall promote you; she shall bring you to honour when you embrace her. She shall give to your head a garland of grace: a crown of glory shall she deliver to you." How sure will all this be in due time! David in his earlier days was a fine example. He went at his father's bidding with no pride or self-will in his heart. He exalted wisdom in the fear of Jehovah, so he was promoted; and as he embraced her, she brought him to honour.
Wisdom here is not an idea but a "her" — someone to love and hold. One writer names that person, and explains why the female form need not trouble us.
That the one who calls is a female need not make us stumble; whenever a woman is used as a picture in Scripture, it is to set out divine principles in their inward character. No honest mind taught by God can doubt that this chapter sets Christ before us... Divine wisdom has been made available to us in Christ, as we read, "And because of Him you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God." 1 Cor. 1:30.
Verse 8 is one rung on a ladder. Reading verses 1–9 together, one writer lines up what the father asks and what wisdom promises.
Notice the different exhortations about wisdom: forget it not; forsake her not; love her; exalt her. Then the promises: she shall preserve you; she shall keep you; she shall promote you; she gives honour; an ornament of grace for the head and a crown of glory. If we take wisdom and make it the Lord Jesus Christ and His Word, what blessed food for the soul we will enjoy!
The honour is not held back for the next life alone. But one writer adds a warning about who will applaud.
Wisdom is no doubt the proper perception of knowledge, while understanding is the proper application of knowledge. Verse 8 shows that when we give wisdom her proper place, we will see the result: honour even in this present life. The world may despise us, but despite that, those who are wise will honour us.
The crown language in the next verse is taken the same way — as something visible now.
"She will place on your head an ornament of grace." The head, speaking of intelligence, will be adorned with grace, so that it may be seen by others. Also, a crown of glory will be evident, rather than that of shame.
Wisdom lifts up those who do not lift themselves. One writer points to the clearest example of that path.
So when a man's heart is proud, destruction is near; but humility is the pathway to honour that lasts. Here Christ is the blessed Example. For He, as high as the Highest, took the lowly place of a servant to obey. He went down so low that no one could follow Him all the way, and now He is indeed exalted. The Christian is called to follow.
- Exalt. The verse tells you what to lift up, and it is not yourself. One writer puts it plainly: "exalt her — not self."
- Embrace. Honour comes when you hold wisdom close. The call is to love her, not just to learn about her.
- Christ. One writer identifies this wisdom as Christ, "who became to us wisdom from God." To embrace her is to embrace Him and His Word.
- Promote. The calls climb: forget not, forsake not, love, exalt. The promises climb with them: preserved, kept, promoted, honoured, crowned.
- Crown. The honour may cost you the world's respect, yet it shows: a head adorned with grace, and a crown of glory instead of shame.
She shall give to thy head a garland of grace; a crown of glory will she bestow upon thee.
Solomon has just urged his son to get wisdom above everything else. Here he names what wisdom gives back: an ornament for the head, and then a crown — honour that wisdom hands over, not honour you seize.
Wisdom's promises are not paid to the person who pushes himself forward. They are made to people crossing a world of evil, where the road still costs them suffering.
Those who are of God pass through a world of evil, and they need wisdom from above to keep them. The world is a wilderness with no way through it, except the way grace provides for faith. There will be suffering for Christ's sake as well as for righteousness. But exalt wisdom — not yourself — and she will promote you and bring you to honour when you embrace her. How certain all this will be in due time! David in his earlier days was a fine example. He went where his father sent him, with no pride or evil in his heart. He exalted wisdom in the fear of the LORD, so wisdom promoted him; he embraced her, and she brought him to honour.
Where the ESV has a "graceful garland," older translations read "an ornament of grace," and the writers quoted here follow that wording. Wisdom's gifts are not private, and the crown she gives has an opposite.
"She will place on your head an ornament of grace." The head stands for intelligence, and grace will adorn it, so that others can see it. A crown of glory will show too, instead of a crown of shame.
How high is this crown? Look at where else its Hebrew word for "glory" turns up.
The Hebrew words tipharah and tiphereth mean "splendour, beauty, glory." Scripture applies the word to God (Isaiah 60:19), to Israel (Isaiah 46:13), to the crown that wisdom gives (Proverbs 4:9), and to the grey head (Proverbs 16:31).
Since the crown belongs to wisdom, it matters what wisdom is. People often confuse it with two near neighbours.
Do not mistake wisdom for knowledge, and do not confuse it with understanding. Those who have knowledge, important as this is, are not always wise. We also need understanding along with what we know, so that we can see clearly how one thing relates to another. But wisdom shows itself in the right use of the truth — in the right way and on the right occasion.
The ornament is one of grace — and grace has a source.
"Wisdom," we are told, "is the principal thing; therefore get wisdom" (Proverbs 4:7). "She shall give to your head an ornament of grace: a crown of glory shall she deliver to you" (v. 9). "Grace," we know, "came by Jesus Christ" (John 1:17), and truth also subsists through Him. So it can be said of those who have received Christ Jesus the Lord, "Of His fullness we have all received, and grace upon grace" (v. 16).
The chapter has been climbing toward this crown, one command at a time.
Notice the different exhortations about wisdom: forget it not; forsake her not; love her; exalt her. Then the promises: she shall preserve you; she shall keep you; she shall promote you; she gives honour; an ornament of grace for the head and a crown of glory. If we take wisdom and make it the Lord Jesus Christ and His Word, what blessed food for the soul we will enjoy!
The way of wisdom can lead straight into loss — and still end in a crown.
There is only one way — the way of wisdom, Christ. It is the heart guided by God Himself, in the conduct that flows from Him and suits Him in a world of evil. Christ is the perfect expression of this path of wisdom in His own Person. God's government goes with it, though He does not display that government openly yet. So the way leads only to the cross, yet it has His blessing, since He makes everything work together for good to those who love Him. And if it does bring the cross, He gives a heavenly crown as the blessed result.
- Get it. Wisdom is not stored-up knowledge. It is truth used well, in the right way and at the right moment.
- Exalt it. The one lifted up is wisdom, not self; promotion and honour come to the person who takes that lower place.
- Embrace it. The demands rise through the chapter: do not forget, do not forsake, love, exalt. The promises rise with them: preserved, kept, promoted, honoured, adorned, crowned.
- Wear it. The ornament sits on the head, so others see the grace. The crown is glory, not shame — and Scripture uses that word "glory" of God Himself.
- Receive it. Grace came by Jesus Christ, and His path of wisdom ran through the cross. The crown comes in due time, and it is a heavenly one.
Hear, my son, and receive my sayings, and the years of thy life shall be multiplied.
Proverbs 4 is a father's appeal: Solomon repeats to his own son the words David once spoke to him. Verse 10 promises long life to the son who listens — but how does that promise work, and what does it ask of him?
Why does the appeal go to the ear, and not to the eye or the mind? One writer ties it to the way faith has always come:
The wisdom commended here does not come by the sight of the eyes, or by the activity of the mind, or even by the cultivation of the affections. Isaiah said, "Hear, and your soul shall live." The Apostle said the same: "Faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God." No doubt the coming of the Son of God made this truth, and every other, clearer than ever before. But the principle always applied. Whoever obtained a good report, obtained it by faith; and faith rests on God's Word.
(This comment quotes an older English translation. The ESV reads, "Hear, that your soul may live," and "faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ.")
Solomon is not lecturing a stranger. He was once the boy being taught, and he passes on what his own father gave him:
Solomon speaks of giving good doctrine, urging his children not to forsake his law (v. 2). Then he looks back to his own youth, and to how his father and mother plainly stood together in their care for him (vv. 2-3). David taught him to retain his father's words, to find true life in obedience (v. 4).
Does this promise mean no wise person ever dies young? One writer takes it as the ordinary rule, not a fixed law:
In the normal course of things, receiving wisdom will result in many years of life (v. 10). Of course, circumstances vary, and in some cases that makes a difference. But wisdom's results are always good.
Behind that rule stands God's government of the earth. It still runs today:
I know Christians have much higher hopes, and God calls them by those hopes. But here we are on the ground of God's government of the earth. That government still goes on today, though not in the direct way it once did in Israel... Where God governs in this world and for it — and that is wisdom's place — such a path leads to blessing and prosperity. Suffering in a hostile world may especially be our portion now... Still there is such a government of which God has not let loose the reins.
The son is not choosing between a voice and silence. Two voices call to him:
How right it is to say that there are only two voices in this world. One is the voice of the foolish woman. Her flattering words, full of evil and corruption, are loud on every side in Satan's world. The other is the voice of wisdom. That voice is Christ, the "Wisdom of God." His sayings give life and understanding. He teaches us the way of wisdom itself and leads us in paths of righteousness. He helps us run the spiritual course without stumbling, our eyes looking straight on to the glory, our paths well ordered.
What about a reader who has already wasted his years? One writer adds a word for him:
Only we must add this. The door of mercy now stands open to those who have paid out money for what is not bread, and their earnings for what does not satisfy. Yes, it stands open to children of folly who have wallowed in sin. Grace can meet the deepest need, and Christ brings the darkest and most distant to God.
- Hear first. Wisdom does not come by sharp eyesight, mental effort, or warm feelings. It comes by an ear open to God's Word — the same way faith has always come.
- Receive it as a gift. The words come down a family line — David to Solomon, Solomon to his son. What you hold, someone first gave you.
- Walk in it. Christ, the Wisdom of God, teaches the way and leads you in it. The only other voice is folly. Every hour, you listen to one or the other.
- Live long by it. In the normal course of God's government, this path adds years and leads to blessing. Circumstances vary, and suffering may still be our portion.
- Start again if you must. Have you thrown your years away? The door of mercy still stands open, and Christ brings the most distant home.
I will teach thee in the way of wisdom, I will lead thee in paths of uprightness.
A father speaks to his child here, and he claims more than passing on information: he has walked the child along a road. That raises the question of who does the teaching, and where the road leads.
The teaching promised here does not arrive through cleverness or observation. One commentator links it to the way faith comes. The promise is certain, he says, because God stands behind it. (The ESV reads the verbs as done — "I have taught you." He quotes an older translation throughout: "I will teach you.")
It is not by the sight of the eyes, nor by the activity of the mind, nor even by the cultivation of the affections, that the wisdom commended here comes. "Hear, and your soul shall live," said Isaiah; and so the Apostle, "Faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God." ... Nor is there any uncertainty when Jehovah supplies the means. "I will teach you in the way of wisdom, I will lead you in the paths of uprightness." The happy result is sure for all who believe that it comes from Him, and who do not doubt His interest in His people and their blessing.
What is being taught is not a code of rules. A rule list leaves nothing to find out. Wisdom you have to search out and keep in your heart.
It is not law, but wisdom and wisdom's commandments, good doctrine, understanding. There is responsibility, commandment, and counsel. It is divine wisdom about our path, and we follow it in obedience — but it is not law. It is divine knowledge in the middle of evil (which the law is not, since the law forbids all evil). ... It had to be kept in the heart just as it was taught. It had to be discovered and gained. You could not say that of law. There was nothing to discover.
"Led" is not the same as driven. The goal is not correct behaviour but a heart that holds the good as its own.
This is not a child held in the paths of good by authority. It is love urging him, as a responsible person, to cling in his own heart to the good he had learned — to take this wisdom as the object of his own heart and delight, to exalt it, to cling to it. It is the way of life, grace, and glory.
Evil in the world is the reason people need a road at all. Commentators read this "way of wisdom" as pointing to a Person.
We should need no way if evil were not here. Adam had no need of a way. In heaven we shall have no need of one, but through the world and the wilderness we have one. And there is only one — the way of wisdom, Christ. It is the heart guided by God Himself, in the conduct that flows from Him and suits Him in a world of evil. Of this path of wisdom Christ is the perfect expression in His own Person.
Another writer names who that wisdom is, and what His sayings do in a life:
Christ is the "Wisdom of God." His sayings give life and understanding. They teach us the way of wisdom itself and lead us in paths of righteousness. They help us run the spiritual course without stumbling, our eyes looking straight on to the glory, our paths well ordered.
The verse also describes a parent's work. Teaching and leading go together, and both shape a child's whole course.
A true father teaches wisdom to his children and leads them in right paths (v. 11). This will help greatly in shaping how his children walk, and in their running the race of faith (v. 12).
One writer takes the speaker as David, training the son who would rule after him. He draws a pattern from it for parents now.
As Solomon grew up, his father David taught him how important wisdom is, and insisted that he gain wisdom (Prov. 4:1-9). ... Parents today should also encourage their children to gain true wisdom, and should praise them when they show godly wisdom.
A verse about right paths could crush anyone who knows they took wrong ones. Kelly answers them.
Grace can meet the deepest need, and Christ brings to God the most dark and distant. ... But is anything too hard for the Lord?
- The way is heard. Not seen, not reasoned out — wisdom reaches us the way faith does, through God's word.
- The way is not law. It is understanding you search out and keep in your heart, given for living among evil, not for ticking off rules.
- The way is walked by choice. Love urges, until the child clings to wisdom as his own delight — not because authority fenced him in.
- The way is a Person. There is only one road through this world, and Christ is its perfect expression.
- The way is open. Even to the dark and distant, because nothing is too hard for the Lord.
When thou goest, thy steps shall not be straitened; and when thou runnest, thou shalt not stumble.
In Proverbs 4 a father pleads with his son. Verse 11 has just promised to teach him wisdom and lead him in right paths, and verse 12 answers two fears about that path: will it hem me in, and will I fall if I move fast?
The verse names two speeds — walking and running — and gives a promise for each. Both rest on the same thing.
It is the way of life, grace, and glory. Two things flow from it: no cramping of the way, no stumbling of the feet… Because wisdom is light and guidance, we will not be hemmed in. We will not wander in confusion, not knowing which way to go. Wisdom tells us, because wisdom is God's will and mind discerned. There is a voice behind us saying, "This is the way, walk in it." And God holds our steps steady in His ways. For in the path of divine wisdom there is nothing to stumble over.
So how does a person get this wisdom? One writer rules out three routes we normally trust.
The wisdom commended here does not come by the sight of the eyes, nor by the activity of the mind, nor even by the cultivation of the affections… The happy result is sure for those who believe that it comes from Him, and who do not doubt His interest in His people and their blessing. "When you walk, your step will not be hampered, and if you run, you will not stumble." Still, this calls for earnest purpose and a faithful heart.
The same road can feel roomy and narrow at once, depending on what in us is walking it.
This is a great mercy. The heart is free in walking, and the feet safe in the way… For the flesh, for man's natural heart, it is a narrow gate and a narrow way. The spirit is fully free in it. But when the will and human passions are at work, it is tight and narrow.
Why does anyone need a marked-out path in the first place?
We should need no way if evil were not here. Adam had no need of a way. In heaven we shall have no need of one, but through the world and the wilderness we have one. And there is only one: the way of wisdom, which is Christ. It is the heart guided by God Himself, in conduct that flows from Him and suits Him in a world of evil.
The New Testament names that wisdom outright:
God has made divine wisdom available to us in Christ, as we read, "And because of Him you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God" (1 Cor. 1:30).
This promise is spoken to a son, and it follows a line about what his father does.
A true father teaches wisdom to his children and leads them in right paths (v. 11). This will do much to shape how his children walk, and how they run the race of faith (v. 12). But the demand is firm: "Keep hold of instruction; do not let go; guard her, for she is your life" (v. 13).
Two voices are calling, and only one of them leads anywhere good.
There are only two voices in this world. One is the voice of the foolish woman. Her flattering words, full of evil and corruption, are loud on every side in Satan's world. The other is the voice of wisdom: Christ, the "Wisdom of God." His sayings give life and understanding. He teaches us the way of wisdom itself and leads us in paths of righteousness. He helps us run the spiritual course without stumbling, our eyes looking straight on to the glory, our paths well ordered.
- Hearing — This wisdom does not come by sight, cleverness, or feeling. It comes to those who believe it is from God.
- Room — Because wisdom is light and guidance, no one who follows it is hemmed in or confused about which way to go.
- Footing — In the path of divine wisdom there is nothing to trip over, so the runner is safe even at speed.
- One Way — There is only one such road through a world of evil, and Christ is that wisdom made ours.
- Handing On — A father who teaches wisdom shapes both his child's walking and his running. Keep hold of that instruction: it is life.
Take fast hold of instruction, let [her] not go keep her, for she is thy life.
Proverbs 4:13 sits inside a father's appeal to a son, and it stacks three commands: hold, do not let go, guard. The reason comes last, and it is the startling part — what you hold is not an extra added to life, it is life.
The word behind "instruction" covers more than classroom learning. One writer notes its range:
The word for "instruction," which goes with "wisdom," also means discipline, correction, or warning. This keeps the moral aim strikingly in view, in contrast with mere exercise or display of intellect.
So what the son must grip includes the parts that sting. Correction is on the list he must not let go.
Nothing in this chapter comes with the tone of a courtroom. The speaker learned it himself, and he appeals from that memory:
The form chosen is that of a father, not of a lawgiver. So it is not even a summary of the "ten words" [the Ten Commandments], but parental instruction. The father calls for attention, so that understanding or discernment may follow... The teacher himself can speak of the loving care given to his own early days, when he was "a son to his father, tender and the only one in the sight of my mother." This stirs the affections to awaken the new duties.
A loose hold is not neutral; something is always pulling the other way. The same writer names what makes the command necessary:
Obedience, heart obedience, is what is sought... Without doubt self-will is the great and constant hindrance. The enemy would stir it up, and shut God out by the things outside and the passions within. So the need of instruction is all the deeper. God in His goodness supplies it here, in the varied way just described.
The whole chapter rests on that fight. Another writer sums up the chapter:
Proverbs 4 insists on the necessity of pursuing wisdom at whatever cost; it is a path of sure reward. It warns against every association that would lead the opposite way and into ruin.
Readers often stumble on the pronoun: the verse says guard her. Commentators tie the feminine form to how believers receive wisdom, not to wisdom's own nature:
These verses picture wisdom as a person, and, perhaps strangely, as "she." Yet Christ is not female, and 1 Corinthians 1:24 calls Him "the power of God and the wisdom of God." But 1 Corinthians 1:30 answers this: "because of Him you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God." This is the truth of "Christ in you, the hope of glory" (Col. 1:27). So "in Christ" believers have wisdom from God. This is wisdom subjectively, and that explains the female gender. Christ Himself is wisdom objectively.
In Proverbs, "life" is present and practical. It is vitality for the road you walk now:
The book of Proverbs speaks of our blessed Lord as Wisdom. It is full of what would guide a spiritual person about the energies of life, though it mainly gives guidance for life on earth. How significant are words like these: "The teaching of the wise is a fountain of life, that one may turn away from the snares of death" (Prov. 13:14). The teaching of Christ truly keeps us in healthy and happy vitality, free from the world's deadly influences. Proverbs says again, "Whoever heeds instruction is on the path of life" (10:17), and it warns us against the world's way of death.
You cannot grip wisdom by observation or by being clever. It arrives one way:
The wisdom commended here does not come by the sight of the eyes, or by the activity of the mind, or even by the cultivating of the affections. "Hear, that your soul may live," said Isaiah; and so the Apostle, "faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God"... Still, this asks for earnestness of purpose and faithfulness of heart. "Keep hold of instruction; do not let go; guard her, for she is your life."
(That line from Romans follows an older translation. The ESV reads "hearing through the word of Christ.")
- Hear — wisdom does not come by watching or by brainpower. It comes by hearing God's word in faith.
- Hold — what you grip includes discipline, correction and warning, not only pleasant teaching.
- Do not let go — self-will is the constant enemy. Desires within and attractions outside stir it up, so hold on purpose.
- Guard — the chapter urges you to pursue wisdom at any cost. It promises a path of sure reward.
- She is your life — wisdom is called "her" because Christ becomes wisdom in those who are His. His teaching keeps the soul alive and healthy, away from the world's deadly influences.