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Tuesday, April 29th, 2025
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Read the Bible

King James Version

Proverbs 24:5

A wise man is strong; yea, a man of knowledge increaseth strength.

Bible Study Resources

Concordances:

- Nave's Topical Bible - Wisdom;   Young Men;   The Topic Concordance - Knowledge;   Strength;   Wisdom;  

Dictionaries:

- Charles Buck Theological Dictionary - Pardon;   Holman Bible Dictionary - Proverbs, Book of;   Hastings' Dictionary of the Bible - Greek Versions of Ot;  

Encyclopedias:

- The Jewish Encyclopedia - She'elot U-Teshubot;  

Parallel Translations

Christian Standard Bible®
A wise warrior is better than a strong one,and a man of knowledge than one of strength;
Hebrew Names Version
A wise man has great power; And a knowledgeable man increases strength;
English Standard Version
A wise man is full of strength, and a man of knowledge enhances his might,
New American Standard Bible
A wise man is strong, And a person of knowledge increases power.
New Century Version
Wise people have great power, and those with knowledge have great strength.
Amplified Bible
A wise man is strong, And a man of knowledge strengthens his power;
World English Bible
A wise man has great power; And a knowledgeable man increases strength;
Geneva Bible (1587)
A wise man is strong: for a man of vnderstanding encreaseth his strength.
Legacy Standard Bible
A wise man is strong,And a man of knowledge strengthens his power.
Berean Standard Bible
A wise man is strong, and a man of knowledge enhances his strength.
Contemporary English Version

-21-

Wisdom brings strength, and knowledge gives power.
Complete Jewish Bible
A wise man is strong; yes, a man of knowledge grows in strength.
Darby Translation
A wise man is strong, and a man of knowledge increaseth strength.
Easy-to-Read Version
Wisdom makes a man more powerful. Knowledge gives a man strength.
George Lamsa Translation
A wise man is better than a strong man; yea, a man of knowledge than a mighty man.
Good News Translation

-21-

Being wise is better than being strong; yes, knowledge is more important than strength.
Lexham English Bible
The warrior of wisdom is in strength, and a man of knowledge is strong in power.
Literal Translation
A wise warrior is in strength: yes, a man of knowledge firms up power.
Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
A wyse ma is stroge, yee a ma of vnderstodinge is better, the he yt is mightie of stregth.
American Standard Version
A wise man is strong; Yea, a man of knowledge increaseth might.
Bible in Basic English
A wise man is strong; and a man of knowledge makes strength greater.
JPS Old Testament (1917)
A wise man is strong; yea, a man of knowledge increaseth strength.
King James Version (1611)
A wise man is strong, yea a man of knowledge encreaseth strength.
Bishop's Bible (1568)
A wise man is [euer] strong: yea a man of vnderstanding increaseth strength.
Brenton's Septuagint (LXX)
A wise man is better than a strong man; and a man who has prudence than a large estate.
English Revised Version
A wise man is strong; yea, a man of knowledge increaseth might.
Wycliffe Bible (1395)
A wijs man is strong, and a lerned man is stalworth and miyti.
Update Bible Version
A wise [noble] man is strong; Yes, a man of knowledge increases might
Webster's Bible Translation
A wise man [is] strong; and a man of knowledge increaseth strength.
New English Translation
A wise warrior is strong, and a man of knowledge makes his strength stronger;
New King James Version
A wise man is strong, Yes, a man of knowledge increases strength;
New Living Translation
The wise are mightier than the strong, and those with knowledge grow stronger and stronger.
New Life Bible
A wise man is strong. A man of much learning adds to his strength.
New Revised Standard
Wise warriors are mightier than strong ones, and those who have knowledge than those who have strength;
J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
A wise man, is mighty, and, a man of knowledge, becometh alert in vigour.
Douay-Rheims Bible
A wise man is strong: and a knowing man, stout and valiant.
Revised Standard Version
A wise man is mightier than a strong man, and a man of knowledge than he who has strength;
Young's Literal Translation
Mighty [is] the wise in strength, And a man of knowledge is strengthening power,
THE MESSAGE
21 It's better to be wise than strong; intelligence outranks muscle any day. Strategic planning is the key to warfare; to win, you need a lot of good counsel.
New American Standard Bible (1995)
A wise man is strong, And a man of knowledge increases power.

Contextual Overview

3 Through wisdom is an house builded; and by understanding it is established: 4 And by knowledge shall the chambers be filled with all precious and pleasant riches. 5 A wise man is strong; yea, a man of knowledge increaseth strength. 6 For by wise counsel thou shalt make thy war: and in multitude of counsellors there is safety.

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

A wise: Proverbs 8:14, Proverbs 10:29, Proverbs 21:22, Ecclesiastes 7:19, Ecclesiastes 9:14-18

strong: Heb. in strength

increaseth strength: Heb. strengtheneth might. Psalms 84:7, Isaiah 40:31, Colossians 1:11

Reciprocal: 1 Chronicles 12:32 - all their Ecclesiastes 8:1 - a man's Ecclesiastes 9:16 - Wisdom Isaiah 36:5 - vain words Daniel 2:23 - who hast

Cross-References

Genesis 24:58
And they called Rebekah, and said unto her, Wilt thou go with this man? And she said, I will go.
Exodus 9:2
For if thou refuse to let them go, and wilt hold them still,
Exodus 20:7
Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain; for the Lord will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain.
Proverbs 13:16
Every prudent man dealeth with knowledge: but a fool layeth open his folly.
Jeremiah 4:2
And thou shalt swear, The Lord liveth, in truth, in judgment, and in righteousness; and the nations shall bless themselves in him, and in him shall they glory.

Gill's Notes on the Bible

A wise man [is] strong,.... He can do that sometimes by his wisdom, and which requires strength and courage too, which another cannot do by his strength; see Proverbs 21:22. This may be understood of one that is spiritually wise, wise unto salvation, wise for another world, is made to know true wisdom in the hidden part. The Stoic philosophers say much of their wise man; that he is happy, and rich, and mighty, and even a king; all which may be said more truly of a good man; he is strong, not absolutely, but comparatively, in comparison of what he himself was; and wicked men are without strength, and do not seek for any elsewhere; nor do they, nor can they do, that which is spiritually good, and are ignorant of their weakness: but so is not a wise man; he has some spiritual strength; he seeks to Christ for more, and, through Christ strengthening him, does all things; and is sensible of his own weakness, and finds that when he is weak he is strong: one eminently wise is strong, in comparison of less knowing and more feeble saints; some are children in knowledge, weak in faith and in conduct, more easily drawn into sin and temptation than others; and, in comparison of these, some are strong, who are to bear with and support the weak, and restore them. A wise man is strong, not in and of himself; he cannot think a good thought, nor do a good action, nor preserve himself from sin and Satan; but he is strong in Christ, and in the power of his might, and in his grace; and, through spiritual strength communicated to him, his heart is strengthened, and the work of grace in his heart; he is strengthened to exercise grace more strongly, to perform the duties of religion, to bear the cross of Christ, to withstand temptations, and to oppose his own corruptions. It may be rendered, "a wise man [is] in strength" c; he is in Christ the strong hold, whither, as a prisoner of hope, he has fled and turned into; he is in the strong tower, into which he has run and is safe; he is surrounded with the might and power of God on all sides, by which he is kept;

yea, a man of knowledge increaseth strength; a spiritual man, a man endued with spiritual knowledge, with the knowledge of Christ, and salvation by him; as he has a degree of spiritual strength, he increases therein; he grows stronger and stronger, he goes from strength to strength; the more he knows of Christ, the more strongly he trusts in him and loves him, and the more able he is to resist Satan's temptations; and is a better match for false teachers who deceive the hearts of the simple: spiritual strength is increased by means of the word of God, by the promises of the Gospel, and by the ordinances of it.

c בעוז "in fortitudine", Pagninus, Montanus, Mercerus, Gejerus; "in robore", Michaelis.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

Is strong - literally, as in the margin; i. e., rooted and established in strength.

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse Proverbs 24:5. A wise man is strong. — His wisdom enables him to construct a great variety of machines, by which, under his own influence, he can do the labour of a hundred or even a thousand men. But in all cases wisdom gives power and influence; and he who is wise to salvation can overcome even Satan himself. The Septuagint has: "The wise is better than the strong; and the man who has prudence, than a stout husbandman."


 
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