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Read the Bible

THE MESSAGE

Proverbs 18:22

Find a good spouse, you find a good life— and even more: the favor of God !

Bible Study Resources

Concordances:

- Nave's Topical Bible - Marriage;   Wife;   Women;   Thompson Chain Reference - Divine;   Favour, Divine;   Favour-Disfavour;   God;   Home;   Marriage;   Wives;   Women;   The Topic Concordance - Marriage;   Torrey's Topical Textbook - Favour of God, the;   Wives;  

Dictionaries:

- Baker Evangelical Dictionary of Biblical Theology - Woman;   Charles Buck Theological Dictionary - Pardon;   Fausset Bible Dictionary - Marriage;   Holman Bible Dictionary - Proverbs, Book of;  

Encyclopedias:

- The Jewish Encyclopedia - Ḳara, Joseph ben Simeon;   Marriage;  

Parallel Translations

Christian Standard Bible®
A man who finds a wife finds a good thingand obtains favor from the Lord.
Hebrew Names Version
Whoever finds a wife finds a good thing, And obtains favor of the LORD.
King James Version
Whoso findeth a wife findeth a good thing, and obtaineth favour of the Lord .
English Standard Version
He who finds a wife finds a good thing and obtains favor from the Lord .
New American Standard Bible
He who finds a wife finds a good thing And obtains favor from the LORD.
New Century Version
When a man finds a wife, he finds something good. It shows that the Lord is pleased with him.
Amplified Bible
He who finds a [true and faithful] wife finds a good thing And obtains favor and approval from the LORD.
World English Bible
Whoever finds a wife finds a good thing, And obtains favor of Yahweh.
Geneva Bible (1587)
He that findeth a wife, findeth a good thing, and receiueth fauour of the Lord.
Legacy Standard Bible
He who finds a wife finds a good thingAnd obtains favor from Yahweh.
Berean Standard Bible
He who finds a wife finds a good thing and obtains favor from the LORD.
Contemporary English Version
A man's greatest treasure is his wife— she is a gift from the Lord .
Complete Jewish Bible
He who finds a wife finds a great good; he has won the favor of Adonai .
Darby Translation
Whoso hath found a wife hath found a good thing, and hath obtained favour from Jehovah.
Easy-to-Read Version
If you find a wife, you have found something good. She shows that the Lord is happy with you.
George Lamsa Translation
He who finds a good wife finds a good thing, and obtains favor from the LORD. And he who puts out a good wife, puts out good from his house.
Good News Translation
Find a wife and you find a good thing; it shows that the Lord is good to you.
Lexham English Bible
He who finds a wife finds good, and he will obtain favor from Yahweh.
Literal Translation
Whoever finds a wife finds good, and gets favor from Jehovah.
Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
Who so fyndeth a wife fyndeth a good thynge, & receaueth an wholsome benefite of the LORDE.
American Standard Version
Whoso findeth a wife findeth a good thing, And obtaineth favor of Jehovah.
Bible in Basic English
Whoever gets a wife gets a good thing, and has the approval of the Lord.
JPS Old Testament (1917)
Whoso findeth a wife findeth a great good, and obtaineth favour of the LORD.
King James Version (1611)
Who so findeth a wife, findeth a good thing, and obtaineth fauour of the Lord.
Bishop's Bible (1568)
Who so findeth a wyfe, findeth a good thing, and receaueth fauour of the Lorde.
Brenton's Septuagint (LXX)
He that has found a good wife has found favours, and has received gladness from God. [He that puts away a good wife, puts away a good thing, and he that keeps an adulteress is foolish and ungodly.]
English Revised Version
Whoso findeth a wife findeth a good thing, and obtaineth favour of the LORD.
Wycliffe Bible (1395)
He that fyndith a good womman, fyndith a good thing; and of the Lord he schal drawe vp myrthe. He that puttith a wey a good womman, puttith awei a good thing; but he that holdith auowtresse, is a fool and vnwijs.
Update Bible Version
Whoever finds a wife finds a good thing, And obtains favor of Yahweh.
Webster's Bible Translation
[Whoever] findeth a wife findeth a good [thing], and obtaineth favor from the LORD.
New English Translation
The one who finds a wife finds what is enjoyable, and receives a pleasurable gift from the Lord .
New King James Version
He who finds a wife finds a good thing, And obtains favor from the LORD.
New Living Translation
The man who finds a wife finds a treasure, and he receives favor from the Lord .
New Life Bible
He who finds a wife finds a good thing, and gets favor from the Lord.
New Revised Standard
He who finds a wife finds a good thing, and obtains favor from the Lord .
J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
Who hath found a wife, hath found a blessing, and hath obtained favour from Yahweh.
Douay-Rheims Bible
He that hath found a good wife, hath found a good thing, and shall receive a pleasure from the Lord. He that driveth away a good wife, driveth away a good thing: but he that keepeth an adulteress, is foolish and wicked.
Revised Standard Version
He who finds a wife finds a good thing, and obtains favor from the LORD.
Young's Literal Translation
[Whoso] hath found a wife hath found good, And bringeth out good-will from Jehovah.
New American Standard Bible (1995)
He who finds a wife finds a good thing And obtains favor from the LORD.

Contextual Overview

22 Find a good spouse, you find a good life— and even more: the favor of God !

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

findeth a wife: Proverbs 5:15-23, Proverbs 12:4, Proverbs 19:14, Proverbs 31:10-31, Genesis 24:67, Genesis 29:20, Genesis 29:21, Genesis 29:28, Ecclesiastes 9:9, Hosea 12:12, 1 Corinthians 7:2

and: Proverbs 3:4, Proverbs 8:35

Reciprocal: Genesis 2:18 - good Genesis 2:22 - brought Genesis 24:44 - the woman Ruth 4:10 - have I 1 Samuel 25:39 - to take her Matthew 19:10 - General John 2:1 - a marriage

Cross-References

Genesis 18:1
God appeared to Abraham at the Oaks of Mamre while he was sitting at the entrance of his tent. It was the hottest part of the day. He looked up and saw three men standing. He ran from his tent to greet them and bowed before them.
Genesis 18:16
When the men got up to leave, they set off for Sodom. Abraham walked with them to say good-bye.
Genesis 19:1
The two angels arrived at Sodom in the evening. Lot was sitting at the city gate. He saw them and got up to welcome them, bowing before them and said, "Please, my friends, come to my house and stay the night. Wash up. You can rise early and be on your way refreshed." They said, "No, we'll sleep in the street."
Psalms 106:23
Fed up, God decided to get rid of them— and except for Moses, his chosen, he would have. But Moses stood in the gap and deflected God's anger, prevented it from destroying them utterly. They went on to reject the Blessed Land, didn't believe a word of what God promised. They found fault with the life they had and turned a deaf ear to God 's voice. Exasperated, God swore that he'd lay them low in the desert, Scattering their children hither and yon, strewing them all over the earth.
Jeremiah 15:1
Then God said to me: "Jeremiah, even if Moses and Samuel stood here and made their case, I wouldn't feel a thing for this people. Get them out of here. Tell them to get lost! And if they ask you, ‘So where do we go?' tell them God says, "‘If you're assigned to die, go and die; if assigned to war, go and get killed; If assigned to starve, go starve; if assigned to exile, off to exile you go!'
Ezekiel 22:30
"I looked for someone to stand up for me against all this, to repair the defenses of the city, to take a stand for me and stand in the gap to protect this land so I wouldn't have to destroy it. I couldn't find anyone. Not one. So I'll empty out my wrath on them, burn them to a crisp with my hot anger, serve them with the consequences of all they've done. Decree of God , the Master."
1 Timothy 2:1
The first thing I want you to do is pray. Pray every way you know how, for everyone you know. Pray especially for rulers and their governments to rule well so we can be quietly about our business of living simply, in humble contemplation. This is the way our Savior God wants us to live.

Gill's Notes on the Bible

[Whoso] findeth a wife,.... A good one; so the Septuagint, Vulgate Latin, Syriac, and Arabic versions, supply it; and so the Targum, though it leaves out the word good in the last clause; and no other can be meant, even a good natured one, wise, prudent, careful, and industrious; a proper helpmeet, a virtuous woman, as in Proverbs 31:10; whoso seeks after such an one, and finds one, especially one that has the grace of God, which he should seek after among his friends, and by their assistance, and by prayer to God:

findeth a good [thing]; that will be good for him, both upon a civil and spiritual account; the Septuagint version adds,

"he that casts out a good wife casts out good things, but he that retains a whore is foolish and ungodly;''

which is followed by the Vulgate Latin, Syriac, and Arabic versions, but is not in the Hebrew text. Jarchi interprets it of the law in a mystic sense, but, according to the literal sense, of a good wife;

and obtaineth favour of the Lord; it is from the Lord, and under his direction and guidance in seeking, that he finds a good wife; and which he ought to esteem as a favour from the Lord, and as an evidence of his favour to him, and may encourage himself to hope for others of him z Hesiod says, a man cannot obtain anything better than a good wife.

z Opera & Dies, l. 2. v. 323.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

The sense seems to require, “Whoso findeth a good wife,” as in some Chaldee manuscripts; but the proverb writer may be looking at marriage in its ideal aspect, and sees in every such union the hands of God joining together man and woman for their mutual good. The Septuagint adds “He who casts out a good wife, casts away that which is good: but he that keepeth an adulteress is foolish and ungodly.”

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse Proverbs 18:22. Whoso findeth a wife findeth a good thing] Marriage, with all its troubles and embarrassments, is a blessing from God; and there are few cases where a wife of any sort is not better than none, because celibacy is an evil; for God himself hath said, "It is not good for man to be alone." None of the versions, except the Chaldee, are pleased with the naked simplicity of the Hebrew text, hence they all add good: "He that findeth a GOOD wife findeth a good thing;" and most people, who have not deeply considered the subject, think the assertion, without this qualification, is absurd. Some copies of the Targum, and apparently one of Kennicott's MSS., have the addition טובה tobah, good; but this would be an authority too slender to justify changing the Hebrew text; yet Houbigant, Kennicott, and other able critics argue for it. The Septuagint is not satisfied without an addition: "But he who puts away a good wife, puts away a good thing: and he that retains an adulteress, is a fool and wicked." In this addition the Vulgate, Syriac, and Arabic, agree with the Septuagint. The Hebrew text as it stands, teaches a general doctrine by a simple but general proposition: "He that findeth a wife findeth a good thing." So St. Paul: "Marriage is honourable in all." Had the world been left, in this respect, to the unbridled propensities of man, in what a horrible state would society have been - if indeed society could have existed, or civilization have taken place - if marriage had not obtained among men! As to good wives and bad wives, they are relatively so, in general; and most of them that have been bad afterwards, have been good at first; and we well know the best things may deteriorate, and the world generally allows that where there are matrimonial contentions, there are faults on both sides.


 
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