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Monday, January 13th, 2025
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Read the Bible

New Century Version

Proverbs 18:22

When a man finds a wife, he finds something good. It shows that the Lord is pleased with him.

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

English Standard Version
He who finds a wife finds a good thing and obtains favor from the Lord .
Geneva Bible (1587)
He that findeth a wife, findeth a good thing, and receiueth fauour of the Lord.
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.
Easy-to-Read Version
If you find a wife, you have found something good. She shows that the Lord is happy with you.
Amplified Bible
He who finds a [true and faithful] wife finds a good thing And obtains favor and approval from the LORD.
American Standard Version
Whoso findeth a wife findeth a good thing, And obtaineth favor of Jehovah.
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 .
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.
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.
Berean Standard Bible
He who finds a wife finds a good thing and obtains favor from the LORD.
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.
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.
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.
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.
New American Standard Bible
He who finds a wife finds a good thing And obtains favor from the LORD.
King James Version
Whoso findeth a wife findeth a good thing, and obtaineth favour of the Lord .
Bishop's Bible (1568)
Who so findeth a wyfe, findeth a good thing, and receaueth fauour of the Lorde.
New Revised Standard
He who finds a wife finds a good thing, and obtains favor from the Lord .
Darby Translation
Whoso hath found a wife hath found a good thing, and hath obtained favour from Jehovah.
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.
Young's Literal Translation
[Whoso] hath found a wife hath found good, And bringeth out good-will from Jehovah.
World English Bible
Whoever finds a wife finds a good thing, And obtains favor of Yahweh.
Revised Standard Version
He who finds a wife finds a good thing, and obtains favor from the LORD.
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.
Bible in Basic English
Whoever gets a wife gets a good thing, and has the approval of the Lord.
Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
Who so fyndeth a wife fyndeth a good thynge, & receaueth an wholsome benefite of the LORDE.
THE MESSAGE
Find a good spouse, you find a good life— and even more: the favor of God !
New American Standard Bible (1995)
He who finds a wife finds a good thing And obtains favor from the LORD.
Legacy Standard Bible
He who finds a wife finds a good thingAnd obtains favor from Yahweh.

Contextual Overview

22 When a man finds a wife, he finds something good. It shows that the Lord is pleased with him.

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
Later, the Lord again appeared to Abraham near the great trees of Mamre. Abraham was sitting at the entrance of his tent during the hottest part of the day.
Genesis 18:2
He looked up and saw three men standing near him. When Abraham saw them, he ran from his tent to meet them. He bowed facedown on the ground before them
Genesis 18:16
Then the men got up to leave and started out toward Sodom. Abraham walked along with them a short time to send them on their way.
Genesis 19:1
The two angels came to Sodom in the evening as Lot was sitting near the city gate. When he saw them, he got up and went to them and bowed facedown on the ground.
Psalms 106:23
So God said he would destroy them. But Moses, his chosen one, stood before him and stopped God's anger from destroying them.
Jeremiah 15:1
Then the Lord said to me: "I would not feel sorry for the people of Judah even if Moses and Samuel prayed for them. Send them away from me! Tell them to go!
Jeremiah 18:20
Good should not be paid back with evil, but they have dug a pit in order to kill me. Remember that I stood before you and asked you to do good things for these people and to turn your anger away from them.
Ezekiel 22:30
"I looked for someone to build up the walls and to stand before me where the walls are broken to defend these people so I would not have to destroy them. But I could not find anyone.
Acts 7:55
But Stephen was full of the Holy Spirit. He looked up to heaven and saw the glory of God and Jesus standing at God's right side.
1 Timothy 2:1
First, I tell you to pray for all people, asking God for what they need and being thankful to him.

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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