Saying 21

By wisdom a house is built,(A)
    and through understanding it is established;
through knowledge its rooms are filled
    with rare and beautiful treasures.(B)

Read full chapter

By[a] wisdom a house is built,[b]
and through understanding it is established;
by knowledge its rooms are filled
with all kinds of precious and pleasing treasures.

Read full chapter

Footnotes

  1. Proverbs 24:3 tn The preposition ב (bet, “by; through”) in these two lines indicates means.
  2. Proverbs 24:3 sn The twentieth saying, vv. 3-4, concerns the use of wisdom for domestic enterprises. In Prov 9:1 wisdom was personified as a woman who builds a house, but here the emphasis is primarily on the building—it is a sign of security and prosperity (C. H. Toy, Proverbs [ICC], 442). One could still make a secondary application from this line for a household or “family” (cf. NCV, which sees this as a reference to the family).