Proverbs - 4:8



8 Esteem her, and she will exalt you. She will bring you to honor, when you embrace her.

Verse In-Depth

Explanation and meaning of Proverbs 4:8.

Differing Translations

Compare verses for better understanding.
Exalt her, and she shall promote thee: she shall bring thee to honour, when thou dost embrace her.
Exalt her, and she will promote thee; She will bring thee to honor, when thou dost embrace her.
Take hold on her, and she shall exalt thee: thou shalt be glorified by her, when thou shalt embrace her.
Exalt her, and she shall promote thee: she shall bring thee to honor, when thou dost embrace her.
Exalt her, and she doth lift thee up, She honoureth thee, when thou dost embrace her.
Exalt her, and she shall promote you: she shall bring you to honor, when you do embrace her.
Put her in a high place, and you will be lifted up by her; she will give you honour, when you give her your love.
Extol her, and she will exalt thee; She will bring thee to honour, when thou dost embrace her.
Grasp her, and she will exalt you. You will be glorified by her, when you have embraced her.

*Minor differences ignored. Grouped by changes, with first version listed as example.


Historical Commentaries

Scholarly Analysis and Interpretation.

She shall bring thee to honor - There is nothing, a strict life of piety and benevolence excepted, that has such a direct tendency to reflect honor upon a man, as the careful cultivation of his mind. One of Bacon's aphorisms was, Knowledge is power; and it is truly astonishing to see what influence true learning has. Nothing is so universally respected, provided the learned man be a consistent moral character, and be not proud and overbearing; which is a disgrace to genuine literature.

Exalt her, and she shall promote thee,.... Christ is to be exalted in his person, by asserting his proper deity; by ascribing all divine perfections to him; by allowing him to be the author of all divine works; by giving him divine worship and homage; by owning his divine and eternal sonship, and distinct personality: he is to be exalted in all his offices of Prophet, Priest, and King, and as the only Redeemer and Saviour; by trusting in him, embracing his Gospel, and submitting to his ordinances, and such that exalt him, he will "promote" them here and hereafter; of which more in the next clause. According to the Talmudists (u), the word for "exalt" signifies a diligent search, by turning things about to find out what is sought; and so the Septuagint interpret the word in the sense of "searching", Jeremiah 50:26;
she shall bring thee to honour, when thou dost embrace her: by faith: for this is an act of faith, and a very considerable one, and is expressive of great nearness to Christ, of much intimacy and familiarity with him, of strong love and affection to him, of a good degree of boldness used with him, and of joy and exaltation in him; for such an action is used by persons near akin, and are very familiar with, and have a very great affection for one another, and use much freedom with each other, and rejoice at meeting together. Now such who embrace Christ, in the arms of their faith, as their alone Saviour, such he promotes and "brings to honour"; not to honour among men, for to embrace Christ and exalt him is the way to disgrace, though the disgrace is an honour, and will be before long rolled off; but to honour hereafter. Such will be set at his right hand, and be owned by him before his Father and his angels; and they will be placed on the same throne with him, and will reign with him for ever and ever; see 1-Samuel 2:30.
(u) T. Bab. Roshhashanah, fol. 26. 2.

As you highly esteem her, she will raise you to honor.
embrace her--with fond affection.

The meaning of the ἁπ. γεγρ. סלסל is determined by רומם in the parallel clause; סלל signifies to raise, exalt, as a way or dam by heaping up; the Pilpel, here tropical: to value or estimate highly. Bttcher interprets well: hold it high in price, raise it (as a purchaser) always higher, make offer for it upon offer. The lxx (approved by Bertheau), περιχαράκωσον αὐτήν, circumvallate it, i.e., surround it with a wall (סללה) - a strange and here unsuitable figure. Hold it high, says the author, and so it will reward
(Note: Lwenstein has rightly ותרוממך, vid., my preface to Baer's Genesis, p. vii.)
thee with a high place, and (with chiastic transposition of the performance and the consequence) she will honour
(Note: We read תכבּדך, not תכבּרך (Hahn) or תכבּדך (Lwenstein); the tone lies on the penult., and the tone-syllable has the point Tsere, as in ויגּדך, Deuteronomy 32:7; vid., Michlol 66b.)
thee if (ἐάν) thou lovingly embracest her. חבּק is used of embracing in the pressure of tender love, as in Song 2:6; Song 8:3; the Piel is related to the Kal as amplexari to amplecti. Wisdom exalts her admirers, honours her lovers, and makes a man's appearance pleasant, causing him to be reverenced when he approaches. Regarding לוית־חן, vid., Proverbs 1:9. מגּן, to deliver up (Genesis 14:20), to give up (Hosea 11:8), is connected in the free poetic manner with two accusatives, instead of with an accus. and dat. lxx has ὑπερασπίσῃ, but one does not defend himself (as with a shield) by a wreath or crown.

Exalt - Let her have thine highest esteem and affection.

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