'Wisdom' in the Bible

A rod of correction imparts wisdom,but a youth left to himselfis a disgrace to his mother.

I have not gained wisdom,and I have no knowledge of the Holy One.

She opens her mouth with wisdomand loving instruction is on her tongue.

I applied my mind to seek and explore through wisdom all that is done under heaven. God has given people this miserable task to keep them occupied.

I said to myself, “Look, I have amassed wisdom far beyond all those who were over Jerusalem before me, and my mind has thoroughly grasped wisdom and knowledge.”

I applied my mind to know wisdom and knowledge, madness and folly; I learned that this too is a pursuit of the wind.

For with much wisdom is much sorrow;as knowledge increases, grief increases.

I explored with my mind how to let my body enjoy life with wine and how to grasp folly—my mind still guiding me with wisdom—until I could see what is good for people to do under heaven during the few days of their lives.

So I became great and surpassed all who were before me in Jerusalem; my wisdom also remained with me.

Then I turned to consider wisdom, madness, and folly, for what will the man be like who comes after the king? He will do what has already been done.

And I realized that there is an advantage to wisdom over folly, like the advantage of light over darkness.

When there is a man whose work was done with wisdom, knowledge, and skill, and he must give his portion to a man who has not worked for it, this too is futile and a great wrong.

For to the man who is pleasing in His sight, He gives wisdom, knowledge, and joy, but to the sinner He gives the task of gathering and accumulating in order to give to the one who is pleasing in God’s sight. This too is futile and a pursuit of the wind.

Wisdom is as good as an inheritanceand an advantage to those who see the sun,

because wisdom is protection as money is protection,and the advantage of knowledgeis that wisdom preserves the life of its owner.

Wisdom makes the wise man strongerthan ten rulers of a city.

I have tested all this by wisdom. I resolved, “I will be wise,” but it was beyond me.

I turned my thoughts to know, explore, and seek wisdom and an explanation for things, and to know that wickedness is stupidity and folly is madness.

Who is like the wise person, and who knows the interpretation of a matter? A man’s wisdom brightens his face, and the sternness of his face is changed.

When I applied my mind to know wisdom and to observe the activity that is done on the earth (even though one’s eyes do not close in sleep day or night),

Whatever your hands find to do, do with all your strength, because there is no work, planning, knowledge, or wisdom in Sheol where you are going.

I have observed that this also is wisdom under the sun, and it is significant to me:

Now a poor wise man was found in the city, and he delivered the city by his wisdom. Yet no one remembered that poor man.

And I said, “Wisdom is better than strength, but the wisdom of the poor man is despised, and his words are not heeded.”

Wisdom is better than weapons of war,but one sinner can destroy much good.

Dead flies make a perfumer’s oil ferment and stink;so a little folly outweighs wisdom and honor.

If the ax is dull, and one does not sharpen its edge,then one must exert more strength;however, the advantage of wisdom is that it brings success.

For he said:I have done this by my own strengthand wisdom, for I am clever.I abolished the borders of nationsand plundered their treasures;like a mighty warrior, I subjugated the inhabitants.

The Spirit of the Lord will rest on Him—a Spirit of wisdom and understanding,a Spirit of counsel and strength,a Spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the Lord.

This also comes from the Lord of Hosts.He gives wonderful advice;He gives great wisdom.

therefore I will again confound these peoplewith wonder after wonder.The wisdom of their wise men will vanish,and the understanding of the perceptive will be hidden.

There will be times of security for you—a storehouse of salvation, wisdom, and knowledge.The fear of the Lord is Zion’s treasure.

You were secure in your wickedness;you said, ‘No one sees me.’Your wisdom and knowledgeled you astray.You said to yourself,‘I exist, and there is no one else.’

The wise will be put to shame;they will be dismayed and snared.They have rejected the word of the Lord,so what wisdom do they really have?

This is what the Lord says:The wise man must not boast in his wisdom;the strong man must not boast in his strength;the wealthy man must not boast in his wealth.

He made the earth by His power,established the world by His wisdom,and spread out the heavens by His understanding.

About Edom, this is what the Lord of Hosts says:Is there no longer wisdom in Teman?Has counsel perished from the prudent?Has their wisdom rotted away?

He made the earth by His power,established the world by His wisdom,and spread out the heavens by His understanding.

By your wisdom and understandingyou have acquired wealth for yourself.You have acquired gold and silverfor your treasuries.

I am about to bring strangers against you,ruthless men from the nations.They will draw their swordsagainst your magnificent wisdomand will defile your splendor.

“Son of man, lament for the king of Tyre and say to him: This is what the Lord God says:You were the seal of perfection,full of wisdom and perfect in beauty.

Your heart became proud because of your beauty;For the sake of your splendoryou corrupted your wisdom.So I threw you down to the earth;I made you a spectacle before kings.

young men without any physical defect, good-looking, suitable for instruction in all wisdom, knowledgeable, perceptive, and capable of serving in the king’s palace—and to teach them the Chaldean language and literature.

God gave these four young men knowledge and understanding in every kind of literature and wisdom. Daniel also understood visions and dreams of every kind.

In every matter of wisdom and understanding that the king consulted them about, he found them 10 times better than all the diviner-priests and mediums in his entire kingdom.

and declared:May the name of Godbe praised forever and ever,for wisdom and power belong to Him.

He changes the times and seasons;He removes kings and establishes kings.He gives wisdom to the wiseand knowledge to thosewho have understanding.

I offer thanks and praise to You,God of my fathers,because You have given mewisdom and power.And now You have let me knowwhat we asked of You,for You have let us knowthe king’s mystery.

As for me, this mystery has been revealed to me, not because I have more wisdom than anyone living, but in order that the interpretation might be made known to the king, and that you may understand the thoughts of your mind.

There is a man in your kingdom who has the spirit of the holy gods in him. In the days of your predecessor he was found to have insight, intelligence, and wisdom like the wisdom of the gods. Your predecessor, King Nebuchadnezzar, appointed him chief of the diviners, mediums, Chaldeans, and astrologers. Your own predecessor, the king,

I’ve heard that you have the spirit of the gods in you, and that you have insight, intelligence, and extraordinary wisdom.

The Son of Man came eating and drinking, and they say, ‘Look, a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!’ Yet wisdom is vindicated by her deeds.”

The queen of the south will rise up at the judgment with this generation and condemn it, because she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon; and look—something greater than Solomon is here!

He went to His hometown and began to teach them in their synagogue, so that they were astonished and said, “How did this wisdom and these miracles come to Him?

When the Sabbath came, He began to teach in the synagogue, and many who heard Him were astonished. “Where did this man get these things?” they said. “What is this wisdom given to Him, and how are these miracles performed by His hands?

The boy grew up and became strong, filled with wisdom, and God’s grace was on Him.

And Jesus increased in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and with people.

Yet wisdom is vindicated by all her children.”

The queen of the south will rise up at the judgment with the men of this generation and condemn them, because she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon, and look—something greater than Solomon is here!

Because of this, the wisdom of God said, ‘I will send them prophets and apostles, and some of them they will kill and persecute,’

for I will give you such words and a wisdom that none of your adversaries will be able to resist or contradict.

Therefore, brothers, select from among you seven men of good reputation, full of the Spirit and wisdom, whom we can appoint to this duty.

But they were unable to stand up against his wisdom and the Spirit by whom he was speaking.

and rescued him out of all his troubles. He gave him favor and wisdom in the sight of Pharaoh, king of Egypt, who appointed him ruler over Egypt and over his whole household.

So Moses was educated in all the wisdom of the Egyptians and was powerful in his speech and actions.

Oh, the depth of the richesboth of the wisdom and the knowledge of God!How unsearchable His judgmentsand untraceable His ways!

For it is written:I will destroy the wisdom of the wise,and I will set aside the understanding of the experts.

Where is the philosopher? Where is the scholar? Where is the debater of this age? Hasn’t God made the world’s wisdom foolish?

For since, in God’s wisdom, the world did not know God through wisdom, God was pleased to save those who believe through the foolishness of the message preached.

For the Jews ask for signs and the Greeks seek wisdom,

Yet to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ is God’s power and God’s wisdom,

because God’s foolishness is wiser than human wisdom, and God’s weakness is stronger than human strength.

But it is from Him that you are in Christ Jesus, who became God-given wisdom for us—our righteousness, sanctification, and redemption,

When I came to you, brothers, announcing the testimony of God to you, I did not come with brilliance of speech or wisdom.

My speech and my proclamation were not with persuasive words of wisdom but with a powerful demonstration by the Spirit,

so that your faith might not be based on men’s wisdom but on God’s power.

However, we do speak a wisdom among the mature, but not a wisdom of this age, or of the rulers of this age, who are coming to nothing.

On the contrary, we speak God’s hidden wisdom in a mystery, a wisdom God predestined before the ages for our glory.

We also speak these things, not in words taught by human wisdom, but in those taught by the Spirit, explaining spiritual things to spiritual people.

For the wisdom of this world is foolishness with God, since it is written: He catches the wise in their craftiness;

to one is given a message of wisdomthrough the Spirit,to another, a message of knowledgeby the same Spirit,

For this is our confidence: The testimony of our conscience is that we have conducted ourselves in the world, and especially toward you, with God-given sincerity and purity, not by fleshly wisdom but by God’s grace.

that He lavished on us with all wisdom and understanding.

I pray that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, would give you a spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him.

This is so God’s multi-faceted wisdom may now be made known through the church to the rulers and authorities in the heavens.

For this reason also, since the day we heard this, we haven’t stopped praying for you. We are asking that you may be filled with the knowledge of His will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding,

We proclaim Him, warning and teaching everyone with all wisdom, so that we may present everyone mature in Christ.

All the treasures of wisdom and knowledge are hidden in Him.

Although these have a reputation of wisdom by promoting ascetic practices, humility, and severe treatment of the body, they are not of any value in curbing self-indulgence.

Let the message about the Messiah dwell richly among you, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, and singing psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs, with gratitude in your hearts to God.

Act wisely toward outsiders, making the most of the time.

Now if any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives to all generously and without criticizing, and it will be given to him.

Such wisdom does not come from above but is earthly, unspiritual, demonic.

But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peace-loving, gentle, compliant, full of mercy and good fruits, without favoritism and hypocrisy.

Also, regard the patience of our Lord as an opportunity for salvation, just as our dear brother Paul has written to you according to the wisdom given to him.

They said with a loud voice:The Lamb who was slaughtered is worthyto receive power and richesand wisdom and strengthand honor and glory and blessing!

saying:Amen! Blessing and glory and wisdomand thanksgiving and honorand power and strengthbe to our God forever and ever. Amen.

Here is wisdom: The one who has understanding must calculate the number of the beast, because it is the number of a man. His number is 666.

“Here is the mind with wisdom: The seven heads are seven mountains on which the woman is seated.