Bible Strands
Proverbs 16:31
Gray hair is a crown of glory; it is attained along the path of righteousness.
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — The wise teacher addresses a student within a collection of instructional sayings, positioning this observation between a warning against deceitful facial expressions and an exhortation to control one’s temper.
The words — שֵׂיבָה (sei.Vah) translates literally to gray hair, while תִּפְאֶרֶת (tif.'E.ret) denotes splendor or glory.
The thread — The association of aging with honor appears in Proverbs 20:29, which contrasts youthful strength with the splendor of old age, and Leviticus 19:32, which commands rising before the aged and honoring the elderly.
Why it lands — The text defines advanced age not as physical decline but as a visible reward earned through a life lived in accordance with righteousness.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Hebrew words
King James Version
The hoary head is a crown of glory, if it be found in the way of righteousness.
Cross-references
- Proverbs 20:29 The glory of young men is their strength, and gray hair is the splendor of the old.
- Leviticus 19:32 You are to rise in the presence of the elderly, honor the aged, and fear your God. I am the LORD.
- Proverbs 3:1 My son, do not forget my teaching, but let your heart keep my commandments;
- 1 Samuel 12:2 Now here is the king walking before you, and I am old and gray, and my sons are here with you. I have walked before you from my youth until this day.
- Proverbs 17:6 Grandchildren are the crown of the aged, and the glory of a son is his father.
- Genesis 47:7 Then Joseph brought in his father Jacob and presented him before Pharaoh, and Jacob blessed Pharaoh.
- Ecclesiastes 4:13 Better is a poor but wise youth than an old but foolish king who no longer knows how to take a warning.
- Luke 1:6 Both of them were righteous in the sight of God, walking blamelessly in all the commandments and decrees of the Lord.
- Luke 2:29 “Sovereign Lord, as You have promised, You now dismiss Your servant in peace.
- Philemon 1:9 I prefer to appeal on the basis of love. For I, Paul, am now aged, and a prisoner of Christ Jesus as well.