Bible Strands
Proverbs 21:22
A wise man scales the city of the mighty and pulls down the stronghold in which they trust.
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — The text does not identify the speaker or audience, but places this observation between the command to pursue righteousness (Proverbs 21:21) and the warning to guard speech (Proverbs 21:23).
The words — The passage centers on חָכָם (chakham) as a wise [person] and מִבְטֶחָה (mivtecha) as the trust or fortified confidence of the mighty.
The thread — The motif of wisdom granting disproportionate strength appears in Ecclesiastes 7:19, where wisdom empowers the wise over ten rulers, and Proverbs 24:5, which links knowledge to enhanced strength. Ecclesiastes 9:13 records the observer’s declaration that this wisdom was great under the sun.
Why it lands — The text asserts that strategic insight dismantles fortified power structures, demanding the reader evaluate whether they rely on human strength or cultivate discernment to overcome entrenched opposition.
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
A wise man scaleth the city of the mighty, and casteth down the strength of the confidence thereof.
Cross-references
- Ecclesiastes 7:19 Wisdom makes the wise man stronger than ten rulers in a city.
- Proverbs 24:5 A wise man is strong, and a man of knowledge enhances his strength.
- Ecclesiastes 9:13 I have also seen this wisdom under the sun, and it was great to me:
- 2 Samuel 5:6 Now the king and his men marched to Jerusalem against the Jebusites who inhabited the land. The Jebusites said to David: “You will never get in here. Even the blind and lame can repel you.” For they thought, “David cannot get in here.”
- 2 Samuel 20:16 a wise woman called out from the city, “Listen! Listen! Please tell Joab to come here so that I may speak with him.”