Bible Strands
Proverbs 3:18
She is a tree of life to those who embrace her, and those who lay hold of her are blessed.
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — The text addresses the reader within a parental instruction to pursue wisdom, immediately following a description of her pleasant and peaceful paths.
The words — The Hebrew מְאֻשָּׁר (me'ushar) translates literally to "are called blessed," and לַמַּחֲזִיקִים (la-machazikim) means "to those who take hold."
The thread — The "tree of life" motif appears in Proverbs 11:30 regarding the fruit of the righteous, Proverbs 15:4 contrasting a soothing tongue with a perverse one, and Revelation 2:7 promising it to the one who overcomes.
Why it lands — The text states that blessing belongs to those who actively embrace and retain wisdom, then infers that this continuous adherence yields a blessed state.
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
She is a tree of life to them that lay hold upon her: and happy is every one that retaineth her.
Cross-references
- Proverbs 11:30 The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life, and he who wins souls is wise.
- Proverbs 15:4 A soothing tongue is a tree of life, but a perverse tongue crushes the spirit.
- Revelation 2:7 He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To the one who overcomes, I will grant the right to eat from the tree of life in the Paradise of God.
- Genesis 2:9 Out of the ground the LORD God gave growth to every tree that is pleasing to the eye and good for food. And in the middle of the garden were the tree of life and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.
- Genesis 3:22 Then the LORD God said, “Behold, the man has become like one of Us, knowing good and evil. And now, lest he reach out his hand and take also from the tree of life, and eat, and live forever...”
- Proverbs 13:12 Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but desire fulfilled is a tree of life.
- Revelation 22:2 down the middle of the main street of the city. On either side of the river stood a tree of life, bearing twelve kinds of fruit and yielding a fresh crop for each month. And the leaves of the tree are for the healing of the nations.