Bible Strands
Proverbs 9:11
For through wisdom your days will be multiplied, and years will be added to your life.
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — Wisdom addresses the simple and the scoffer in the public square, concluding her discourse after defining her foundation in Proverbs 9:10 and before warning of personal accountability in Proverbs 9:12. The verse functions as the promised outcome of choosing her path over folly's.
The words — The Hebrew verb יִרְבּ֣וּ (yirbu) literally means "they will increase," paired with יוֹסִ֥יפוּ (yosifu), meaning "they may add." These terms directly describe the multiplication of days and the addition of years to one's life.
The thread — This theme of extended life through divine wisdom appears in Proverbs 10:27, which links longevity to the fear of the LORD, and in Proverbs 3:2, which promises added days and peace. Proverbs 3:16 further associates long life with wisdom's right hand alongside riches and honor.
Why it lands — The text asserts that pursuing wisdom directly results in multiplied days and added years, presenting longevity as a structural outcome of alignment with understanding. It requires the reader to treat daily choices as cumulative factors that extend or shorten life, demanding practical adherence rather than passive hope.
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
For by me thy days shall be multiplied, and the years of thy life shall be increased.
Cross-references
- Proverbs 10:27 The fear of the LORD prolongs life, but the years of the wicked will be cut short.
- Proverbs 3:2 for they will add length to your days, years and peace to your life.
- Proverbs 3:16 Long life is in her right hand; in her left hand are riches and honor.
- Deuteronomy 6:2 so that you and your children and grandchildren may fear the LORD your God all the days of your lives by keeping all His statutes and commandments that I give you, and so that your days may be prolonged.