Proverbs 18 · Verse 22

Proverbs 18:22

Whoso findeth a wife findeth a good thing, and obtaineth favour of the Lord.
Proverbs 18:22, King James Version

Proverbs 18:22 in other translations

BSBHe who finds a wife finds a good thing and obtains favor from the LORD.
WEBWhoever finds a wife finds a good thing, and obtains favor of the LORD.
ASVWhoso findeth a wife findeth a good thing, And obtaineth favor of Jehovah.
YLTWhoso hath found a wife hath found good, And bringeth out good-will from Jehovah.
DARBYWhoso hath found a wife hath found a good thing, and hath obtained favour from Jehovah.
BBEWhoever gets a wife gets a good thing, and has the approval of the Lord.
WebsterWhoever findeth a wife findeth a good thing, and obtaineth favor from the LORD.

What does Proverbs 18:22 mean?

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown
22. The old versions supply "good" before the "wife," as the last clause and Pr 19:14 imply (compare Pr 31:10).

Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown, 1871 · public domain

Adam Clarke's Commentary
Verse 22 Whoso findeth a wife findeth a good thing - Marriage, with all its troubles and embarrassments, is a blessing from God; and there are few cases where a wife of any sort is not better than none, because celibacy is an evil; for God himself hath said, "It is not good for man to be alone." None of the versions, except the Chaldee, are pleased with the naked simplicity of the Hebrew text, hence they all add good: "He that findeth a Good wife findeth a good thing;" and most people, who have not deeply considered the subject, think the assertion, without this qualification, is absurd. Some copies of the Targum, and apparently one of Kennicott's MSS., have the addition טובה tobah, good; but this would be an authority too slender to justify changing the Hebrew text; yet Houbigant, Kennicott, and other able critics argue for it. The Septuagint is not satisfied without an addition: "But he who puts away a good wife, puts away a good thing: and he that retains an adulteress, is a fool and wicked." In this addition the Vulgate, Syriac, and Arabic, agree with the Septuagint. The Hebrew text as it stands, teaches a general doctrine by a simple but general proposition: "He that findeth a wife findeth a good thing." So St. Paul: "Marriage is honorable in all." Had the world been left, in this respect, to the unbridled propensities of man, in what a horrible state would society have been - if indeed society could have existed, or civilization have taken place - if marriage had not obtained among men! As to good wives and bad wives, they are relatively so, in general; and most of them that have been bad afterwards, have been good at first; and we well know the best things may deteriorate, and the world generally allows that where there are matrimonial contentions, there are faults on both sides.

Adam Clarke, 1831 · public domain

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary
A good wife is a great blessing to a man, and it is a token of Divine favour.

Matthew Henry, 1706 · public domain

Proverbs 18:22 in the original Hebrew

Word-by-word with transliteration, English gloss and Strong's number. Tap a number for the full definition and every place the word is used.

מָצָ֣אma.Tza'he findsH4672
אִ֭שָּׁה'I.shaha wifeH802
מָ֣צָאMa.tza'he findsH4672
ט֑וֹבTova good thingH2896
וַיָּ֥פֶקvai.Ya.fekand he obtainedH6329
רָ֝צ֗וֹןra.TzonpleasureH7522
מֵיְהוָֽה\׃me.Yah.wehfrom YahwehH3068

Source: STEPBible TAHOT/TAGNT (Tyndale House, CC BY 4.0).

Cross references for Proverbs 18:22

  • Proverbs 19:14

    House and riches are the inheritance of fathers: and a prudent wife is from the Lord.

  • Proverbs 31:10-31

    Who can find a virtuous woman? for her price is far above rubies. The heart of her husband doth safely trust in her, so that he shall have no need of spoil. She will do him good and not evil all the days of her life. She seeketh wool, and flax, and worketh willingly with her hands. …

  • Proverbs 12:4

    A virtuous woman is a crown to her husband: but she that maketh ashamed is as rottenness in his bones.

  • Ecclesiastes 9:9

    Live joyfully with the wife whom thou lovest all the days of the life of thy vanity, which he hath given thee under the sun, all the days of thy vanity: for that is thy portion in this life, and in thy labour which thou takest under the sun.

  • 1 Corinthians 7:2

    Nevertheless, to avoid fornication, let every man have his own wife, and let every woman have her own husband.

  • Proverbs 5:15-23

    Drink waters out of thine own cistern, and running waters out of thine own well. Let thy fountains be dispersed abroad, and rivers of waters in the streets. Let them be only thine own, and not strangers’ with thee. Let thy fountain be blessed: and rejoice with the wife of thy youth. …

  • Genesis 2:18

    And the Lord God said, It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him an help meet for him.

  • Hosea 12:12

    And Jacob fled into the country of Syria, and Israel served for a wife, and for a wife he kept sheep.

  • Proverbs 8:35

    For whoso findeth me findeth life, and shall obtain favour of the Lord.

  • Genesis 29:20-21

    And Jacob served seven years for Rachel; and they seemed unto him but a few days, for the love he had to her. And Jacob said unto Laban, Give me my wife, for my days are fulfilled, that I may go in unto her.

  • Genesis 24:67

    And Isaac brought her into his mother Sarah’s tent, and took Rebekah, and she became his wife; and he loved her: and Isaac was comforted after his mother’s death.

  • Proverbs 3:4

    So shalt thou find favour and good understanding in the sight of God and man.

Ranked by reader votes · OpenBible.info cross references (CC BY).

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
findeth a wife.
5:15-23; 12:4; 19:14; 31:10-31; Ge 24:67; 29:20,21,28; Ec 9:9
Ho 12:12; 1Co 7:2
and.
3:4; 8:35

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (Samuel Bagster, c. 1836) · public domain

Context

  • Proverbs 18:21

    Death and life are in the power of the tongue: and they that love it shall eat the fruit thereof.

  • Proverbs 18:22

    Whoso findeth a wife findeth a good thing, and obtaineth favour of the Lord.

  • Proverbs 18:23

    The poor useth intreaties; but the rich answereth roughly.

Read all of Proverbs 18

Proverbs 18:22 in other languages

Spanish
Reina-Valera 1909		El que halló esposa halló el bien, y alcanzó la benevolencia de Jehová.
French
Bible J.N. Darby 1885		Celui qui a trouvé une femme a trouvé une bonne chose, et il a obtenu faveur de la part de l’ Éternel.
German
Elberfelder 1871		Wer ein Weib gefunden, hat Gutes gefunden und hat Wohlgefallen erlangt von Jehova.
Latin
Clementine Vulgate		Qui invenit mulierem bonam invenit bonum, et hauriet jucunditatem a Domino. Qui expellit mulierem bonam expellit bonum; qui autem tenet adulteram stultus est et impius.