Proverbs 28 · Verse 2

Proverbs 28:2

For the transgression of a land many are the princes thereof: but by a man of understanding and knowledge the state thereof shall be prolonged.
Proverbs 28:2, King James Version

Proverbs 28:2 in other translations

BSBA land in rebellion has many rulers, but a man of understanding and knowledge maintains order.
WEBIn rebellion, a land has many rulers, but order is maintained by a man of understanding and knowledge.
ASVFor the transgression of a land many are the princes thereof; But by men of understanding and knowledge the state thereof shall be prolonged.
YLTBy the transgression of a land many are its heads. And by an intelligent man, Who knoweth right--it is prolonged.
DARBYBy the transgression of a land many are the princes thereof; but by a man of understanding and of knowledge, its stability is prolonged.
BBEBecause of the sin of the land, its troubles are increased; but by a man of wisdom and knowledge they will be put out like a fire.
WebsterFor the transgression of a land many are its princes: but by a man of understanding and knowledge the state thereof shall be prolonged.

What does Proverbs 28:2 mean?

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown
2. Anarchy producing contending rulers shortens the reign of each. but by a man ... prolonged--or, "by a man of understanding--that is, a good ruler--he who knows or regards the right, that is, a good citizen, shall prolong (his days)." Good rulers are a blessing to the people. Bad government as a punishment for evil is contrasted with good as blessing to the good.

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

Adam Clarke's Commentary
Verse 2 Many are the princes - Nations, as nations, cannot be judged in a future world; therefore, God judges them here. And where the people are very wicked, and the constitution very bad, the succession of princes is frequent - they are generally taken off by an untimely death. Where the people know that the constitution is in their favor, they seldom disturb the prince, as they consider him the guardian of their privileges. But by a man of understanding - Whether he be a king, or the king's prime minister, the prosperity of the state is advanced by his counsels.

Adam Clarke, 1831 · public domain

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary
National sins disturb the public repose.

Matthew Henry, 1706 · public domain

Proverbs 28:2 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.

בְּפֶ֣שַֽׁעbe.Fe.sha'by [the] transgression ofH6588
אֶ֭רֶץ'E.retza landH776
רַבִּ֣יםra.Bim[are] manyH7227
שָׂרֶ֑יהָsa.Rei.haprinces itsH8269
וּבְאָדָ֥םu.ve.'a.Damand by a personH120
מֵבִ֥יןme.VinunderstandingH995
יֹ֝דֵ֗עַyo.De.a'knowingH3045
כֵּ֣ןkenthusH3651
יַאֲרִֽיךְ\׃ya.'a.Rikhit will last longH748

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

Cross references for Proverbs 28:2

  • 1 Kings 16:8-29

    In the twenty and sixth year of Asa king of Judah began Elah the son of Baasha to reign over Israel in Tirzah, two years. And his servant Zimri, captain of half his chariots, conspired against him, as he was in Tirzah, drinking himself drunk in the house of Arza steward of his house in Tirzah. And Zimri went in and smote him, and killed him, in the twenty and seventh year of Asa king of Judah, and reigned in his stead. And it came to pass, when he began to reign, as soon as he sat on his throne, that he slew all the house of Baasha: he left him not one that pisseth against a wall, neither of his kinsfolks, nor of his friends. …

  • Job 22:28-30

    Thou shalt also decree a thing, and it shall be established unto thee: and the light shall shine upon thy ways. When men are cast down, then thou shalt say, There is lifting up; and he shall save the humble person. He shall deliver the island of the innocent: and it is delivered by the pureness of thine hands.

  • Genesis 45:5-8

    Now therefore be not grieved, nor angry with yourselves, that ye sold me hither: for God did send me before you to preserve life. For these two years hath the famine been in the land: and yet there are five years, in the which there shall neither be earing nor harvest. And God sent me before you to preserve you a posterity in the earth, and to save your lives by a great deliverance. So now it was not you that sent me hither, but God: and he hath made me a father to Pharaoh, and lord of all his house, and a ruler throughout all the land of Egypt.

  • 1 Kings 15:28

    Even in the third year of Asa king of Judah did Baasha slay him, and reigned in his stead.

  • 2 Kings 15:8-31

    In the thirty and eighth year of Azariah king of Judah did Zachariah the son of Jeroboam reign over Israel in Samaria six months. And he did that which was evil in the sight of the Lord, as his fathers had done: he departed not from the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, who made Israel to sin. And Shallum the son of Jabesh conspired against him, and smote him before the people, and slew him, and reigned in his stead. And the rest of the acts of Zachariah, behold, they are written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel. …

  • 2 Chronicles 32:20-26

    And for this cause Hezekiah the king, and the prophet Isaiah the son of Amoz, prayed and cried to heaven. And the Lord sent an angel, which cut off all the mighty men of valour, and the leaders and captains in the camp of the king of Assyria. So he returned with shame of face to his own land. And when he was come into the house of his god, they that came forth of his own bowels slew him there with the sword. Thus the Lord saved Hezekiah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem from the hand of Sennacherib the king of Assyria, and from the hand of all other, and guided them on every side. And many brought gifts unto the Lord to Jerusalem, and presents to Hezekiah king of Judah: so that he was magnified in the sight of all nations from thenceforth. …

  • Isaiah 58:12

    And they that shall be of thee shall build the old waste places: thou shalt raise up the foundations of many generations; and thou shalt be called, The repairer of the breach, The restorer of paths to dwell in.

  • Daniel 4:27

    Wherefore, O king, let my counsel be acceptable unto thee, and break off thy sins by righteousness, and thine iniquities by shewing mercy to the poor; if it may be a lengthening of thy tranquillity.

  • 2 Chronicles 36:1-12

    Then the people of the land took Jehoahaz the son of Josiah, and made him king in his father’s stead in Jerusalem. Jehoahaz was twenty and three years old when he began to reign, and he reigned three months in Jerusalem. And the king of Egypt put him down at Jerusalem, and condemned the land in an hundred talents of silver and a talent of gold. And the king of Egypt made Eliakim his brother king over Judah and Jerusalem, and turned his name to Jehoiakim. And Necho took Jehoahaz his brother, and carried him to Egypt. …

  • 1 Kings 15:25

    And Nadab the son of Jeroboam began to reign over Israel in the second year of Asa king of Judah, and reigned over Israel two years.

  • Hosea 13:11

    I gave thee a king in mine anger, and took him away in my wrath.

  • Isaiah 3:1-7

    For, behold, the Lord, the Lord of hosts, doth take away from Jerusalem and from Judah the stay and the staff, the whole stay of bread, and the whole stay of water, The mighty man, and the man of war, the judge, and the prophet, and the prudent, and the ancient, The captain of fifty, and the honourable man, and the counsellor, and the cunning artificer, and the eloquent orator. And I will give children to be their princes, and babes shall rule over them. …

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

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
the transgression.
1Ki 15:25,28; 16:8-29; 2Ki 15:8-31; 2Ch 36:1-12; Isa 3:1-7
Ho 13:11
but.
Ge 45:5-8; 2Ch 32:20-26; Job 22:28-30; Ec 9:15; Isa 58:12; Da 4:27
by a man, etc. by men of understanding and wisdom shall theylikewise be prolonged.

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

Context

  • Proverbs 28:1

    The wicked flee when no man pursueth: but the righteous are bold as a lion.

  • Proverbs 28:2

    For the transgression of a land many are the princes thereof: but by a man of understanding and knowledge the state thereof shall be prolonged.

  • Proverbs 28:3

    A poor man that oppresseth the poor is like a sweeping rain which leaveth no food.

Read all of Proverbs 28

Proverbs 28:2 in other languages

Spanish
Reina-Valera 1909
Por la rebelión de la tierra sus príncipes son muchos: mas por el hombre entendido y sabio permanecerá sin mutación.
French
Bible J.N. Darby 1885
À cause de l’iniquité d’un pays, ses princes sont nombreux; mais, par un homme intelligent qui a de la connaissance, la stabilité se prolonge.
German
Elberfelder 1871
Durch die Frevelhaftigkeit eines Landes werden seiner Fürsten viele; aber durch einen verständigen, einsichtigen Mann wird sein Bestand verlängert.
Latin
Clementine Vulgate
Propter peccata terræ multi principes ejus; et propter hominis sapientiam, et horum scientiam quæ dicuntur, vita ducis longior erit.