Proverbs 8 · Verse 27

Proverbs 8:27

When he prepared the heavens, I was there: when he set a compass upon the face of the depth:

Proverbs 8:27, King James Version

Proverbs 8:27 in other translations

BSB	I was there when He established the heavens, when He inscribed a circle on the face of the deep,
WEB	When he established the heavens, I was there. When he set a circle on the surface of the deep,
ASV	When he established the heavens, I was there: When he set a circle upon the face of the deep,
YLT	In His preparing the heavens I am there, In His decreeing a circle on the face of the deep,
DARBY	When he prepared the heavens I was there; when he ordained the circle upon the face of the deep;
BBE	When he made ready the heavens I was there: when he put an arch over the face of the deep:
Webster	When he prepared the heavens, I was there: when he set a compass upon the face of the depth:

What does Proverbs 8:27 mean?

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Proverbs 8:22-31

22-31. Strictly, God's attributes are part of Himself. Yet, to the poetical structure of the whole passage, this commendation of wisdom is entirely consonant. In order of time all His attributes are coincident and eternal as Himself. But to set forth the importance of wisdom as devising the products of benevolence and power, it is here assigned a precedence. As it has such in divine, so should it be desired in…

Read the full comment on Proverbs 8:22-31 →

Adam Clarke's Commentary

Verse 27 When he prepared the heavens, I was there - For there is no part of the creation of God in which wisdom, skill, contrivance, are more manifest, than in the construction of the visible heavens. When he set a compass upon the face of the depth - Does not this refer to the establishment of the law of gravitation? by which all the particles of matter, tending to a common center, would produce in all bodies the orbicular form, which we see them have; so that even the waters are not only retained within their boundaries, but are subjected to the circular form, in their great aggregate of seas, as other parts of matter are. This is called here making a compass, בחקו חוג bechukko chug, sweeping a circle; and even this on the face of the deep, to bring the chaotic mass into form, regularity, and order.

Adam Clarke, 1831 · public domain

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on Proverbs 8:22-31

The Son of God declares himself to have been engaged in the creation of the world. How able, how fit is the Son of God to be the Saviour of the world, who was the Creator of it! The Son of God was ordained, before the world, to that great work. Does he delight in saving wretched sinners, and shall not we delight in his salvation?

Read the full comment on Proverbs 8:22-31 →

Proverbs 8:27 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.

בַּהֲכִינ֣וֹba.ha.khi.Nowhen established heH3559

שָׁ֭מַיִםSha.ma.yim[the] heavensH8064

שָׁ֣םsham[was] thereH8033

אָ֑נִי'A.niIH589

בְּח֥וּקוֹbe.Chu.kovwhen marked out heH2710

ח֝֗וּגChuga circleH2329

עַל\־'al-onH5921

פְּנֵ֥יpe.Nei[the] surface ofH6440

תְהֽוֹם\׃te.Hom[the] deepH8415

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

Cross references for Proverbs 8:27

Isaiah 40:22
It is he that sitteth upon the circle of the earth, and the inhabitants thereof are as grasshoppers; that stretcheth out the heavens as a curtain, and spreadeth them out as a tent to dwell in:
Job 26:10
He hath compassed the waters with bounds, until the day and night come to an end.
Proverbs 3:19
The Lord by wisdom hath founded the earth; by understanding hath he established the heavens.
Psalms 136:5
To him that by wisdom made the heavens: for his mercy endureth for ever.
Colossians 1:16
For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him:
Jeremiah 10:12
He hath made the earth by his power, he hath established the world by his wisdom, and hath stretched out the heavens by his discretion.
Isaiah 40:11
He shall feed his flock like a shepherd: he shall gather the lambs with his arm, and carry them in his bosom, and shall gently lead those that are with young.
Hebrews 1:2
Hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son, whom he hath appointed heir of all things, by whom also he made the worlds;
Psalms 33:6
By the word of the Lord were the heavens made; and all the host of them by the breath of his mouth.
Psalms 103:19
The Lord hath prepared his throne in the heavens; and his kingdom ruleth over all.

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

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge

he prepared.
Ps 33:6; 103:19; 136:5; Jer 10:12; Col 1:16; Heb 1:2
compass. or, circle.
Isa 40:11,22

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

Context

Proverbs 8:26
While as yet he had not made the earth, nor the fields, nor the highest part of the dust of the world.
Proverbs 8:27
When he prepared the heavens, I was there: when he set a compass upon the face of the depth:
Proverbs 8:28
When he established the clouds above: when he strengthened the fountains of the deep:

Read all of Proverbs 8

Proverbs 8:27 in other languages

Spanish Reina-Valera 1909	Cuando formaba los cielos, allí estaba yo; cuando señalaba por compás la sobrefaz del abismo;
French Bible J.N. Darby 1885	Quand il disposait les cieux, j’étais là; quand il ordonnait le cercle qui circonscrit la face de l’abîme,
German Elberfelder 1871	Als er die Himmel feststellte, war ich da, als er einen Kreis abmaß über der Fläche der Tiefe;
Latin Clementine Vulgate	Quando præparabat cælos, aderam; quando certa lege et gyro vallabat abyssos;