[ 1 minutes to read ]

Buy the truth, and sell it not; also wisdom, and instruction, and understanding.
– Proverbs 23:23

[T]his verse gives a fatherly saying that is be hearkened to. The word for truth means certainty, and so it points to reality, what is truly true. To buy and not sell means to labor to acquire wisdom and to retain it. The word for wisdom means skill, like that of a craftsman or tradesman, and can be put for shrewdness. The word for instruction means discipline, and can range from teaching to correcting, or even chastisement. The word for understanding means discernment and indicates the ability to distinguish between. The four words here represent the necessary equipment for going in the right way, or living a godly life. Proverbs consistently urges the necessity of seeking, cost of acquiring, and value of having wisdom (Proverbs 2:2-4; 4:5-7; 16:16).

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