Proverbs 4 · a question people ask
"Yes, though it costs all your possessions, get understanding" (4:7). Can wisdom be bought?
Here is what the verse says. In Hebrew that half of the verse has no word for costs; it is and with all your qinyan, get understanding. Brown-Driver-Briggs gives qinyan as "thing got or acquired, acquisition", and the verb get, qanah, as "get, acquire" (tap Get). Proverbs has the same verb where the WEB says Buy: "Buy the truth, and don’t sell it" (Proverbs 23:23). With the same verb for buy, it also asks, "Why is there money in the hand of a fool to buy wisdom, since he has no understanding?" (Proverbs 17:16), and it says, "For the LORD gives wisdom" (Proverbs 2:6). So the book says, "though it costs all your possessions, get understanding" (4:7), asks why a fool has money in his hand to buy wisdom (17:16), and says the LORD gives wisdom (2:6). In chapter 4, Get wisdom stands beside "Don’t forget, and don’t deviate from the words of my mouth" (4:5). The chapter doesn't say more about how wisdom is got, and these notes don't either.
The verses
“Get wisdom. Get understanding. Don’t forget, and don’t deviate from the words of my mouth.”
“Wisdom is supreme. Get wisdom. Yes, though it costs all your possessions, get understanding.”
“Buy the truth, and don’t sell it. Get wisdom, discipline, and understanding.”
“Why is there money in the hand of a fool to buy wisdom, since he has no understanding?”