The Meaning of Proverbs 15:24 Explained

Proverbs 15:24

KJV: The way of life is above to the wise, that he may depart from hell beneath.

YLT: A path of life is on high for the wise, To turn aside from Sheol beneath.

Darby: The path of life is upwards for the wise, that he may depart from Sheol beneath.

ASV: To the wise the way of life goeth upward, That he may depart from Sheol beneath.

Discover Proverbs 15:24

CONTEXT: What is the Context of Proverbs 15:24?

MEANING: What does Proverbs 15:24 Mean?

WORDS: What do the individual words in Proverbs 15:24 mean?

RELATIONS: What do the major concepts mean in Proverbs 15:24?

KJV Reverse Interlinear

The way  of life  [is] above  to the wise,  that he may depart  from hell  beneath. 

What does Proverbs 15:24 Mean?

Study Notes

hell
Heb. "Sheol,"
Sheol is, in the O.T., the place to which the dead go.
(1) Often, therefore, it is spoken of as the equivalent of the grave, merely, where all human activities cease; the terminus toward which all human life moves (e.g. Genesis 42:38 grave Job 14:13 grave Psalms 88:3 grave
(2) To the man "under the sun," the natural man, who of necessity judges from appearances, sheol seems no more than the grave-- the end and total cessation, not only of the activities of life, but of life itself. Ecclesiastes 9:5 ; Ecclesiastes 9:10
(3) But Scripture reveals sheol as a place of sorrow 2 Samuel 22:6 ; Psalms 18:5 ; Psalms 116:3 ; in which the wicked are turned Psalms 9:17 and where they are fully conscious; Isaiah 14:9-17 ; Ezekiel 32:21 see, especially, Jonah 2:2 what the belly of the great fish was to Jonah that sheol is to those who are therein). The sheol of the O.T. and hades of the N.T. (See Scofield " Luke 16:23 ") are identical.

Verse Meaning

Everyone goes to Sheol (the grave) eventually (except believers who experience translation at the Rapture and do not die). However, the wise avoid Sheol as long as they can by being wise. Living wisely tends to prolong life.
"We may at least say that the language [1] anticipates what later Scripture will clearly teach about the ultimate destination of the way of life." [2]

Context Summary

Proverbs 15:18-33 - Words In Season
Learn to be slow to anger. This paragraph describes the even temper which is blessed to live with and blessed to die with. Temper is said to be nine-tenths of Christianity. What best proves a Christian is an even temper. It is told of a Japanese gentleman, who was led by a tract to renounce the use of intoxicants and to accept Jesus Christ, that the immediate effect on his temper was so great that his wife, who had often suffered from his uncontrollable fits of anger, said, "If this is the result of Christianity, I want to become a Christian." When the missionaries afterward visited the place, they found her and ten other persons awaiting baptism.
As these proverbs suggest, the quickest method of overcoming and eradicating the wrong is, in the power of God, to cultivate the right. By this we shall tread the way of the wise that goeth upward toward the heavenly life of the angels, and we shall be saved from a hell of misery. See Proverbs 15:24, r.v. Philippians 3:20; Colossians 3:1. [source]

Chapter Summary: Proverbs 15

1  A gentle answer turns away wrath

What do the individual words in Proverbs 15:24 mean?

The way of life [winds] upward for the wise that he may turn away from hell below
אֹ֣רַח חַ֭יִּים לְמַ֣עְלָה לְמַשְׂכִּ֑יל לְמַ֥עַן ס֝֗וּר מִשְּׁא֥וֹל מָֽטָּה

אֹ֣רַח  The  way 
Parse: Noun, common singular construct
Root: אֹרַח  
Sense: way, path.
חַ֭יִּים  of  life 
Parse: Noun, masculine plural
Root: חַי 
Sense: living, alive.
לְמַ֣עְלָה  [winds]  upward 
Parse: Preposition-l, Adverb, third person feminine singular
Root: מַעַל 
Sense: higher part, upper part adv.
לְמַשְׂכִּ֑יל  for  the  wise 
Parse: Preposition-l, Verb, Hifil, Participle, masculine singular
Root: שָׂכַל 
Sense: to be prudent, be circumspect, wisely understand, prosper.
לְמַ֥עַן  that 
Parse: Conjunction
Root: לְמַעַן 
Sense: purpose, intent prep.
ס֝֗וּר  he  may  turn  away 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Infinitive construct
Root: סוּר 
Sense: to turn aside, depart.
מִשְּׁא֥וֹל  from  hell 
Parse: Preposition-m, Noun, common singular
Root: שְׁאֹול  
Sense: sheol, underworld, grave, hell, pit.
מָֽטָּה  below 
Parse: Adverb
Root: מַטָּה  
Sense: downwards, below.

What are the major concepts related to Proverbs 15:24?

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Similar Scriptures for Proverbs 15:24

Psalms 16:11 [4]
Colossians 3:1-2 [4]
Matthew 7:14 [3]
Philippians 3:20 [3]
John 14:6 [3]
Proverbs 6:23 [2]
Proverbs 9:8 [2]
Proverbs 2:18 [2]
Proverbs 7:27 [2]
Proverbs 23:14 [2]
Proverbs 5:5 [2]
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Psalms 139:24 [1]
Jeremiah 21:8 [1]
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