The Meaning of Proverbs 8:6 Explained

Proverbs 8:6

KJV: Hear; for I will speak of excellent things; and the opening of my lips shall be right things.

YLT: Hearken, for noble things I speak, And the opening of my lips is uprightness.

Darby: Hear, for I will speak excellent things, and the opening of my lips shall be right things.

ASV: Hear, for I will speak excellent things; And the opening of my lips shall be right things.

KJV Reverse Interlinear

Hear;  for I will speak  of excellent things;  and the opening  of my lips  [shall be] right things. 

What does Proverbs 8:6 Mean?

Context Summary

Proverbs 8:1-21 - "better Than Gold"
This chapter contains a bewitching picture of Wisdom as a noble matron. Were it not for this feminine touch, we might, suppose that the Preacher had become a Prophet and was discerning the lineaments of Christ, who in His human life embodied the Divine Wisdom, as indeed He was the Eternal Word.
She stands in the open places; her ringing voice is heard down the streets, appealing to those who are entering the city gates or doors of the houses. There is no muttering or whispering; but the beauty of goodness illuminates all she says. She insists on her own value, as compared with the valuables that men prize. The central point in her promises is that she imparts those great moral qualities which imply the true leadership and right estimate of others. What a precious word is Proverbs 8:17 : but we can never forget that we love "because He first loved us." Oh, the mystery and wonder of it! And can that love ever fail us? [source]

Chapter Summary: Proverbs 8

1  the fame
6  and evidence of wisdom
10  The excellence
12  the nature
15  the power
18  the riches
22  and the eternity of wisdom
32  Wisdom is to be desired for the blessedness it brings

What do the individual words in Proverbs 8:6 mean?

Listen for excellent things I will speak and from the opening of my lips [will come] right things
שִׁ֭מְעוּ כִּֽי־ נְגִידִ֣ים אֲדַבֵּ֑ר וּמִפְתַּ֥ח שְׂ֝פָתַ֗י מֵישָׁרִֽים

שִׁ֭מְעוּ  Listen 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Imperative, masculine plural
Root: שָׁמַע 
Sense: to hear, listen to, obey.
נְגִידִ֣ים  excellent  things 
Parse: Noun, masculine plural
Root: נָגִיד  
Sense: leader, ruler, captain, prince.
אֲדַבֵּ֑ר  I  will  speak 
Parse: Verb, Piel, Imperfect, first person common singular
Root: דָּבַר 
Sense: to speak, declare, converse, command, promise, warn, threaten, sing.
וּמִפְתַּ֥ח  and  from  the  opening 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Noun, masculine singular construct
Root: מִפְתָּח  
Sense: opening, utterance.
שְׂ֝פָתַ֗י  of  my  lips 
Parse: Noun, fdc, first person common singular
Root: שָׂפָה  
Sense: lip, language, speech, shore, bank, brink, brim, side, edge, border, binding.
מֵישָׁרִֽים  [will  come]  right  things 
Parse: Noun, masculine plural
Root: מֵישָׁרִים  
Sense: evenness, uprightness, straightness, equity.