8:19

Notice the parallel parts that are similar in meaning:

19a
My fruit is better than gold, pure gold,

19b
and my harvest surpasses choice silver.

8:19a–b

My fruit is better than…my harvest surpasses: In this verse, the benefits that wisdom gives or produces are described using the agricultural terms fruit and harvest. Literally, fruit is the produce of a fruit tree or vine, and harvest refers to any crop, including grain and fruit. Here they refer figuratively to the result of having wisdom. What wisdom gives is better or more valuable than gold or silver. The verb surpasses is supplied by the Berean Standard Bible. In Hebrew, the comparative phrase better than applies to both “my fruit” and “my yield.”

In some languages, it may be clearer to use nonfigurative language. For example:

What I give is better than the finest gold (New Century Version)
-or-
What you receive from me is more valuable than even the finest gold (Contemporary English Version)

gold, pure gold…choice silver: The phrase that the Berean Standard Bible translates as gold, pure gold is literally “gold even fine-gold.” The two synonyms function together to mean “very fine gold,” so a number of English versions, including the New International Version, have combined them into one phrase. For the word choice, see 8:10b, where it describes gold.

General Comment on 8:19a–b

In some languages, it may be more natural to combine and/or reorder the parallel lines. See the Display for 8:19a–b (combined/reordered).

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