What Does Proverbs 24:5 Mean in the King James?

A wise man is strong; yea, a man of knowledge increaseth strength.

Proverbs 24:5 · KJV

The analysis reads the King James wording.

King James Version The King James Version, first published in 1611. Selah Verse shows the standard text.

THE KEY

In this Hebrew sentence, knowledge does not sit beside strength, it becomes the force that strengthens.

THE MEANING

Your strength is not only a starting condition; it can increase as knowledge takes root. Wisdom is already a form of strength, and knowing continues to firm that strength.

WHAT THIS UNDOES

It undoes the belief that a person’s strength is fixed, or that knowing only adds information without changing capacity.

THE ROOT

מְאַמֵּץ

me'ammetz

GROWS FROM

אמץ

ʾ-m-ts: be firm or strong; strengthen.

“increaseth strength” in this verse is me'ammetz. The form ⁨מְאַמֵּץ⁩ (me’ammetz, “strengthens”) is active: knowing does not merely coexist with strength but increases it. Its root also names ⁨אֹמֶץ⁩ (ʾōmets, “courage”), so strength and courage share a seed of firmness.

ALSO GROWS

ʾimmēts: strengthened; made firm

אִמֵּץ

This verb makes explicit the strengthening action carried by the verse’s word for “increaseth.”

hit'ammēts: exerted oneself; made an effort

הִתְאַמֵּץ

This form shows the root as firmness gathered into action.

ʾōmets: courage; firmness

אֹמֶץ

This noun connects strengthening with the resolve to stand firm.

דַּעַת

daʿat

GROWS FROM

ידע

y-d-ʿ: know, perceive, recognize.

“Knowledge” here is ⁨דַּעַת⁩ (daʿat), from ⁨יָדַע⁩ (yadaʿ, “know, perceive”). The root carries knowing as lived encounter rather than a store of facts, and the verse presents that knowing as something that strengthens.

ALSO GROWS

yadaʿ: to know; to perceive

יָדַע

This verb gives the action behind the noun, linking knowledge to the act of knowing.

yodeaʿ: one who knows; knowing

יֹדֵעַ

This participle presents knowing as an active quality carried by a person.

THE PATTERN

Strength can grow within a person through wisdom or renewal, rather than remaining fixed.

Wisdom strengtheneth the wise more than ten mighty men which are in the city.

Ecclesiastes 7:19 · KJVWisdom itself strengthens a person, echoing Proverbs’ link between knowing and growing stronger.

He giveth power to the faint; and to them that have no might he increaseth strength.

Isaiah 40:29 · KJVStrength is increased even where it has run low, showing it as something that can be renewed.

That he would grant you, according to the riches of his glory, to be strengthened with might by his Spirit in the inner man;

Ephesians 3:16 · KJVStrength is formed within a person, matching Proverbs’ picture of capacity growing from the inside.

THE THREAD

Be strong and of a good courage, fear not, nor be afraid of them: for the LORD thy God, he it is that doth go with thee; he will not fail thee, nor forsake thee.

Deuteronomy 31:6 · KJV

“Of a good courage” renders ⁨וְאִמְצוּ⁩ (veʾimtsu, “be courageous”), from ⁨א־מ־ץ⁩ (ʾ-m-ts, “be firm or strong”), the same root as ⁨מְאַמֵּץ⁩ (me’ammetz, “strengthens”) here. The shared seed places courage and strengthening in one Hebrew family: the strength knowledge grows has the texture of becoming firm within.

This reading is from Selah Verse.

You can read any verse this way in the app, keep it as a card, and send it on.

Get Selah Verse

A Bible app where you send verses from your keyboard and in Messages, and every verse has a Deep Dive.

Does something in this reading look wrong? Tell us