Proverbs 4:8 (ASV)

Passage

Exalt her, and she will promote thee; She will bring thee to honor, when thou dost embrace her.

Nearby Context

Proverbs 4:6 Forsake her not, and she will preserve thee; Love her, and she will keep thee.

Proverbs 4:7 Wisdom [is] the principal thing; [therefore] get wisdom; Yea, with all thy getting get understanding.

Proverbs 4:8 Exalt her, and she will promote thee; She will bring thee to honor, when thou dost embrace her.

Proverbs 4:9 She will give to thy head a chaplet of grace; A crown of beauty will she deliver to thee.

Proverbs 4:10 Hear, O my son, and receive my sayings; And the years of thy life shall be many.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "exalt", "promote", "thee", "bring", "honor", "thou", and "dost". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "exalt" and "promote", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 7's "Wisdom is the principal thing therefore get..." into verse 9's "She will give to thy head a...", so "exalt" and "promote" belong inside that flow. In Proverbs context, the local focus is covenant, worship, and faithfulness.

A plain takeaway is to answer the verse's own emphasis on "exalt" and "promote" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.