Proverbs 8:26
New International Version
before he made the world or its fields or any of the dust of the earth.

New Living Translation
before he had made the earth and fields and the first handfuls of soil.

English Standard Version
before he had made the earth with its fields, or the first of the dust of the world.

Berean Standard Bible
before He made the land or fields, or any of the dust of the earth.

King James Bible
While as yet he had not made the earth, nor the fields, nor the highest part of the dust of the world.

New King James Version
While as yet He had not made the earth or the fields, Or the primal dust of the world.

New American Standard Bible
While He had not yet made the earth and the fields, Nor the first dust of the world.

NASB 1995
While He had not yet made the earth and the fields, Nor the first dust of the world.

NASB 1977
While He had not yet made the earth and the fields, Nor the first dust of the world.

Legacy Standard Bible
While He had not yet made the earth and the fields outside, Nor the first dust of the world.

Amplified Bible
While He had not yet made the earth and the fields, Or the first of the dust of the earth.

Christian Standard Bible
before he made the land, the fields, or the first soil on earth.

Holman Christian Standard Bible
before He made the land, the fields, or the first soil on earth.

American Standard Version
While as yet he had not made the earth, nor the fields, Nor the beginning of the dust of the world.

Contemporary English Version
It happened long before God had made the earth or any of its fields or even the dust.

English Revised Version
While as yet he had not made the earth, nor the fields, nor the beginning of the dust of the world.

GOD'S WORD® Translation
when he had not yet made land or fields or the first dust of the world.

Good News Translation
before God made the earth and its fields or even the first handful of soil.

International Standard Version
Even though he had not made the earth, nor the fields, nor the world's first grains of dust,

Majority Standard Bible
before He made the land or fields, or any of the dust of the earth.

NET Bible
before he made the earth and its fields, or the beginning of the dust of the world.

New Heart English Bible
while as yet he had not made the earth, nor the fields, nor the beginning of the dust of the world.

Webster's Bible Translation
While as yet he had not made the earth, nor the fields, nor the highest part of the dust of the world.

World English Bible
while as yet he had not made the earth, nor the fields, nor the beginning of the dust of the world.
Literal Translations
Literal Standard Version
While He had not made the earth, and out-places, "" And the top of the dusts of the world.

Young's Literal Translation
While He had not made the earth, and out-places, And the top of the dusts of the world.

Smith's Literal Translation
Yet he made not the earth and the fields, and the head of the clods of the habitable globe.
Catholic Translations
Douay-Rheims Bible
He had not yet made the earth, nor the rivers, nor the poles of the world.

Catholic Public Domain Version
Still he had not made the earth, and the rivers, and the poles of the globe of the earth.

New American Bible
When the earth and the fields were not yet made, nor the first clods of the world.

New Revised Standard Version
when he had not yet made earth and fields, or the world’s first bits of soil.
Translations from Aramaic
Lamsa Bible
While as yet he had not made the earth nor the valleys nor the best soil of the world.

Peshitta Holy Bible Translated
Before he would make the Earth and the floods and the beginning of the dust of the world
OT Translations
JPS Tanakh 1917
While as yet He had not made the earth, nor the fields, Nor the beginning of the dust of the world.

Brenton Septuagint Translation
The Lord made countries and uninhabited tracks, and the highest inhabited parts of the world.

Additional Translations ...
Audio Bible



Context
The Excellence of Wisdom
25Before the mountains were settled, before the hills, I was brought forth, 26before He made the land or fields, or any of the dust of the earth. 27I was there when He established the heavens, when He inscribed a circle on the face of the deep,…

Cross References
John 1:1-3
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. / He was with God in the beginning. / Through Him all things were made, and without Him nothing was made that has been made.

Colossians 1:16-17
For in Him all things were created, things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities. All things were created through Him and for Him. / He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together.

Hebrews 1:2
But in these last days He has spoken to us by His Son, whom He appointed heir of all things, and through whom He made the universe.

Genesis 1:1-2
In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. / Now the earth was formless and void, and darkness was over the surface of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the surface of the waters.

Psalm 90:2
Before the mountains were born or You brought forth the earth and the world, from everlasting to everlasting You are God.

Job 38:4-7
Where were you when I laid the foundations of the earth? Tell Me, if you have understanding. / Who fixed its measurements? Surely you know! Or who stretched a measuring line across it? / On what were its foundations set, or who laid its cornerstone, ...

Isaiah 40:21-22
Do you not know? Have you not heard? Has it not been declared to you from the beginning? Have you not understood since the foundation of the earth? / He sits enthroned above the circle of the earth; its dwellers are like grasshoppers. He stretches out the heavens like a curtain, and spreads them out like a tent to dwell in.

Revelation 4:11
“Worthy are You, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, for You created all things; by Your will they exist and were created.”

Nehemiah 9:6
You alone are the LORD. You created the heavens, the highest heavens with all their host, the earth and all that is on it, the seas and all that is in them. You give life to all things, and the host of heaven worships You.

Jeremiah 10:12
The LORD made the earth by His power; He established the world by His wisdom and stretched out the heavens by His understanding.

Psalm 104:5
He set the earth on its foundations, never to be moved.

Isaiah 45:18
For thus says the LORD, who created the heavens—He is God; He formed the earth and fashioned it; He established it; He did not create it to be empty, but formed it to be inhabited: “I am the LORD, and there is no other.

Romans 11:36
For from Him and through Him and to Him are all things. To Him be the glory forever! Amen.

1 Corinthians 8:6
yet for us there is but one God, the Father, from whom all things came and for whom we exist. And there is but one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom all things came and through whom we exist.

Ephesians 3:9
and to illuminate for everyone the stewardship of this mystery, which for ages past was kept hidden in God, who created all things.


Treasury of Scripture

While as yet he had not made the earth, nor the fields, nor the highest part of the dust of the world.

as yet

Genesis 1:1
In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.

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Beginning Dust Earth Fields First Highest Out-Places Part Top World
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Beginning Dust Earth Fields First Highest Out-Places Part Top World
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














before He made
This phrase emphasizes the pre-existence of wisdom before the creation of the physical world. In the Hebrew text, the word "before" (בְּטֶרֶם, b'terem) signifies a time prior to the creation, underscoring the eternal nature of wisdom. This aligns with the Christian understanding of Christ as the Logos, the divine wisdom present from the beginning (John 1:1). It invites believers to recognize the foundational role of divine wisdom in the order of creation.

the land or fields
The Hebrew words for "land" (אֶרֶץ, eretz) and "fields" (חוּצוֹת, chutzot) refer to the earth and its cultivated areas. This distinction highlights the comprehensive scope of creation, from the vastness of the earth to the specific areas prepared for human habitation and agriculture. Historically, the land was seen as a gift from God, a place of provision and sustenance. This phrase reminds us of God's sovereignty over all creation and His provision for humanity.

or any of the dust of the earth
"Dust" (עָפָר, afar) in Hebrew often symbolizes the basic elements of the earth, from which humanity was formed (Genesis 2:7). This phrase underscores the humility and fragility of human life, reminding us that even the most basic elements of creation were crafted by divine wisdom. It calls believers to a posture of humility and reverence, acknowledging that all life and matter are sustained by God's wisdom and power.

(26) The earth.--i.e., the cultivated and enclosed part of it.

The fields.--The open country.

The highest part of the dust of the world. Literally, "the head of the dusts of the fertile earth" i.e. the heaps of the clods of arable land, or better perhaps, "the sum of the atoms of dust." Some refer to Genesis 2:7, and interpret the words of man, as formed out of the dust.

Verse 26. - Before the mountains were settled (Job 38:6). It is questioned where the mountains were supposed to be fixed, and some have thought that they are represented as fixed in the depths of the earth. But, as we learn from Genesis 1:9, they are regarded as rising from the waters, their foundations are laid in the great deep. So the psalmist, speaking of the waters, says, "They went up by the mountains, they went down by the valleys, unto the place which thou hast founded for them" (Psalm 104:8; comp. Psalm 24:2). What is here affirmed of Wisdom is said of Jehovah in Psalm 90:2, "Before the mountains were brought forth, or ever thou hadst formed the earth and the world, even from everlasting to everlasting thou art God." Verse 26. - The earth, nor the fields. The distinction intended is land as cultivated and occupied by buildings, etc., and waste uncultivated land outside towns. Septuagint, "The Lord made countries and uninhabited places (ἀοικήτους);" Vulgate, Adhuc terram non fecerat, et flumina. Hebrew, chutsoth; things without, abroad, hence open country. The Vulgate rendering, and that of Aquila and Symmaehus, ἐξόδους, are plainly erroneous, as waters have already been mentioned (ver. 24). The highest part of the dust of the world; literally, the head of the dusts of the world. Some have interpreted this expression of "man," the chief of those creatures which are made of the dust of the ground (Genesis 3:19; Ecclesiastes 3:20). But the idea comes in awkwardly here; it is not natural to introduce man amid the inanimate works of nature, or to use such an enigmatical designation for him. St. Jerome has, cardines orbis terrarum, "the world's hinges;" Septuagint, "the inhabited summits of the earth beneath the heavens; according to St. Hilary ('De Trinit.,' 12), "cacumina quae habitantur sub coelo." Others take the term to signify the capes or promontories ot the world, the peaks and elevations; others, the clods of dry, amble land, in contrast to the untilled waste of waters; others, the chief elements, the matter of which the earth is composed. This last interpretation would lead us back to a period which has already been passed. Amid the many possible explanations, it is perhaps best (with Delitzsch, Nowack, etc.) to take rosh, "head" as equivalent to "sum," "mass," as in Psalm 139:17. "How great is the sum (rosh) of them!" Then the expression comprehensively means all the mass of earth's dust.

Parallel Commentaries ...


Hebrew
before
עַד־ (‘aḏ-)
Preposition
Strong's 5704: As far as, even to, up to, until, while

He made
עָ֭שָׂה (‘ā·śāh)
Verb - Qal - Perfect - third person masculine singular
Strong's 6213: To do, make

the land
אֶ֣רֶץ (’e·reṣ)
Noun - feminine singular
Strong's 776: Earth, land

or fields,
וְחוּצ֑וֹת (wə·ḥū·ṣō·wṯ)
Conjunctive waw | Noun - masculine plural
Strong's 2351: Separate by a, wall, outside, outdoors

or any
וְ֝רֹ֗אשׁ (wə·rōš)
Conjunctive waw | Noun - masculine singular construct
Strong's 7218: The head

of the dust
עָפְר֥וֹת‪‬ (‘ā·p̄ə·rō·wṯ)
Noun - masculine plural construct
Strong's 6083: Dust, clay, earth, mud

of the earth.
תֵּבֵֽל׃ (tê·ḇêl)
Noun - feminine singular
Strong's 8398: The earth, the globe, its inhabitants, a particular land


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OT Poetry: Proverbs 8:26 While as yet he had not made (Prov. Pro Pr)
Proverbs 8:25
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