Proverbs 3:18

She is like ¹  a tree of life ²  to those who obtain her, ³  and everyone who grasps hold of her will be blessed. ⁴ 

She is a tree of life to those who embrace her; those who lay hold of her will be blessed.

She is a tree of life to those who take hold of her, And happy are all who hold her fast.

Wisdom is a tree of life to those who embrace her; happy are those who hold her tightly.

She's the very Tree of Life to those who embrace her. Hold her tight--and be blessed!

She is a tree of life to all who take her in their hands, and happy is everyone who keeps her.

She is a tree of life to those who lay hold of her; those who hold her fast are called happy.

She is a tree of life to those who take hold of her, And happy are all who retain her.

She is like ¹  a tree of life ²  to those who obtain her, ³  and everyone who grasps hold of her will be blessed. ⁴ 

¹ tn The comparative “like” does not appear in the Hebrew text, but is implied by the metaphor; it is supplied in the translation for the sake of clarity.

² sn The metaphor compares wisdom to the symbol of vitality and fullness of life. This might be an allusion to Gen 3:22, suggesting that what was lost as a result of the Fall may be recovered through wisdom: long and beneficial life (R. Marcus, “The Tree of Life in Proverbs,” JBL 62 [1943]: 117-20).

³ tn Heb “lay hold of her.”

⁴ tn The singular participle מְאֻשָּׁר (mÿ’ushar, literally, “he will be blessed”) functions as a distributive singular for a plural subject (GKC 464 §145.l): “each and everyone will be blessed.” Not recognizing this point of syntax, the BHS editors unnecessarily suggest emending this singular form to the plural.