Proverbs 18:24 — Bible Verse Meaning & Context

Proverbs 18:24 reads: "A man of many companions may be ruined, but there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother." — from the Old Testament, Proverbs (Wisdom literature). The full verse is shown above with both the World English Bible (WEB) and King James Version (KJV) translations side by side.

Proverbs 18:24 is in the book of Proverbs, traditionally attributed to Solomon (primarily), Agur, Lemuel and written around c. 970–700 BC. Proverbs is wisdom literature in the Old Testament, originally addressed to Young men learning the wisdom of the covenant. Best known for "trust in the LORD with all your heart" (3:5-6).

Proverbs 18:24 is primarily a Bible verse about Friendship. Within Proverbs, Proverbs offers practical, observable wisdom for living under God in the everyday world — speech, money, marriage, friendship, work, anger. Read the full passage above with surrounding context.

Proverbs 18:24 in the World English Bible (WEB) reads: "A man of many companions may be ruined, but there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother.". The King James Version (KJV) reads: "A man376 that hath friends7453 must shew himself friendly7489: and there is3426 a friend157 that sticketh closer1695 than a brother251.". The WEB is a modern public-domain translation that updates the KJV's 1611 English while keeping a similar formal-equivalence style. Both render the same underlying Greek or Hebrew text.

Proverbs 18:24 is 19 words in the WEB translation (95 characters), broken into 2 clauses. It is short and well-suited to memorisation. Estimated reading time is about 6 seconds.

To memorise Proverbs 18:24, split it into its 2 natural clauses and learn one at a time. Repeat the full verse out loud five times, then write it from memory. Saving the verse as a photo wallpaper using our verse image studio helps daily review — the visual association with a memorable background dramatically improves recall.

Proverbs offers practical, observable wisdom for living under God in the everyday world — speech, money, marriage, friendship, work, anger. Its core thesis is in 1:7: "The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge." Chapter 31 closes with the famous portrait of the wise woman whose worth is "far above rubies." Proverbs 18:24 sits within this larger story — Proverbs as a whole emphasises wisdom, fear of the LORD, speech.

Many readers use Proverbs 18:24 as a daily reminder verse — saving it as a phone wallpaper, sharing it on Pinterest, or memorising it for prayer. The verse studio on this page lets you download Proverbs 18:24 on 52 different backgrounds for free. Pair the verse with the surrounding chapter context shown above to understand its full meaning before applying it.