Proverbs 1

The Beginning of Knowledge// Proverbs 9:1–12

¹These are the proverbs of Solomon son of David,

king of Israel,

• PROV 1:1[NOTE]SOLOMON. David's son, the third king of Israel, about 970 to 930 BC. God gave him wisdom when he asked for it, and he spoke 3,000 proverbs and wrote 1,005 songs, 1 Kings 3:9 to 12 and 4:32. Only some of them are here.
• PROV 1:1[NOTE]WHAT IS A PROVERB? The Hebrew word mashal means a saying that compares one thing to another. Most proverbs are short, two lines that rhyme in thought instead of sound.

²for gaining wisdom and discipline,

for comprehending words of insight,

³and for receiving instruction in wise living

and in righteousness, justice, and equity.

⁴To impart prudence to the simple

and knowledge and discretion to the young,

⁵let the wise listen and gain instruction,

and the discerning acquire wise counsel

⁶by understanding the proverbs and parables,

the sayings and riddles of the wise.

⁷The fear of Yahweh is the beginning of knowledge,

but fools despise wisdom and discipline.

• PROV 1:7[NOTE]THE KEY VERSE. The fear of Yahweh is not being scared of God. It is the respect that takes Him seriously. 9:10 says it again, near the end of the father's talks.

The Enticement of Sin

⁸Listen, my son, to your father’s instruction,

and do not forsake the teaching of your mother.

• PROV 1:8[NOTE]MY SON. The father calls him my son over and over in chapters 1 to 7. Mom teaches too, 1:8 and 6:20, and so does the king's mother in chapter 31.

⁹For they are a garland of grace on your head

and a pendant around your neck.

¹⁰My son, if sinners entice you,

do not yield to them.

¹¹If they say, “Come along, let us lie in wait for blood,

let us ambush the innocent without cause,

¹²let us swallow them alive like Sheol,

and whole like those descending into the Pit.

¹³We will find all manner of precious goods;

we will fill our houses with plunder.

¹⁴Throw in your lot with us;

let us all share one purse”—

¹⁵my son, do not walk the road with them

or set foot upon their path.

¹⁶For their feet run to evil,

and they are swift to shed blood.

¹⁷How futile it is to spread the net

where any bird can see it!

¹⁸But they lie in wait for their own blood;

they ambush their own lives.

¹⁹Such is the fate of all who are greedy,

whose unjust gain takes the lives of its possessors.

Wisdom Calls Aloud

²⁰Wisdom calls out in the street,

she lifts her voice in the square;

• PROV 1:20[NOTE]LADY WISDOM. Proverbs paints wisdom as a woman calling in the street. She is not a goddess. Many see her as a picture of God's wisdom, and many Christians hear Christ in her words, 8:22 to 31. Her rival is the adulteress, and later Folly, 9:13. Her words are black here; only 8:22 to 31 is red.

²¹in the main concourse she cries aloud,

at the city gates she makes her speech:

²²“How long, O simple ones, will you love your simple ways?

How long will scoffers delight in their scorn

and fools hate knowledge?

²³If you had repented at my rebuke,

then surely I would have poured out my spirit on you;

I would have made my words known to you.

²⁴Because you refused my call,

and no one took my outstretched hand,

²⁵because you neglected all my counsel,

and wanted none of my correction,

²⁶in turn I will mock your calamity;

I will sneer when terror strikes you,

²⁷when your dread comes like a storm,

and your destruction like a whirlwind,

when distress and anguish overwhelm you.

²⁸Then they will call on me, but I will not answer;

they will earnestly seek me, but will not find me.

²⁹For they hated knowledge

and chose not to fear Yahweh.

³⁰They accepted none of my counsel;

they despised all my reproof.

³¹So they will eat the fruit of their own way,

and be filled with their own devices.

³²For the waywardness of the simple will slay them,

and the complacency of fools will destroy them.

³³But whoever listens to me will dwell in safety,

secure from the fear of evil.”