Proverbs 1

General context

The chapter opens with a heading naming the collection as the proverbs of Solomon, son of David, king of Israel, followed by a statement of purpose: to know wisdom and instruction, to give subtilty to the simple and knowledge to the young man, and to understand proverbs and dark sayings. The fear of the Lord is called the beginning of knowledge. A speaker then addresses "My son" and tells him to hear his father's instruction and not forsake his mother's law. The son is warned not to consent if sinners entice him; their invitation is quoted in full, an offer to lie in wait for blood, fill their houses with spoil and share one purse. The speaker answers that their feet run to evil, that a net spread in sight of a bird is spread in vain, and that such men lay wait for their own blood. Wisdom is then presented as a woman who cries in the streets, at the gates and in the city. She asks how long the simple will love simplicity, calls them to turn at her reproof, and says that because they refused her call she will laugh at their calamity and not answer when they seek her. The chapter closes with her promise that whoever hearkens to her will dwell safely.

Cited passages: Proverbs 1:1, Proverbs 1:2, Proverbs 1:4, Proverbs 1:6, Proverbs 1:7, Proverbs 1:8, Proverbs 1:10, Proverbs 1:11, Proverbs 1:13, Proverbs 1:14, Proverbs 1:16, Proverbs 1:17, Proverbs 1:18, Proverbs 1:20, Proverbs 1:21, Proverbs 1:22, Proverbs 1:23, Proverbs 1:24, Proverbs 1:26, Proverbs 1:28, Proverbs 1:33

Proverbs 1 (KJV)

This page shows the King James Version. In the app, reading opens in the Berean Standard Bible unless you have chosen another translation. The reader includes five translations: the Berean Standard Bible (BSB), the King James Version (KJV), the World English Bible (WEB), the Bible in Basic English (BBE), and the American Standard Version (ASV). Search covers three of them: Berean Standard, King James, and World English. Basic English and American Standard readers search the King James words.

Historical context

The heading attributes the proverbs to Solomon and identifies him as the son of David and king of Israel; the text gives no date or occasion for the collection. The book's title in this heading covers the collection as a whole, but later headings inside the book name other collections, so the reader should not assume every saying is assigned to Solomon by this verse alone. The speaker who says "My son" is not named in the chapter; the address pairs the instruction of "thy father" with the law of "thy mother", so both parents are named as sources of teaching, yet the chapter does not say whether the speaker is the father of verse 8 or a teacher using family language. The enticing words in verses 11 to 14 are presented as what sinners might say, introduced by "If they say", not as an event that happened. Wisdom is spoken of as a woman who cries out in public places, but the text does not explain who she is beyond this personification. Her speech shifts from direct address ("ye simple ones") to third person ("Then shall they call upon me"), and the chapter does not mark the shift. Nothing in the chapter identifies the young man, the sinners or the city.

Cited passages: Proverbs 1:1, Proverbs 1:8, Proverbs 1:11, Proverbs 1:20, Proverbs 1:22, Proverbs 1:28, Proverbs 1:29

Literary context

The chapter is built in three movements. The heading and purpose statement (verses 1 to 7) pile up near-synonyms, wisdom, instruction, understanding, justice, judgment, equity, subtilty, knowledge, discretion, and end in the motto about the fear of the Lord. The father's warning (verses 8 to 19) gives the sinners their own voice for four verses, so that the reader hears the invitation before the rebuttal; the rebuttal turns their words back on them, "lay wait for blood" becoming "lay wait for their own blood". The third movement gives Wisdom a public speech (verses 20 to 33) whose structure mirrors the sinners' invitation: a call, a refusal, and a consequence. Wisdom's speech uses reversal, "I have called, and ye refused" answered by "Then shall they call upon me, but I will not answer", and the same image of eating fruit that appears elsewhere in the book: "they eat of the fruit of their own way". The closing verse sets safety against destruction with a single "But". The phrase "the fear of the Lord" appears at the start and near the end, framing the chapter.

Cited passages: Proverbs 1:3, Proverbs 1:7, Proverbs 1:11, Proverbs 1:18, Proverbs 1:24, Proverbs 1:28, Proverbs 1:29, Proverbs 1:31, Proverbs 1:33

Key moments

1. The purpose of the proverbs (Proverbs 1:2). The heading states that the proverbs exist to teach wisdom, instruction and understanding.
2. The fear of the Lord (Proverbs 1:7). The fear of the Lord is named the beginning of knowledge, and fools are said to despise wisdom.
3. A father and mother's teaching (Proverbs 1:8). The son is told to hear his father's instruction and keep his mother's law.
4. The sinners' invitation (Proverbs 1:11). The enticers' words are quoted: an invitation to lie in wait for blood and share the spoil.
5. A net spread in vain (Proverbs 1:17). The speaker says the sinners lay wait for their own lives, as a net spread in sight of a bird.
6. Wisdom cries in the streets (Proverbs 1:20). Wisdom is pictured as a woman calling out in the streets and at the gates.
7. Refused, then unanswered (Proverbs 1:28). Wisdom says those who refused her call will call on her and receive no answer.

For reflection

The sinners promise shared spoil and one purse, and Wisdom promises safety and quiet from fear of evil. Why does the chapter let the reader hear the first offer in full before the second is made?

People in this chapter

• David
• Jacob
• Solomon