Proverbschapter 1
33 verses · KJVProverbs book hub →
A.Why the Proverbs Were Written: and the Beginning of Knowledgevv. 1-7
Proverbs 1:1-4
The proverbs of Solomon the son of David: The book opens with a header before it opens with a thought, naming its author, his sonship to David, and his office as king of Israel. The same formula returns at 10:1, 22:17, 24:23, 25:1, 30:1 and 31:1, the book's own record of how the whole collection was gathered under one name across generations. The purpose clauses that follow set the aim high at once: not information but wisdom, instruction, and understanding, and for the untaught a subtilty they do not yet have.
Voices on this verse, 1What a preacher or commentator has said about Proverbs 1:1, in their own words.
Proverbs 1:1
“The long exhortation Proverbs 1–9, characterized by the frequent recurrence of the words “my son,” is of the nature of a preface to the collection of the “Proverbs of Solomon” Pro 10:1. On Pro 1:1-7, see the introduction to Proverbs.”
Voices on this verse, 1What a preacher or commentator has said about Proverbs 1:2, in their own words.
Proverbs 1:2
“To know . . . instruction--literally, "for knowing," that is, such is the design of these writings. wisdom--or the use of the best means for the best ends, is generally employed in this book for true piety. instruction--discipline, by which men are trained. to perceive--literally, "for perceiving," the design (as above) understanding--that is, words which enable one to discern good and evil.”
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown· Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)reformed
Voices on this verse, 1What a preacher or commentator has said about Proverbs 1:3, in their own words.
Proverbs 1:3
“Wisdom - Not the same word as in Pro 1:2; better, perhaps, thoughtfulness. Justice - Rather, righteousness. The word in the Hebrew includes the ideas of truth and beneficence as well as “justice.” Judgment - The teaching of the Proverbs is to lead us to pass a right sentence upon human actions, whether our own or another’s. Equity - In the Hebrew (see the margin) the plural is used, and expresses the many varying forms and phases of the one pervading principle.”
Voices on this verse, 1What a preacher or commentator has said about Proverbs 1:4, in their own words.
Proverbs 1:4
“To give subtilty to the simple - The word simple, from simplex, compounded of sine, without, and plica, a fold, properly signifies plain and honest, one that has no by-ends in view, who is what he appears to be; and is opposed to complex, from complico, to fold together, to make one rope or cord out of many strands; but because honesty and plaindealing are so rare in the world, and none but the truly religious man will practice them, farther than the fear of the law obliges him, hence simple has sunk into a state of progressive deterioration.”
Adam Clarke· Commentary on the Bible (1810-1826)evangelical
Proverbs 1:5-6
A wise man will hear: , and will increase learning turns the target audience from the simple of verse 4 to the already wise, since wisdom in this book is never a finished possession but a thing still being increased. To understand a proverb, and the interpretation names the double task the form itself demands, the terse saying and the working out of what it means in a life. Dark sayings renders a word used elsewhere of riddles, and the bench notes that Hebrew wisdom prized compression, expecting the reader to supply the labor the brevity withholds.
Voices on this verse, 2What preachers and commentators have said about Proverbs 1:5, in their own words.
Proverbs 1:5
“A wise man will hear,.... With great attention, and hearken to the proverbs and wise sayings herein delivered; for here are many things entertaining to men of years and wisdom, as well as instructive to young men and simple ones; and will increase learning; or "add" (k) to his stock of learning; or, as the Targum, "will add knowledge;'' see 2Pe 1:5; or, "will be wiser", as the Vulgate Latin version.”
Proverbs 1:5
“But it is not for the young only that he writes. The “man of understanding” may gain “wise counsels,” literally, the power to “steer” his course rightly on the dangerous seas of life. This “steersmanship,” it may be noted, is a word almost unique to Proverbs (compare “counsel” in Pro 11:14; Pro 12:5; Pro 24:6).”
Voices on this verse, 1What a preacher or commentator has said about Proverbs 1:6, in their own words.
Proverbs 1:6
“Dark sayings - חידת chidoth, enigmas or riddles, in which the Asiatics abounded. I believe parables, such as those delivered by our Lord, nearly express the meaning of the original.”
Adam Clarke· Commentary on the Bible (1810-1826)evangelical
Proverbs 1:7
The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge: sets the motto over the whole book before a single proverb is given, and the same clause returns nearly word for word at 9:10 to close the first collection, framing everything between. The phrase falls fourteen times across Proverbs and stands in a chain with Job 28:28 and Psalm 111:10, three wisdom books answering the question of where wisdom is found in the same words. Fools despise wisdom and instruction sets the alternative starkly, not ignorance but despising, a moral refusal rather than a simple lack.
Voices on this verse, 2What preachers and commentators have said about Proverbs 1:7, in their own words.
Proverbs 1:7
“It is also the beginning of good discipline, as it is written: The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom (Proverbs 1:7); for those who fear the Lord turn away from error and direct their ways to the path of virtue. For unless someone fears God, they cannot renounce sin.”
Ambrose of Milan· fourth century· The Six Days of Creationpatristic
Proverbs 1:7
“The beginning of wisdom is found in the temper of reverence and awe. The fear of the finite in the presence of the Infinite, of the sinful in the presence of the Holy (compare Job 42:5-6), this for the Israelite was the starting-point of all true wisdom. In the Book of Job 28:28 it appears as an oracle accompanied by the noblest poetry. In Psa 111:10 it comes as the choral close of a temple hymn. Here it is the watchword of a true ethical education. This fear has no torment, and is compatible with child-like love.”
B.My Son, If Sinners Entice Thee, Consent Thou Notvv. 8-19
Proverbs 1:8-9
My son, hear the instruction of thy father: My son opens the appeal that will run through the first nine chapters, addressed by a father but binding both parents' teaching, the law of thy mother named beside the father's instruction with equal authority. Ornament of grace and chains about thy neck picture wisdom as adornment, jewelry a child wears because it was given, not bought, and the image sets up the false chains of enticement in the verses just ahead. The address recurs some twenty-three times across these opening chapters, the book's own name for its reader.
Voices on this verse, 1What a preacher or commentator has said about Proverbs 1:8, in their own words.
Proverbs 1:8
“My son, hear - Father was the title of preceptor, and son, that of disciple or scholar, among the Jews. But here the reference appears to be to the children of a family; the father and the mother have the principal charge, in the first instance, of their children’s instruction. It is supposed that these parents have, themselves, the fear of the Lord, and that they are capable of giving the best counsel to their children, and that they set before them a strict example of all godly living.”
Adam Clarke· Commentary on the Bible (1810-1826)evangelical
Voices on this verse, 1What a preacher or commentator has said about Proverbs 1:9, in their own words.
Proverbs 1:9
“To the Israelite’s mind no signs or badges of joy or glory were higher in worth than the garland around the head, the gold chain around the neck, worn by kings and the favorites of kings Gen 41:42; Dan 5:29.”
Proverbs 1:10-14
My son, if sinners entice thee: , consent thou not opens the first of the strange voices the father warns against, sinners rather than the strange woman of chapters 5 and 7, but built on the same pattern, an invitation, an appeal to belonging, and a hidden cost. Let us lay wait for blood spells out actual violence for gain rather than metaphorical temptation, and one purse for men who have just proposed murder is the con of every gang, that shared spoil buys shared guilt. The father's whole strategy is refusal before argument, consent thou not, not weigh the offer.
Voices on this verse, 3What preachers and commentators have said about Proverbs 1:10, in their own words.
Proverbs 1:10-12
“Wherefore by Solomon He commands the children to beware: "My son, let not sinners deceive thee, and go not after their ways; and go not, if they entice thee, saying, Come with us, share with us in innocent blood, and let us hide unjustly the righteous man in the earth; let us put him out of sight, all alive as he is into Hades." This is accordingly likewise a prediction concerning the Lord's passion.”
Clement of Alexandria· third century· The Instructor Book 1patristic
Proverbs 1:10
“If sinners entice thee, consent thou not - אל תבא al tobe, Will-not. They can do thee no harm unless thy will join in with them. God’s eternal purpose with respect to man is that his will shall be free; or, rather, that the will, which is essentially Free, shall never be forced nor be forceable by any power. Not even the devil himself can lead a man into sin till he consents. Were it not so, how could God judge the world?”
Adam Clarke· Commentary on the Bible (1810-1826)evangelical
Proverbs 1:10-19
“A solemn warning against temptation. entice--literally, "open the way." consent . . . not--Sin is in consenting or yielding to temptation, not in being tempted.”
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown· Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)reformed
Voices on this verse, 1What a preacher or commentator has said about Proverbs 1:11, in their own words.
Proverbs 1:11
“The temptation against which the teacher seeks to guard his disciple is that of joining a band of highway robbers. The “vain men” who gathered around Jephthah Jdg 11:3, the lawless or discontented who came to David in Adullam 1Sa 22:2, the bands of robbers who infested every part of the country in the period of the New Testament, and against whom every Roman governor had to wage incessant war, show how deeply rooted the evil was in Palestine. Compare the Psa 10:7, note; Psa 10:10 note.”
Voices on this verse, 1What a preacher or commentator has said about Proverbs 1:12, in their own words.
Proverbs 1:12
“Let us swallow them up alive - Give them as hasty a death as if the earth were suddenly to swallow them up. This seems to refer to the destruction of a whole village. Let us destroy man, woman, and child; and then we may seize on and carry away the whole of their property, and the booty will be great.”
Adam Clarke· Commentary on the Bible (1810-1826)evangelical
Voices on this verse, 1What a preacher or commentator has said about Proverbs 1:13, in their own words.
Proverbs 1:13
“The second form of temptation (see Pro 1:10 note) appeals to the main attraction of the robber-life, its wild communism, the sense of equal hazards and equal hopes.”
Voices on this verse, 2What preachers and commentators have said about Proverbs 1:14, in their own words.
Proverbs 1:14
“Cast in thy lot among us,.... Or "thou shall cause thy lot to fall among us" (u); though just entered, as soon as any booty is taken thou shalt cast lots with us, and have thy full share with those that have been longer engaged; let us all have one purse; or "we will all have one purse" (w); will throw all our booty, taken by us into one common stock, and live upon it comfortably and merrily.”
Proverbs 1:14
“Cast in thy lot - Be a frater conjuratus, a sworn brother, and thou shalt have an equal share of all the spoil. Common sense must teach us that the words here used are such as must be spoken when a gang of cutthroats, pickpockets, etc., are associated together.”
Adam Clarke· Commentary on the Bible (1810-1826)evangelical
Proverbs 1:15-19
My son, walk not thou in the way with them: Walk not thou in the way with them; refrain thy foot from their path repeats the father's language of a path or way that runs through the whole book, wisdom and folly both pictured as roads rather than doctrines. Surely in vain the net is spread in the sight of any bird turns the warning back on the plotters themselves, birds who can see the trap avoid it, but these men, for all their cunning, cannot see that the trap is their own. So are the ways of every one that is greedy of gain closes the scene with the book's recurring verdict, that violence for profit finally takes the life of the one who set the snare.
Voices on this verse, 1What a preacher or commentator has said about Proverbs 1:16, in their own words.
Proverbs 1:16
“It is good for the … feet … that they be not swift to shed blood or to run to evil, but that they be prompted to run to the gospel and the prize of the high calling, and to receive Christ who washes and cleanses them.”
Gregory of Nazianzus· fourth century· ON HOLY BAPTISM, ORATION 40:39patristic
Voices on this verse, 3What preachers and commentators have said about Proverbs 1:17, in their own words.
Proverbs 1:17
“If then nets are not wrongfully stretched for birds, as it is said in Proverbs, but God justly leads men into the snare, as it is said, "You led us into the snare," and if not even a sparrow, cheapest of birds, falls into the snare without the will of the Father (its fall into the snare being due to its failure to use properly the power of its wings given to it to soar), let us pray to do nothing to deserve being brought into temptation.”
Origen of Alexandria· third century· ON PRAYER 29:16patristic
Proverbs 1:17
“Strictly speaking, this is the first proverb (i. e., similitude) in the book; a proverb which has received a variety of interpretations. The true meaning seems to be as follows: “For in vain, to no purpose, is the net spread out openly. Clear as the warning is, it is in vain. The birds still fly in.”
Proverbs 1:17-19
“Men warned ought to escape danger as birds instinctively avoid visibly spread nets. But stupid sinners rush to their own ruin (Ps 9:16), and, greedy of gain, succeed in the very schemes which destroy them (1Ti 6:10), not only failing to catch others, but procuring their own destruction.”
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown· Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)reformed
Voices on this verse, 3What preachers and commentators have said about Proverbs 1:18, in their own words.
Proverbs 1:18
“And they lay wait for their own blood,.... While they lie in wait for the blood of others, they lie in wait for their own; and when they shed the blood of innocent persons, it in the issue comes upon their own heads, and is the cause of their own blood being shed; vengeance pursues them, and justice will not suffer them to live; they lurk privily for their own lives: while they are lurking in secret places to take away, the lives of others, they are laying snares for their own souls; and the consequence of it will be, that they will be brought to a shameful and untimely end here, or, however, to everlasting ruin and destruction hereafter.”
Proverbs 1:18
“They lay wait for their own blood - I believe it is the innocent who are spoken of here, for whose blood and lives these lay wait and lurk privily; certainly not their own, by any mode of construction.”
Adam Clarke· Commentary on the Bible (1810-1826)evangelical
Proverbs 1:18-19
“Christ himself is Wisdom, is Wisdoms, for in him are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge, and he is the centre of all divine revelation, not only the essential Wisdom, but the eternal Word, by whom God speaks to us and to whom he has committed all judgment; he it is therefore who here both pleads with sinners and passes sentence on them.”
Matthew Henry· Commentary on the Whole Bible (1707-1721)puritan
C.Wisdom Crieth Aloud in the Streetsvv. 20-33
Proverbs 1:20-21
Wisdom crieth without: introduces the book's other voice at the first possible moment, set directly against the sinners who have just spoken in secret, she uttereth her voice in the streets, in the chief place of concourse, at the openings of the gates, the most public places a city has. The contrast with the enticement scene just told is total, they invite privately and specifically, she calls publicly and to everyone, unto you, O men, I call, so that no one in the city can later say the offer never reached him. The bench reads the feminine personification of Wisdom here as the same figure who returns to speak at length in chapter 8 and again at chapter 9's house.
Voices on this verse, 2What preachers and commentators have said about Proverbs 1:20, in their own words.
Proverbs 1:20
“Wisdom crieth - Here wisdom is again personified, as it is frequently, throughout this book; where nothing is meant but the teachings given to man, either by Divine revelation or the voice of the Holy Spirit in the heart. And this voice of wisdom is opposed to the seducing language of the wicked mentioned above. This voice is everywhere heard, in public, in private, in the streets, and in the house. Common sense, universal experience, and the law of justice written on the heart, as well as the law of God, testify against rapine and wrong of every kind.”
Adam Clarke· Commentary on the Bible (1810-1826)evangelical
Proverbs 1:20-33
“Others think that wisdom, as the divine attribute specially employed in acts of counsel and admonition, is here personified, and represents God. In either case the address is a most solemn and divine admonition, whose matter and spirit are eminently evangelical and impressive (see on Pr 8:1).”
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown· Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)reformed
Proverbs 1:22-27
How long, ye simple ones: , will ye love simplicity names three kinds of refusal at once, simple ones, scorners, and fools, the book's standing vocabulary for the range of resistance to instruction, from the merely untaught to the actively contemptuous. I will pour out my spirit unto you offers everything before a word of rejection is answered, and the refusal that follows is described three times over, stretched hand, no man regarded, all my counsel set at nought. Wisdom's answer to that refusal is severe, I also will laugh at your calamity, language the bench reads as the natural harvest of a chosen path described in the voice of the one who warned against it, not delight in ruin for its own sake.
Voices on this verse, 1What a preacher or commentator has said about Proverbs 1:22, in their own words.
Proverbs 1:22
“Compare the Psa 1:1 note. (1) The “simple,” literally, “open,” i. e. fatally open to evil; (2) the “scorners,” mocking at all good; (3) lastly, the “fools” in the sense of being hardened, obstinate, perverse, hating the knowledge they have rejected.”
Voices on this verse, 2What preachers and commentators have said about Proverbs 1:23, in their own words.
Proverbs 1:23
For where at all have they found in divine Scripture, or from whom have they heard, that there is another Word and another wisdom besides this Son, that they should frame to themselves such a doctrine? True, indeed, it is written, "Are not my words like fire, and like a hammer that breaks the rock in pieces?" and in the Proverbs, "I will make known my words unto you."
Athanasius of Alexandria· fourth century· Discourses Against the Arians 2.39patristic
Proverbs 1:23
“The teaching of Divine Wisdom is essentially the same as that of the Divine Word Joh 7:38-39. “Turning,” repentance and conversion, this is what she calls the simple to. The promise of the Spirit is also like His Joh 14:26. And with the spirit there are to be also the “words” of Wisdom. Not the “spirit” alone, nor “words” alone, but both together, each doing its appointed work - this is the divine instrumentality for the education of such as will receive it.”
Voices on this verse, 1What a preacher or commentator has said about Proverbs 1:24, in their own words.
Proverbs 1:24
“Because I have called - These and the following words appear to be spoken of the persons who are described, Pro 1:11-19, who have refused to return from their evil ways till arrested by the hand of justice; and here the wise man points out their deplorable state. They are now about to suffer according to the demands of the law, for their depredations.”
Adam Clarke· Commentary on the Bible (1810-1826)evangelical
Voices on this verse, 2What preachers and commentators have said about Proverbs 1:25, in their own words.
Proverbs 1:25
“And neglected my reproofs. Saying, Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, because you have taken the key of knowledge; you did not enter yourselves, and you hindered those who were entering (Matthew XXIII). And generally, Whoever does not believe is already judged (John III).”
Bede· eighth century· Commentary on Proverbspatristic
Proverbs 1:25
“But ye have set at nought all my counsel,.... The same with "the counsel of God", Act 20:”
Voices on this verse, 2What preachers and commentators have said about Proverbs 1:26, in their own words.
Proverbs 1:26
“When your fear comes as calamity. Saying to one another, If we let him go on like this, everyone will believe in him, and the Romans will come and take away both our place and our nation (John XI).”
Bede· eighth century· Commentary on Proverbspatristic
Proverbs 1:26
“Compare the marginal reference. The scorn and derision with which men look on pride and malice, baffled and put to shame, has something that answers to it in the Divine Judgment. It is, however, significant that in the fuller revelation of the mind and will of the Father in the person of the Son no such language meets us. Sadness, sternness, severity, there may be, but, from first to last, no word of mere derision.”
Voices on this verse, 2What preachers and commentators have said about Proverbs 1:27, in their own words.
Proverbs 1:27
“When sudden calamity comes upon you, etc. He speaks of the sudden siege of Jerusalem, and the destruction of the whole province that was made by the Romans, which the Lord himself predicted in the Gospel, seeing the city and weeping over it (Luke XIX).”
Bede· eighth century· Commentary on Proverbspatristic
Proverbs 1:27
“Desolation - Better, tempest. The rapid gathering of the clouds, the rushing of the mighty winds, are the fittest types of the suddenness with which in the end the judgment of God shall fall on those who look not for it. Compare Mat 24:29 etc.; Luk 17:24.”
Proverbs 1:28-33
Then shall they call upon me: , but I will not answer describes a door that does not stay open forever, the same reversal the enticement scene ended on, the seeking that comes too late finds nothing, because it hated knowledge and did not choose the fear of the Lord in its season. Eat of the fruit of their own way states the whole chapter's logic in one line, consequence as harvest rather than external punishment, filled with their own devices. The chapter's last word turns from threat to promise, whoso hearkeneth unto me shall dwell safely, and shall be quiet from fear of evil, the offer chapters 8 and 9 will make again at greater length.
Voices on this verse, 2What preachers and commentators have said about Proverbs 1:28, in their own words.
Proverbs 1:28
“Now no prayers or most diligent seeking will avail (Pr 8:17). The sinner's infatuated rejection brings his ruin.”
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown· Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)reformed
Proverbs 1:28
“This has been the case of some even in this life, as of Saul, whom God answered not by Urim or prophets; but, ordinarily, while there is life there is room for prayer and hope of speeding, and therefore this must refer to the inexorable justice of the last judgment.”
Matthew Henry· Commentary on the Whole Bible (1707-1721)puritan
Voices on this verse, 1What a preacher or commentator has said about Proverbs 1:30, in their own words.
Proverbs 1:30
“They would none of my counsel,.... Neither his doctrines nor his ordinances; nor would they attend to the wholesome counsel and advice he gave them in his sermons upon the mount, and in other discourses of his at other times and places; they despised all my reproof; for their hypocrisy, uncleanness, covetousness, and other sins they were addicted to; see Mat 23:1; but they "derided" him for it, Luk 16:14; where the same word is used as is by the Septuagint here.”
Voices on this verse, 2What preachers and commentators have said about Proverbs 1:32, in their own words.
Proverbs 1:32
Hence Solomon says, "The turning away of the simple shall slay them, and the prosperity of fools shall destroy them." Hence Paul admonishes, saying, "They that buy, as though they possessed not; and they that use this world, as though they used it not."
Gregory the Dialogist· seventh century· The Book of Pastoral Rule, Part 3, Chapter 26patristic
Proverbs 1:32
“For the turning away of the simple - This difficult place seems to refer to such a case as we term turning king’s evidence; where an accomplice saves his own life by impeaching the rest of his gang. This is called his turning or repentance, משובה meshubah; and he was the most likely to turn, because he was of the פתים pethayim, seduced or deceived persons.”
Adam Clarke· Commentary on the Bible (1810-1826)evangelical
Voices on this verse, 1What a preacher or commentator has said about Proverbs 1:33, in their own words.
Proverbs 1:33
“But whoso hearkeneth unto me shall dwell safely - The man who hears the voice of wisdom in preference to the enticements of the wicked. He shall dwell in safety, ישכן בטח yishcan betach, he shall inhabit safety itself; he shall be completely safe and secure; and shall be quiet from the fear of evil, having a full consciousness of his own innocence and God’s protection. Coverdale translates, “And have ynough without eney feare of evell.” What the just man has he got honestly; and he has the blessing of God upon it.”
Adam Clarke· Commentary on the Bible (1810-1826)evangelical
Where the chapter sits
Proverbs 1 falls in Sayings of Solomon: long discourses (chapters 1–9). The opening nine chapters frame wisdom and folly as two paths. Wisdom personified (ch 8): the book's poetic high point and a future Christ-as-Wisdom anchor.
The fear of the LORD. The book's programmatic opening; wisdom's call in the streets.
After it: Solomon's proverbs proper, chapters 10–24.
The whole shape of Proverbs→Key words
The Hebrew words this chapter turns on, by how often it uses them. Each one opens its word study.
| Word | What it means | Verses |
|---|---|---|
| בֵּןbên4 times, as בֶן־, בְּ֭נִי, בְּנִ֡י | son | 1, 8, 10, 15 |
| מוּסָרmûwçâr4 times, as וּמוּסָ֑ר, מוּסַ֣ר, וּ֝מוּסָ֗ר | discipline | 2, 3, 7, 8 |
| פְּתִיpᵉthîy4 times, as לִפְתָאיִ֣ם, פְּתָיִם֮, פֶ֥תִי | simple | 4, 22, 32 |
| דַּעַתdaʻath4 times, as דַּ֣עַת, דָּ֑עַת, דָֽעַת׃ | knowledge | 4, 7, 22, 29 |
| חׇכְמָהchokmâh3 times, as חָכְמָ֣ה, חָכְמָ֥ה, חָ֭כְמוֹת | wisdom | 2, 7, 20 |
| בִּיןbîyn3 times, as לְ֝הָבִ֗ין, וְ֝נָב֗וֹן, לְהָבִ֣ין | to understand | 2, 5, 6 |
Cross references
The 8 chapters this one speaks with, most first. Open a row for the verses it shares.
Proverbs 85 verses
Proverbs 1:20
Proverbs 8:1Doth not wisdom cry? and understanding put forth her voice?Proverbs 1:4
Proverbs 8:5O ye simple, understand wisdom: and, ye fools, be ye of an understanding heart.Proverbs 1:3
Proverbs 8:10Receive my instruction, and not silver; and knowledge rather than choice gold.Proverbs 1:4
Proverbs 8:17I love them that love me; and those that seek me early shall find me.Proverbs 1:32
Proverbs 8:36But he that sinneth against me wrongeth his own soul: all they that hate me love death.- Read Proverbs 8 →
Proverbs 63 verses
Proverbs 1:16
Proverbs 6:18An heart that deviseth wicked imaginations, feet that be swift in running to mischief,Proverbs 1:8
Proverbs 6:20My son, keep thy father’s commandment, and forsake not the law of thy mother:Proverbs 1:29
Proverbs 6:23For the commandment is a lamp; and the law is light; and reproofs of instruction are the way of life:- Read Proverbs 6 →
Proverbs 43 verses
Proverbs 1:9
Proverbs 4:9She shall give to thine head an ornament of grace: a crown of glory shall she deliver to thee.Proverbs 1:15
Proverbs 4:14Enter not into the path of the wicked, and go not in the way of evil men.Proverbs 1:16
Proverbs 4:16For they sleep not, except they have done mischief; and their sleep is taken away, unless they cause some to fall.- Read Proverbs 4 →
Proverbs 122 verses
Proverbs 1:5, 25
Proverbs 12:1Whoso loveth instruction loveth knowledge: but he that hateth reproof is brutish.Proverbs 1:11
Proverbs 12:6The words of the wicked are to lie in wait for blood: but the mouth of the upright shall deliver them.- Read Proverbs 12 →
The rest of the chapters this one speaks with, 4 of them, for a reader following a thread past the four above
- Proverbs 92 verses
- Proverbs 102 verses
- Proverbs 72 verses
- Psalms 1192 verses
Cross-references from the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge and OpenBible.info.
Featured studies
Pages of this site that take up something in this chapter. Each one opens on its own.
- Proverbs: the Study Guidethroughout
The world behind itThe place, the time and the people around this chapter, for a reader who wants the setting.
The world behind this chapter
Proverbs 1The history
Teaching in the ancient world came father to son, out loud, in short lines a boy could carry in his head. Egypt produced whole books of it, the Instruction of Ptahhotep, the Instruction of Amenemope, and Babylon had its own counsels of wisdom. Proverbs opens in that recognized form, which is why the phrase "my son" runs through the first nine chapters like a heartbeat.
The gate is the other classroom. An Israelite city gate was not a doorway but a building: a passage with benches and side chambers where elders heard cases, contracts were witnessed, grain changed hands, and news travelled. Excavated gates at Dan, Megiddo, and Gezer still show the stone benches. When Wisdom "cries in the chief place of concourse," she is standing in the courthouse and the marketplace at once, shouting over the traffic.
The ambush described here was a live danger, not a thought experiment. Roads between towns ran through wadis and rocky passes with good cover, travellers carried their money on them, and bands of armed men worked those stretches. The invitation "cast in thy lot among us; let us all have one purse" is a recruiting pitch to a bored teenage boy with no money.
What it meant to them
The first hearers were being handed a map of two voices working the same street. One gang offers instant money and belonging. One woman offers understanding and offers it free, in public, to anyone who will stop walking.
And the book plants its flag in the opening lines: the fear of the LORD is where knowledge starts. To a young man in Solomon's Jerusalem, a city suddenly rich, full of foreign trade and new opportunity, that was the claim that everything else in the book would hang on.
Sources cited
- John H. Walton, Victor H. Matthews, Mark W. Chavalas, The IVP Bible Background Commentary: Old Testament
- Roland de Vaux, Ancient Israel: Its Life and Institutions
The text of this chapter
This page carries no textual note on Proverbs 1. Where this site has examined a place the manuscripts differ, the examination is in the manuscripts room. Every place this site examines →
This page draws on 15 works. Open for the list.
This page draws on Adam Clarke; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Ambrose of Milan, The Six Days of Creation; Athanasius of Alexandria, Discourses Against the Arians 2.39; Bede, Commentary on Proverbs; Charles Bridges, An Exposition of the Book of Proverbs; Clement of Alexandria, The Instructor Book 1; Franz Delitzsch; Gregory of Nazianzus, ON HOLY BAPTISM, ORATION 40:39; Gregory the Dialogist, The Book of Pastoral Rule, Part 3, Chapter 26; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown; John Gill; John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament; Matthew Henry and Origen of Alexandria, ON PRAYER 29:16.