Proverbs 1:21
in Proverbs 1in the main concourse she cries aloud, at the city gates she makes her speech:
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
She crieth in the chief place of concourse; At the entrance of the gates, In the city, she uttereth her words:
KJV
She crieth in the chief place of concourse, in the openings of the gates: in the city she uttereth her words, saying,
⋯
This verse in Proverbs 1
Commentary
7 notes on this verseA commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
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).
This site's exposition
Wisdom calls out in the street
on Proverbs 1:20-21
Wisdom speaks as soon as the sinners have plotted. She “lifts her voice in the square” and speaks “at the city gates,” the city's most public places. They invite privately and specifically, and she calls publicly and to everyone, so no one can later say the offer never reached him.
This site's exposition
at the city gates she makes her speech
The city gates were where the elders gave justice and where goods were bought, as Boaz found at Ruth 4:1-2. Wisdom makes her speech where the whole city passes. Adam Clarke hears in her voice the law written on the heart, crying aloud against evil.
The record, by era
The Medieval Church1 voice
At the gates of the city, He utters His words. The city of the Lord is the Church, united from both peoples, namely Jews and Gentiles. Its gates are the teachers who, by preaching the word, bring believers into it. And at the gates of …
The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices
1 The proverbs of Solomon the son of David, king of Israel; 2 To know wisdom and instruction; to perceive the words of understanding; 3 To receive the instruction of wisdom, justice, and judgment, and equity;
quarantine:scripture (2026-07-29) — verbatim-scripture
In vain - The fowler who spreads, his net in the sight of the bird looseth his labour. But these, are more foolish than the silly birds, and though they are not ignorant of the mischief which these evil courses will bring upon themselves, yet they will not take warning. Their own blood - The destruction which they design to others, fall upon themselves.
She crieth in the chief place of concourse,....
The words behind it
8 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| בְּרֹ֥אשׁ | berosh | at [the] top of | H7218 → | 599 times |
| הֹמִיּ֗וֹת | homiyot | noisy [places] | H1993 → | 34 times |
| תִּ֫קְרָ֥א | tikra' | she calls out | H7121 → | 733 times |
| בְּפִתְחֵ֖י | befitchei | at [the] entrances of | H6607 → | 164 times |
| שְׁעָרִ֥ים | shearim | [the] gates | H8179 → | 374 times |
| בָּעִ֗יר | bair | in the city | H5892 → | 1090 times |
| אֲמָרֶ֥יהָ | ʾamareiha | sayings her | H561 → | 49 times |
| תֹאמֵֽר׃ | tomer | she utters | H559 → | 5305 times |
בְּרֹ֥אשׁat [the] top of
beroshH7218 →599 times
הֹמִיּ֗וֹתnoisy [places]
homiyotH1993 →34 times
תִּ֫קְרָ֥אshe calls out
tikra'H7121 →733 times
בְּפִתְחֵ֖יat [the] entrances of
befitcheiH6607 →164 times
שְׁעָרִ֥ים[the] gates
shearimH8179 →374 times
בָּעִ֗ירin the city
bairH5892 →1090 times
אֲמָרֶ֥יהָsayings her
ʾamareihaH561 →49 times
תֹאמֵֽר׃she utters
tomerH559 →5305 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Matthew 10:27What I tell you in the dark, speak in the daylight; what is whispered in your ear, proclaim from the housetops.
it leads to
- Acts 5:20
“Go, stand in the temple courts and tell the people the full message of this new life.”
- John 16:13
However, when the Spirit of truth comes, He will guide you into all truth. For He will not speak on His own, but He will speak what He hears, and He will declare to…
- Proverbs 1:20–23
Wisdom calls out in the street, she lifts her voice in the square;
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Acts 5:20
Through
Acts 5:20“Go, stand in the temple courts and tell the people the full message of this new life.”
it leads to
Through
John 18:20“I have spoken openly to the world,” Jesus answered. “I always taught in the synagogues and at the temple, where all the Jews come together. I said nothing in secret.
it leads to
- John 7:26
Yet here He is, speaking publicly, and they are not saying anything to Him. Have the rulers truly recognized that this is the Christ?
- Isaiah 48:16
Come near to Me and listen to this: From the beginning I have not spoken in secret; from the time it happened, I was there.” And now the Lord GOD has sent me, accompanied…
- Matthew 4:23
Jesus went throughout Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing every disease and sickness among the people.
- John 7:26
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies2
On this verse
On this chapter
About Proverbs
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Bede, Commentary on Proverbs; Charles Bridges, An Exposition of the Book of Proverbs; Franz Delitzsch, Biblical Commentary on the Proverbs of Solomon; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.