Skip to main content
Psalmlog Logo

Proverbs 1

Proverbs 1 grounds knowledge in the fear of YHWH and exposes the deadly cost of refusing wisdom.

The opening names Solomon, son of David and king of Israel, and sets out the purpose of these proverbs: instruction in wisdom, righteousness, justice, and equity. Both the young and the wise have something to learn. A father urges his son to heed his parents and refuse companions who promise wealth through bloodshed. Then Wisdom speaks as a woman in the streets, calling people to accept correction and warning that rejected counsel leads to disaster.

temptationparentingsermon or Bible study notes
Read
1The proverbs of Solomon, the son of David, king of Israel:
2to know wisdom and instruction; to discern the words of understanding;
3to receive instruction in wise dealing, in righteousness, justice, and equity;
4to give prudence to the simple, knowledge and discretion to the young man—
5that the wise man may hear, and increase in learning; that the man of understanding may attain to sound counsel;
6to understand a proverb and parables, the words and riddles of the wise.
7The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge, but the foolish despise wisdom and instruction.
8My son, listen to your father’s instruction, and don’t forsake your mother’s teaching;
9for they will be a garland to grace your head, and chains around your neck.
10My son, if sinners entice you, don’t consent.
11If they say, “Come with us. Let’s lie in wait for blood. Let’s lurk secretly for the innocent without cause.
12Let’s swallow them up alive like Sheol, and whole, like those who go down into the pit.
13We’ll find all valuable wealth. We’ll fill our houses with plunder.
15my son, don’t walk on the path with them. Keep your foot from their path,
16for their feet run to evil. They hurry to shed blood.
17For the net is spread in vain in the sight of any bird;
18but these lay in wait for their own blood. They lurk secretly for their own lives.
19So are the ways of everyone who is greedy for gain. It takes away the life of its owners.
20Wisdom calls aloud in the street. She utters her voice in the public squares.
21She calls at the head of noisy places. At the entrance of the city gates, she utters her words:
22“How long, you simple ones, will you love simplicity? How long will mockers delight themselves in mockery, and fools hate knowledge?
23Turn at my reproof. Behold, I will pour out my spirit on you. I will make known my words to you.
24Because I have called, and you have refused; I have stretched out my hand, and no one has paid attention;
25but you have ignored all my counsel, and wanted none of my reproof;
26I also will laugh at your disaster. I will mock when calamity overtakes you,
27when calamity overtakes you like a storm, when your disaster comes on like a whirlwind, when distress and anguish come on you.
28Then they will call on me, but I will not answer. They will seek me diligently, but they will not find me,
29because they hated knowledge, and didn’t choose the fear of the LORD.
30They wanted none of my counsel. They despised all my reproof.
31Therefore they will eat of the fruit of their own way, and be filled with their own schemes.
32For the backsliding of the simple will kill them. The careless ease of fools will destroy them.
33But whoever listens to me will dwell securely, and will be at ease, without fear of harm.”
World English BibleRead in NIV in Psalmlog →Highlighted verses are the most connected.
Key verses
Proverbs 1:7This verse establishes reverence for YHWH as knowledge’s foundation and identifies contempt for instruction as folly.
Proverbs 1:22Wisdom’s question exposes attachment to ignorance and mockery, preparing for the warning about repeated refusal.
Proverbs 1:23Before announcing disaster, Wisdom calls her hearers to turn at correction and promises to make her words known.
Where this chapter reaches

Psalm and Job share the link between the fear of YHWH and wisdom, placing reverence for God at the foundation of understanding. Isaiah and Jeremiah share the pattern of calls to heed correction, refused counsel, and judgment following that refusal.

Proverbs 1's chapter linksAll strongest linksHover or tap a book
Notice

After reading the whole chapter

What makes the violent companions’ offer attractive, and where do you notice similar appeals to gain or belonging?

Write on this

How does Wisdom’s promise in verse 23 shape your understanding of her later warnings?

Write on this

Questions people ask about Proverbs 1

What does the fear of YHWH mean in Proverbs 1:7?

The fear of YHWH means reverence for God that receives his instruction and accepts his authority. Verse 7 makes this the foundation of knowledge. The chapter develops the contrast through people who despise correction, choose destructive company, and refuse Wisdom’s call despite repeated warnings.

Who is the woman called Wisdom in Proverbs 1?

Wisdom is personified as a woman speaking in public places, including the city gates. This poetic figure makes wisdom’s counsel audible and urgent: she calls, corrects, promises understanding, and warns of consequences. The chapter presents her speech without identifying her as a particular human woman or naming her as the Messiah.

Why does Wisdom laugh at disaster in Proverbs 1:26?

Wisdom’s laughter belongs to a warning about people who have rejected her counsel and correction. Their disaster exposes the failure of the schemes they trusted. The speech portrays the reversal of their mockery and the consequences of refusal; it gives no command for readers to laugh at someone else’s suffering.

Read it. Now write it.

Start an entry on Proverbs 1. Your words go beside the text, and you get one next step for the week.

Proverbs · 31 chapters
12345678910111213141516171819202122232425262728293031
What the Bible says about temptation →What the Bible says about parenting →

Cross-reference data from OpenBible.info (CC BY). Scripture from the World English Bible (public domain). Arc diagram after Chris Harrison and Christoph Römhild (2007).