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;
4 To give subtilty to the simple, to the young man knowledge and discretion.
5 A wise man will hear, and will increase learning; and a man of understanding shall attain unto wise counsels:
6 To understand a proverb, and the interpretation; the words of the wise, and their dark sayings.
7 The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge: but fools despise wisdom and instruction.
8 My son, hear the instruction of thy father, and forsake not the law of thy mother:
9 For they shall be an ornament of grace unto thy head, and chains about thy neck.
10 My son, if sinners entice thee, consent thou not.
11 If they say, Come with us, let us lay wait for blood, let us lurk privily for the innocent without cause:
12 Let us swallow them up alive as the grave; and whole, as those that go down into the pit:
13 We shall find all precious substance, we shall fill our houses with spoil:
14 Cast in thy lot among us; let us all have one purse:
15 My son, walk not thou in the way with them; refrain thy foot from their path:
16 For their feet run to evil, and make haste to shed blood.
17 Surely in vain the net is spread in the sight of any bird.
18 And they lay wait for their own blood; they lurk privily for their own lives.
19 So are the ways of every one that is greedy of gain; which taketh away the life of the owners thereof.
20 Wisdom crieth without; she uttereth her voice in the streets:
21 She crieth in the chief place of concourse, in the openings of the gates: in the city she uttereth her words, saying,
22 How long, ye simple ones, will ye love simplicity? and the scorners delight in their scorning, and fools hate knowledge?
23 Turn you at my reproof: behold, I will pour out my spirit unto you, I will make known my words unto you.
24 Because I have called, and ye refused; I have stretched out my hand, and no man regarded;
25 But ye have set at nought all my counsel, and would none of my reproof:
26 I also will laugh at your calamity; I will mock when your fear cometh;
27 When your fear cometh as desolation, and your destruction cometh as a whirlwind; when distress and anguish cometh upon you.
28 Then shall they call upon me, but I will not answer; they shall seek me early, but they shall not find me:
29 For that they hated knowledge, and did not choose the fear of the Lord:
30 They would none of my counsel: they despised all my reproof.
31 Therefore shall they eat of the fruit of their own way, and be filled with their own devices.
32 For the turning away of the simple shall slay them, and the prosperity of fools shall destroy them.
33 But whoso hearkeneth unto me shall dwell safely, and shall be quiet from fear of evil.
This introductory purpose statement for the book of Proverbs is so helpful. I love the list of all the uses for these proverbs. One of my favorites is "let the wise hear and increase in learning." It's great to tie this in with how James promises that if we ask for wisdom, God will always give liberally.
ReplyDeleteIn the middle section (v. 8-19), our parents teaching being like a garland or pendant around our necks. I had read these verses growing up, and there were times that I appreciated my parents. However, there were far more times when I really felt they did not understand and that I knew as much as them. As life has gone on, I find myself treasuring my folks more and more. Even recently when something was pressing deeply on my heart, my dad was the only one I called to ask advice and prayer. Now I do treasure and seek my parents wisdom like the verses say. (What do you know? The Bible knows what it's talking about! Hee, hee, hee)
ReplyDeleteIt's interesting how wisdom is personified as a woman crying out to anyone who will listen. She pleads with the listener to heed her instruction and follow God's way. She warns of how those who do not need to learn will come to destruction; then they'll seek her, and she won't be found. How many times do we see this in the world? How many people think they know all and do whatever they think is right? (How many times do I refuse to listen to instruction because I know best?) Wisdom calls; will I listen?
ReplyDeleteOn another note, my 1st & 2nd graders are studying King Solomon right now. This coming week, we are taking a couple days to look at his proverbs. We are using verse seven as our theme. "The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge; fools despise wisdom and instruction."