Proverbs
31 chapters, 915 verses. The 20th of 66 books, in Poetry and Wisdom.
How it begins
1The proverbs of Solomon the son of David, king of Israel;
2To know wisdom and instruction; to perceive the words of understanding;
3To receive the instruction of wisdom, justice, and judgment, and equity;
4To give subtilty to the simple, to the young man knowledge and discretion.
5A wise man will hear, and will increase learning; and a man of understanding shall attain unto wise counsels:
6To understand a proverb, and the interpretation; the words of the wise, and their dark sayings.
7The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge: but fools despise wisdom and instruction.
Chapters
- 1The fear of the Lord
- 2Wisdom delivers
- 3Trust and obedience
- 4Get wisdom first
- 5Avoid the strange woman
- 6Six things abhorred
- 7The seduction trap
- 8Wisdom's excellence
- 9Two banquet invitations
- 10The righteous foundation
- 11Righteousness's reward
- 12A truthful tongue
- 13Hope's sweetness
- 14The wise woman's house
- 15The soft word
- 16Man proposes, Lord disposes
- 17Better dry bread in peace
- 18Death and life in words
- 19Integrity over wealth
- 20Understanding draws counsel
- 21Justice over sacrifice
- 22The good name
- 23Temperance and discipline
- 24Wisdom builds the house
- 25Aptly spoken words
- 26The fool's folly returns
- 27Boasting and friendship
- 28The wicked flee from justice
- 29Correction and rule
- 30Words of Agur
- 31King Lemuel's teaching
King James Version. Public domain. Set as prose throughout, including the poetry, because the text is published to us without its lines.