Proverbs 1:1-7

Rachel Workman: 1 These are the proverbs of Solomon, David’s son, king of Israel.

² Their purpose is to teach people wisdom and discipline,
    to help them understand the insights of the wise.
³ Their purpose is to teach people to live disciplined and successful lives,
    to help them do what is right, just, and fair.
⁴ These proverbs will give insight to the simple,
    knowledge and discernment to the young.

⁵ Let the wise listen to these proverbs and become even wiser.
    Let those with understanding receive guidance
⁶ by exploring the meaning in these proverbs and parables,
    the words of the wise and their riddles.

⁷ Fear of the Lord is the foundation of true knowledge,
    but fools despise wisdom and discipline.

I love how this says the purpose of these are to live disciplined and successful lives. Without wisdom and discipline no one can be successful. If they are their success doesn't last long.

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Pat Bell:  I fear the LORD and yet am grateful.

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Krista Cook:  Proverbs is full of wise words for our spiritual growth and understanding.  These words were all written to benefit us.  But they can't benefit us if we don't read and apply them.  Let's use our wisdom to be disciplined enough to be in the Word daily.

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John Burnett:  1 The proverbs of Solomon the son of David, king of Israel:

² To know wisdom and instruction,
To discern the sayings of understanding,  In this day and age, it is so important to know how to discern the truth from the false.  Satan is really good at including just enough truth for it to sound good but not be the truth.
³ To receive instruction in wise behavior,
Righteousness, justice and equity;  In Christ, we receive His righteousness, mercy instead of justice, and we will all be co-heirs with Him in His Kingdom.
⁴ To give prudence to the ^[a]naive,
To the youth knowledge and discretion,
⁵ A wise man will hear and increase in learning,
And a man of understanding will acquire wise counsel,
⁶ To understand a proverb and a figure,
The words of the wise and their riddles.

⁷ The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge;
Fools despise wisdom and instruction.  This is so true and they HATE Jesus.  I have been witnessing on an online forum and they hate me because they hated Him first.

Have a great weekend.

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Allen Michaels:  1 The proverbs of Solomon son of David, king of Israel:

A proverb is a short, wise, easy-to-learn saying that calls a person to action. It doesn’t argue about basic spiritual and moral beliefs; it assumes we already hold them. The book of Proverbs focuses on God—his character, works, and blessings—and it tells how we can live in close relationship to him.

² for gaining wisdom and instruction;
    for understanding words of insight;
³ for receiving instruction in prudent behavior,
    doing what is right and just and fair;
⁴ for giving prudence to those who are simple,
    knowledge and discretion to the young—
⁵ let the wise listen and add to their learning,
    and let the discerning get guidance—
⁶ for understanding proverbs and parables,
    the sayings and riddles of the wise.

⁷ The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge,
    but fools despise wisdom and instruction. One of the most annoying types of people is a know-it-all, a person who has a dogmatic opinion about everything, is closed to anything new, resents discipline, and refuses to learn. I have just described 90% of the people I work with. In fact this should be our mission statement. I’m sure I fit into this category to a majority of these people. Solomon calls this kind of person a fool. Instead of being a know-it-all we need to be open to the advice of others, especially those who know us well and can give valuable insight and counsel. We can learn how to learn from others but we must always remember

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Tomorrow's reading for Proverbs 1:8-19

My child,^[a] listen when your father corrects you.
    Don’t neglect your mother’s instruction.
⁹ What you learn from them will crown you with grace
    and be a chain of honor around your neck.
¹⁰ My child, if sinners entice you,
    turn your back on them!
¹¹ They may say, “Come and join us.
    Let’s hide and kill someone!
    Just for fun, let’s ambush the innocent!
¹² Let’s swallow them alive, like the grave^[b];
    let’s swallow them whole, like those who go down to the pit of death.
¹³ Think of the great things we’ll get!
    We’ll fill our houses with all the stuff we take.
¹⁴ Come, throw in your lot with us;
    we’ll all share the loot.”
¹⁵ My child, don’t go along with them!
    Stay far away from their paths.
¹⁶ They rush to commit evil deeds.
    They hurry to commit murder.
¹⁷ If a bird sees a trap being set,
    it knows to stay away.
¹⁸ But these people set an ambush for themselves;
    they are trying to get themselves killed.
¹⁹ Such is the fate of all who are greedy for money;
    it robs them of life.