Old Testament
Proverbs
How to live well, one small true sentence at a time.
Wisdom · 31 chapters · About 1.5 hours
Solomon and other sages, c. 950–700 BC
Overview
Proverbs is not a book of promises but of patterns — the usual grain of the world, described so you can live with it rather than against it.
The first nine chapters are a father's long plea to a young person: choose wisdom, who is pictured as a woman calling in the street. The rest are short sayings, best read a handful at a time.
Read as guarantees, Proverbs will disappoint you. Read as wisdom, it will quietly reshape a life.
What it keeps returning to
The fear of the Lord
Wisdom begins with awe, not information.
Speech
More proverbs concern the tongue than almost any other subject.
Daily faithfulness
Work, money, friendship, appetite — holiness in ordinary things.
Start here
Proverbs 3:1–12
Trust in the Lord with all your heart.
Proverbs 4
A father's clearest appeal.
Proverbs 31:10–31
A portrait of strength and dignity.
“Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding.”