King James Version
Proverbs 9
18 verses with commentary
Wisdom Has Built Her House
Wisdom hath builded her house, she hath hewn out her seven pillars:
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Wisdom's house on seven pillars suggests completeness and stability (seven being the number of perfection). This prepared dwelling anticipates the church as God's household (1 Timothy 3:15) and the heavenly banquet (Revelation 19:9). Wisdom offers prepared provision for all who will enter.
She hath killed her beasts; she hath mingled her wine; she hath also furnished her table. her beasts: Heb. her killing
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Wisdom has killed her beasts, mixed her wine, furnished her table. The Hebrew 'tabach' (slaughter), 'masak' (mix/dilute wine), and 'arak' (arrange/set in order) describe banquet preparation. Wisdom offers abundant provision - meat, wine, prepared table. The feast metaphor portrays wisdom as satisfying nourishment. Those who come to wisdom's table are abundantly fed. This anticipates Jesus' invitation: 'I am the bread of life...if any man eat of this bread, he shall live for ever' (John 6:35, 51).
She hath sent forth her maidens: she crieth upon the highest places of the city,
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Wisdom sends out her maidens, calls from the city's heights. The Hebrew 'shalach' (send) and 'qara' (call/proclaim) describe public invitation. Wisdom doesn't hide but publicly invites all. The maidens represent message-bearers; the height represents visibility and authority. Wisdom's invitation is open, public, authoritative. Unlike seduction's private whisper, wisdom shouts publicly, 'Come to my feast!'
Whoso is simple, let him turn in hither: as for him that wanteth understanding, she saith to him,
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Whoever is simple, let him turn in here. Wisdom addresses the simple/naive. The Hebrew 'pethiy' (simple/naive) describes the gullible, unformed, undecided. Wisdom doesn't require sophisticated brilliance but welcomes the simple. Those who know they lack wisdom can come and receive. The prerequisite isn't intelligence but humility - recognizing need and responding to invitation.
Come, eat of my bread, and drink of the wine which I have mingled.
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Come, eat my bread and drink my wine I've mixed. Wisdom's invitation: participate in her feast. The Hebrew 'lacham' (bread) and 'yayin' (wine) are basic sustenance and celebratory abundance. Wisdom offers both necessity and pleasure, both nourishment and joy. Coming to wisdom provides what's needed and what delights. This anticipates communion - bread and wine representing Christ's body and blood, spiritual nourishment and joy.
Forsake the foolish, and live; and go in the way of understanding.
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Forsake foolishness and live; proceed in the way of understanding. The Hebrew 'azab' (leave/forsake) and 'ashar' (go straight/proceed) command directional change. Leaving foolishness enables proceeding in understanding. The two movements are connected - can't walk wisdom's path while carrying folly. Repentance (forsaking) precedes progress (proceeding). Life results from wise walking; death from foolish persisting.
He that reproveth a scorner getteth to himself shame: and he that rebuketh a wicked man getteth himself a blot.
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Whoever corrects a mocker gets shame; whoever rebukes wicked gets insult. The Hebrew 'yasar' (correct/discipline) and 'yakach' (rebuke/reprove) describe instructive confrontation. But mockers and wicked don't receive correction gratefully - they return shame and insult. This verse warns: some people aren't ready for wisdom. Attempting to instruct those committed to folly brings harm to instructor without benefit to fool.
Reprove not a scorner, lest he hate thee: rebuke a wise man, and he will love thee.
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The scorner's proud rejection of reproof contrasts with the wise person's grateful reception. Correcting a scoffer invites hatred, but instructing the wise produces love. This shows wisdom's social dimension—teachability marks the truly wise, while unteachability proves folly regardless of intelligence.
Give instruction to a wise man, and he will be yet wiser: teach a just man, and he will increase in learning.
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The teachable spirit enables continuous growth—the wise become wiser, the just more just. This progressive sanctification reflects God's ongoing work in believers. Learning is not a stage to graduate from but a lifelong posture, as finite creatures can never exhaust the riches of infinite wisdom.
The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom: and the knowledge of the holy is understanding.
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This verse repeats the fundamental principle from 1:7: 'The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom.' The repetition bookends the opening instructional section (chapters 1-9), reinforcing its foundational importance. 'The knowledge of the holy is understanding' parallels the first phrase: knowing God (the Holy One) constitutes true understanding. This verse establishes that genuine wisdom and understanding are impossible apart from relationship with God. All knowledge pursued independently from the fear of Yahweh becomes futile. This principle undergirds Christian education and epistemology.
For by me thy days shall be multiplied, and the years of thy life shall be increased.
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By wisdom your days will multiply and years added to your life. The Hebrew 'ravah' (multiply/increase) promises longevity from wisdom. This isn't mechanical guarantee but general principle: wisdom tends toward life, folly toward death. Wise living generally produces longer, better life. Foolish living abbreviates and degrades life. While exceptions exist, the pattern holds: wisdom brings life; folly brings death.
If thou be wise, thou shalt be wise for thyself: but if thou scornest, thou alone shalt bear it.
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Each person bears individual responsibility for their response to wisdom. Being wise benefits oneself, while scorning brings self-inflicted harm. This personal accountability before God refutes both deterministic fatalism and the notion that sin harms only others—we each answer for our own choices.
The Way of Folly
A foolish woman is clamorous: she is simple, and knoweth nothing.
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Foolish woman is loud, simple, and knows nothing. Contrasting Wisdom (9:1-6), Folly is personified as foolish woman. The Hebrew 'hamah' (loud/tumultuous), 'pethiy' (simple/naive), and 'yada mah' (knows nothing) describe her character. Foolishness is noisy, ignorant, but confident. The fool speaks much while knowing little. Proverbs consistently portrays folly as loud and wisdom as measured. Noise doesn't indicate substance; often it covers ignorance.
For she sitteth at the door of her house, on a seat in the high places of the city,
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She sits at her house door, on a seat in the city's high places. Like Wisdom (9:3), Folly positions herself prominently. The Hebrew 'yashav' (sit/dwell) and 'kisse' (seat/throne) describe established positioning. Folly doesn't hide but publicly calls, mimicking wisdom's public invitation. Distinguishing wisdom from folly requires discernment, not merely observing visibility or confidence. Both call loudly; content differs.
To call passengers who go right on their ways:
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Folly calls to passersby going straight on their way. The Hebrew 'qarah' (call) and 'yashar derakiym' (making straight their ways) describe her targets - those proceeding righteously. Folly doesn't only attract the obviously wayward but targets those walking rightly, attempting to divert them. Temptation often comes not when we're blatantly sinning but when we're faithfully proceeding. Spiritual warfare intensifies when we're walking well.
Whoso is simple, let him turn in hither: and as for him that wanteth understanding, she saith to him,
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Whoever is simple, let him turn in here. Identically to Wisdom's invitation (9:4), Folly addresses the simple. The Hebrew 'pethiy' (simple/naive) describes the undecided, gullible, easily swayed. Both wisdom and folly target the same audience - those not yet committed. The simple must choose between competing invitations. Neutrality isn't option; passivity defaults to folly. Active choice for wisdom is required.
Stolen waters are sweet, and bread eaten in secret is pleasant. eaten: Heb. of secrecies
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This verse gives voice to Folly, the rival of Wisdom personified in this chapter. 'Stolen waters are sweet, and bread eaten in secret is pleasant' expresses the seductive lie that forbidden things are more enjoyable. The allure of the forbidden, the thrill of secrecy, the excitement of transgression—Folly appeals to these sinful inclinations. But verse 18 reveals the truth: 'he knoweth not that the dead are there; and that her guests are in the depths of hell.' The pleasure is temporary; the consequences are eternal. This exposes sin's fundamental deception—promising satisfaction while delivering death.
But he knoweth not that the dead are there; and that her guests are in the depths of hell.
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The simple don't know that the dead are there, her guests in death's depths. The Hebrew 'rapha' (dead/departed spirits) and 'sheowl' (grave/death/underworld) describe folly's destination. What appears attractive leads to death. The simple, lacking discernment, don't recognize danger. They see attractive invitation, miss deadly outcome. Wisdom looks beyond immediate appeal to ultimate consequence. Folly sees only present pleasure, ignoring future destruction.