The fear of the Lord
is the beginning of knowledge;(A)
fools despise wisdom and discipline.(B)

Avoid the Path of the Violent

Listen, my son, to your father’s instruction,
and don’t reject your mother’s teaching,(C)
for they will be a garland(D) of grace on your head
and a gold chain around your neck.(E)

Read full chapter

The fear of the Lord(A) is the beginning of knowledge,
    but fools[a] despise wisdom(B) and instruction.(C)

Prologue: Exhortations to Embrace Wisdom

Warning Against the Invitation of Sinful Men

Listen, my son,(D) to your father’s(E) instruction
    and do not forsake your mother’s teaching.(F)
They are a garland to grace your head
    and a chain to adorn your neck.(G)

Read full chapter

Footnotes

  1. Proverbs 1:7 The Hebrew words rendered fool in Proverbs, and often elsewhere in the Old Testament, denote a person who is morally deficient.