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Proverbs 3

1 - My son, don't forget my teaching;but let your heart keep my commandments:
2 - for length of days, and years of life,and peace, will they add to you.
3 - Don't let kindness and truth forsake you.Bind them around your neck.Write them on the tablet of your heart.
4 - So you will find favor,and good understanding in the sight of God and man.
5 - Trust in the LORD with all your heart,and don't lean on your own understanding.
6 - In all your ways acknowledge him,and he will make your paths straight.
7 - Don't be wise in your own eyes.Fear The LORD, and depart from evil.
8 - It will be health to your body,and nourishment to your bones.
9 - Honor the LORD with your substance,with the first fruits of all your increase:
10 - so your barns will be filled with plenty,and your vats will overflow with new wine.
11 - My son, don't despise The LORD's discipline,neither be weary of his reproof:
12 - for whom the LORD loves, he reproves;even as a father reproves the son in whom he delights.
13 - Happy is the man who finds wisdom,the man who gets understanding.
14 - For her good profit is better than getting silver,and her return is better than fine gold.
15 - She is more precious than rubies.None of the things you can desire are to be compared to her.
16 - Length of days is in her right hand.In her left hand are riches and honor.
17 - Her ways are ways of pleasantness.All her paths are peace.
18 - She is a tree of life to those who lay hold of her.Happy is everyone who retains her.
19 - By wisdom the LORD founded the earth.By understanding, he established the heavens.
20 - By his knowledge, the depths were broken up,and the skies drop down the dew.
21 - My son, let them not depart from your eyes.Keep sound wisdom and discretion:
22 - so they will be life to your soul,and grace for your neck.
23 - Then you shall walk in your way securely.Your foot won't stumble.
24 - When you lie down, you will not be afraid.Yes, you will lie down, and your sleep will be sweet.
25 - Don't be afraid of sudden fear,neither of the desolation of the wicked, when it comes:
26 - for the LORD will be your confidence,and will keep your foot from being taken.
27 - Don't withhold good from those to whom it is due,when it is in the power of your hand to do it.
28 - Don't say to your neighbor, "Go, and come again;tomorrow I will give it to you,"when you have it by you.
29 - Don't devise evil against your neighbor,since he dwells securely by you.
30 - Don't strive with a man without cause,if he has done you no harm.
31 - Don't envy the man of violence.Choose none of his ways.
32 - For the perverse is an abomination to The LORD,but his friendship is with the upright.
33 - The LORD's curse is in the house of the wicked,but he blesses the habitation of the righteous.
34 - Surely he mocks the mockers,but he gives grace to the humble.
35 - The wise will inherit glory,but shame will be the promotion of fools.
Proverbs Images and Notes

The Book of Proverbs

Proverbs 3:5-6 - Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.

Proverbs 15:1-4 - A soft answer turneth away wrath: but grievous words stir up anger. The tongue of the wise useth knowledge aright: but the mouth of fools poureth out foolishness. The eyes of the LORD [are] in every place, beholding the evil and the good. A wholesome tongue [is] a tree of life: but perverseness therein [is] a breach in the spirit.

Proverbs 17:12-13 - Let a bear robbed of her whelps meet a man, rather than a fool in his folly. Whoso rewardeth evil for good, evil shall not depart from his house.

The Old Testament - A Brief Overview

Bible Survey - Proverbs
Hebrew Name - Mishley "proverbs"
Greek Name - Paroimiae (Greek form of the Hebrew )
Author - Solomon (According to Tradition)
Date - 1000 BC Approximately
Theme - It is wise to obey God
Types and Shadows - In Proverbs Jesus is true wisdom

Illustration of Solomon's Temple
Illustration of Solomon's Temple on Mount Moriah

Summary of The Book of Proverbs

The Proverbs are a collection of wise sayings that, although they were written in ancient times, their principles are for all men in every age, and every walk of life. The ultimate message in the book of Proverbs is that fearing the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. There is no greater principle that was taught by both David and Solomon than acknowledging God's presence in everything in life, and taking heed to everything He says.

Proverbs 1:1 indicates that the whole collection was called "the Proverbs of Solomon the son of David, king of Israel." Technically a proverb is a profound maxim or epigrammatic saying that, if pondered on for a length of time there is deep meaning associated with it. Proverbs was not uncommon in the ancient world, but the concept of fearing a single God who is the only God and the giver of life, was completely foreign in a world filled with polytheism.

Solomon was the son of David who was chosen to build the Temple. His name comes from the Hebrew word for peace (shalom), and he is recognized in the Bible as the ultimate peacemaker King in the history of the kingdom of  Israel. The book of Proverbs not only names Solomon as the author in the very first verse, but there are other verses that indicate that Solomon was the person responsible for the Proverbs (Proverbs 10:1; Proverbs 25:1).

The book of Kings indicates that Solomon was blessed with wisdom from God (1 Kings 4:29), he was a man of humility (1 Kings 3:7), and a great diplomat (1 Kings 3:16-28; 1 Kings 5:12) to such an extent that people came from all over the world to hear his wisdom (1 Kings 4:30; 1 Kings 10:1-13). The book of Kings also indicates that Solomon wrote over 3000 proverbs (1 Kings 4:32), and this is many more than the book of Proverbs contains.

Solomon's Wisdom. David had chosen Solomon to sit upon the throne of Israel and serve the Lord. After Solomon had removed his enemies, he allied with the Pharaoh of Egypt, and took Pharaoh's daughter to be his wife. Solomon had thought intensely about his task to build a house for the Lord, the Temple in Jerusalem. He went to offer sacrifices to the Lord at Gibeon and that night the Lord appeared to him in a dream saying "ask what you will and I will give it to you" and Solomon said "you have shown great mercy to your servant David, my father, even as he walked before you in truth and justice and with an upright heart. You have continued your great mercy toward him and given him a son to sit on his throne, as it is today. And now, O Lord God, you have made your servant King succeeding David, my father. I am but a child, and know not how to act. You have chosen me to be king over so many that they cannot be counted. Give me, therefore, an understanding heart, to judge your people and to discern between good and evil." The Lord was pleased with Solomon's request and said, "because you have not asked for long life or riches, nor for the death of your enemies, but have asked wisdom for yourself to discern what is right, I have done for you as you asked, and have given you a wise and understanding heart, so much so that you are unlike anyone before you, nor shall there be anyone like you after. Yes, and the things also which you did not ask, I have given you: that is, riches and glory, so that you are incomparable with all previous kings. And if you will walk in my ways, and keep my precepts and my commandments, as your father, I will lengthen your life." (see 1 Kings 3 and 2 Chronicles 1).

Outline of the Book of Proverbs

Proverbs 1-9, Solomon addresses the young. His words are arranged in a series of discourses in praise of wisdom. A personification of Wisdom speaks as an instructor, warning against all manner of folly. The proverbs in this section are arranged with more continuity than is seen in succeeding chapters.

Proverbs 10-22:16 are the "proverbs of Solomon," and this section is usually thought to be the original nucleus around which the remainder of the book was constructed.

Proverbs 22:17-24 :22 contains advice for those in responsible positions, calling it "the words of the wise." Proverbs 24:23-29 are designated as "the proverbs of Solomon which the wise men of Hezekiah copied out." These are in the form of detached statements, although there are occasional signs of continuity. There are also sayings on related subjects such as rulers, sluggards and fools.

Proverbs 30, the sayings of Agur, and Proverbs 31, the great chapter on womanhood which purports to come from the mother of King Lemuel which was constructed in acrostic form, the verses beginning with the successive letters of the Hebrew alphabet. This last chapter completes this book of Hebrew wisdom.

ARCHAEOLOGY

House of David Inscription - Tel Dan Stele

Tel Dan Stele - House of David Inscription
1 Kings 2:11 - And the days that David reigned over Israel [were] forty years: seven years reigned he in Hebron, and thirty and three years reigned he in Jerusalem.

An inscription containing the words "house of David" was found on a black basalt stone slab called the Tel Dan Stele, from Tel Dan, Israel, 9th Century B.C.

Quick Reference Map
Map of the Empires of David and Solomon
Map of the Empires of David and Solomon (Click to Enlarge)

Quick Reference Maps - Proverbs

The Kingdom of Solomon during the Proverbs

The Empire of David and Solomon during the Chronicles

Solomon's Temple Illustration

The First Day. Light.

Proverbs Resources

Samuel the Prophet
Saul, Israel's First King
King David
King Solomon

More About the Book of Proverbs
Proverbs in the Picture Study Bible
Timeline of the Ancient World
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