Wisdom's Public Call and the Folly of Rejection
Proverbs 1:20-33
Pro.1.20 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- חכמות: NOUN,f,pl,abs
- בחוץ: ADV
- תרנה: VERB,qal,impf,3,f,sg
- ברחבות: PREP+NOUN,f,pl,abs
- תתן: VERB,qal,imprf,2,_,sg
- קולה: NOUN,m,sg,suff,3,f
Parallels
- Prov.8:1-4 (verbal): Wisdom personified speaks aloud from public places—‘Does not wisdom call?…on the heights, by the gates’—a close verbal and situational parallel.
- Prov.9:3-6 (structural): Wisdom holds a public banquet and sends out invitations into the streets and heights—same motif of Wisdom publicly calling people to hear her.
- Isa.58:1 (verbal): Prophetic command to ‘cry aloud, spare not, lift up your voice like a trumpet’—similar language and the idea of public, publicized proclamation.
- Luke 19:40 (thematic): Jesus’ public proclamation and the declaration that if his followers were silent ‘the stones would cry out’ echoes the theme that truth/wisdom must and will be publicly voiced.
Alternative generated candidates
- Wisdom cries aloud in the streets; in the public squares she raises her voice.
- Wisdom cries aloud in the streets; in the public squares she raises her voice.
Pro.1.21 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- בראש: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,cstr
- המיות: NOUN,m,pl,def
- תקרא: VERB,qal,impf,2,m,sg
- בפתחי: PREP
- שערים: NOUN,m,pl,abs
- בעיר: PREP+NOUN,f,sg,abs
- אמריה: NOUN,f,pl,def
- תאמר: VERB,qal,impf,2,m,sg
Parallels
- Proverbs 1:20-23 (verbal): The immediate context: Wisdom’s extended public summons to the simple in the city gates—same speech that includes v.21 and repeats the cry in public places.
- Proverbs 8:1-4 (verbal): A closely parallel personification where Wisdom ‘calls aloud’ in public spaces and at the head of noisy streets—very similar language and setting.
- Proverbs 9:3-6 (thematic): Lady Wisdom prepares a public feast and issues an open invitation to the naïve—parallel theme of Wisdom publicly calling people to follow her.
- Sirach (Ecclesiasticus) 24:3-9 (thematic): Personified Wisdom speaks of taking her stand among the people and being present in the assemblies—an analogous portrayal of Wisdom’s public manifestation.
- Wisdom of Solomon 6:12-14 (allusion): Wisdom is depicted as seeking and attracting the righteous and making herself known—reflects the motif of Wisdom actively calling and making an appeal to humans.
Alternative generated candidates
- At the head of the noisy places she calls; at the openings of the city gates she speaks her words.
- At the head of the throng she calls; at the entrances of the gates in the city she speaks.
Pro.1.22 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- עד: PREP
- מתי: ADV,int
- פתים: NOUN,f,pl,abs
- תאהבו: VERB,qal,impf,2,pl
- פתי: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- ולצים: CONJ+NOUN,m,pl,abs
- לצון: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- חמדו: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,pl
- להם: PREP+PRON,3,m,pl
- וכסילים: CONJ+NOUN,m,pl,abs
- ישנאו: VERB,qal,impf,3,m,pl
- דעת: NOUN,f,sg,abs
Parallels
- Proverbs 1:7 (verbal): Both verses contrast the pursuit of wisdom with the attitude of fools: 'the fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge' vs. 'fools hate knowledge/despise wisdom and instruction.'
- Proverbs 9:4–6 (thematic): Wisdom invites 'the simple' to abandon simplicity and live; this echoes Prov.1:22's rebuke to the simple and the call to leave folly for knowledge.
- Proverbs 12:1 (thematic): Contrasts loving discipline/knowledge with hating correction ('Whoever loves discipline loves knowledge, but he who hates reproof is stupid'), paralleling the reproach of fools hating knowledge.
- Proverbs 18:2 (thematic): Describes a fool who 'takes no pleasure in understanding' but only in airing his opinions, thematically matching Prov.1:22's statement that fools hate knowledge and prefer folly.
Alternative generated candidates
- How long, O simple ones, will you love simplicity? How long will scoffers delight in scoffing, and fools hate knowledge?
- How long, O simple ones, will you love simplicity? O scoffers, delight in scoffing? O fools, hate knowledge?
Pro.1.23 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- תשובו: VERB,qal,impf,2,m,pl
- לתוכחתי: PREP+NOUN,f,sg,abs+poss,1,sg
- הנה: PART
- אביעה: VERB,qal,impf,1,?,sg
- לכם: PREP,2,m,pl
- רוחי: NOUN,f,sg,abs+1cs
- אודיעה: VERB,hiphil,impf,1,mf,sg
- דברי: NOUN,m,pl,abs+PRON,1,c,sg
- אתכם: PRT+PRON,2,m,pl
Parallels
- Joel 2:28 (verbal): Uses the same language of God 'pouring out' his Spirit on the people—parallels the promise 'I will pour out my spirit' (אביעה לכם רוחי).
- Acts 2:17-18 (quotation): Peter quotes Joel at Pentecost: the outpouring of the Spirit leads to prophecy and speaking—connects the poured-out Spirit with God revealing words to people.
- Ezekiel 36:27 (thematic): God promises to put his Spirit within the people so they will follow his statutes—echoes the idea of the Spirit enabling inward reception and obedience to God's word.
- Jeremiah 31:33 (thematic): God promises to put his law within them and write it on their hearts—parallels 'I will make my words known to you' as an internal disclosure of God's word.
- John 14:26 (thematic): Jesus says the Spirit will teach and bring to remembrance his words—aligns the function of the Spirit in disclosing and making God's words known to believers.
Alternative generated candidates
- “Return to my reproof; behold, I will pour out my spirit to you; I will make my words known to you.”
- Return to my rebuke—behold, I will pour out my spirit to you; I will make my words known to you.
Pro.1.24 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- יען: CONJ
- קראתי: VERB,qal,perf,1,_,sg
- ותמאנו: CONJ+VERB,qal,perf,2,*,pl
- נטיתי: VERB,qal,perf,1,?,sg
- ידי: NOUN,f,pl,cons
- ואין: CONJ+PART,exist
- מקשיב: VERB,qal,ptcp,*,m,sg
Parallels
- Proverbs 1:23 (verbal): Immediate context: Wisdom issues an invitation to turn and be instructed; 1:24 records the consequence when that call is ignored ('I called and you refused').
- Proverbs 9:4-6 (thematic): Wisdom again issues a public call to the simple to leave folly and gain insight—same motif of Wisdom calling people to listen and respond.
- John 5:40 (verbal): Jesus reproaches his hearers with refusing to come to him for life ('you refuse to come to me'), closely echoing the language and theme of rejecting a divine summons.
- Revelation 3:20 (thematic): The image of a divine appeal to the individual ('I stand at the door and knock') highlights the call/response dynamic and the possibility of no answer, paralleling Prov 1:24.
- Isaiah 55:6 (thematic): An urgent summons to seek and call on the LORD while he is near—shares the motif of an offered opportunity to respond to divine invitation that can be spurned.
Alternative generated candidates
- Because I called and you refused; I stretched out my hand, and no one paid attention.
- For I called, and you refused; I stretched out my hand, and no one paid heed.
Pro.1.25 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- ותפרעו: VERB,qal,impf,2,m,pl
- כל: DET
- עצתי: NOUN,f,sg,abs+1s
- ותוכחתי: VERB,qal,perf,1,c,sg
- לא: PART_NEG
- אביתם: VERB,qal,perf,2,m,pl
Parallels
- Proverbs 1:23 (structural): Immediate context: Wisdom invites hearers to turn at her reproof and accept instruction — verse 25 reports the opposite, that they rejected her counsel and rebuke.
- Proverbs 1:24 (structural): Direct context and parallel scene: verse 24 poses Wisdom's call, and 1:25 describes the listeners' refusal to heed that call (verbal and situational continuity).
- Proverbs 12:1 (thematic): Contrasts acceptance and rejection of rebuke: 'Whoever loves discipline loves knowledge, but he who hates reproof is stupid,' echoing the moral consequence of refusing counsel.
- Proverbs 15:31-32 (thematic): Affirms the value of heeding reproof ('He who listens to life-giving reproof will dwell among the wise' / 'Whoever ignores instruction despises himself'), thematically paralleling the danger in 1:25 of refusing correction.
- Job 5:17-18 (thematic): Connects divine reproof with blessing and warning: 'Blessed is the man whom God reproves... he wounds, but he binds up,' highlighting the positive purpose of rebuke contrasted with the peril of rejecting it as in Prov 1:25.
Alternative generated candidates
- You rejected all my counsel; you would have none of my reproof.
- You spurned all my counsel and would have none of my rebuke.
Pro.1.26 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- גם: ADV
- אני: PRON,1,sg
- באידכם: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs,2,mp
- אשחק: VERB,qal,impf,1,_,sg
- אלעג: VERB,qal,impf,1,_,sg
- בבא: PREP+VERB,qal,ptc,3,sg
- פחדכם: NOUN,m,sg,abs,2,m,pl
Parallels
- Proverbs 1:24-33 (structural): Immediate context: the speech of Wisdom—these verses frame the warning and consequences (including verse 26’s laughter) when people reject wisdom, showing the same speaker, motif and outcome.
- Psalm 2:4 (verbal): Uses the same motif of divine laughter in the face of rebellion: 'He who sits in the heavens laughs,' paralleling Wisdom’s derisive laughter at coming calamity.
- Psalm 37:13 (verbal): Speaks of the Lord laughing at the wicked because their day of judgment is coming, echoing the image of derision at impending disaster found in Proverbs 1:26.
- Psalm 59:8 (Heb. 59:9 in some Bibles) (verbal): 'But you, O Lord, laugh at them; you hold all the nations in derision' — closely parallels the language and theme of mockery/derision toward the doomed, as in Proverbs 1:26.
Alternative generated candidates
- Therefore I also will laugh at your calamity; I will mock when terror comes upon you.
- Then I also will laugh at your calamity; I will mock when terror comes upon you.
Pro.1.27 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- בבא: PREP+VERB,qal,ptc,3,sg
- כשואה: PREP+NOUN,f,sg,abs
- פחדכם: NOUN,m,sg,abs,2,m,pl
- ואידכם: CONJ+NOUN,m,sg,suff,2,pl
- כסופה: PREP+NOUN,f,sg,abs
- יאתה: VERB,qal,imperfect,3,m,sg
- בבא: PREP+VERB,qal,ptc,3,sg
- עליכם: PREP+PRON,2mp
- צרה: NOUN,f,sg,abs
- וצוקה: NOUN,f,sg,abs
Parallels
- Proverbs 1:24-33 (structural): Immediate context: the whole passage warns that because people rejected wisdom, calamity, distress and anguish will come—Prov.1:27 is part of this larger exhortation and consequence narrative.
- Proverbs 10:24 (verbal): Closely related wording and theme: what the wicked fear or dread will come upon them, paralleling the idea that calamity and distress arrive on those who reject wisdom.
- Hosea 8:7 (thematic): Theme of inevitable retribution for folly: sowing wind and reaping the whirlwind conveys the same cause‑and‑effect—folly leads to sudden disaster or distress as in Prov.1:27.
- Isaiah 3:11 (thematic): Pronouncement of woe on the wicked and the coming of ill upon them—echoes the prophetic/legal tone that punishment and calamity will overtake those who do wrong, similar to Prov.1:27.
Alternative generated candidates
- When your terror comes like a storm, and your destruction comes like a whirlwind, when distress and anguish come upon you.
- When desolation comes like a storm, and your calamity comes like a whirlwind; when distress and crushing come upon you.
Pro.1.28 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- אז: ADV
- יקראנני: VERB,qal,impf,3,m,pl
- ולא: CONJ
- אענה: VERB,qal,impf,1,_,sg
- ישחרנני: VERB,qal,impf,3,m,pl
- ולא: CONJ
- ימצאנני: VERB,qal,impf,3,m,pl
Parallels
- Proverbs 1:24 (verbal): Immediate lead‑in: 'I called, and you refused' — the people's earlier refusal corresponds directly to the consequence in 1:28 when they call but receive no answer.
- Proverbs 1:23 (structural): Contrast within the same invitation: Wisdom urges turning and promises to 'pour out my spirit' — the refusal to heed this call sets up the judgment described in 1:28.
- Proverbs 1:26–27 (thematic): Continuation of the same discourse describing Wisdom's response to mockers' calamity; 1:28 functions as the culminant judgment when they call and are not answered.
- Jeremiah 14:11–12 (thematic): God tells Jeremiah not to pray for the people because he will not listen to their pleas—parallels the motif of divine refusal to answer persistent, unrepentant requests.
- Psalm 66:18 (thematic): The psalm affirms that harboring sin prevents the Lord from hearing; parallels the principle that persistent rejection of wisdom/sin leads to prayers going unanswered.
Alternative generated candidates
- Then they will call to me, but I will not answer; they will seek me earnestly, but shall not find me.
- Then they will call to me, but I will not answer; they will seek me eagerly, but they will not find me.
Pro.1.29 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- תחת: PREP
- כי: CONJ
- שנאו: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,pl
- דעת: NOUN,f,sg,abs
- ויראת: CONJ+NOUN,f,sg,abs
- יהוה: NOUN,prop,m,sg,abs
- לא: PART_NEG
- בחרו: VERB,qal,imp,2,pl
Parallels
- Proverbs 1:7 (thematic): States that 'the fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge'—directly contrasts with 1:29's claim that people hated knowledge and did not choose the fear of the LORD.
- Proverbs 1:30 (structural): Immediate continuation: explains the practical outcome of hating knowledge and refusing the fear of the LORD—rejecting counsel and reproof.
- Hosea 4:6 (verbal): Speaks of rejection of knowledge ('my people are destroyed for lack of knowledge' / 'they have rejected knowledge'), paralleling Prov 1:29's language about hating or refusing knowledge.
- Proverbs 8:36 (thematic): Wisdom (personified) declares that those who hate her 'love death'—parallels Prov 1:29 by linking hatred of wisdom/knowledge to disastrous moral consequences.
Alternative generated candidates
- Because they hated knowledge and did not choose the fear of the LORD.
- Because they hated knowledge and did not choose the fear of the LORD,
Pro.1.30 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- לא: PART_NEG
- אבו: VERB,qal,impf,3,m,sg
- לעצתי: PREP+NOUN,f,sg,abs,1
- נאצו: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,pl
- כל: DET
- תוכחתי: NOUN,f,sg,abs,1
Parallels
- Prov.1:24 (structural): Same unit of Wisdom's speech: 1:24–33 frames the summons and the people's refusal; 1:24 introduces the call that 1:30 summarizes as rejected.
- Prov.1:25 (verbal): Closely related phrasing about rejecting Wisdom's counsel and not accepting reproof; 1:25 and 1:30 repeat the motif of scorn for correction.
- Prov.9:7-8 (thematic): Speaks of the foolish who resent reprovers (a mocker) and the proper response to correction—echoes the theme of despising instruction.
- Prov.12:1 (thematic): Contrasts love of discipline with hatred of reproof ('whoever hates correction is stupid'), underlining the moral failure described in 1:30.
- Prov.29:1 (thematic): Warns that repeated reproof ignored leads to sudden destruction—provides the consequence motif implied by the rejection in 1:30.
Alternative generated candidates
- They would have none of my counsel; they despised all my rebuke.
- they would not accept my counsel; they despised all my rebuke.
Pro.1.31 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- ויאכלו: VERB,qal,impf,3,m,pl
- מפרי: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,constr
- דרכם: NOUN,f,sg,abs+3,m,pl
- וממעצתיהם: CONJ+PREP+NOUN,f,sg,cs
- ישבעו: VERB,qal,imprf,3,m,pl
Parallels
- Galatians 6:7 (thematic): Paul’s principle that one reaps what one sows parallels Prov 1:31’s idea that people ‘eat the fruit of their ways’ — moral actions yield corresponding outcomes.
- Job 4:8 (verbal): Eliphaz’s proverb (‘Whoever sows iniquity will reap trouble’) closely echoes the cause-and-effect language of reaping/consuming the consequences found in Prov 1:31.
- Psalm 7:16 (verbal): The psalm depicts an evildoer’s schemes returning upon his own head, comparable to being ‘filled with their own devices’ in Prov 1:31.
- Proverbs 11:19 (thematic): This proverb contrasts the ends of righteousness and wickedness — the wicked’s pursuits bring their own ruin — reflecting the consequence motif of Prov 1:31.
- Isaiah 3:11 (allusion): ‘Woe to the wicked... what his hands have dealt out shall be done to him’ expresses a prophetic form of reciprocal justice akin to the outcome described in Prov 1:31.
Alternative generated candidates
- So they shall eat the fruit of their own way and be sated with their own devices.
- Therefore they shall eat the fruit of their way and be sated with their own devices.
Pro.1.32 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- כי: CONJ
- משובת: NOUN,f,sg,const
- פתים: NOUN,f,pl,abs
- תהרגם: VERB,qal,impf,2,m,sg
- ושלות: CONJ+NOUN,f,sg,abs
- כסילים: NOUN,m,pl,abs
- תאבדם: VERB,qal,impf,3,f,sg,pr:3,m,pl
Parallels
- Prov.8.36 (verbal): Declares the same causal link between rejecting wisdom and death: 'all who hate me love death' echoes the idea that folly/complacency brings destruction.
- Prov.11.19 (thematic): Contrasts righteousness leading to life with the pursuit of evil leading to one's own death—same moral logic that folly results in destruction.
- Ps.1.6 (thematic): Affirms the fate of the wicked—'the way of the wicked will perish'—echoing the proverb's claim that turning from wisdom brings ruin.
- Prov.21.16 (thematic): Predicts that one who leaves the way of understanding will 'rest in the company of the dead,' a parallel consequence of abandoning wisdom comparable to Prov 1:32.
Alternative generated candidates
- For the turning aside of the simple will kill them, and the complacency of fools will destroy them.
- For the folly of the simple will kill them, and the complacency of fools will destroy them.
Pro.1.33 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- ושמע: VERB,qal,imp,2,m,sg
- לי: PREP+PRON,1,sg
- ישכן: VERB,qal,impf,3,m,sg
- בטח: ADV
- ושאנן: VERB,qal,impf,3,m,sg
- מפחד: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs
- רעה: NOUN,f,sg,abs
Parallels
- Psalm 4:8 (verbal): Speaks of lying down and dwelling in safety because of trust in God—language and theme parallel to dwelling securely and without fear.
- Psalm 91:1-2 (thematic): Both depict the righteous ‘dwelling’ in God’s protection and therefore being secure from harm—shared theme of safety under divine shelter.
- Proverbs 3:21-26 (structural): Within the same book, trust in the Lord and adherence to wisdom lead to confidence, safety, and freedom from fear of sudden harm—close thematic and instructional parallel.
- Isaiah 32:17-18 (thematic): Promises of righteousness producing peace and secure dwellings—the image of a people living in safety echoes Proverbs 1:33.
- Job 5:24 (verbal): “You will lie down, and no one will make you afraid” echoes the assurance of peaceful, fearless repose found in Proverbs 1:33.
Alternative generated candidates
- But whoever listens to me will dwell secure and be at ease, without dread of harm.
- But whoever listens to me will dwell securely and be at ease, without dread of evil.
Wisdom cries aloud in the streets; in the open squares she raises her voice.
At the head of the busy thoroughfares she calls; at the entrances of the city gates she speaks.
How long, O simple ones, will you love simplicity? Scoffers delight in scoffing, and fools hate knowledge.
Turn to my reproof; behold, I will pour out my spirit to you; I will make my words known to you.
For I called, and you refused; I stretched out my hand, and no one paid heed.
You ignored all my counsel; you rejected my rebuke.
Therefore I also will laugh at your calamity; I will mock when your terror comes.
When your terror comes like a storm, and your calamity comes like a whirlwind; when distress and oppression come upon you.
Then they will call to me, but I will not answer; they will seek me diligently, but will not find me.
Because they hated knowledge and did not choose the fear of the LORD.
They would not accept my counsel; they despised all my reproof.
They shall eat the fruit of their own way and be filled with their own devices.
For the sway of the simple will slay them, and the complacency of fools will destroy them. But whoever listens to me will dwell securely and be at ease, without dread of harm.