Proverbs 1:7
New International Version
The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and instruction.

New Living Translation
Fear of the LORD is the foundation of true knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and discipline.

English Standard Version
The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge; fools despise wisdom and instruction.

Berean Standard Bible
The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and discipline.

King James Bible
The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge: but fools despise wisdom and instruction.

New King James Version
The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge, But fools despise wisdom and instruction.

New American Standard Bible
The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge; Fools despise wisdom and instruction.

NASB 1995
The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge; Fools despise wisdom and instruction.

NASB 1977
The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge; Fools despise wisdom and instruction.

Legacy Standard Bible
The fear of Yahweh is the beginning of knowledge; Ignorant fools despise wisdom and discipline.

Amplified Bible
The [reverent] fear of the LORD [that is, worshiping Him and regarding Him as truly awesome] is the beginning and the preeminent part of knowledge [its starting point and its essence]; But arrogant fools despise [skillful and godly] wisdom and instruction and self-discipline.

Christian Standard Bible
The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge; fools despise wisdom and discipline.

Holman Christian Standard Bible
The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge; fools despise wisdom and discipline.

American Standard Version
The fear of Jehovah is the beginning of knowledge; But the foolish despise wisdom and instruction.

Aramaic Bible in Plain English
The chief wisdom is the awe of LORD JEHOVAH, but the evil despise knowledge and instruction.

Brenton Septuagint Translation
The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom; and there is good understanding to all that practise it: and piety toward God is the beginning of discernment; but the ungodly will set at nought wisdom and instruction.

Contemporary English Version
Respect and obey the LORD! This is the beginning of knowledge. Only a fool rejects wisdom and good advice.

Douay-Rheims Bible
The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. Fools despise wisdom and instruction.

English Revised Version
The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge: but the foolish despise wisdom and instruction.

GOD'S WORD® Translation
The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge. Stubborn fools despise wisdom and discipline.

Good News Translation
To have knowledge, you must first have reverence for the LORD. Stupid people have no respect for wisdom and refuse to learn.

International Standard Version
The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and discipline.

JPS Tanakh 1917
The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge; But the foolish despise wisdom and discipline.

Literal Standard Version
Fear of YHWH [is the] beginning of knowledge, | Fools have despised wisdom and instruction!

Majority Standard Bible
The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and discipline.

New American Bible
Fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge; fools despise wisdom and discipline.

NET Bible
Fearing the LORD is the beginning of moral knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and instruction.

New Revised Standard Version
The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge; fools despise wisdom and instruction.

New Heart English Bible
The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge; but the foolish despise wisdom and instruction.

Webster's Bible Translation
The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge: but fools despise wisdom and instruction.

World English Bible
The fear of Yahweh is the beginning of knowledge, but the foolish despise wisdom and instruction.

Young's Literal Translation
Fear of Jehovah is a beginning of knowledge, Wisdom and instruction fools have despised!

Additional Translations ...
Audio Bible



Context
The Beginning of Knowledge
6by understanding the proverbs and parables, the sayings and riddles of the wise. 7The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and discipline.

Cross References
Deuteronomy 4:6
Observe them carefully, for this will show your wisdom and understanding in the sight of the peoples, who will hear of all these statutes and say, "Surely this great nation is a wise and understanding people."

Job 28:28
And He said to man, 'Behold, the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom, and to turn away from evil is understanding.'"

Psalm 111:10
The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom; all who follow His precepts gain rich understanding. His praise endures forever!

Proverbs 2:5
then you will discern the fear of the LORD and discover the knowledge of God.

Proverbs 5:12
and you will say, "How I hated discipline, and my heart despised reproof!

Proverbs 9:10
The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom, and knowledge of the Holy One is understanding.

Proverbs 15:32
He who ignores discipline despises himself, but whoever heeds correction gains understanding.


Treasury of Scripture

The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge: but fools despise wisdom and instruction.

fear

Proverbs 9:10
The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom: and the knowledge of the holy is understanding.

Job 28:28
And unto man he said, Behold, the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom; and to depart from evil is understanding.

Psalm 111:10
The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom: a good understanding have all they that do his commandments: his praise endureth for ever.

beginning

Proverbs 1:22,29,30
How long, ye simple ones, will ye love simplicity? and the scorners delight in their scorning, and fools hate knowledge? …

Proverbs 5:12,13
And say, How have I hated instruction, and my heart despised reproof; …

Proverbs 15:5
A fool despiseth his father's instruction: but he that regardeth reproof is prudent.

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Proverbs 1
1. The use of the proverbs
7. An exhortation to fear God, and believe his word
10. to avoid the enticing of sinners
20. Wisdom complains of her contempt
24. She threatens her contemners














2.--FIFTEEN DIDACTIC POEMS, OR DISCOURSES ON VARIOUS SUBJECTS (Proverbs 1:7 to Proverbs 9:18).

(a) First Discourse:--Against Companionship in Robbery (Proverbs 1:7-19).

(7) The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge.--The first discourse is prefaced by a distich, which serves as a key-note to all the teaching of the book. This expression, "the fear of the Lord," occurs thirteen times in the Proverbs, and plays a prominent part throughout the Old Testament.

"When God of old came down from heaven,

In power and wrath He came."

That law which was given amid "blackness, and darkness, and tempest" was enforced by the threat, "Cursed is every one that continueth not in all things which are written in the book of the law to do them" (Galatians 3:10). Men had to be taught how hateful sin was to God, and the lesson was for the most part instilled into them by the fear of immediate punishment. (Comp. Deuteronomy 28) But when the lesson had been learnt, and when mankind had found by experience that they were unable to keep the law of God by their own strength, then the new covenant of mercy was revealed from Calvary, even free justification "by God's grace, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus" (Romans 3:24). And with this new message a new motive to obedience was preached. The "fear of the Lord" was now superseded by the higher duty of the "love of God," and of man, for His sake. "The love of Christ constraineth us," says St. Paul. "We love Him because He first loved us," writes St. John. Now, it was seen that, although the "fear of the Lord" may be the "beginning of wisdom," yet something better still may be aimed at: that "he that feareth is not made perfect in love;" and so the teaching of St. John, the last New Testament writer, is summed up in the words, "If God so loved us, we ought also to love one another" (1John 4:11). . . .

Verse 7-ch. 9:18. - Part II. INTRODUCTORY SECTION. The first main section of the book begins here and ends at Proverbs 9:18. It consists of a series of fifteen admonitory discourses addressed to youth by the Teacher and Wisdom personified, with the view to exhibit the excellence of wisdom, and generally to illustrate the motto, "The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge," or wisdom. It urges strong encouragements to virtue, and equally strong dissuasives from vice, and shows that the attainment of wisdom in its true sense is the aim of all moral effort. Verse 7. - The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge. This proposition is by some commentators regarded as the motto, symbol, or device of the book (Delitzsch, Umbreit, Zockler, Plumptre). Others, following the Masoretic arrangement of the Hebrew text, consider it as forming part of the superscription (Ewald, Bertheau, Elster, Keil). As a general proposition expressing the essence of the philosophy of the Israelites, and from its relation to the rest of the contents of this book, it seems rightly to occupy a special and individual position. The proposition occurs again in the Proverbs in Proverbs 9:10, and it is met with in similar or slightly modified forms in other books which belong to the same group of sacred writings, that is, those which treat of religious philosophy - the Khokhmah; e.g. Job 28:28; Psalm 111:10; Ecclesiastes 12:13; Ecclus. 1:16, 25. With this maxim we may compare "The fear of the Lord is the instruction of wisdom" (Proverbs 15:33). The fear of the Lord (יִרְאַת יְהוָה, yir'ath y'hovah); literally, the fear of Jehovah. The expression describes that reverential attitude or holy fear which man, when his heart is set aright, observes towards God. The original word, יִרְאַת (yir'ath) for "fear," is properly the infinitive of יָרֵא, (yare), "to fear or reverence," and as a substantive means "reverence or holy fear" (Gesenius). Servile or abject fear (as Jerome, Beda, Estius) is not to be understood, but filial fear (as Gejerus, Mercerus, Cornelius a Lapide, Cartwright), by which we fear to offend God - that fear of Jehovah which is elsewhere described as "to hate evil" (Proverbs 8:13), and in which a predominating element is love. Wardlaw remarks that the "fear of the Lord" is in invariable union with love and in invariable proportion to it. We truly fear God just in proportion as we truly love him. The fear of the Lord also carries with it the whole worship of God. It is observable that the word Jehovah (יְהוָה) is used in the Hebrew, and not Elohim (אְלֶהִים), a peculiarity which is invariably marked in the Authorized Version by small capitals. The beginning; Hebrew, רֵאשִׁית (reshith). This word has been understood in three different senses:

(1) As initium, the beginning; i.e. the initial step or starting point at which every one who wishes to follow true wisdom must begin (Gejerus, Zockler, Plumptre).

(2) As caput; i.e. the most excellent or principal part, the noblest or best wisdom. This sense is adopted in the marginal reading (comp. also Proverbs 4:7) (Holden, Trapp).

(3) As the principium (Vulgate); i.e. the origin, or basis, as in Micah 1:12, "She is the origin, or basis (reshith) of the sin of the daughter of Zion." Delitzsch regards the original, reshith, as embracing the two ideas of commencement and origin, in the same way as the Greek ἀρχὴ. Wisdom has its origin in God, and whoever fears him receives it if he prays in faith (cf. James 1:5, sqq.) (Vatablus, Mercerus, Delitzsch). That the first sense, viz. that of beginning, is to be understood here appears from the parallel passage in Proverbs 10:10, where the corresponding word is תְּחִלָּת. (t'killath), "beginning," from the root חָלַל (khalal), "to begin;" cf. also the LXX. ἀρχὴ, in this sense, and the initium of the Syriac and Arabic Versions. All previous knowledge to "the fear of the Lord" is comparative folly. He who would advance in knowledge must first be imbued with a reverence or holy fear of God. But fools despise wisdom and instruction; or, according to the inverted order of the words in the original, wisdom and instruction fools despise, the association of ideas in the three words, "knowledge," "wisdom," and "instruction," thus being more continuously sustained. This arrangement links on the two latter words with "the fear of the Lord," and so helps towards the elucidation of the sense in which "fools" is to be understood Fools; ךאוִילִים (evilim), plural of ךאוִיּל (evil), from the root אָוַל (aval), "to be perverse," here properly designates the incorrigible, as in Proverbs 27:22, and those who are unwilling to know God (Jeremiah 4:22), and hence refuse and despise wisdom and salutary discipline, those "who set at nought all his counsel, and will none of his reproof." The word is opposed to the "prudent" (Proverbs 12:16) and to the "wise" (Proverbs 10:14). Delitzsch understands it as "thick, hard, stupid," from the root aval, coalescere, incrassari. Schultens uses παχεῖς, equivalent to erassi pro stupidis, to represent the original. Dunn takes it in the same sense as "gross or dull of understanding." Fuerst, adopted by Wordsworth, regards it in the sense of having no moral stamina, from the root meaning "to be slack, weak, lax, or lazy." But none of these explanations seems, in my opinion, to coincide sufficiently with the evil and depraved activity expressed in the verb "despise," which follows, and which describes the conduct of this class. The LXX. renders the word or action by ἀσεβεῖς, equivalent to impii, "godless," "profane," and the Vulgate by stulti. Despise; בָּזוּ (bazu) is perfect, but is properly translated by the present, because the perfect here represents a condition long continued and still existing (Gesenius, § 126); cf. the Latin odi, memini, etc. The LXX. uses the future ἐξουθενήσουσιν, i.e. they will set at nought; the Vulgate, the present (despiciunt). The radical meaning is most probably contemptuous trampling under the feet (Geseuius). Wisdom and instruction (see ver. 2). The latter clause of this verse is antithetical to the former, but the antithesis is obscurely expressed. In the Authorized Version it is marked by the adversative conjunction "but," which, however, is not in the original. The LXX. has a striking interpolation in this verse between the first and second clauses, which is partly taken from Psalm 111:10 (Σύνεσις δέ ἀγαθὴ πᾶσι τοῖς ποιοῦσιν αὐτήν εὐσέβεια δὲ εἰς Θεὸν ἀρχὴ αἰσθήσεως, "And a good understanding have all they that do it: and reverence towards God is the beginning of knowledge"). Compare the Arabic Version, which has the same interpolation: Et intellectus bonus onmibus facientibus eam. Sana religio in Deum est initium prudentiae.

Parallel Commentaries ...


Hebrew
The fear
יִרְאַ֣ת (yir·’aṯ)
Noun - feminine singular construct
Strong's 3374: Fear, reverence

of the LORD
יְ֭הוָה (Yah·weh)
Noun - proper - masculine singular
Strong's 3068: LORD -- the proper name of the God of Israel

[is] the beginning
רֵאשִׁ֣ית (rê·šîṯ)
Noun - feminine singular construct
Strong's 7225: The first, in place, time, order, rank

of knowledge,
דָּ֑עַת (dā·‘aṯ)
Noun - feminine singular
Strong's 1847: Knowledge

[but] fools
אֱוִילִ֥ים (’ĕ·wî·lîm)
Noun - masculine plural
Strong's 191: Foolish

despise
בָּֽזוּ׃ (bā·zū)
Verb - Qal - Perfect - third person common plural
Strong's 936: To disrespect

wisdom
חָכְמָ֥ה (ḥāḵ·māh)
Noun - feminine singular
Strong's 2451: Wisdom

and discipline.
וּ֝מוּסָ֗ר (ū·mū·sār)
Conjunctive waw | Noun - masculine singular
Strong's 4148: Chastisement, reproof, warning, instruction, restraint


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OT Poetry: Proverbs 1:7 The fear of Yahweh is the beginning (Prov. Pro Pr)
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