Old Testament · Wisdom

Proverbs 9

Two Invitations

Wisdom builds a house and sets a table. Folly does the same. Both call out to the simple. The choice defines everything that follows.

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1Wisdom hath builded her house, she hath hewn out her seven pillars:

2She hath killed her beasts; she hath mingled her wine; she hath also furnished her table.

3She hath sent forth her maidens: she crieth upon the highest places of the city,

4Whoso is simple, let him turn in hither: as for him that wanteth understanding, she saith to him,

5Come, eat of my bread, and drink of the wine which I have mingled.

6Forsake the foolish, and live; and go in the way of understanding.

7He that reproveth a scorner getteth to himself shame: and he that rebuketh a wicked man getteth himself a blot.

8Reprove not a scorner, lest he hate thee: rebuke a wise man, and he will love thee.

9Give instruction to a wise man, and he will be yet wiser: teach a just man, and he will increase in learning.

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

11For by me thy days shall be multiplied, and the years of thy life shall be increased.

12If thou be wise, thou shalt be wise for thyself: but if thou scornest, thou alone shalt bear it.

13A foolish woman is clamorous: she is simple, and knoweth nothing.

14For she sitteth at the door of her house, on a seat in the high places of the city,

15To call passengers who go right on their ways:

16Whoso is simple, let him turn in hither: and as for him that wanteth understanding, she saith to him,

17Stolen waters are sweet, and bread eaten in secret is pleasant.

18But he knoweth not that the dead are there; and that her guests are in the depths of hell.

Understand This

Proverbs 9, explained

What Proverbs 9 is saying

Two women issue competing invitations: Lady Wisdom has built her house with seven pillars and prepared a lavish feast, calling the simple to enter and live. Lady Folly sits at her door offering stolen water and secret bread, not knowing her guests are in Sheol. Between them, the chapter restates that fear of the LORD is wisdom's beginning.

The background behind it

The seven-pillared house has been interpreted variously as the temple, creation, or the ideal household. The 'stolen water' of Folly may allude to the forbidden woman of earlier chapters, while also echoing the broader biblical motif that sin promises sweetness but delivers death.

Themes running underneath

The architectural parallel between Wisdom and Folly's houses dramatizes life's fundamental choice. Both offer invitation, both promise satisfaction—but only one delivers life. The central proverb about fearing the LORD serves as the interpretive key for the entire first section of Proverbs.

Why it still matters

Every day presents competing invitations. This chapter insists that discerning between genuine wisdom and attractive folly requires an orientation toward God, not merely superior intelligence.

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Scripture text: King James Version — public domain.