God’s Word Translation
Proverbs 1:20
20Wisdom sings her song in the streets. In the public squares she raises her voice.
Proverbs 1:20 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)Wisdom crieth without; she uttereth her voice in the streets:
- New International Version (NIV)Out in the open wisdom calls aloud, she raises her voice in the public square;
- English Standard Version (ESV)Wisdom cries aloud in the street, in the markets she raises her voice;
- New King James Version (NKJV)Wisdom calls aloud outside; She raises her voice in the open squares.
Context of Proverbs 1:20
18But these people set an ambush for their own murder. They go into hiding only to lose their lives. 19This is what happens to everyone who is greedy for unjust gain. Greed takes away his life. Wisdom sings her song in the streets. In the public squares she raises her voice. 21At the corners of noisy streets she calls out. At the entrances to the city she speaks her words, 22“How long will you gullible people love being so gullible? How long will you mockers find joy in your mocking? How long will you fools hate knowledge?
Read all of Proverbs 1Proverbs 1:20 word by word
חָ֭כְמוֹת בַּח֣וּץ תָּרֹ֑נָּה בָּ֝רְחֹב֗וֹת תִּתֵּ֥ן קוֹלָֽהּ׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
Cross-references for Proverbs 1:20
- Matthew 13:54Jesus went to his hometown and taught the people in the synagogue in a way that amazed them. People were asking, “Where did this man get this wisdom and the power to do these miracles?
- Luke 11:49That’s why the Wisdom of God said, ‘I will send them prophets and apostles. They will murder some of those prophets and apostles and persecute others.’
- 1 Corinthians 1:24But to those Jews and Greeks who are called, he is Christ, God’s power and God’s wisdom.
- Colossians 2:3God has hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge in Christ.
- Proverbs 8:1Does not wisdom call out? Does not understanding raise its voice?
- Proverbs 9:3She has sent out her servant girls. She calls from the highest places in the city,
- John 7:37On the last and most important day of the festival, Jesus was standing ⌞in the temple courtyard⌟. He said loudly, “Whoever is thirsty must come to me to drink.
Commentaries on Proverbs 1:20
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 20Wisdom crieth - Here wisdom is again personified, as it is frequently, throughout this book; where nothing is meant but the teachings given to man, either by Divine revelation or the voice of the Holy Spirit in the heart. And this voice of wisdom is opposed to the seducing language of the wicked mentioned above. This voice is everywhere heard, in public, in private, in the streets, and in the house. Common sense, universal experience, and the law of…Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 20Wisdom is personified. In the Hebrew the noun is a feminine plural, as though this Wisdom were the queen of all wisdoms, uniting in herself all their excellences. She lifts up her voice, not in solitude, but in the haunts of men “without,” i. e., outside the walls, in the streets, at the highest point of all places of concourse, in the open space of the gates where the elders meet and the king sits in judgment, in the heart of the city itself Proverbs…Read the comment
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 20-33Verses 20-33 Solomon, having showed how dangerous it is to hearken to the temptations of Satan, here declares how dangerous it is not to hearken to the calls of God. Christ himself is Wisdom, is Wisdoms. Three sorts of persons are here called by Him: 1. Simple ones. Sinners are fond of their simple notions of good and evil, their simple prejudices against the ways of God, and flatter themselves in their wickedness. 2. Scorners. Proud, jovial people, that…Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 20-33The author describes wisdom as a woman. In Hebrew, the word for wisdom, khokmah, is grammatically feminine. The author encourages his son to embrace wisdom (see Proverbs 3:18; 8:1–9:6).Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 20-3320-33. Some interpreters regard this address as the language of the Son of God under the name of Wisdom (compare Lu 11:49). Others think that wisdom, as the divine attribute specially employed in acts of counsel and admonition, is here personified, and represents God. In either case the address is a most solemn and divine admonition, whose matter and spirit are eminently evangelical and impressive (see on Pr 8:1). Wisdom--literally, "Wisdoms," the plural…Read the comment
Topics related to Proverbs 1:20
In the dictionaries
Commentaries on Proverbs 1
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
- Tyndale Open Study Notes
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
- Rashi on Tanakh
- Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
- John Wesley’s Notes
- Darby Translation Notes
- Geneva Bible Translation Notes
- Kingcomments
- Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
- Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
- Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
- Original Douay–Rheims Annotations
- Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
- EGW Writings
God’s Word Translation — © 1995 God’s Word to the Nations Bible Society
Commentaries