Book 20 - Proverbs

Similar to Psalms, there is no storyline here. No narrative arc. No crisis to resolve. Proverbs is a collection of short sayings meant to be remembered, repeated, and shared.

What kind of book is this?

Proverbs is a collection of short statements about how life tends to work.

They are not promises, laws or guarantees.

They’re observations about cause and effect, character and consequence, wisdom and foolishness. Many are only a sentence long. Some are blunt. Some are ironic. Some feel obvious. Others feel uncomfortably direct.

This is not poetry meant to be sung. It is practical language that essentially functions as advice and guidance for everyday life.

Who wrote it?

Most of Proverbs is traditionally attributed to Solomon, the king known in the Bible for wisdom. Other sections are credited to different sources, including:

• “The wise”

• Agur

• King Lemuel (or Lemuel’s mother)

The book itself acknowledges that these sayings were gathered and compiled over time. It reads more like an anthology than a single work written in one sitting.

How is it structured?

Proverbs has a loose structure, but it is not linear.

• Chapters 1–9 are longer reflections on wisdom and foolishness.

• Chapters 10–29 are mostly short, stand-alone sayings.

• Chapters 30–31 contain sayings attributed to other authors.

Many proverbs sit next to others that seem unrelated. This seems to be intentional as the book is not structured to be read straight through like a novel.

What many people recognize

Even people who have never opened the Bible may recognize lines from Proverbs.

“Pride goes before a fall.”

“The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom.”

“Train up a child in the way he should go…”

“Plans fail for lack of counsel.”

“A gentle answer turns away wrath.”

These phrases show up in parenting advice, business books, leadership talks, and everyday speech, often without people realizing where they came from.

What Proverbs is not trying to do

Proverbs is not trying to explain suffering, guarantee outcomes or resolve life’s biggest questions.

It doesn’t wrestle like Job. Or question meaning like Ecclesiastes. Or explore emotion like Psalms.

Proverbs stays grounded in the everyday. Speech, money, work, relationships, discipline, self-control.

Why Proverbs still gets referenced

Because it’s practical.

You don’t need context to remember it or a story to understand it.

You can keep a single line with you and see how it plays out in your life.

For me, I’ve been taking chapter 2 verse 3 to heart for a while now…’indeed, if you call out for insight and cry aloud for understanding,’ as a way of turning over my search for meaning to God. More on that after Ecclesiastes!

But whether someone believes the Bible is inspired or not, Proverbs reads like a long record of human behavior and what has seemed to work through the ages. Up next, Ecclesiastes questions whether any of it matters or if it’s enough.