Proverbs 9 is the ninth chapter of the Book of Proverbs in the Hebrew Bible or the Old Testament of the Christian Bible.[1] The book is a compilation of several wisdom literature collections, with the heading in 1:1 may be intended to regard Solomon as the traditional author of the whole book, but the dates of the individual collections are difficult to determine, and the book probably obtained its final shape in the post-exilic period. This chapter is a part of the first collection of the book.
The following table shows the Hebrew text[2] [3] of Proverbs 9 with vowels alongside an English translation based upon the JPS 1917 translation (now in the public domain).
| Verse | Hebrew | English translation (JPS 1917) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Wisdom hath builded her house, she hath hewn out her seven pillars; | ||
| 2 | She hath prepared her meat, she hath mingled her wine; she hath also furnished her table. | ||
| 3 | She hath sent forth her maidens, she calleth, upon the highest places of the city: | ||
| 4 | ’Whoso is thoughtless, let him turn in hither’; as for him that lacketh understanding, she saith to him: | ||
| 5 | 'Come, eat of my bread, and drink of the wine which I have mingled. | ||
| 6 | Forsake all thoughtlessness, and live; and walk in the way of understanding. | ||
| 7 | He that correcteth a scorner getteth to himself shame, and he that reproveth a wicked man, it becometh unto him a blot. | ||
| 8 | Reprove not a scorner, lest he hate thee; reprove a wise man, and he will love thee. | ||
| 9 | Give to a wise man, and he will be yet wiser; teach a righteous man, and he will increase in learning. | ||
| 10 | The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom, and the knowledge of the All-holy is understanding. | ||
| 11 | For by me thy days shall be multiplied, and the years of thy life shall be increased. | ||
| 12 | If thou art wise, thou art wise for thyself; And if thou scornest, thou alone shalt bear it.’ | ||
| 13 | The woman Folly is riotous; She is thoughtless, and knoweth nothing. | ||
| 14 | And she sitteth at the door of her house, On a seat in the high places of the city, | ||
| 15 | To call to them that pass by, Who go right on their ways: | ||
| 16 | ’Whoso is thoughtless, let him turn in hither’; And as for him that lacketh understanding, she saith to him: | ||
| 17 | ’Stolen waters are sweet, And bread eaten in secret is pleasant.’ | ||
| 18 | But he knoweth not that the shades are there; that her guests are in the depths of the nether-world. |
Some early manuscripts containing the text of this chapter in Hebrew are of the Masoretic Text, which includes the Aleppo Codex (10th century), and Codex Leningradensis (1008). Fragments containing parts of this chapter in Hebrew were found among the Dead Sea Scrolls including 4Q103a (4QProv; 30 BCE – 30 CE) with extant verses 16–17.[4]
There is also a translation into Koine Greek known as the Septuagint, made in the last few centuries BC; some extant ancient manuscripts of this version include Codex Vaticanus (B;
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This chapter belongs to a section regarded as the first collection in the book of Proverbs (comprising Proverbs 1–9), known as "Didactic discourses". The Jerusalem Bible describes chapters 1–9 as a prologue of the chapters 10–22:16, the so-called "[actual] proverbs of Solomon", as "the body of the book".[5] The chapter concludes the first collection or introduction of the book by presenting the final appeals of both wisdom and folly to the 'siimpletons' or naive people in the contrasting style of rival hostesses inviting people to dine in their respective houses, where 'wisdom offers life with no mention of pleasure', whereas 'folly offers pleasure with no mention of death', with the following structure:[6]
The invitation of Wisdom (verses 3–4) echoes the earlier appeals (cf. Proverbs 1:20–21; 8:1–5). It is addressed to the 'simple' or 'simpletons', that is, the people who need the most to dine with Wisdom but who can be most easily enticed to dine with Folly (cf. Proverbs 1:4). Food and drink (verse 5) figuratively describe Wisdom's instruction (cf. Isaiah 55:1–3; Sirach 15:3; 24:19–21).
Wisdom has built her house,
she has hewn out her seven pillars;[7]
She has sent out her maidens,
She cries out from the highest places of the city.[9] Benson says personified Wisdom may be compared to "a great princess": therefore "it was fit she should be attended on by maidens".[10]
Folly is portrayed in terms of the 'seductress', described as 'woman of foolishness' (verse 13). The brash manner in which Folly invites the simple to her house (verses 13–16) recalls the solicitations of the seductress (Proverbs 7:11–12) and contrasts with the formality and decorum of Wisdom's invitation.. Whereas the banquet of Wisdom promotes and celebrates life (verse 6), to dine with Folly is to banquet with the 'dead' in Sheol (cf Proverbs 2:18–19; 5: 5–6; 7:27).
A foolish woman is clamorous;
she is simple, and knows nothing.[11] Like Wisdom in the previous chapter, Folly is also personified as a character, called "Dame Folly" in the Jerusalem Bible, "the woman called Folly" in the New English Translation.[12]
. Michael D. Coogan . The New Oxford Annotated Bible with the Apocryphal/Deuterocanonical Books: New Revised Standard Version, Issue 48 . Coogan . Michael David . Marc Zvi . Brettler . Carol Ann . Newsom . Pheme . Perkins . Augmented 3rd . Oxford University Press . 2007 . 9780195288810 .
. Michael V. Fox . Proverbs 10-31: A New Translation with Introduction and Commentary . Anchor Yale Bible Commentaries . Yale University Press . 2009 . 978-0300155563.
. Henry Hampton Halley. Halley's Bible Handbook: an abbreviated Bible commentary . 24th (revised). Zondervan Publishing House . 1965 . 0-310-25720-4.