selected passages from Proverbs

“Of all the means which are procured by wisdom to ensure happiness throughout the whole of life, by far the most important is the acquisition of friends.”

~ Epicurus (341–270 BC), Greek philosopher

“Nothing is more sacred, more useful, more difficult to find, more pleasant, and more profitable than true friendship. Without authentic spiritual friendship, it is next to impossible to be happy in this life… Spiritual friendship cultivates virtue, overcomes vice, and brings balance in both good times and bad. It is a medicine for life that heals and elevates. As such, it leads one to the love and knowledge of God.”

~ Aelred of Rievaulx (1110-1167), English Cistercian monk

“All true friendliness begins with fire and food and drink…each human soul has in a sense to enact for itself the gigantic humility of the Incarnation. Every man must descend into the flesh to meet mankind.”

~ G.K. Chesterton (1874-1936), English writer and philosopher

“A custom existed among the first generations of Christians, when faith was a bright fire that warmed more than those who kept it burning. In every house then a room was kept ready for any stranger who might ask for shelter; it was even called “the stranger’s room.” Not because these people thought they could trace something of someone they loved in the stranger who used it, not because the man or woman to whom they gave shelter reminded them of Christ, but because—plain and simple and stupendous fact—he or she was Christ.”

~ Dorothy Day (1897-1980), American journalist and social activist

“There is…great incentive to worship and love God in the thought that, for some unfathomable reason, he wants me as his friend, and desires to be my friend, and has given his Son to die for me in order to realize this purpose.”

~ J.I. Packer (1926-2020), English-born Canadian writer

selected passages (ESV)

Proverbs 4

3 When I was a son with my father, tender,

Proverbs 5

18 Let your fountain be blessed, and rejoice in the wife of your youth,

Proverbs 11

11 By the blessing of the upright a city is exalted,

Proverbs 17

17 A friend loves at all times,

Proverbs 18

10 The name of the LORD is a strong tower;

Proverbs 23

24 The father of the righteous will greatly rejoice;

Proverbs 27

6 Faithful are the wounds of a friend,

Proverbs 31

10 An excellent wife who can find?

Matthew 1

21 She will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.” 22 All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet: 23 “Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall call his name Immanuel” (which means, God with us).

Selected Passages from Proverbs

“There are two ways to be fooled. One is to believe what isn’t true; the other is to refuse to believe what is true.”

~Soren Kierkegaard

“Now this is to be a fool— to act contrary to your own knowledge and better judgment.”

“The moth is foolish that flies into the candle, and, having burnt itself, dashes again into the flame. We count the ox foolish that goes willingly to the shambles; but there are multitudes of men and women who take delight in sin; and, though every cup around them be poisoned, yet they drink at it as though it were nectar… We are great fools when we think that we can find pleasure in sin, or profit in rebellion.”

~Charles Spurgeon

“Only in Jesus can those born into folly, increasingly manifesting foolishness, on a crash course for destruction, be set free to true wisdom and ultimate life.”

~David Mathis

Proverbs 1:7; 1:20-33; 12:15; 18:2; 26:11; 28:26 (ESV)

Proverbs 1

7 The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge;

20 Wisdom cries aloud in the street,

Proverbs 12

15 The way of a fool is right in his own eyes,

Proverbs 18

2 A fool takes no pleasure in understanding,

Proverbs 26

11 Like a dog that returns to his vomit

Proverbs 28

26 Whoever trusts in his own mind is a fool,

Proverbs 13:3, 15:1-2, 4, 18:20-21, 21:23-24, James 1:26

“All I need is a sheet of paper and something to write with, and then I can turn the world upside down.”

~ Friedrich Nietzsche

“Words are not in the power of men; men are in the power of words.”

~ Hermann Bahr

“I consider looseness with words no less of a defect than looseness of the bowels.”

~ John Calvin

“Even though our tongue cannot be tamed by human nature, it can be tamed by the holy spirit.”

~ Jackie Hill Perry

“A little criticism makes me angry, and a little rejection makes me depressed. A little praise raises my spirits, and a little success excites me. It takes very little to raise me up or thrust me down. Often I am like a small boat on the ocean, completely at the mercy of its waves. All the time and energy I spend in keeping some kind of balance and preventing myself from being tipped over and drowning shows my life is mostly a struggle for survival: not a holy struggle, but an anxious struggle resulting from the mistaken idea that it is the world that defines me.”

~ Henri Nouwen

“That non-bony, flappable instrument between our bicuspids can be an instrument of tremendous good or cataclysmic destruction. It can be used to build people up in the faith or to destroy their hard-earned reputations. It can help bring about peace among nations or can start a war.”

~ Curtis Thomas

Proverbs 13:3, 15:1-2, 4, 18:20-21, 21:23-24, James 1:26 (ESV)

Proverbs 13

3 Whoever guards his mouth preserves his life;

Proverbs 15

1 A soft answer turns away wrath,

Proverbs 18

20 From the fruit of a man’s mouth his stomach is satisfied;

Proverbs 21

23 Whoever keeps his mouth and his tongue

James 1

26 If anyone thinks he is religious and does not bridle his tongue but deceives his heart, this person’s religion is worthless.

Selections from Proverbs

“Man’s happiness was never meant to be determined by his circumstances, and that is the fatal blunder that we all tend to make… We must come back to the soul and to God who made it. We were made for Him, we are meant for Him, we have a correspondence with Him, and we will never come to rest until, like that needle on the compass, we strike that northern point, and there we come to rest – nowhere else.”

~ Martyn Lloyd-Jones (1899-1981), Welsh minister and medical doctor

“The reason why many poor souls have so little heat of joy in their hearts is that they have so little light of Gospel knowledge in their mind. The further a soul stands from the light of truth, the further he must be from the heat of comfort.”

“Hope fills the afflicted soul with such inward joy and consolation, that it can laugh while tears are in the eye, sigh and sing all in a breath…”

~ William Gurnall (1616-1679), English Anglican minister and author

“Gratitude has a big job to do in us and our hearts. It is one of the chief ways that God infuses joy and resilience into the daily struggle of life.”

~ Nancy Leigh DeMoss (1958-present), contemporary speaker, author

“Gratitude in its deepest sense means to live life as a gift to be received thankfully. And true gratitude embraces all of life: the good and the bad, the joyful and the painful, the holy and the not-so-holy. We do this because we become aware of God’s life, God’s presence in the middle of all that happens.”

~ Henri Nouwen (1932–1996), Dutch Catholic priest, professor, writer

“When we learn to read the story of Jesus and see it as the story of the love of God, doing for us what we could not do for ourselves – that insight produces, again and again, a sense of astonished gratitude which is very near the heart of authentic Christian experience.”

~ N.T. Wright (1948-present), British N.T. scholar & retired Anglican bishop

Selections from Proverbs

Proverbs 3 (NKJV)

13 Happy is the man who finds wisdom,

18 She is a tree of life to those who take hold of her, And happy are all

Proverbs 4 (ESV)

20 My son, be attentive to my words;

Proverbs 12:25 (ESV)

25 Anxiety in a man’s heart weighs him down,

Proverbs 13:12 (ESV)

12 Hope deferred makes the heart sick,

Proverbs 14:30 (ESV)

30 A tranquil heart gives life to the flesh,

Proverbs 15 (ESV)

13 A glad heart makes a cheerful face,

Proverbs 17 (ESV)

22 A joyful heart is good medicine,

selected passages from Proverbs

“A man who does not know how to be angry does not know how to be good.”

~ Henry Ward Beecher (1813-1887), American minister, social reformer, and speaker

“It is only our bad temper that we put down to being tired or worried or hungry; we put our good temper down to ourselves.”

~ C.S. Lewis (1898-1963), British writer and lay theologian

“The anger of man and the anger of God takes Jesus to the cross.”

~ Paul David Tripp (1950-present), American minister and writer

“The wisdom of God devised a way for the love of God to deliver sinners from the wrath of God while not compromising the righteousness of God.”

~ John Piper (1946-present), American theologian, pastor and writer

“Both God’s love and God’s wrath are ratcheted up in the move from the old covenant to the new, from the Old Testament to the New. These themes barrel along through redemptive history, unresolved, until they come to a resounding climax – in the cross.”

~ D.A. Carson (1946-present), Canadian theologian and writer

“When we lift up our eyes and look on the cross we find the final persuasion that God is gracious towards us. How can he be against us when all His wrath against us fell upon Christ? How can He fail to care for us when He gave the only Son He had for our sake? How can we doubt Him when He has given us evidence of His love sufficient to banish all doubts?”

~ Sinclair Ferguson (1948-present), Scottish theologian, minister, author

selected passages from Proverbs (ESV)

Proverbs 12

25 Anxiety in a man’s heart weighs him down,

Proverbs 14

29 Whoever is slow to anger has great understanding,

Proverbs 15

18 A hot-tempered man stirs up strife,

Proverbs 16

32 Whoever is slow to anger is better than the mighty,

Proverbs 19

11 Good sense makes one slow to anger,

Proverbs 29

11 A fool gives full vent to his spirit,

Proverbs 6:6-11, 12:11, 21:5, 25-26

“Imagine a society where no one had to work. Robots and artificial intelligence performed all essential jobs while advanced technologies provided unlimited clean energy, food, and consumer goods. Human beings were free to pursue their passions and spend time with loved ones instead of working. What would life look like in this futuristic work-free world? […] For the first time in history, our jobs wouldn’t dictate how we spend our days.”

~Roy Lam, Data Scientist and Psychometrician, “What Life Would Look Like if Humans Didn’t Have to Work Anymore”

“The image of God was never meant to yawn through life. Yet those who are paying attention will also see something more in this tragi-comic sloth: themselves. We all have an inner sluggard, counseling us to sleep when we should rise, rest when we should work, eat when we should move.”

~Scott Hubbard, pastor in Minneapolis, “The Sluggard in Me: Four Lies that Lead to Laziness”

“The wise man knows that the sluggard is no freak, but, as often as not, an ordinary man who has made too many excuses, too many refusals, and too many postponements. It has all been as imperceptible, and as pleasant, as falling asleep.”

~Derek Kidner, Bible Commentator and Old Testament Scholar, Proverbs

“In short, work – and lots of it – is an indispensable component in a meaningful human life. It is a supreme gift from God and one of the main things that gives our lives purpose. But it must play its proper role, subservient to God. It must regularly give way not just to work stoppage for bodily repair but also in joyful reception of the world and of ordinary life…. When we think, ‘I hate work!’ we should remember that, despite the fact that work can be a particularly potent reminder (and even amplifier) of the curse of sin on all things, it is not itself a curse. We were built for it and freed by it. But when we feel that our lives are completely absorbed by work, remember that we must honor work’s limits. There is no better starting point for a meaningful work life than a firm grasp of this balanced work and rest theology.”

~Tim Keller (1950-2023), pastor in New York, Every Good Endeavor

Proverbs 6:6-11, 12:11, 21:5, 25-26 (ESV)

Proverbs 6

6 Go to the ant, O sluggard;

Proverbs 12

11 Whoever works his land will have plenty of bread,

Proverbs 21

5 The plans of the diligent lead surely to abundance,

Exodus 20

8 “Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. 9 Six days you shall labor, and do all your work, 10 but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the LORD your God. On it you shall not do any work, you, or your son, or your daughter, your male servant, or your female servant, or your livestock, or the sojourner who is within your gates. 11 For in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested on the seventh day. Therefore the LORD blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy.

Ephesians 2

8 For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, 9 not a result of works, so that no one may boast. 10 For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.

John 5

3 In these lay a multitude of invalids—blind, lame, and paralyzed. 5 One man was there who had been an invalid for thirty-eight years. 6 When Jesus saw him lying there and knew that he had already been there a long time, he said to him, “Do you want to be healed?” 7 The sick man answered him, “Sir, I have no one to put me into the pool when the water is stirred up, and while I am going another steps down before me.” 8 Jesus said to him, “Get up, take up your bed, and walk.” 9 And at once the man was healed, and he took up his bed and walked.

Now that day was the Sabbath. 10 So the Jews said to the man who had been healed, “It is the Sabbath, and it is not lawful for you to take up your bed.” 11 But he answered them, “The man who healed me, that man said to me, ‘Take up your bed, and walk.’” 12 They asked him, “Who is the man who said to you, ‘Take up your bed and walk’?” 13 Now the man who had been healed did not know who it was, for Jesus had withdrawn, as there was a crowd in the place. 14 Afterward Jesus found him in the temple and said to him, “See, you are well! Sin no more, that nothing worse may happen to you.” 15 The man went away and told the Jews that it was Jesus who had healed him. 16 And this was why the Jews were persecuting Jesus, because he was doing these things on the Sabbath. 17 But Jesus answered them, “My Father is working until now, and I am working.”

selected passages from the Proverbs

“The modern world detests authority but worships relevance. Our Christian conviction is that the Bible has both authority and relevance, and that the secret of both is Jesus Christ.”

~ John Stott (1921-2011), English minister, theologian and author

“The deepest problems of modern life derive from the claim of the individual to preserve the autonomy and individuality of his existence.”

~ Georg Simmel (1858-1918), German sociologist and philosopher

“Is authority to be placed in human wisdom or cultural experience, or is it to be located in an incommensurable divine revelation that intrudes into our world from the beyond? Does it lie within the compass of what we can ordinarily discover or conceive, or does it break into our world as a new reality that overturns human imagination and conception? Is it a truth waiting to be uncovered through diligent searching, or is it a word personally addressed to us, calling us to repentance and obedience?”

~ Donald Bloesch (1928-2010), American pastor, theologian, writer

“Beware of placing even the smallest drop of your confidence on anything apart from the Gospel.”

~ John Calvin (1509-1564), French theologian, pastor and author

“Hope for the Christian isn’t just confidence in a certain, glorious future. It’s hope in a present providence. It’s hope that God’s plans can’t be thwarted by local authorities or irate mobs, by unfriendly bosses or unbelieving husbands, by Supreme Court rulings or the next election. The Christian hope is that God’s purposes are so unassailable that a great thunderstorm of events can’t drive them off course. Even when we’re wave-tossed and lost at sea, Jesus remains the captain of the ship and the commander of the storm.”

~ Elliot Clark, contemporary missionary and church planting

“As things are brought back under Christ’s rule and authority, they are restored to health, beauty, and freedom.”

~ Timothy Keller (1950-2023), American minister, theologian, writer

selected passages from the Proverbs (ESV)

Proverbs 9

7 Whoever corrects a scoffer gets himself abuse, and he who reproves a wicked man incurs injury. 8 Do not reprove a scoffer, or he will hate you; reprove a wise man, and he will love you. 9 Give instruction to a wise man, and he will be still 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 Holy One is insight. 11 For by me your days will be multiplied, and years will be added to your life. 12 If you are wise, you are wise for yourself; if you scoff, you alone will bear it.

Proverbs 23

22 Listen to your father who gave you life, and do not despise your mother when she is old. 23 Buy truth, and do not sell it; buy wisdom, instruction, and understanding. 24 The father of the righteous will greatly rejoice; he who fathers a wise son will be glad in him. 25 Let your father and mother be glad; let her who bore you rejoice. 26 My son, give me your heart, and let your eyes observe my ways.

Proverbs 24

21 My son, fear the LORD and the king, and do not join with those who do otherwise, 22 for disaster will arise suddenly from them, and who knows the ruin that will come from them both?

Proverbs 29

1 He who is often reproved, yet stiffens his neck, will suddenly be broken beyond healing. 2 When the righteous increase, the people rejoice, but when the wicked rule, the people groan. 3 He who loves wisdom makes his father glad, but a companion of prostitutes squanders his wealth. 4 By justice a king builds up the land, but he who exacts gifts tears it down.

selected passages from Proverbs

“You have made us for yourself, and our hearts are restless, until they can find rest in you.”

~ Augustine (354-430), North African bishop, theologian, philosopher and author

“There can be no maturity in the spiritual life, no obedience in following Jesus, no wholeness in the Christian life, apart from an immersion in, and embrace of, community. I am not myself by myself.”

~ Eugene Peterson (1932-2018), American minister and writer

“You sum up the whole of New Testament religion if you describe it as the knowledge of God as one’s holy Father. If you want to judge how well a person understands Christianity, find out how much he makes of the thought of being God’s child, and having God as his Father. If this is not the thought that prompts and controls his worship and

~ J.I. Packer (1926-present), British-born, Canadian theologian & writer

“Corporate worship is designed to cause you to run from the kingdom of self and run to the kingdom of God, to dethrone yourself and to give your life to celebrating and serving the King of Kings everywhere you are and in whatever you do.”

~ Paul Tripp (1950-present), American pastor and author

“A church community frees you from the crushing weight of self-obsession. It frees you to be part of something bigger than yourself, with people who are not like you. It frees you from the bias-confirming bubbles of only being exposed to like-minded people who always affirm but never challenge you. It frees you from the burden of being accountable only to yourself: what you believe, how you like to worship, how you interpret the Bible, how you want to live and so on. When we are the only authority on these things, it’s hard to become wise.”

~ Brett McCracken, contemporary writer, film critic and pastor

selected passages from Proverbs (ESV)

Proverbs 1:7

“The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge; fools despise wisdom and instruction.”

Proverbs 3:5-6

“5 Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. 6 In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths.”

Proverbs 4:20-23

“20 My son, be attentive to my words; incline your ear to my sayings. 21 Let them not escape from your sight; keep them within your heart. 22 For they are life to those who find them, and healing to all their flesh. 23 Keep your heart with all vigilance, for from it flow the springs of life.”

Proverbs 6:20-22

“20 My son, keep your father’s commandment, and forsake not your mother’s teaching. 21 Bind them on your heart always; tie them around your neck. 22 When you walk, they will lead you; when you lie down, they will watch over you; and when you awake, they will talk with you.”

Proverbs 10:8

“The wise of heart will receive commandments, but a babbling fool will come to ruin.”

Proverbs 13:20

“Whoever walks with the wise becomes wise, but the companion of fools will suffer harm.”

Proverbs 20:5

“The purpose in a man’s heart is like deep water, but a man of understanding will draw it out.”

Proverbs 21:2

“Every way of a man is right in his own eyes, but the LORD weighs the heart.”

Proverbs 22:17-18

“17 Incline your ear, and hear the words of the wise, and apply your heart to my knowledge, 18 for it will be pleasant if you keep them within you, if all of them are ready on your lips.”

Proverbs 27:19

“As in water, face reflects face, so the heart of man reflects the man.”

Proverbs 11:24-25, 28, Proverbs 3:9-10, Matthew 6:1-4, 21

“I am not a greedy man. If I was, why would I donate to charity? I care about others as well.”

~John Rockefeller

“I know that a man who shows me his wealth is like the beggar who shows me his poverty; they are both looking for alms from me, the rich man for the alms of my envy, the poor man for the alms of my guilt.”

~Ben Hecht, American writer

“Take care, and be on your guard against all covetousness, for one’s life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions.”

~Jesus (Luke 12:15)

“All treasures will demand that you die for them, but Jesus – the greatest treasure – died for you. He lost everything for you. You are more valuable to Him than the universe — than even His own glory… YOU are His treasure! You are the ultimate treasure of His life.”

~Tim Keller

“It is more blessed to give than to receive.”

~Jesus (as recounted by the Apostle Paul in Acts 20:35)

“Why do we not observe how the charity of Christians to strangers… has done the most to advance their cause? For it is disgraceful that… the impious Galileans [aka Christians] support our poor in addition to their own, while everyone is able to see that our coreligionists lack aid from us!”

~Roman Emperor Julian, Letter to Arsacius, 360 AD

“I do not believe one can settle how much we ought to give. I am afraid the only safe rule is to give more than we can spare.”

~C.S. Lewis

Proverbs 11:24-25, 28, Proverbs 3:9-10, Matthew 6:1-4, 21 (ESV)

Proverbs 11

24 One gives freely, yet grows all the richer;

Proverbs 3

9 Honor the LORD with your wealth

Matthew 6

1 “Beware of practicing your righteousness before other people in order to be seen by them, for then you will have no reward from your Father who is in heaven.

2 “Thus, when you give to the needy, sound no trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may be praised by others. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward. 3 But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, 4 so that your giving may be in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you….

21 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

Proverbs 4:1-27

“Everybody’s got a hungry heart. Everybody’s got a hungry heart. Lay down your money and you play your part. Everybody’s got a hungry heart.”

~ Bruce Springsteen, singer, songwriter, and musician

“The soul’s deepest thirst is for God Himself, who has made us so that we can never be satisfied without Him.”

~ F.F. Bruce (1910-1990), English Biblical scholar, writer & professor

“You have made us for yourself, and our hearts are restless, until they can find rest in you.”

~ Augustine (354-430), North African bishop, theologian, philosopher and author

“You sum up the whole of New Testament religion if you describe it as the knowledge of God as one’s holy Father. If you want to judge how well a person understands Christianity, find out how much he makes of the thought of being God’s child, and having God as his Father. If this is not the thought that prompts and controls his worship and

~ J.I. Packer (1926-present), British-born Canadian theologian and writer

“Love is the only fire that is hot enough to melt the iron obstinacy of a creature’s will.”

~ Alexander MacLaren (1826-1910), English minister

“Deep in our timid hearts is a desire to be loved mildly, nothing more. That way, we retain control, we set the terms, we avoid risk. Our loving God, in His ferocious intensity, will have none of it. He defines the meaning of our lives, and we are saved from our anemic loves and brought by degrees into intense loves, like His own.”

~ Ray Ortlund (1949-present), American minister and author

Proverbs 4:1-27 (ESV)

1 Hear, O sons, a father’s instruction,

10 Hear, my son, and accept my words,

20 My son, be attentive to my words;