Proverbs 1:20-33

Proverbs 1:20-33

[20] Wisdom  crieth  without;  she uttereth  her voice  in the streets:  [21] She crieth  in the chief place  of concourse,  in the openings  of the gates:  in the city  she uttereth  her words,  [22] How long, ye simple ones,  will ye love  simplicity?  and the scorners  delight  in their scorning,  and fools  hate  knowledge?  [23] Turn  you at my reproof:  behold, I will pour out  my spirit  unto you, I will make known  my words  unto you. [24] Because I have called,  and ye refused;  I have stretched out  my hand,  and no man regarded;  [25] But ye have set at nought  all my counsel,  and would  none of my reproof:  [26] I also will laugh  at your calamity;  I will mock  when your fear  cometh;  [27] When your fear  cometh  and your destruction  cometh  as a whirlwind;  when distress  and anguish  cometh  upon you. [28] Then shall they call  upon me, but I will not answer;  they shall seek me early,  but they shall not find  [29] For that they hated  knowledge,  and did not choose  the fear  of the LORD:  [30] They would  none of my counsel:  they despised  all my reproof.  [31] Therefore shall they eat  of the fruit  of their own way,  and be filled  with their own devices.  [32] For the turning away  of the simple  shall slay  them, and the prosperity  of fools  shall destroy  [33] But whoso hearkeneth  unto me shall dwell  safely,  and shall be quiet  from fear  of evil. 

What does Proverbs 1:20-33 Mean?

Contextual Meaning

This is one of several passages in Proverbs where the writer personified wisdom. Her call comes to people in the market, in the hustle and bustle of life, not in the seclusion of the home or sanctuary (cf. Proverbs 1:8). [1]
"To whom does Wisdom speak? To three classes of sinners: the simple ones, the scorners (scoffers, mockers, NIV), and the fools ( Proverbs 1:22). The simple are naive people who believe anything ( Proverbs 14:15) but examine nothing. They"re gullible and easily led astray. Scorners think they know everything ( Proverbs 21:24) and laugh at the things that are really important. While the simple one has a blank look on his face, the scorner wears a sneer. Fools are people who are ignorant of truth because they"re dull and stubborn. Their problem isn"t a low IQ or poor education; their problem is a lack of spiritual desire to seek and find God"s wisdom. Fools enjoy their foolishness but don"t know how foolish they are! The outlook of fools is purely materialistic and humanistic. They hate knowledge and have no interest in things eternal." [2]
It is clear here that people have a choice about which way they will go. Their lives are to a large measure the result of their choices. The fool is one by his own fault, not by fate ( Proverbs 1:30-31). [3] Wisdom laughs at the fool"s calamity ( Proverbs 1:26), not because she is hard-hearted but because it is so absurd to choose folly ( Proverbs 1:26).
"The figure of laughing reveals the absurdity of choosing a foolish way of life and being totally unprepared for disaster." [4]
Proverbs 1:32-33 contrast the ultimate destruction of the unresponsive with the peaceful condition of the responsive.