Bible Strands
Proverbs 1:20
Wisdom calls out in the street, she lifts her voice in the square;
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — Wisdom addresses the urban populace in public thoroughfares, continuing the warning against greed from verse 19 and establishing the public stage for verse 21. The speaker is the personified figure of Wisdom, directing her proclamation to those who frequent the city streets and gates.
The words — חָכְמוֹת (Cha.khe.mot) = wisdom<s> and תָּרֹנָּה (ta.Ro.nah) = cries aloud denote a public, urgent proclamation rather than private instruction. The plural form emphasizes the multifaceted nature of the teaching being offered.
The thread — The motif of Wisdom calling out in public spaces recurs in Proverbs 8:1 and Proverbs 9:3. Colossians 2:3 later locates the full expression of this wisdom in Christ.
Why it lands — It demands immediate attention to accessible truth and warns against ignoring clear instruction. The reader must choose to heed public warning before it becomes too late.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Hebrew words
King James Version
Wisdom crieth without; she uttereth her voice in the streets:
Cross-references
- Proverbs 9:3 She has sent out her maidservants; she calls out from the heights of the city.
- Colossians 2:3 in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.
- Proverbs 8:1 Does not wisdom call out, and understanding raise her voice?
- Luke 11:49 Because of this, the wisdom of God said, ‘I will send them prophets and apostles; some of them they will kill and others they will persecute.’
- 1 Corinthians 1:24 but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God.
- Matthew 13:54 Coming to His hometown, He taught the people in their synagogue, and they were astonished. “Where did this man get such wisdom and miraculous powers?” they asked.
- 1 Corinthians 1:30 It is because of Him that you are in Christ Jesus, who has become for us wisdom from God: our righteousness, holiness, and redemption.
- John 7:37 On the last and greatest day of the feast, Jesus stood up and called out in a loud voice, “If anyone is thirsty, let him come to Me and drink.