Bible Strands
Proverbs 1:6
by understanding the proverbs and parables, the sayings and riddles of the wise.
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — The author addresses the wise and discerning, framing the book’s instructional purpose after the call to listen and gain counsel in Proverbs 1:5.
The words — מָשָׁל (Ma.shol) denotes a proverb, while חִידָה (chi.do.Tah) denotes an enigma or riddle, both describing the compressed, indirect forms of the wise’s teaching.
The thread — This linguistic pattern appears in Psalms 78:2 and Psalms 49:4, where the psalmist similarly pairs proverbs and riddles to convey hidden wisdom, and surfaces in Mark 4:11 where Jesus distinguishes between disclosed mysteries and outside parables.
Why it lands — It requires the reader to actively decode indirect teaching rather than passively receive direct commands, treating comprehension as a disciplined exercise in pattern recognition.
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
To understand a proverb, and the interpretation; the words of the wise, and their dark sayings.
Cross-references
- Psalms 78:2 I will open my mouth in parables; I will utter things hidden from the beginning,
- Mark 4:11 He replied, “The mystery of the kingdom of God has been given to you, but to those on the outside everything is expressed in parables,
- Psalms 49:4 I will incline my ear to a proverb; I will express my riddle with the harp:
- Acts 8:30 So Philip ran up and heard the man reading Isaiah the prophet. “Do you understand what you are reading?” Philip asked.
- Hebrews 5:14 But solid food is for the mature, who by constant use have trained their senses to distinguish good from evil.
- Mark 4:34 He did not tell them anything without using a parable. But privately He explained everything to His own disciples.
- Ecclesiastes 12:11 The words of the wise are like goads, and the anthologies of the masters are like firmly embedded nails driven by a single Shepherd.
- Matthew 13:10 Then the disciples came to Jesus and asked, “Why do You speak to the people in parables?”
- Matthew 13:34 Jesus spoke all these things to the crowds in parables. He did not tell them anything without using a parable.
- Matthew 13:51 Have you understood all these things?” “Yes,” they answered.