Proverbs 1:7

The Message

Start with God—the first step in learning is bowing down to God; only fools thumb their noses at such wisdom and learning.

Cross References

Proverbs 1:22

“Simpletons! How long will you wallow in ignorance? Cynics! How long will you feed your cynicism? Idiots! How long will you refuse to learn? About face! I can revise your life. Look, I’m ready to pour out my spirit on you; I’m ready to tell you all I know. As it is, I’ve called, but you’ve turned a deaf ear; I’ve reached out to you, but you’ve ignored me.

Proverbs 15:32

An undisciplined, self-willed life is puny; an obedient, God-willed life is spacious.

Proverbs 15:33

Fear-of-God is a school in skilled living— first you learn humility, then you experience glory.

Proverbs 15:5

Moral dropouts won’t listen to their elders; welcoming correction is a mark of good sense.

Proverbs 18:2

Fools care nothing for thoughtful discourse; all they do is run off at the mouth.

Proverbs 23:9

Don’t bother talking sense to fools; they’ll only poke fun at your words.

Romans 1:28

Since they didn’t bother to acknowledge God, God quit bothering them and let them run loose. And then all hell broke loose: rampant evil, grabbing and grasping, vicious backstabbing. They made life hell on earth with their envy, wanton killing, bickering, and cheating. Look at them: mean-spirited, venomous, fork-tongued God-bashers. Bullies, swaggerers, insufferable windbags! They keep inventing new ways of wrecking lives. They ditch their parents when they get in the way. Stupid, slimy, cruel, cold-blooded. And it’s not as if they don’t know better. They know perfectly well they’re spitting in God’s face. And they don’t care—worse, they hand out prizes to those who do the worst things best!