Proverbs

Proverbs is the Bible's manual of common sense. The first nine chapters form a father's address to a son, with wisdom personified as a woman calling out in the streets. From chapter 10 on come the short sayings, grouped without rigid thematic order: speech, laziness, money, drink, friendships, raising children, honesty in business. The organizing principle appears at the start: "the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom". It matters to read proverbs as general principles, not absolute promises — the book of Job itself shows the exceptions. The final chapter carries the poem of the woman of valor, an acrostic of the Hebrew alphabet.