Proverbs 1:7 — Bible Verse Meaning & Context

Proverbs 1:7 reads: "The fear of Yahweh is the beginning of knowledge; but the foolish despise wisdom and instruction." — from the Old Testament, Proverbs (Wisdom literature). The full verse is shown above with both the World English Bible (WEB) and King James Version (KJV) translations side by side.

Proverbs 1:7 is in the book of Proverbs, traditionally attributed to Solomon (primarily), Agur, Lemuel and written around c. 970–700 BC. Proverbs is wisdom literature in the Old Testament, originally addressed to Young men learning the wisdom of the covenant. Best known for "trust in the LORD with all your heart" (3:5-6).

Proverbs 1:7 is primarily a Bible verse about Wisdom. Within Proverbs, Proverbs offers practical, observable wisdom for living under God in the everyday world — speech, money, marriage, friendship, work, anger. Read the full passage above with surrounding context.

Proverbs 1:7 in the World English Bible (WEB) reads: "The fear of Yahweh is the beginning of knowledge; but the foolish despise wisdom and instruction.". The King James Version (KJV) reads: "The fear3374 of the LORD3068 is the beginning7225 of knowledge1847: but fools191 despise936 wisdom2451 and instruction4148. the beginning: or, the principal part". The WEB is a modern public-domain translation that updates the KJV's 1611 English while keeping a similar formal-equivalence style. Both render the same underlying Greek or Hebrew text.

Proverbs 1:7 is 16 words in the WEB translation (97 characters), broken into 2 clauses. It is short and well-suited to memorisation. Estimated reading time is about 5 seconds.

To memorise Proverbs 1:7, split it into its 2 natural clauses and learn one at a time. Repeat the full verse out loud five times, then write it from memory. Saving the verse as a photo wallpaper using our verse image studio helps daily review — the visual association with a memorable background dramatically improves recall.

Proverbs offers practical, observable wisdom for living under God in the everyday world — speech, money, marriage, friendship, work, anger. Its core thesis is in 1:7: "The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge." Chapter 31 closes with the famous portrait of the wise woman whose worth is "far above rubies." Proverbs 1:7 sits within this larger story — Proverbs as a whole emphasises wisdom, fear of the LORD, speech.

Many readers use Proverbs 1:7 as a daily reminder verse — saving it as a phone wallpaper, sharing it on Pinterest, or memorising it for prayer. The verse studio on this page lets you download Proverbs 1:7 on 52 different backgrounds for free. Pair the verse with the surrounding chapter context shown above to understand its full meaning before applying it.