Proverbs 9:10

Wisdom begins with reverence for God and grows through knowing Him. This verse echoes the book's opening theme and serves as a capstone to the first major section of Proverbs. Where 1:7 spoke of the "beginning of knowledge," here it is the "beginning of wisdom" -- the same foundation, now linked to the skill of living rightly.

The verse forms a parallel pair that deepens the thought. The first line says reverence for God is where wisdom starts. The second line adds that "the knowledge of the holy is understanding." The phrase points to knowing God Himself, the Holy One, as the path to true discernment. Wisdom, then, is not finally about techniques or clever strategies; it is about a relationship with the One who is the source of all that is good and true. To know Him is to begin to understand everything else rightly. The placement of this verse is significant: it crowns the long appeal of chapters 1-9, in which wisdom has called out repeatedly in the streets. The conclusion is that all the instruction offered rests on this single root. A person may accumulate facts and skills, but without reverence for God and knowledge of Him, the deepest wisdom remains out of reach. Reverence opens the door; knowing God walks the reader through it.