Proverbs Bible Study Questions and Answers (Free PDF)

Proverbs 1:2-6 says the book is for gaining wisdom and instruction, and for understanding words of insight. It is for the simple and the learned alike. Proverbs 1:7 says, "The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and instruction."

Historic Christian teaching reads the fear of the Lord as reverent awe before a holy and loving God, not terror. It comes first because every other kind of knowledge is bent when we set God aside. Wisdom starts with knowing who God is and who we are.

Leader's note: This question invites honesty about the places we trust our own judgment. Let people name one decision they are facing. Do not rush to give advice. Ask what listening to God, and to wise people, might look like this week.

The son is to receive his father's words, listen closely, call out for insight, and search for wisdom as for hidden treasure (Proverbs 2:1-4). Verse 6 says the Lord gives wisdom, and from his mouth come knowledge and understanding.

Proverbs 3:5-6 says, "Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight." Trust here is not a lack of thought. It is placing our thinking under God's rule. Readers take the straight paths as God's faithful guidance, not a promise that every road will be easy.

Leader's note: This question is meant to be gentle. Many of us trust God in words and lean on ourselves in practice. Give the group quiet time to name one area, and pray for each other to take one step of trust.

The father says wisdom is supreme, so get wisdom (Proverbs 4:7). In Proverbs 4:23 he says, "Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it."

The heart in Scripture is the center of a person, where desire, thought, and will meet. If it goes wrong, everything does. Proverbs 4:25-27 gives it practical shape, look straight ahead and keep your feet from evil. Guarding the heart means watching what we look at and where we walk.

Leader's note: This question can be tender, since it touches habits people may feel ashamed of. Keep it honest and kind. Remind the group that God's mercy meets us in the same place his warnings do.

The ant has no commander, yet it stores its food in summer (Proverbs 6:6-8). The Lord hates haughty eyes, a lying tongue, hands that shed innocent blood, a heart that plots evil, feet quick to rush into evil, a false witness, and one who stirs up conflict (Proverbs 6:16-19).

Proverbs 7:21-23 shows the young man led on by smooth words, like an ox to slaughter, not knowing it will cost him his life. He lacks judgment (Proverbs 7:7), and he drifts into her street at twilight (Proverbs 7:8-9). Sin often works by small steps and flattery, not a leap.

Leader's note: Invite the group to name the small step, not the big fall. Proverbs 7:25 says not to let your heart turn to her ways. Encourage each person to think of one trusted friend, and pray that they would be brave enough to invite that friend in.

Wisdom says in Proverbs 8:11, "for wisdom is more precious than rubies, and nothing you desire can compare with her." She says she was there with the Lord at the beginning, before the earth was made, and was a delight to him (Proverbs 8:22-31).

Both women call from the heights of the city to the simple (Proverbs 9:3-4, 9:14-16). Wisdom offers bread and wine and life (Proverbs 9:5-6). Folly offers stolen water and a secret, yet her guests are in the realm of the dead (Proverbs 9:17-18). Proverbs 9:10 gives the key, "The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom, and knowledge of the Holy One is understanding."

Leader's note: This question asks for a choice, not a confession. Let people name a voice they are tempted to follow. Many Christian readers see Christ, who is called the wisdom of God in 1 Corinthians 1:24, as the fullest answer to Wisdom's call.

Proverbs 12:18 says, "The words of the reckless pierce like swords, but the tongue of the wise brings healing." Proverbs 15:1 says, "A gentle answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger."

Proverbs 18:21 says, "The tongue has the power of life and death, and those who love it will eat its fruit." Words shape the people who hear them and the one who speaks. Proverbs 10:19 adds that sin is not absent when words are many, and the prudent hold their tongues.

Leader's note: Give room for hurt as well as habit. Some will name words spoken to them. Others will name words they regret. Ask the group to think of one person who needs a kind word, and let each person make a plan to speak it.

Proverbs 10:4 says, "Lazy hands make for poverty, but diligent hands bring wealth." In Proverbs 30:8-9, Agur asks God to give him neither poverty nor riches, only his daily bread, lest he be full and deny God or be poor and steal.

Proverbs 11:24-25 says the one who gives freely gains even more, and the generous will prosper. Proverbs 11:28 says whoever trusts in riches will fall. Readers take these as wise general patterns, not promises of payment, that show the heart holds money loosely when it trusts God.

Leader's note: Money can bring shame or pride, so keep this question kind. Ask people to name one habit, whether saving, giving, or working, that they want to grow in. See also what the Bible says about money.

Proverbs 17:17 says, "A friend loves at all times, and a brother is born for a time of adversity." Proverbs 27:17 says, "As iron sharpens iron, so one person sharpens another." Proverbs 13:20 says whoever walks with the wise grows wise, and a companion of fools suffers harm.

Proverbs 15:18 says a hot-tempered person stirs up conflict, but the one who is patient calms a quarrel. Proverbs 16:32 says patience is better than a warrior, and one who controls his temper is better than one who takes a city. Self-control is counted as a strength, not a weakness.

Leader's note: Invite the group to think of a friend who has been iron to them, and to thank that person this week. For anger, allow quiet. Some will be carrying heavy things, and the goal is to bring them to God, not fix them.

Proverbs 16:18 says, "Pride goes before destruction, a haughty spirit before a fall." Proverbs 11:2 says when pride comes, then comes disgrace, but with humility comes wisdom.

Proverbs 18:12 says before a downfall the heart is proud, but humility comes before honor. Proverbs 3:34 says God mocks the proud but shows favor to the humble. James 4:6 and 1 Peter 5:5 quote this to the church, so the same Lord who resists pride gives grace to the humble.

Leader's note: This question asks people to name a time they would not bend. Model it by sharing your own. Keep the tone gentle, and close by praying for a humble heart in the group.

Lemuel's mother tells him to speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves and to defend the rights of the poor and needy (Proverbs 31:8-9). The woman is trustworthy (31:11), diligent (31:13-18), generous to the poor (31:20), wise in her speech (31:26), and looks after her household (31:27).

Proverbs 31:30 says, "Charm is deceptive, and beauty is fleeting; but a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised." The poem ends where the book began. Wisdom is the fear of the Lord, and it shows in the work of ordinary days.

Leader's note: Handle this carefully, since this passage has burdened many women. Read it as a portrait of wisdom that all of us, men and women, are invited to grow into. Ask which quality the group would most like to see in themselves.