Proverbs 1:4

“To teach shrewdness to the simple, knowledge and prudence to the young.”

Verse four explains that the Proverbs will fundamentally alter the reader through teaching. The simple will become shrewd, and the young will gain knowledge and prudence. Again, verse four is stylistically similar to the previous two verses.

The key word here is teach. To teach means “to impart knowledge to or instruct (someone) in how to do something, especially in a structured format.” Yesterday we defined instruction as “detailed information about how something should be done.” If instructions are the content being presented, then the act of reading and learning from those instructions is the process of teaching.

The verse continues by presenting two types of people who will benefit from this teaching. The first is the simple person. This simple person will likely be a recurring character throughout the book. If the simple person reads the instruction and responds to the imparted knowledge, they will become shrewd, meaning they will develop sharp powers of judgment. This observation leads to an important implication about the simple person: they currently lack that judgment. The simple person would therefore be easily misled, fooled, or mistaken because they lack discernment.

The second character is the young person. This may also be a recurring character throughout the book. The young person gains knowledge and prudence.

Knowledge refers to the accumulation of information and understanding about the world. Prudence, however, goes a step further. Prudence involves the careful and wise application of that knowledge in decision-making. A young person may possess energy and opportunity but lack experience. The Proverbs claim that through instruction, the young can gain both the understanding needed to see situations clearly and the judgment needed to act wisely.

There may also be an implied relationship between these two ideas. Knowledge provides the information necessary to understand a situation, while prudence guides how a person should act within it. In this way, the Proverbs aim not only to inform the reader but also to shape how the reader makes decisions.