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Rating: 
Summary: Try it.
Review: I enjoyed this book. It's full of good stuff - as you would expect proverbs and what may be more accurately termed aphorisms - which relate universal truths. You don't have to be a Christian or even religious to get something out of "Proverbs".I found it best to dip in and out of "Proverbs" rather than attempt it in one go. Many of the individual proverbs deserve some time for considered thought. Also, at times the proverbs are very repetitive (for example "spare the rod and spoil the child" crops up in multiple versions) - this could be a distraction if you're trying to get through them all at one sitting. Several things struck me about this book. Firstly "Proverbs" felt very conservative in tone - one is told repeatedly to follow your father's advice without question (...). Know thy place, in other words. They are also very masculine, which no doubt will irritate some female readers (Proverb 31 in particular lays down the duties of a good wife). Yet perhaps one should take an understanding view of this given the age of the book. Modern readers may have problems reconciling the injunction that the search for knowledge and understanding is good. (...) This seemed to me to reflect the problem (addressed more directly in "The Book of Job") that knowledge and understanding can only operate within the limits imposed by God. Beyond that, do not stray. So, what appears unjust and inexplicable is best left as such, as it will make sense to God. This is the "leap of faith" which sceptics (like myself) cannot manage. "Proverbs" also assures us that the wicked get their comeuppance - yet is this really the case? Or does it mean in the next world - again faith is needed? (...)
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