Proverbs 1

¹The proverbs of Solomon the son of David, king of Israel:

²To know wisdom and instruction; To discern the words of understanding;

³To receive instruction in wise dealing, In righteousness and justice and equity;

⁴To give prudence to the simple, To the young man knowledge and discretion:

⁵That the wise man may hear, and increase in learning; And that the man of understanding may attain unto sound counsels:

⁶To understand a proverb, and a figure, The words of the wise, and their dark sayings.

⁷The fear of Jehovah is the beginning of knowledge; Butthe foolish despise wisdom and instruction.

⁸My son, hear the instruction of thy father, And forsake not the law of thy mother:

⁹For they shall be a chaplet of grace unto thy head, And chains about thy neck.

¹⁰My son, if sinners entice thee, Consent thou not.

¹¹If they say, Come with us, Let us lay wait for blood; Let us lurk privily for the innocent without cause;

¹²Let us swallow them up alive as Sheol, And whole, as those that go down into the pit;

¹³We shall find all precious substance; We shall fill our houses with spoil;

¹⁴Thou shalt cast thy lot among us; We will all have one purse:

¹⁵My son, walk not thou in the way with them; Refrain thy foot from their path:

¹⁶For their feet run to evil, And they make haste to shed blood.

¹⁷For in vain is the net spread In the sight of any bird:

¹⁸And these lay wait for their own blood; They lurk privily for their own lives.

¹⁹So are the ways of every one that is greedy of gain; It taketh away the life of the owners thereof.

²⁰Wisdom crieth aloud in the street; She uttereth her voice in the broad places;

²¹She crieth in the chief place of concourse; At the entrance of the gates, In the city, she uttereth her words:

²²How long, ye simple ones, will ye love simplicity? And scoffers delight them in scoffing, And fools hate knowledge?

²³Turn you at my reproof: Behold, I will pour out my spirit upon you; I will make known my words unto you.

²⁴Because I have called, and ye have refused; I have stretched out my hand, and no man hath regarded;

²⁵But ye have set at nought all my counsel, And would none of my reproof:

²⁶I also will laugh inthe day ofyour calamity; I will mock when your fear cometh;

²⁷When your fear cometh as a storm, And your calamity cometh on as a whirlwind; When distress and anguish come upon you.

²⁸Then will they call upon me, but I will not answer; They will seek me diligently, but they shall not find me:

²⁹For that they hated knowledge, And did not choose the fear of Jehovah,

³⁰They would none of my counsel, They despised all my reproof.

³¹Therefore shall they eat of the fruit of their own way, And be filled with their own devices.

³²For the backsliding of the simple shall slay them, And the careless ease of fools shall destroy them.

³³But whoso hearkeneth unto me shall dwell securely, And shall be quiet without fear of evil.

Proverbs 1

¹These are the proverbs of Solomon son of David, king of Israel,

²for gaining wisdom and discipline, for comprehending words of insight,

³and for receiving instruction in wise living and in righteousness, justice, and equity.

⁴To impart prudence to the simple and knowledge and discretion to the young,

⁵let the wise listen and gain instruction, and the discerning acquire wise counsel

⁶by understanding the proverbs and parables, the sayings and riddles of the wise.

⁷The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and discipline.

⁸Listen, my son, to your father’s instruction, and do not forsake the teaching of your mother.

⁹For they are a garland of grace on your head and a pendant around your neck.

¹⁰My son, if sinners entice you, do not yield to them.

¹¹If they say, “Come along, let us lie in wait for blood, let us ambush the innocent without cause,

¹²let us swallow them alive like Sheol, and whole like those descending into the Pit.

¹³We will find all manner of precious goods; we will fill our houses with plunder.

¹⁴Throw in your lot with us; let us all share one purse”—

¹⁵my son, do not walk the road with them or set foot upon their path.

¹⁶For their feet run to evil, and they are swift to shed blood.

¹⁷How futile it is to spread the net where any bird can see it!

¹⁸But they lie in wait for their own blood; they ambush their own lives.

¹⁹Such is the fate of all who are greedy, whose unjust gain takes the lives of its possessors.

²⁰Wisdom calls out in the street, she lifts her voice in the square;

²¹in the main concourse she cries aloud, at the city gates she makes her speech:

²²“How long, O simple ones, will you love your simple ways? How long will scoffers delight in their scorn and fools hate knowledge?

²³If you had repented at my rebuke, then surely I would have poured out my spirit on you; I would have made my words known to you.

²⁴Because you refused my call, and no one took my outstretched hand,

²⁵because you neglected all my counsel, and wanted none of my correction,

²⁶in turn I will mock your calamity; I will sneer when terror strikes you,

²⁷when your dread comes like a storm, and your destruction like a whirlwind, when distress and anguish overwhelm you.

²⁸Then they will call on me, but I will not answer; they will earnestly seek me, but will not find me.

²⁹For they hated knowledge and chose not to fear the LORD.

³⁰They accepted none of my counsel; they despised all my reproof.

³¹So they will eat the fruit of their own way, and be filled with their own devices.

³²For the waywardness of the simple will slay them, and the complacency of fools will destroy them.

³³But whoever listens to me will dwell in safety, secure from the fear of evil.”