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

¹Proverbs of Solomon, son of David, king of Israel:

²For knowing wisdom and instruction, For understanding sayings of intelligence,

³For receiving the instruction of wisdom, Righteousness, judgment, and uprightness,

⁴For giving to simple onesprudence, To a youthknowledge and discretion.

⁵(The wise doth hear and increaseth learning, And the intelligent doth obtain counsels.)

⁶For understanding a proverb and its sweetness, Words of the wise and their acute sayings.

⁷Fear of Jehovah is a beginning of knowledge, Wisdom and instruction fools have despised!

⁸Hear, my son, the instruction of thy father, And leave not the law of thy mother,

⁹For a graceful wreath are they to thy head, And chains to thy neck.

¹⁰My son, if sinners entice thee be not willing.

¹¹If they say, `Come with us, we lay wait for blood, We watch secretly for the innocent without cause,

¹²We swallow them as Sheolalive, And wholeas those going down to the pit,

¹³Every precious substance we find, We fill our houses with spoil,

¹⁴Thy lot thou dost cast among us, One purse isto all of us.'

¹⁵My son! go not in the way with them, Withhold thy foot from their path,

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

¹⁷Surely in vain is the net spread out before the eyes of any bird.

¹⁸And they for their own blood lay wait, They watch secretly for their own lives.

¹⁹So are the paths of every gainer of dishonest gain, The life of its owners it taketh.

²⁰Wisdom in an out-place crieth aloud, In broad places she giveth forth her voice,

²¹At the head of the multitudes she calleth, In the openings of the gates, In the city her sayings she saith:

²²`Till when, ye simple, do ye love simplicity? And have scorners their scorning desired? And do fools hate knowledge?

²³Turn back at my reproof, lo, I pour forth to you my spirit, I make known my words with you.

²⁴Because I have called, and ye refuse, I stretched out my hand, and none is attending,

²⁵And ye slight all my counsel, And my reproof ye have not desired.

²⁶I also in your calamity do laugh, I deride when your fear cometh,

²⁷When your fear cometh as destruction, And your calamity as a hurricane doth come, When on you come adversity and distress.

²⁸Then they call me, and I do not answer, They seek me earnestly, and find me not.

²⁹Because that they have hated knowledge, And the fear of Jehovah have not chosen.

³⁰They have not consented to my counsel, They have despised all my reproof,

³¹And they eat of the fruit of their way, And from their own counsels they are filled.

³²For the turning of the simple slayeth them, And the security of the foolish destroyeth them.

³³And whoso is hearkening to me dwelleth confidently, And is quiet from fear of evil!'