Proverbs 1

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

²That one may learn wisdom and instruction, And receive words of understanding;

³That one may gain the instruction of prudence, Justice, equity, and uprightness;

⁴Which will give caution to the simple, To the young man wisdom and discretion;

⁵Let the wise man hear, and he will increase his knowledge, And the man of understanding will gain wise counsels;

⁶So as to understand a proverb and a deep maxim, The words of the wise and their dark sayings.

⁷The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge; Fools despise wisdom and instruction.

⁸Hear, O my son! the instruction of thy father, And neglect not the teaching of thy mother!

⁹For they shall be a graceful wreath for thy head, And a chain around thy neck.

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

¹¹If they say, "Come with us, Let us lie in wait for blood, Let us lurk secretly for him who is innocent in vain;

¹²Let us swallow them up alive, like the underworld, Yea, in full health, as those that go down into the pit;

¹³We shall find all kinds of 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 thou not in their way, Refrain thy foot from their path!

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

¹⁷For as the net is spread in vain Before the eyes of any bird,

¹⁸So they lie in wait for their own blood; They lurk secretly for their own lives.

¹⁹Such are the ways of every one greedy of unjust gain; It taketh away the life of the possessor thereof.

²⁰Wisdom crieth out in the highway; In the market-place she uttereth her voice;

²¹At the head of the noisy streets she crieth aloud; At the entrances of the gates, throughout the city, she proclaimeth her words [saying]:

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

²³Turn ye at my reproof! Behold, I will pour out my spirit to you; I will make known my words to you!

²⁴"Because I have called, and ye have refused,—Because I have stretched out my hand, and no one hath regarded.

²⁵Because ye have rejected all my counsel, And have slighted my rebuke,—

²⁶I also will laugh at your calamity, I will mock when your fear cometh;

²⁷When your fear cometh upon you like a storm. And destruction overtaketh you like a whirlwind, When distress and anguish come upon you.

²⁸Then will they call upon me, but I will not answer! They will seek me early, But they shall not find me!

²⁹Because they have hated knowledge, And have not chosen the fear of the LORD,—

³⁰Because they would not attend to my counsel, And have despised all my reproof,—

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

³²Yea, the turning away of the simple shall slay them, And the carelessness of fools shall destroy them.

³³But whoso hearkeneth to me shall dwell securely, And shall not be disquieted with the fear of evil."

Proverbs 1

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

²To know wisdom and instruction; to perceive the words of understanding;

³To receive the instruction of wisdom, justice, and judgment, and equity;

⁴To give subtilty to the simple, to the young man knowledge and discretion.

⁵A wise man will hear, and will increase learning; and a man of understanding shall attain unto wise counsels:

⁶To understand a proverb, and the interpretation; the words of the wise, and their dark sayings.

⁷The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge: but fools despise wisdom and instruction.

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

⁹For they shall be an ornament 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 the grave; and whole, as those that go down into the pit:

¹³We shall find all precious substance, we shall fill our houses with spoil:

¹⁴Cast in thy lot among us; let us 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 make haste to shed blood.

¹⁷Surely in vain the net is spread in the sight of any bird.

¹⁸And they 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; which taketh away the life of the owners thereof.

²⁰Wisdom crieth without; she uttereth her voice in the streets:

²¹She crieth in the chief place of concourse, in the openings of the gates: in the city she uttereth her words, saying,

²²How long, ye simple ones, will ye love simplicity? and the scorners delight in their scorning, and fools hate knowledge?

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

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

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

²⁶I also will laugh at your calamity; I will mock when your fear cometh;

²⁷When your fear cometh as desolation, and your destruction cometh as a whirlwind; when distress and anguish cometh upon you.

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

²⁹For that they hated knowledge, and did not choose the fear of the Lord:

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 turning away of the simple shall slay them, and the prosperity of fools shall destroy them.

³³But whoso hearkeneth unto me shall dwell safely, and shall be quiet from fear of evil.