Proverbs 1
1 These are the proverbs of Solomon son of David, king of Israel,
The Proverbs of Solomon son of David, who reigned in Israel;
2 for gaining wisdom and discipline, for comprehending words of insight,
to know wisdom and instruction, and to perceive words of understanding;
3 and for receiving instruction in wise living and in righteousness, justice, and equity.
to receive also hard saying, and to understand true justice, and [how] to direct judgment;
4 To impart prudence to the simple and knowledge and discretion to the young,
that he might give subtlety to the simple, and to the young man discernment and understanding.
5 let the wise listen and gain instruction, and the discerning acquire wise counsel
For by the hearing of these a wise man will be wiser, and man of understanding will gain direction;
6 by understanding the proverbs and parables, the sayings and riddles of the wise.
and will understand a parable, and a dark speech; the saying of the wise also, and riddles.
7 The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and discipline.
The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom; and [there is] good understanding to all that practise it: and piety toward God is the beginning of discernment; but the ungodly will set at nothing wisdom and instruction.
8 Listen, my son, to your father’s instruction, and do not forsake the teaching of your mother.
Hear, [my] son, the instruction of your father, and reject not the rules of your mother.
9 For they are a garland of grace on your head and a pendant around your neck.
For you shall receive for your head a crown of graces, and a chain of gold round your neck.
10 My son, if sinners entice you, do not yield to them.
[My] son, let not ungodly men lead you astray, neither consent you [to them].
11 If they say, “Come along, let us lie in wait for blood, let us ambush the innocent without cause,
If they should exhort you, saying, Come with us, partake in blood, and let us unjustly hide the just man in the earth:
12 let us swallow them alive like Sheol, and whole like those descending into the Pit. (Sheol h7585)
and let us swallow him alive, as Hades [would], and remove the memorial of him from the earth: (Sheol h7585)
13 We will find all manner of precious goods; we will fill our houses with plunder.
let us seize on his valuable property, and let us fill our houses with spoils:
14 Throw in your lot with us; let us all share one purse”—
but do you cast in your lot with us, and let us all provide a common purse, and let us have one pouch:
15 my son, do not walk the road with them or set foot upon their path.
go not in the way with them, but turn aside your foot from their paths:
16 For their feet run to evil, and they are swift to shed blood.
[For their feet run to do evil, and are swift to shed blood. ]
17 How futile it is to spread the net where any bird can see it!
for nets are not without cause spread for birds.
18 But they lie in wait for their own blood; they ambush their own lives.
For they that are concerned in murder store up evils for themselves; and the overthrow of transgressors is evil.
19 Such is the fate of all who are greedy, whose unjust gain takes the lives of its possessors.
These are the ways of all that perform lawless deeds; for by ungodliness they destroy their own life.
20 Wisdom calls out in the street, she lifts her voice in the square;
Wisdom sings aloud in passages, and in the broad places speaks boldly.
21 in the main concourse she cries aloud, at the city gates she makes her speech:
And she makes proclamation on the top of the walls, and sits by the gates of princes; and at the gates of the city boldly says,
22 “How long, O simple ones, will you love your simple ways? How long will scoffers delight in their scorn and fools hate knowledge?
So long as the simple cleave to justice, they shall not be ashamed: but the foolish being lovers of haughtiness, having become ungodly have hated knowledge, and are become subject to reproofs.
23 If 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.
Behold, I will bring forth to you the utterance of my breath, and I will instruct you in my speech.
24 Because you refused my call, and no one took my outstretched hand,
Since I called, and you did not listen; and I spoke at length, and you gave no heed;
25 because you neglected all my counsel, and wanted none of my correction,
but you set at nothing my counsels, and disregarded my reproofs;
26 in turn I will mock your calamity; I will sneer when terror strikes you,
therefore I also will laugh at your destruction; and I will rejoice against [you] when ruin comes upon you:
27 when your dread comes like a storm, and your destruction like a whirlwind, when distress and anguish overwhelm you.
yes when dismay suddenly comes upon you, and [your] overthrow shall arrive like a tempest; and when tribulation and distress shall come upon you, or when ruin shall come upon you.
28 Then they will call on me, but I will not answer; they will earnestly seek me, but will not find me.
For it shall be that when you call upon me, I will not listen to you: wicked men shall seek me, but shall not find [me].
29 For they hated knowledge and chose not to fear the LORD.
For they hated wisdom, and did not choose the word of the Lord:
30 They accepted none of my counsel; they despised all my reproof.
neither would they attend to my counsels, but derided my reproofs.
31 So they will eat the fruit of their own way, and be filled with their own devices.
Therefore shall they eat the fruits of their own way, and shall be filled with their own ungodliness.
32 For the waywardness of the simple will slay them, and the complacency of fools will destroy them.
For because they wronged the simple, they shall be slain; and an inquisition shall ruin the ungodly.
33 But whoever listens to me will dwell in safety, secure from the fear of evil.”
But he that hearkens to me shall dwell in confidence, and shall rest securely from all evil.
