Proverbs 1
1 The Proverbs of Solomon son of David, who reigned in Israel;
Proverbs of Solomon, son of David, king of Israel:
2 to know wisdom and instruction, and to perceive words of understanding;
For knowing wisdom and instruction, For understanding sayings of intelligence,
3 to receive also hard saying, and to understand true justice, and [how] to direct judgment;
For receiving the instruction of wisdom, Righteousness, judgment, and uprightness,
4 that he might give subtlety to the simple, and to the young man discernment and understanding.
For giving to simple ones—prudence, To a youth—knowledge and discretion.
5 For by the hearing of these a wise man will be wiser, and man of understanding will gain direction;
(The wise hear and increase learning, And the intelligent obtain counsels.)
6 and will understand a parable, and a dark speech; the saying of the wise also, and riddles.
For understanding a proverb and its sweetness, Words of the wise and their acute sayings.
7 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 nought wisdom and instruction.
Fear of YHWH [is the] beginning of knowledge, Fools have despised wisdom and instruction!
8 Hear, [my] son, the instruction of thy father, and reject not the rules of thy mother.
Hear, my son, the instruction of your father, And do not leave the law of your mother,
9 For thou shalt receive for thine head a crown of graces, and a chain of gold round thy neck.
For they [are] a graceful wreath to your head, And chains to your neck.
10 [My] son, let not ungodly men lead thee astray, neither consent thou [to them].
My son, if sinners entice you, do not be willing.
11 If they should exhort thee, saying, Come with us, partake in blood, and let us unjustly hide the just man in the earth:
If they say, “Come with us, we lay wait for blood, We watch secretly for the innocent without cause,
12 and let us swallow him alive, as Hades [would], and remove the memorial of him from the earth: (Sheol h7585)
We swallow them as Sheol—alive, And whole—as those going down [to] the pit, (Sheol h7585)
13 let us seize on his valuable property, and let us fill our houses with spoils:
We find every precious substance, We fill our houses [with] spoil,
14 but do thou cast in thy lot with us, and let us all provide a common purse, and let us have one pouch:
You cast your lot among us, One purse is—to all of us.”
15 go not in the way with them, but turn aside thy foot from their paths:
My son! Do not go in the way with them, Withhold your foot from their path,
16 [For their feet run to do evil, and are swift to shed blood. ]
For their feet run to evil, And they hurry to shed blood.
17 for nets are not without cause spread for birds.
Surely in vain is the net spread out before the eyes of any bird.
18 For they that are concerned in murder store up evils for themselves; and the overthrow of transgressors is evil.
And they lay wait for their own blood, They watch secretly for their own lives.
19 These are the ways of all that perform lawless deeds; for by ungodliness they destroy their own life.
So [are] the paths of every gainer of dishonest gain, It takes the life of its owners.
20 Wisdom sings aloud in passages, and in the broad places speaks boldly.
Wisdom cries aloud in an out-place, She gives forth her voice in broad places,
21 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,
She calls at the head of the multitudes, In the openings of the gates, In the city she says her sayings:
22 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.
“Until when, you simple, do you love simplicity? And have scorners desired their scorning? And do fools hate knowledge?
23 Behold, I will bring forth to you the utterance of my breath, and I will instruct you in my speech.
Turn back at my reproof, behold, I pour forth my spirit to you, I make known my words with you.
24 Since I called, and ye did not hearken; and I spoke at length, and ye gave no heed;
Because I have called, and you refuse, I stretched out my hand, and none is attending,
25 but ye set at nought my counsels, and disregarded my reproofs;
And you slight all my counsel, And you have not desired my reproof.
26 therefore I also will laugh at your destruction; and I will rejoice against [you] when ruin comes upon you:
I also laugh in your calamity, I deride when your fear comes,
27 yea 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.
When your fear comes as destruction, And your calamity comes as a windstorm, When adversity and distress come on you.
28 For it shall be that when ye call upon me, I will not hearken to you: wicked men shall seek me, but shall not find [me].
Then they call me, and I do not answer, They seek me earnestly, and do not find me.
29 For they hated wisdom, and did not choose the word of the Lord:
Because that they have hated knowledge, And have not chosen the fear of YHWH.
30 neither would they attend to my counsels, but derided my reproofs.
They have not consented to my counsel, They have despised all my reproof,
31 Therefore shall they eat the fruits of their own way, and shall be filled with their own ungodliness.
And they eat of the fruit of their way, And they are filled from their own counsels.
32 For because they wronged the simple, they shall be slain; and an inquisition shall ruin the ungodly.
For the turning of the simple slays them, And the security of the foolish destroys them.
33 But he that hearkens to me shall dwell in confidence, and shall rest securely from all evil.
And whoever is listening to me dwells confidently, And [is] quiet from fear of evil!”
