Proverbs 1
1 The parables of Solomon, son of David, king of Israel,
The proverbs of Solomon the son of David, the king of Israel:
2 in order to know wisdom and discipline,
To know wisdom and instruction; to comprehend the sayings of understanding;
3 to understand words of prudence, and to accept the instruction of doctrine, justice and judgment, and equity,
To accept the instruction of intelligence, righteousness, and justice, and equity;
4 so as to give discernment to little ones, knowledge and understanding to adolescents.
To give to the simple prudence, to the youth knowledge and discretion.
5 By listening, the wise shall become wiser and the intelligent shall possess governments.
The wise will hear, and will increase [his] information; and the man of understanding will obtain wise counsels:
6 He shall turn his soul to a parable and to its interpretation, to the words of the wise and their enigmas.
To understand a proverb, and a sage sentence; the words of the wise, and their riddles.
7 The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. The foolish despise wisdom as well as doctrine.
The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge: wisdom and instruction fools [alone] despise.
8 Listen, my son, to the discipline of your father, and forsake not the law of your mother,
Hear, my son, the instruction of thy father, and cast not off the teaching of thy mother;
9 so that grace may be added to your head and a collar to your neck.
For a wreath of grace are they unto thy head, and chains for thy throat.
10 My son, if sinners should entice you, do not consent to them.
My son, if sinners wish to entice thee, consent thou not.
11 If they should say: “Come with us. We will lie in wait for blood. We will lay traps against the innocent, without cause.
If they should say, Come with us, let us lie in wait for blood, let us watch in concealment for the uselessly innocent;
We will swallow them up like the grave alive; and the men of integrity, as those that go down into the pit; (Sheol h7585)
13 We will discover every precious substance. We will fill our houses with spoils.
We shall find all [kinds of] precious wealth, we will fill our houses with booty;
14 Cast your lot with us. One purse will be for us all.”
Thy lot must thou cast in our midst; one purse shall be for us all:
15 My son, do not walk with them. Preclude your feet from their paths.
My son, walk not thou on the way with them; withhold thy foot from their path;
16 For their feet rush to evil, and they hurry to shed blood.
For their feet run after evil, and they make haste to shed blood.
17 But a net is thrown in vain before the eyes of those who have wings.
For uselessly is the net spread out before the eyes of every winged bird:
18 Likewise, they lie in ambush against their own blood, and they undertake deceits against their own souls.
While they lie in wait for their [own] blood; they watch in concealment for their [own] lives.
19 Thus, the ways of all those who are greedy seize the souls of those who possess.
So are the paths of every one that is greedy after [unlawful] gain; it taketh away the life of those that own it.
20 Wisdom forewarns far and wide; she bestows her voice in the streets.
Wisdom crieth loudly without; in the public places she uttereth her voice;
21 She cries out at the head of crowds; at the entrance of the gates of the city, she offers her words, saying:
At the corner of noisy streets she calleth, at the entrances of gates; in the city she sayeth her speeches:
22 “Little ones, how long will you choose to be childish, and how long will the foolish desire what is harmful to themselves, and how long will the imprudent hate knowledge?
How long, ye simple ones, will ye love simplicity? and the scorners take their delight in scorning, and fools hate knowledge?
23 Be converted by my correction. Lo, I will offer my spirit to you, and I will reveal my words to you.
Turn back to my admonition: behold, I will pour out my spirit unto you, I will make known my words unto you.
24 For I called, and you refused. I extended my hand, and there was no one who watched.
Whereas I called, and ye refused; I stretched out my hand, and no man was attentive;
25 You have despised all my counsels, and you have neglected my rebukes.
And ye have set at nought all my counsel, and would not accept my admonition:
26 Similarly, I will ridicule you at your demise, and I will mock you, when that which you feared shall overcome you.
[Therefore] I also will truly laugh at your calamity; I will deride [you] when your terror cometh;
27 When sudden calamity rushes upon you, and your demise advances like a tempest, when tribulation and anguish overcome you,
When your terror cometh like the tempest-cloud, and your calamity hasteneth like a whirlwind; when there come upon you distress and affliction.
28 then they will call to me, and I will not heed, they will arise in the morning, and not find me.
Then will they call me, but I will not answer; they will seek me earnestly, but they shall not find me;
29 For they held hatred for discipline, and they would not accept the fear of the Lord;
For the reason that they hated knowledge, and the fear of the Lord they did not choose;
30 they would not consent to my counsel, but they detracted from all of my corrections.
[That] they would not attend to my counsel: [that] they rejected all my admonition.
31 Therefore, they shall eat the fruit of their way, and they shall have their fill of their own counsels.
Therefore shall they eat of the fruit of their own way, and from their own counsels shall they be satisfied.
32 The loathing of the little ones shall destroy them, and the prosperity of the foolish shall perish them.
For the defection of the simple will slay them, and the prosperity of fools will cause them to be lost.
33 But whoever will listen to me shall rest without terror, and shall have full enjoyment of abundance, without fear of evils.”
But he that hearkeneth unto me shall dwell safely, and shall be at rest from the dread of evil.
