Proverbs 1
1 The parables of Solomon, son of David, king of Israel,
The proverbs of Solomon, the son of David, king of Israel:
2 in order to know wisdom and discipline,
That one may learn wisdom and instruction, And receive words of understanding;
3 to understand words of prudence, and to accept the instruction of doctrine, justice and judgment, and equity,
That one may gain the instruction of prudence, Justice, equity, and uprightness;
4 so as to give discernment to little ones, knowledge and understanding to adolescents.
Which will give caution to the simple, To the young man wisdom and discretion;
5 By listening, the wise shall become wiser and the intelligent shall possess governments.
Let the wise man hear, and he will increase his knowledge, And the man of understanding will gain wise counsels;
6 He shall turn his soul to a parable and to its interpretation, to the words of the wise and their enigmas.
So as to understand a proverb and a deep maxim, The words of the wise and their dark sayings.
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; Fools despise wisdom and instruction.
8 Listen, my son, to the discipline of your father, and forsake not the law of your mother,
Hear, O my son! the instruction of thy father, And neglect not the teaching of thy mother!
9 so that grace may be added to your head and a collar to your neck.
For they shall be a graceful wreath for thy head, And a chain around thy neck.
10 My son, if sinners should entice you, do not consent to them.
My son, if sinners 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 say, “Come with us, Let us lie in wait for blood, Let us lurk secretly for him who is innocent in vain;
Let us swallow them up alive, like the underworld, Yea, in full health, 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 substance, We shall fill our houses with spoil;
14 Cast your lot with us. One purse will be for us all.”
Thou shalt cast thy lot among us; We will all have one purse;”—
15 My son, do not walk with them. Preclude your feet from their paths.
My son, walk thou not in their way, Refrain thy foot from their path!
16 For their feet rush to evil, and they hurry to shed blood.
For their feet run to evil, And make haste to shed blood.
17 But a net is thrown in vain before the eyes of those who have wings.
For as the net is spread in vain Before the eyes of any bird,
18 Likewise, they lie in ambush against their own blood, and they undertake deceits against their own souls.
So they lie in wait for their own blood; They lurk secretly for their own lives.
19 Thus, the ways of all those who are greedy seize the souls of those who possess.
Such are the ways of every one greedy of unjust gain; It taketh away the life of the possessor thereof.
20 Wisdom forewarns far and wide; she bestows her voice in the streets.
Wisdom crieth out in the highway; In the market-place 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 head of the noisy streets she crieth aloud; At the entrances of the gates, throughout the city, she proclaimeth her words [[saying]]:
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? How long will scoffers delight themselves in scoffing, 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 ye at my reproof! Behold, I will pour out my spirit to you; I will make known my words to you!
24 For I called, and you refused. I extended my hand, and there was no one who watched.
“Because I have called, and ye have refused, —Because I have stretched out my hand, and no one hath regarded.
25 You have despised all my counsels, and you have neglected my rebukes.
Because ye have rejected all my counsel, And have slighted my rebuke, —
26 Similarly, I will ridicule you at your demise, and I will mock you, when that which you feared shall overcome you.
I also will laugh at your calamity, I will mock when your fear cometh;
27 When sudden calamity rushes upon you, and your demise advances like a tempest, when tribulation and anguish overcome you,
When your fear cometh upon you like a storm. And destruction overtaketh you like a whirlwind, When distress and anguish come upon you.
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 upon me, but I will not answer! They will seek me early, But they shall not find me!
29 For they held hatred for discipline, and they would not accept the fear of the Lord;
Because they have hated knowledge, And have not chosen the fear of the LORD, —
30 they would not consent to my counsel, but they detracted from all of my corrections.
Because they would not attend to my counsel, And have despised all my reproof, —
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 be filled to the full with their own devices;
32 The loathing of the little ones shall destroy them, and the prosperity of the foolish shall perish them.
Yea, the turning away of the simple shall slay them, And the carelessness of fools shall destroy them.
33 But whoever will listen to me shall rest without terror, and shall have full enjoyment of abundance, without fear of evils.”
But whoso hearkeneth to me shall dwell securely, And shall not be disquieted with the fear of evil.”
