Proverbs 1
1 Proverbs of Solomon, son of David, king of Israel:
The proverbs of Solomon son of David, the king of Israel.
2 to know wisdom and instruction; to discern the words of understanding;
These proverbs are to teach wisdom and instruction, to teach words of insight,
3 to receive the instruction of wisdom, righteousness and judgment, and equity;
that you may receive instruction in order to live by doing what is right, just, and fair.
4 to give prudence to the simple, to the young man knowledge and discretion.
These proverbs are also to give wisdom to the naive, and to give knowledge and discretion to young people.
5 He that is wise will hear, and will increase learning; and the intelligent will gain wise counsels:
Let wise people listen and increase their learning, and let discerning people get guidance,
6 to understand a proverb and an allegory, the words of the wise and their enigmas.
to understand proverbs, sayings, and words of wise people and their riddles.
7 The fear of Jehovah is the beginning of knowledge: fools despise wisdom and instruction.
The fear of Yahweh is the beginning of knowledge— fools despise wisdom and instruction.
8 Hear, my son, the instruction of thy father, and forsake not the teaching of thy mother;
My son, hear the instruction of your father and do not lay aside the rules of your mother;
9 for they shall be a garland of grace unto thy head, and chains about thy neck.
they will be a graceful wreath for your head and pendants hanging from your neck.
10 My son, if sinners entice thee, consent not.
My son, if sinners try to entice you into their sin, refuse to follow them.
11 If they say, Come with us, let us lay wait for blood, let us lurk secretly for the innocent without cause;
If they say, “Come with us, let us lie in wait for blood, let us hide and attack innocent people for no reason.
12 let us swallow them up alive as Sheol, and whole, as those that go down into the pit; (Sheol h7585)
Let us swallow them up alive, like Sheol takes away those who are healthy, and make them like those who fall into the pit. (Sheol h7585)
13 we shall find all precious substance, we shall fill our houses with spoil:
We shall find all kinds of valuable things; we will fill our houses with what we steal from others.
14 cast in thy lot among us; we will all have one purse:
Throw in your lot with us; we will all have one purse together.”
15 — my son, walk not in the way with them, keep back thy foot from their path;
My son, do not walk down that road with them; do not let your foot touch where they walk;
16 for their feet run to evil, and they make haste to shed blood.
their feet run to evil and they hurry to shed blood.
17 For in vain the net is spread in the sight of anything which hath wings.
For it is useless to spread the net in the sight of any bird.
18 And these lay wait for their own blood; they lurk secretly for their own lives.
These men lie in wait for their own blood— they set an ambush for their own lives.
19 So are the paths of every one that is greedy of gain: it taketh away the life of its possessors.
So are the ways of everyone who gains riches by injustice; unjust gain takes away the lives of those who hold on to it.
20 Wisdom crieth without; she raiseth her voice in the broadways;
Wisdom cries aloud in the street, she raises her voice in the open places;
21 she calleth in the chief [place] of concourse, in the entry of the gates; in the city she uttereth her words:
at the head of the noisy streets she cries out, at the entrance of the city gates she speaks,
22 How long, simple ones, will ye love simpleness, and scorners take pleasure in their scorning, and the foolish hate knowledge?
“How long, you naive people, will you love being naive? How long, you mockers, will you delight in mockery, and how long, you fools, will you hate knowledge?
23 Turn you at my reproof: behold, I will pour forth my spirit unto you, I will make known to you my words.
Pay attention to my correction; I will pour out my thoughts to you; I will make my words known to you.
24 Because I have called, and ye refused; I have stretched out my hand, and no one regarded;
I have called, and you have refused to listen; I reached out with my hand, but there was no one who paid attention.
25 and ye have rejected all my counsel, and would none of my reproof:
But you have ignored all my instruction and paid no attention to my correction.
26 I also will laugh in your calamity, I will mock when your fear cometh;
I will laugh at your calamity, I will mock you when the terror comes—
27 when your fear cometh as sudden destruction, and your calamity cometh as a whirlwind; when distress and anguish come upon you:
when your fearful dread comes like a storm and disaster sweeps over you like a whirlwind, when distress and anguish come upon you.
28 — then will they call upon me, but I will not answer; they will seek me early, and shall not find me.
Then they will call upon me, and I will not answer; they will desperately call for me, but they will not find me.
29 Because they hated knowledge, and did not choose the fear of Jehovah;
Because they hate knowledge and did not choose the fear of Yahweh,
30 they would none of my counsel, they despised all my reproof:
they would not follow my instruction, and they despised all my correction.
31 therefore shall they eat of the fruit of their way, and be filled with their own devices.
They will eat the fruit of their ways, and with the fruit of their schemes they will be filled.
32 For the turning away of the simple shall slay them, and the prosperity of the foolish shall cause them to perish.
For the naive are killed when they turn away, and the indifference of fools will destroy them.
33 But whoso hearkeneth unto me shall dwell safely, and shall be at rest from fear of evil.
But whoever listens to me will live in safety and will rest secure with no fear of disaster.”
