Proverbs 1
1 The parables of Solomon, the son of David, king of Israel.
The proverbs of Solomon the son of David, the king of Israel:
2 To know wisdom, and instruction:
To know wisdom and instruction; to comprehend the sayings of understanding;
3 To understand the words of prudence: and to receive the instruction of doctrine, justice, and judgment, and equity:
To accept the instruction of intelligence, righteousness, and justice, and equity;
4 To give subtilty to little ones, to the young man knowledge and understanding.
To give to the simple prudence, to the youth knowledge and discretion.
5 A wise man shall hear and shall be wiser: and he that understandeth, shall possess governments.
The wise will hear, and will increase [his] information; and the man of understanding will obtain wise counsels:
6 He shall understand a parable, and the interpretation, the words of the wise, and their mysterious sayings.
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. Fools despise wisdom and instruction.
The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge: wisdom and instruction fools [alone] despise.
8 My son, hear the instruction of thy father, and forsake not the law of thy mother:
Hear, my son, the instruction of thy father, and cast not off the teaching of thy mother;
9 That grace may be added to thy head, and a chain of gold to thy neck.
For a wreath of grace are they unto thy head, and chains for thy throat.
10 My son, if sinners shall entice thee, consent not to them.
My son, if sinners wish to entice thee, consent thou not.
11 If they shall say: Come with us, let us lie in wait for blood, let us hide snares for 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;
12 Let us swallow him up alive like hell, and whole as one that goeth down into the pit. (Sheol h7585)
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 shall find all precious substance, we shall fill our houses with spoils.
We shall find all [kinds of] precious wealth, we will fill our houses with booty;
14 Cast in thy lot with us, let us all have one purse.
Thy lot must thou cast in our midst; one purse shall be for us all:
15 My son, walk not thou with them, restrain thy foot from their paths.
My son, walk not thou on the way with them; withhold thy foot from their path;
16 For their feet run to evil, and make haste to shed blood.
For their feet run after evil, and they make haste to shed blood.
17 But a net is spread in vain before the eyes of them that have wings.
For uselessly is the net spread out before the eyes of every winged bird:
18 And they themselves lie in wait for their own blood, and practise deceits against their own souls.
While they lie in wait for their [own] blood; they watch in concealment for their [own] lives.
19 So the wage of every covetous man destroy the souls of the possessors.
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 preacheth abroad, she uttereth her voice in the streets:
Wisdom crieth loudly without; in the public places she uttereth her voice;
21 At the head of multitudes she crieth out, in the entrance of the gates of the city she uttereth her words, saying:
At the corner of noisy streets she calleth, at the entrances of gates; in the city she sayeth her speeches:
22 O children, how long will you love childishness, and fools covet those things which are hurtful to themselves, and the unwise hate knowledge?
How long, ye simple ones, will ye love simplicity? and the scorners take their delight in scorning, and fools hate knowledge?
23 Turn ye at my reproof: behold I will utter my spirit to you, and will shew you my words.
Turn back to my admonition: behold, I will pour out my spirit unto you, I will make known my words unto you.
24 Because I called, and you refused: I stretched out my hand, and there was none that regarded.
Whereas I called, and ye refused; I stretched out my hand, and no man was attentive;
25 You have despised all my counsel, and have neglected my reprehensions.
And ye have set at nought all my counsel, and would not accept my admonition:
26 I also will laugh in your destruction, and will mock when that shall come to you which you feared.
[Therefore] I also will truly laugh at your calamity; I will deride [you] when your terror cometh;
27 When sudden calamity shall fall on you, and destruction, as a tempest, shall be at hand: when tribulation and distress shall come upon 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 shall they call upon me, and I will not hear: they shall rise in the morning and shall 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 Because they have hated instruction and received not the fear of the Lord,
For the reason that they hated knowledge, and the fear of the Lord they did not choose;
30 Nor consented to my counsel, but despised all my reproof.
[That] they would not attend to my counsel: [that] they rejected all my admonition.
31 Therefore they shall eat the fruit of their own way, and shall be filled with their own devices.
Therefore shall they eat of the fruit of their own way, and from their own counsels shall they be satisfied.
32 The turning away of little ones shall kill them, and the prosperity of fools shall destroy them.
For the defection of the simple will slay them, and the prosperity of fools will cause them to be lost.
33 But he that shall hear me, shall rest without terror, and shall enjoy abundance, without fear of evils.
But he that hearkeneth unto me shall dwell safely, and shall be at rest from the dread of evil.
