Proverbs 1
1 The proverbs of Solomon, son of David, king of Israel.
The proverbs of Solomon the son of David, the king of Israel:
2 They are for achieving wisdom and instruction, and to recognize sayings that bring insight.
To know wisdom and instruction; to comprehend the sayings of understanding;
3 They provide education in what makes sense, living right, judging correctly, and acting fairly.
To accept the instruction of intelligence, righteousness, and justice, and equity;
4 They give discernment to the immature, knowledge and discretion to the young.
To give to the simple prudence, to the youth knowledge and discretion.
5 Wise people will listen and gain in learning, and those who have good judgment will gain skills in guidance,
The wise will hear, and will increase [his] information; and the man of understanding will obtain wise counsels:
6 understanding the proverbs and puzzles, the sayings and questions of the wise.
To understand a proverb, and a sage sentence; the words of the wise, and their riddles.
7 Honoring the Lord is where true knowledge begins, but fools treat wisdom and good advice with contempt.
The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge: wisdom and instruction fools [alone] despise.
8 My son, pay attention to your father's instruction, and don't reject your mother's teaching.
Hear, my son, the instruction of thy father, and cast not off the teaching of thy mother;
9 They are a wreath of grace to decorate your head; they are pendants for your neck.
For a wreath of grace are they unto thy head, and chains for thy throat.
10 My son, if evil people try to tempt you, don't give into them.
My son, if sinners wish to entice thee, consent thou not.
11 They may tell you, “Come with us. Let's go and hide, ready to kill someone. Let's ambush someone for fun!
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'll take from them all kinds of valuable things and fill our homes with the stuff we steal!
We shall find all [kinds of] precious wealth, we will fill our houses with booty;
14 Come and join us and we'll all share what we get!”
Thy lot must thou cast in our midst; one purse shall be for us all:
15 My son, don't follow their ways. Don't go in that direction with them.
My son, walk not thou on the way with them; withhold thy foot from their path;
16 For they rush to do evil; they hurry to commit violence and murder.
For their feet run after evil, and they make haste to shed blood.
17 There's no point in trying to lure birds into a net when they can see it.
For uselessly is the net spread out before the eyes of every winged bird:
18 However, these evil people hide ready to kill others, but they themselves are the victims. They're only ambushing themselves!
While they lie in wait for their [own] blood; they watch in concealment for their [own] lives.
19 This is what happens to you if you try to become rich through crime—it kills you!
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 calls out in the streets; she shouts aloud in the squares.
Wisdom crieth loudly without; in the public places she uttereth her voice;
21 She cries out at busy corners; she explains her message at the town gates:
At the corner of noisy streets she calleth, at the entrances of gates; in the city she sayeth her speeches:
22 “How long will you stupid people love stupidity? How long will scornful people enjoy their mocking? How long will fools hate knowledge?
How long, ye simple ones, will ye love simplicity? and the scorners take their delight in scorning, and fools hate knowledge?
23 Pay attention to my warnings, and I'll pour out my deepest thoughts to you—I'll explain what I know 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 have called you, but you refused to listen; I reached out my hand to you, but you didn't care.
Whereas I called, and ye refused; I stretched out my hand, and no man was attentive;
25 You ignored everything I said; you wouldn't accept any of my warnings.
And ye have set at nought all my counsel, and would not accept my admonition:
26 So I'll laugh at you when you're in trouble; I'll mock you when you're in a panic.
[Therefore] I also will truly laugh at your calamity; I will deride [you] when your terror cometh;
27 When panic rains down on you like a storm, when trouble hits you like a whirlwind, when sorrow and pain come on 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 you'll call out to me for help, but I won't answer; you'll search hard for me, but won't find me.
Then will they call me, but I will not answer; they will seek me earnestly, but they shall not find me;
29 Why?—because they hated knowledge, and they didn't choose to respect the Lord.
For the reason that they hated knowledge, and the fear of the Lord they did not choose;
30 They're not willing to accept my advice; they despise all my warnings.
[That] they would not attend to my counsel: [that] they rejected all my admonition.
31 So they'll have to eat the fruit of their own choices, bloated by their own devious schemes.
Therefore shall they eat of the fruit of their own way, and from their own counsels shall they be satisfied.
32 Stupid people are killed by their rebellion; foolish people are destroyed by their lack of concern.
For the defection of the simple will slay them, and the prosperity of fools will cause them to be lost.
33 But everyone who listens to me will be kept safe, and will live without worrying about problems.”
But he that hearkeneth unto me shall dwell safely, and shall be at rest from the dread of evil.
