Proverbs 1
1 The proverbs of Solomon the son of David, the king of Israel:
Proverbs of Solomon, son of David, king of Israel:
2 To know wisdom and instruction; to comprehend the sayings of understanding;
For knowing wisdom and instruction, For understanding sayings of intelligence,
3 To accept the instruction of intelligence, righteousness, and justice, and equity;
For receiving the instruction of wisdom, Righteousness, judgment, and uprightness,
4 To give to the simple prudence, to the youth knowledge and discretion.
For giving to simple ones — prudence, To a youth — knowledge and discretion.
5 The wise will hear, and will increase [his] information; and the man of understanding will obtain wise counsels:
(The wise doth hear and increaseth learning, And the intelligent doth obtain counsels.)
6 To understand a proverb, and a sage sentence; the words of the wise, and their riddles.
For understanding a proverb and its sweetness, Words of the wise and their acute sayings.
7 The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge: wisdom and instruction fools [alone] despise.
Fear of Jehovah [is] a beginning of knowledge, Wisdom and instruction fools have despised!
8 Hear, my son, the instruction of thy father, and cast not off the teaching of thy mother;
Hear, my son, the instruction of thy father, And leave not the law of thy mother,
9 For a wreath of grace are they unto thy head, and chains for thy throat.
For a graceful wreath [are] they to thy head, And chains to thy neck.
10 My son, if sinners wish to entice thee, consent thou not.
My son, if sinners entice thee be not willing.
11 If they should say, Come with us, let us lie in wait for blood, let us watch in concealment for the uselessly innocent;
If they say, 'Come with us, we lay wait for blood, We watch secretly for the innocent without cause,
12 We will swallow them up like the grave alive; and the men of integrity, as those that go down into the pit; (Sheol h7585)
We swallow them as Sheol — alive, And whole — as those going down [to] the pit, (Sheol h7585)
13 We shall find all [kinds of] precious wealth, we will fill our houses with booty;
Every precious substance we find, We fill our houses [with] spoil,
14 Thy lot must thou cast in our midst; one purse shall be for us all:
Thy lot thou dost cast among us, One purse is — to all of us.'
15 My son, walk not thou on the way with them; withhold thy foot from their path;
My son! go not in the way with them, Withhold thy foot from their path,
16 For their feet run after evil, and they make haste to shed blood.
For their feet to evil do run, And they haste to shed blood.
17 For uselessly is the net spread out before the eyes of every winged bird:
Surely in vain is the net spread out before the eyes of any bird.
18 While they lie in wait for their [own] blood; they watch in concealment for their [own] lives.
And they for their own blood lay wait, They watch secretly for their own lives.
19 So are the paths of every one that is greedy after [unlawful] gain; it taketh away the life of those that own it.
So [are] the paths of every gainer of dishonest gain, The life of its owners it taketh.
20 Wisdom crieth loudly without; in the public places she uttereth her voice;
Wisdom in an out-place crieth aloud, In broad places she giveth forth her voice,
21 At the corner of noisy streets she calleth, at the entrances of gates; in the city she sayeth her speeches:
At the head of the multitudes she calleth, In the openings of the gates, In the city her sayings she saith:
22 How long, ye simple ones, will ye love simplicity? and the scorners take their delight in scorning, and fools hate knowledge?
'Till when, ye simple, do ye love simplicity? And have scorners their scorning desired? And do fools hate knowledge?
23 Turn back to my admonition: behold, I will pour out my spirit unto you, I will make known my words unto you.
Turn back at my reproof, lo, I pour forth to you my spirit, I make known my words with you.
24 Whereas I called, and ye refused; I stretched out my hand, and no man was attentive;
Because I have called, and ye refuse, I stretched out my hand, and none is attending,
25 And ye have set at nought all my counsel, and would not accept my admonition:
And ye slight all my counsel, And my reproof ye have not desired.
26 [Therefore] I also will truly laugh at your calamity; I will deride [you] when your terror cometh;
I also in your calamity do laugh, I deride when your fear cometh,
27 When your terror cometh like the tempest-cloud, and your calamity hasteneth like a whirlwind; when there come upon you distress and affliction.
When your fear cometh as destruction, And your calamity as a hurricane doth come, When on you come adversity and distress.
28 Then will they call me, but I will not answer; they will seek me earnestly, but they shall not find me;
Then they call me, and I do not answer, They seek me earnestly, and find me not.
29 For the reason that they hated knowledge, and the fear of the Lord they did not choose;
Because that they have hated knowledge, And the fear of Jehovah have not chosen.
30 [That] they would not attend to my counsel: [that] they rejected all my admonition.
They have not consented to my counsel, They have despised all my reproof,
31 Therefore shall they eat of the fruit of their own way, and from their own counsels shall they be satisfied.
And they eat of the fruit of their way, And from their own counsels they are filled.
32 For the defection of the simple will slay them, and the prosperity of fools will cause them to be lost.
For the turning of the simple slayeth them, And the security of the foolish destroyeth them.
33 But he that hearkeneth unto me shall dwell safely, and shall be at rest from the dread of evil.
And whoso is hearkening to me dwelleth confidently, And [is] quiet from fear of evil!'
