Proverbs 1
1 The proverbs of Solomon the son of David, the king of Israel:
The parables of Solomon, son of David, king of Israel,
2 To know wisdom and instruction; to comprehend the sayings of understanding;
in order to know wisdom and discipline,
3 To accept the instruction of intelligence, righteousness, and justice, and equity;
to understand words of prudence, and to accept the instruction of doctrine, justice and judgment, and equity,
4 To give to the simple prudence, to the youth knowledge and discretion.
so as to give discernment to little ones, knowledge and understanding to adolescents.
5 The wise will hear, and will increase [his] information; and the man of understanding will obtain wise counsels:
By listening, the wise shall become wiser and the intelligent shall possess governments.
6 To understand a proverb, and a sage sentence; the words of the wise, and their riddles.
He shall turn his soul to a parable and to its interpretation, to the words of the wise and their enigmas.
7 The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge: wisdom and instruction fools [alone] despise.
The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. The foolish despise wisdom as well as doctrine.
8 Hear, my son, the instruction of thy father, and cast not off the teaching of thy mother;
Listen, my son, to the discipline of your father, and forsake not the law of your mother,
9 For a wreath of grace are they unto thy head, and chains for thy throat.
so that grace may be added to your head and a collar to your neck.
10 My son, if sinners wish to entice thee, consent thou not.
My son, if sinners should entice you, do not consent to them.
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 should say: “Come with us. We will lie in wait for blood. We will lay traps against 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)
Let us swallow him alive, like Hell, and whole, like one descending into the pit. (Sheol h7585)
13 We shall find all [kinds of] precious wealth, we will fill our houses with booty;
We will discover every precious substance. We will fill our houses with spoils.
14 Thy lot must thou cast in our midst; one purse shall be for us all:
Cast your lot with us. One purse will be for us all.”
15 My son, walk not thou on the way with them; withhold thy foot from their path;
My son, do not walk with them. Preclude your feet from their paths.
16 For their feet run after evil, and they make haste to shed blood.
For their feet rush to evil, and they hurry to shed blood.
17 For uselessly is the net spread out before the eyes of every winged bird:
But a net is thrown in vain before the eyes of those who have wings.
18 While they lie in wait for their [own] blood; they watch in concealment for their [own] lives.
Likewise, they lie in ambush against their own blood, and they undertake deceits against their own souls.
19 So are the paths of every one that is greedy after [unlawful] gain; it taketh away the life of those that own it.
Thus, the ways of all those who are greedy seize the souls of those who possess.
20 Wisdom crieth loudly without; in the public places she uttereth her voice;
Wisdom forewarns far and wide; she bestows her voice in the streets.
21 At the corner of noisy streets she calleth, at the entrances of gates; in the city she sayeth her speeches:
She cries out at the head of crowds; at the entrance of the gates of the city, she offers her words, saying:
22 How long, ye simple ones, will ye love simplicity? and the scorners take their delight in scorning, and fools hate knowledge?
“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?
23 Turn back to my admonition: behold, I will pour out my spirit unto you, I will make known my words unto you.
Be converted by my correction. Lo, I will offer my spirit to you, and I will reveal my words to you.
24 Whereas I called, and ye refused; I stretched out my hand, and no man was attentive;
For I called, and you refused. I extended my hand, and there was no one who watched.
25 And ye have set at nought all my counsel, and would not accept my admonition:
You have despised all my counsels, and you have neglected my rebukes.
26 [Therefore] I also will truly laugh at your calamity; I will deride [you] when your terror cometh;
Similarly, I will ridicule you at your demise, and I will mock you, when that which you feared shall overcome you.
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 sudden calamity rushes upon you, and your demise advances like a tempest, when tribulation and anguish overcome you,
28 Then will they call me, but I will not answer; they will seek me earnestly, but they shall not find me;
then they will call to me, and I will not heed, they will arise in the morning, and not find me.
29 For the reason that they hated knowledge, and the fear of the Lord they did not choose;
For they held hatred for discipline, and they would not accept the fear of the Lord;
30 [That] they would not attend to my counsel: [that] they rejected all my admonition.
they would not consent to my counsel, but they detracted from all of my corrections.
31 Therefore shall they eat of the fruit of their own way, and from their own counsels shall they be satisfied.
Therefore, they shall eat the fruit of their way, and they shall have their fill of their own counsels.
32 For the defection of the simple will slay them, and the prosperity of fools will cause them to be lost.
The loathing of the little ones shall destroy them, and the prosperity of the foolish shall perish them.
33 But he that hearkeneth unto me shall dwell safely, and shall be at rest from the dread of evil.
But whoever will listen to me shall rest without terror, and shall have full enjoyment of abundance, without fear of evils.”
