Proverbs 1
1 The proverbs of Solomon the son of David, the king of Israel:
The proverbs of Solomon son of David, the king of Israel.
2 To know wisdom and instruction; to comprehend the sayings of understanding;
These proverbs are to teach wisdom and instruction, to teach words of insight,
3 To accept the instruction of intelligence, righteousness, and justice, and equity;
that you may receive instruction in order to live by doing what is right, just, and fair.
4 To give to the simple prudence, to the youth knowledge and discretion.
These proverbs are also to give wisdom to the naive, and to give knowledge and discretion to young people.
5 The wise will hear, and will increase [his] information; and the man of understanding will obtain wise counsels:
Let wise people listen and increase their learning, and let discerning people get guidance,
6 To understand a proverb, and a sage sentence; the words of the wise, and their riddles.
to understand proverbs, sayings, and words of wise people and their riddles.
7 The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge: wisdom and instruction fools [alone] despise.
The fear of Yahweh is the beginning of knowledge— fools despise wisdom and instruction.
8 Hear, my son, the instruction of thy father, and cast not off 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 a wreath of grace are they unto thy head, and chains for thy throat.
they will be a graceful wreath for your head and pendants hanging from your neck.
10 My son, if sinners wish to entice thee, consent thou not.
My son, if sinners try to entice you into their sin, refuse to follow 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 say, “Come with us, let us lie in wait for blood, let us hide and attack innocent people for no reason.
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 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 [kinds of] precious wealth, we will fill our houses with booty;
We shall find all kinds of valuable things; we will fill our houses with what we steal from others.
14 Thy lot must thou cast in our midst; one purse shall be for us all:
Throw in your lot with us; we will all have one purse together.”
15 My son, walk not thou on the way with them; withhold 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 after evil, and they make haste to shed blood.
their feet run to evil and they hurry to shed blood.
17 For uselessly is the net spread out before the eyes of every winged bird:
For it is useless to spread the net in the sight of any bird.
18 While they lie in wait for their [own] blood; they watch in concealment 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 after [unlawful] gain; it taketh away the life of those that own it.
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 loudly without; in the public places she uttereth her voice;
Wisdom cries aloud in the street, she raises her voice in the open places;
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 noisy streets she cries out, at the entrance of the city gates she speaks,
22 How long, ye simple ones, will ye love simplicity? and the scorners take their delight in scorning, and fools 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 back to my admonition: behold, I will pour out my spirit unto you, I will make known my words unto you.
Pay attention to my correction; I will pour out my thoughts to you; I will make my words known to you.
24 Whereas I called, and ye refused; I stretched out my hand, and no man was attentive;
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 set at nought all my counsel, and would not accept my admonition:
But you have ignored all my instruction and paid no attention to my correction.
26 [Therefore] I also will truly laugh at your calamity; I will deride [you] when your terror cometh;
I will laugh at your calamity, I will mock you when the terror comes—
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 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 me, but I will not answer; they will seek me earnestly, but they 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 For the reason that they hated knowledge, and the fear of the Lord they did not choose;
Because they hate knowledge and did not choose the fear of Yahweh,
30 [That] they would not attend to my counsel: [that] they rejected all my admonition.
they would not follow my instruction, and they despised all my correction.
31 Therefore shall they eat of the fruit of their own way, and from their own counsels shall they be satisfied.
They will eat the fruit of their ways, and with the fruit of their schemes they will be filled.
32 For the defection of the simple will slay them, and the prosperity of fools will cause them to be lost.
For the naive are killed when they turn away, and the indifference of fools will destroy them.
33 But he that hearkeneth unto me shall dwell safely, and shall be at rest from the dread of evil.
But whoever listens to me will live in safety and will rest secure with no fear of disaster.”
