Proverbs 1
1 Proverbs of Solomon, son of David, king of Israel:
The Proverbs of Solomon son of David, who reigned in Israel;
2 For knowing wisdom and instruction, For understanding sayings of intelligence,
to know wisdom and instruction, and to perceive words of understanding;
3 For receiving the instruction of wisdom, Righteousness, judgment, and uprightness,
to receive also hard saying, and to understand true justice, and [how] to direct judgment;
4 For giving to simple ones—prudence, To a youth—knowledge and discretion.
that he might give subtlety to the simple, and to the young man discernment and understanding.
5 (The wise hear and increase learning, And the intelligent obtain counsels.)
For by the hearing of these a wise man will be wiser, and man of understanding will gain direction;
6 For understanding a proverb and its sweetness, Words of the wise and their acute sayings.
and will understand a parable, and a dark speech; the saying of the wise also, and riddles.
7 Fear of YHWH [is the] beginning of knowledge, Fools have despised wisdom and instruction!
The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom; and [there is] good understanding to all that practise it: and piety toward God is the beginning of discernment; but the ungodly will set at nought wisdom and instruction.
8 Hear, my son, the instruction of your father, And do not leave the law of your mother,
Hear, [my] son, the instruction of thy father, and reject not the rules of thy mother.
9 For they [are] a graceful wreath to your head, And chains to your neck.
For thou shalt receive for thine head a crown of graces, and a chain of gold round thy neck.
10 My son, if sinners entice you, do not be willing.
[My] son, let not ungodly men lead thee astray, neither consent thou [to them].
11 If they say, “Come with us, we lay wait for blood, We watch secretly for the innocent without cause,
If they should exhort thee, saying, Come with us, partake in blood, and let us unjustly hide the just man in the earth:
and let us swallow him alive, as Hades [would], and remove the memorial of him from the earth: (Sheol h7585)
13 We find every precious substance, We fill our houses [with] spoil,
let us seize on his valuable property, and let us fill our houses with spoils:
14 You cast your lot among us, One purse is—to all of us.”
but do thou cast in thy lot with us, and let us all provide a common purse, and let us have one pouch:
15 My son! Do not go in the way with them, Withhold your foot from their path,
go not in the way with them, but turn aside thy foot from their paths:
16 For their feet run to evil, And they hurry to shed blood.
[For their feet run to do evil, and are swift to shed blood. ]
17 Surely in vain is the net spread out before the eyes of any bird.
for nets are not without cause spread for birds.
18 And they lay wait for their own blood, They watch secretly for their own lives.
For they that are concerned in murder store up evils for themselves; and the overthrow of transgressors is evil.
19 So [are] the paths of every gainer of dishonest gain, It takes the life of its owners.
These are the ways of all that perform lawless deeds; for by ungodliness they destroy their own life.
20 Wisdom cries aloud in an out-place, She gives forth her voice in broad places,
Wisdom sings aloud in passages, and in the broad places speaks boldly.
21 She calls at the head of the multitudes, In the openings of the gates, In the city she says her sayings:
And she makes proclamation on the top of the walls, and sits by the gates of princes; and at the gates of the city boldly says,
22 “Until when, you simple, do you love simplicity? And have scorners desired their scorning? And do fools hate knowledge?
So long as the simple cleave to justice, they shall not be ashamed: but the foolish being lovers of haughtiness, having become ungodly have hated knowledge, and are become subject to reproofs.
23 Turn back at my reproof, behold, I pour forth my spirit to you, I make known my words with you.
Behold, I will bring forth to you the utterance of my breath, and I will instruct you in my speech.
24 Because I have called, and you refuse, I stretched out my hand, and none is attending,
Since I called, and ye did not hearken; and I spoke at length, and ye gave no heed;
25 And you slight all my counsel, And you have not desired my reproof.
but ye set at nought my counsels, and disregarded my reproofs;
26 I also laugh in your calamity, I deride when your fear comes,
therefore I also will laugh at your destruction; and I will rejoice against [you] when ruin comes upon you:
27 When your fear comes as destruction, And your calamity comes as a windstorm, When adversity and distress come on you.
yea when dismay suddenly comes upon you, and [your] overthrow shall arrive like a tempest; and when tribulation and distress shall come upon you, or when ruin shall come upon you.
28 Then they call me, and I do not answer, They seek me earnestly, and do not find me.
For it shall be that when ye call upon me, I will not hearken to you: wicked men shall seek me, but shall not find [me].
29 Because that they have hated knowledge, And have not chosen the fear of YHWH.
For they hated wisdom, and did not choose the word of the Lord:
30 They have not consented to my counsel, They have despised all my reproof,
neither would they attend to my counsels, but derided my reproofs.
31 And they eat of the fruit of their way, And they are filled from their own counsels.
Therefore shall they eat the fruits of their own way, and shall be filled with their own ungodliness.
32 For the turning of the simple slays them, And the security of the foolish destroys them.
For because they wronged the simple, they shall be slain; and an inquisition shall ruin the ungodly.
33 And whoever is listening to me dwells confidently, And [is] quiet from fear of evil!”
But he that hearkens to me shall dwell in confidence, and shall rest securely from all evil.
