Proverbs 1
1 The proverbs of Solomon, the son of David, king of Israel:
The parables of Solomon, the son of David, king of Israel.
2 That one may learn wisdom and instruction, And receive words of understanding;
To know wisdom, and instruction:
3 That one may gain the instruction of prudence, Justice, equity, and uprightness;
To understand the words of prudence: and to receive the instruction of doctrine, justice, and judgment, and equity:
4 Which will give caution to the simple, To the young man wisdom and discretion;
To give subtilty to little ones, to the young man knowledge and understanding.
5 Let the wise man hear, and he will increase his knowledge, And the man of understanding will gain wise counsels;
A wise man shall hear and shall be wiser: and he that understandeth, shall possess governments.
6 So as to understand a proverb and a deep maxim, The words of the wise and their dark sayings.
He shall understand a parable, and the interpretation, the words of the wise, and their mysterious sayings.
7 The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge; Fools despise wisdom and instruction.
The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. Fools despise wisdom and instruction.
8 Hear, O my son! the instruction of thy father, And neglect not the teaching of thy mother!
My son, hear the instruction of thy father, and forsake not the law of thy mother:
9 For they shall be a graceful wreath for thy head, And a chain around thy neck.
That grace may be added to thy head, and a chain of gold to thy neck.
10 My son, if sinners entice thee, Consent thou not!
My son, if sinners shall entice thee, consent not to them.
11 If they say, “Come with us, Let us lie in wait for blood, Let us lurk secretly for him who is innocent in vain;
If they shall say: Come with us, let us lie in wait for blood, let us hide snares for the innocent without cause:
12 Let us swallow them up alive, like the underworld, Yea, in full health, as those that go down into the pit; (Sheol h7585)
Let us swallow him up alive like hell, and whole as one that goeth down into the pit. (Sheol h7585)
13 We shall find all kinds of precious substance, We shall fill our houses with spoil;
We shall find all precious substance, we shall fill our houses with spoils.
14 Thou shalt cast thy lot among us; We will all have one purse;”—
Cast in thy lot with us, let us all have one purse.
15 My son, walk thou not in their way, Refrain thy foot from their path!
My son, walk not thou with them, restrain thy foot from their paths.
16 For their feet run to evil, And make haste to shed blood.
For their feet run to evil, and make haste to shed blood.
17 For as the net is spread in vain Before the eyes of any bird,
But a net is spread in vain before the eyes of them that have wings.
18 So they lie in wait for their own blood; They lurk secretly for their own lives.
And they themselves lie in wait for their own blood, and practise deceits against their own souls.
19 Such are the ways of every one greedy of unjust gain; It taketh away the life of the possessor thereof.
So the wage of every covetous man destroy the souls of the possessors.
20 Wisdom crieth out in the highway; In the market-place she uttereth her voice;
Wisdom preacheth abroad, she uttereth her voice in the streets:
21 At the head of the noisy streets she crieth aloud; At the entrances of the gates, throughout the city, she proclaimeth her words [[saying]]:
At the head of multitudes she crieth out, in the entrance of the gates of the city she uttereth her words, saying:
22 How long, ye simple ones, will ye love simplicity? How long will scoffers delight themselves in scoffing, And fools hate knowledge?
O children, how long will you love childishness, and fools covet those things which are hurtful to themselves, and the unwise hate knowledge?
23 Turn ye at my reproof! Behold, I will pour out my spirit to you; I will make known my words to you!
Turn ye at my reproof: behold I will utter my spirit to you, and will shew you my words.
24 “Because I have called, and ye have refused, —Because I have stretched out my hand, and no one hath regarded.
Because I called, and you refused: I stretched out my hand, and there was none that regarded.
25 Because ye have rejected all my counsel, And have slighted my rebuke, —
You have despised all my counsel, and have neglected my reprehensions.
26 I also will laugh at your calamity, I will mock when your fear cometh;
I also will laugh in your destruction, and will mock when that shall come to you which you feared.
27 When your fear cometh upon you like a storm. And destruction overtaketh you like a whirlwind, When distress and anguish come upon you.
When sudden calamity shall fall on you, and destruction, as a tempest, shall be at hand: when tribulation and distress shall come upon you:
28 Then will they call upon me, but I will not answer! They will seek me early, But they shall not find me!
Then shall they call upon me, and I will not hear: they shall rise in the morning and shall not find me:
29 Because they have hated knowledge, And have not chosen the fear of the LORD, —
Because they have hated instruction and received not the fear of the Lord,
30 Because they would not attend to my counsel, And have despised all my reproof, —
Nor consented to my counsel, but despised all my reproof.
31 Therefore shall they eat of the fruit of their own way, And be filled to the full with their own devices;
Therefore they shall eat the fruit of their own way, and shall be filled with their own devices.
32 Yea, the turning away of the simple shall slay them, And the carelessness of fools shall destroy them.
The turning away of little ones shall kill them, and the prosperity of fools shall destroy them.
33 But whoso hearkeneth to me shall dwell securely, And shall not be disquieted with the fear of evil.”
But he that shall hear me, shall rest without terror, and shall enjoy abundance, without fear of evils.
