Proverbs 1:1-33

  • Purpose of the proverbs (1-7)

  • Dangers of bad association (8-19)

  • True wisdom cries out publicly (20-33)

1  The proverbs of Solʹo·mon,+ the son of David,+ the king of Israel:+   To learn* wisdom+ and discipline;To understand wise sayings;   To acquire the discipline+ that gives insight,Righteousness,+ good judgment,*+ and uprightness;*   To impart shrewdness+ to the inexperienced;To give a young man knowledge and thinking ability.+   A wise person listens and takes in more instruction;+A man of understanding acquires skillful direction*+   To understand a proverb and a puzzling saying,*The words of the wise and their riddles.+   The fear of* Jehovah is the beginning of knowledge.+ Only fools despise wisdom and discipline.+   Listen, my son, to the discipline of your father,+And do not forsake the instruction* of your mother.+   They are an attractive wreath for your head+And a fine ornament for your neck.+ 10  My son, if sinners try to entice you, do not consent.+ 11  If they say: “Come with us. Let us set an ambush to shed blood. We will lie hidden, waiting for innocent victims without cause. 12  We will swallow them alive as the Grave* does,Whole, like those going down to the pit. 13  Let us seize all their precious treasures;We will fill our houses with spoil. 14  You should join us,*And we will all share equally what we steal.”* 15  My son, do not follow them. Keep your feet off their path,+ 16  For their feet run to do evil;They hurry to shed blood.+ 17  It is surely in vain to spread a net in full sight of a bird. 18  That is why these lie in ambush to shed blood;They lie hidden to take the lives* of others. 19  These are the ways of those seeking dishonest profit,Which will take away the life* of those who obtain it.+ 20  True wisdom+ cries aloud in the street.+ It keeps raising its voice in the public squares.+ 21  At the corner* of the busy streets it calls out. At the entrances of the city gates it says:+ 22  “How long will you inexperienced ones love inexperience? How long will you ridiculers take pleasure in ridicule? And how long will you foolish ones hate knowledge?+ 23  Respond to my reproof.*+ Then I will pour out my spirit for you;I will make my words known to you.+ 24  Because I called out, but you kept refusing,I stretched out my hand, but no one was paying attention,+ 25  You kept neglecting all my adviceAnd rejecting my reproof, 26  I also will laugh when disaster strikes you;I will mock when what you dread comes,+ 27  When what you dread comes like a storm,And your disaster arrives like a storm wind,When distress and trouble come upon you. 28  At that time they will keep calling me, but I will not answer;They will eagerly look for me, but they will not find me,+ 29  Because they hated knowledge,+And they did not choose to fear Jehovah.+ 30  They refused my advice;They disrespected all my reproof. 31  So they will bear the consequences* of their way,+And they will be glutted with their own counsel.* 32  For the waywardness of the inexperienced will kill them,And the complacency of fools will destroy them. 33  But the one listening to me will dwell in security+And be undisturbed by the dread of calamity.”+

Footnotes

Lit., “To know.”
Or “what is just.”
Or “fairness.”
Or “wise guidance.”
Or “a parable.”
Or “reverence for.”
Or “law.”
Or “Sheol,” that is, the common grave of mankind. See Glossary.
Or “share a common bag (purse).”
Or “Throw in your lot with us.”
Or “souls.”
Or “soul.”
Lit., “head.”
Or “Turn back when I reprove.”
Lit., “eat from the fruit.”
Or “schemes; plans.”