Proverbs 1:1-33
1 The proverbs of Solʹo·mon,+ the son of David,+ the king of Israel:+
2 To learn* wisdom+ and discipline;To understand wise sayings;
3 To acquire the discipline+ that gives insight,Righteousness,+ good judgment,*+ and uprightness;*
4 To impart shrewdness+ to the inexperienced;To give a young man knowledge and thinking ability.+
5 A wise person listens and takes in more instruction;+A man of understanding acquires skillful direction*+
6 To understand a proverb and a puzzling saying,*The words of the wise and their riddles.+
7 The fear of* Jehovah is the beginning of knowledge.+
Only fools despise wisdom and discipline.+
8 Listen, my son, to the discipline of your father,+And do not forsake the instruction* of your mother.+
9 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 “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.”