Proverbs 1 / 31
- 1
(The Beginning of Knowledge)
The proverbs of Solomon, son of David, king of Israel:
- 2
To know wisdom and instruction,
to understand words of insight,
- 3
to receive instruction in wise dealing,
in righteousness, justice, and equity;
- 4
to give prudence to the simple,
knowledge and discretion to the youth--
- 5
Let the wise hear and increase in learning,
and the one who understands obtain guidance,
- 6
to understand a proverb and a saying,
the words of the wise and their riddles.
- 7
The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge;
fools despise wisdom and instruction.
- 8(The Enticement of Sinners)
Hear, my son, your father's instruction,
and forsake not your mother's teaching,
- 9
for they are a graceful garland for your head
and pendants for your neck.
- 10
My son, if sinners entice you,
do not consent.
- 11
If they say, "Come with us, let us lie in wait for blood;
let us ambush the innocent without reason;
- 12
like Sheol let us swallow them alive,
and whole, like those who go down to the pit;
- 13
we shall find all precious goods,
we shall fill our houses with plunder;
- 14
throw in your lot among us;
we will all have one purse"--
- 15
my son, do not walk in the way with them;
hold back your foot from their paths,
- 16
for their feet run to evil,
and they make haste to shed blood.
- 17
For in vain is a net spread
in the sight of any bird,
- 18
but these men lie in wait for their own blood;
they set an ambush for their own lives.
- 19
Such are the ways of everyone who is greedy for unjust gain;
it takes away the life of its possessors.
- 20(The Call of Wisdom)
Wisdom cries aloud in the street,
in the markets she raises her voice;
- 21
at the head of the noisy streets she cries out;
at the entrance of the city gates she speaks:
- 22
"How long, O simple ones, will you love being simple?
How long will scoffers delight in their scoffing
and fools hate knowledge?
- 23
If you turn at my reproof,
behold, I will pour out my spirit to you;
I will make my words known to you.
- 24
Because I have called and you refused to listen,
have stretched out my hand and no one has heeded,
- 25
because you have ignored all my counsel
and would have none of my reproof,
- 26
I also will laugh at your calamity;
I will mock when terror strikes you,
- 27
when terror strikes you like a storm
and your calamity comes like a whirlwind,
when distress and anguish come upon you.
- 28
Then they will call upon me, but I will not answer;
they will seek me diligently but will not find me.
- 29
Because they hated knowledge
and did not choose the fear of the Lord,
- 30
would have none of my counsel
and despised all my reproof,
- 31
therefore they shall eat the fruit of their way,
and have their fill of their own devices.
- 32
For the simple are killed by their turning away,
and the complacency of fools destroys them;
- 33
but whoever listens to me will dwell secure
and will be at ease, without dread of disaster."