Proverbs 1:1–2:22
1 The aproverbs of Solomon the son of David, king of Israel:
2 To know wisdom and instruction,
To 1perceive the words of understanding,
3 To receive the instruction of wisdom,
Justice, judgment, and equity;
4 To give prudence to the bsimple,
To the young man knowledge and discretion—
5 cA wise man will hear and increase learning,
And a man of understanding will 2attain wise counsel,
6 To understand a proverb and an enigma,
The words of the wise and their driddles.
7 eThe fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge,
But fools despise wisdom and instruction.
8 fMy son, hear the instruction of your father,
And do not forsake the law of your mother;
9 For they will be a ggraceful ornament on your head,
And chains about your neck.
10 My son, if sinners entice you,
hDo not consent.
11 If they say, “Come with us,
Let us ilie in wait to shed blood;
Let us lurk secretly for the innocent without cause;
12 Let us swallow them alive like 3Sheol,
And whole, jlike those who go down to the Pit;
13 We shall find all kinds of precious 4possessions,
We shall fill our houses with 5spoil;
Let us all have one purse”—
15 My son, kdo not walk in the way with them,
lKeep your foot from their path;
16 mFor their feet run to evil,
And they make haste to shed blood.
17 Surely, in 6vain the net is spread
In the sight of any 7bird;
18 But they lie in wait for their own blood,
They lurk secretly for their own lives.
19 nSo are the ways of everyone who is greedy for gain;
It takes away the life of its owners.
20 oWisdom calls aloud 8outside;
She raises her voice in the open squares.
21 She cries out in the 9chief concourses,
At the openings of the gates in the city
She speaks her words:
22 “How long, you 1simple ones, will you love 2simplicity?
For scorners delight in their scorning,
And fools hate knowledge.
Surely pI will pour out my spirit on you;
I will make my words known to you.
24 qBecause I have called and you refused,
I have stretched out my hand and no one regarded,
25 Because you rdisdained all my counsel,
And would have none of my rebuke,
26 sI also will laugh at your calamity;
I will mock when your terror comes,
27 When tyour terror comes like a storm,
And your destruction comes like a whirlwind,
When distress and anguish come upon you.
28 “Then uthey will call on me, but I will not answer;
They will seek me diligently, but they will not find me.
29 Because they vhated knowledge
And did not wchoose the fear of the Lord,
30 xThey would have none of my counsel
And despised my every rebuke.
31 Therefore ythey shall eat the fruit of their own way,
And be filled to the full with their own fancies.
32 For the 3turning away of the simple will slay them,
And the complacency of fools will destroy them;
33 But whoever listens to me will dwell zsafely,
And awill be 4secure, without fear of evil.”
2 My son, if you receive my words, And atreasure my commands within you,
2 So that you incline your ear to wisdom,
And apply your heart to understanding;
3 Yes, if you cry out for discernment,
And lift up your voice for understanding,
4 bIf you seek her as silver,
And search for her as for hidden treasures;
5 cThen you will understand the fear of the Lord,
And find the knowledge of God.
6 dFor the Lord gives wisdom;
From His mouth come knowledge and understanding;
7 He stores up sound wisdom for the upright;
eHe is a shield to those who walk uprightly;
8 He guards the paths of justice,
And fpreserves the way of His saints.
9 Then you will understand righteousness and justice,
Equity and every good path.
10 When wisdom enters your heart,
And knowledge is pleasant to your soul,
11 Discretion will preserve you;
gUnderstanding will keep you,
12 To deliver you from the way of evil,
From the man who speaks perverse things,
13 From those who leave the paths of uprightness
To hwalk in the ways of darkness;
14 iWho rejoice in doing evil,
And delight in the perversity of the wicked;
15 jWhose ways are crooked,
And who are devious in their paths;
16 To deliver you from kthe immoral woman,
lFrom the seductress who flatters with her words,
17 Who forsakes the companion of her youth,
And forgets the covenant of her God.
18 For mher house 1leads down to death,
And her paths to the dead;
Nor do they 2regain the paths of life—
20 So you may walk in the way of goodness,
And keep to the paths of righteousness.
21 For the upright will dwell in the nland,
And the blameless will remain in it;
22 But the wicked will be 3cut off from the 4earth,
And the unfaithful will be uprooted from it.