Proverbs 1–2

The ^aproverbs of Solomon the son of David, king of Israel.

²To know wisdom and ^binstruction;

To ^cperceive the words of ^dunderstanding;

³To receive the ^binstruction of wisdom,

^eJustice, and judgment, and equity;

⁴To give ^fsubtilty to the ^gsimple,

To the young man knowledge and discretion.

⁵A wise man will hear, and ^hwill increase ⁱlearning;

And a man of understanding shall ⁱⁱattain unto ^jwise counsels:

⁶To ^cunderstand a ^aproverb, and the interpretation;

The words of the wise, and their ^kdark sayings.

^7lThe fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge:

But ^llfools despise wisdom and ^binstruction.

^8mMy son, hear the ^binstruction of thy father,

And ⁿforsake not the law of thy mother:

⁹For they shall be an ornament of grace unto thy head,

And ^ochains about thy ^pneck.

¹⁰My son, ^qif sinners entice thee,

Consent thou not.

¹¹If they say, Come with us, let us ^rlay wait for blood,

Let us ^slurk privily for the innocent without cause:

¹²Let us ^uswallow them up alive ^vas the grave;

And whole, ^was those that go down into the pit:

¹³We shall find all precious substance,

We shall fill our houses with spoil:

¹⁴Cast in thy lot among us;

Let us all have one purse:

¹⁵My son, ^qxwalk not thou in the way with them;

Refrain thy foot from their path:

^16yFor their feet run to evil,

And make haste to shed blood.

¹⁷Surely in vain ^zthe net is spread in the sight of any bird.

¹⁸And they ^clay wait for their own blood;

They ^clurk privily for their own lives.

¹⁹So are the ways of every one ^dthat is greedy of gain;

Which taketh away the life of ^ddthe owners thereof.

^20eWisdom crieth without;

She uttereth her voice in the streets:

²¹She crieth in the chief place of concourse, in ^eethe openings of the gates:

In the city she uttereth her words, saying,

²²How long, ye ^fsimple ones, will ye love simplicity?

And the ^gscorners delight in their scorning,

And fools ^hhate knowledge?

²³Turn you at my reproof:

Behold, ⁱI will ^jpour out my spirit unto you,

I will make known my words unto you.

^24kBecause I have called, and ye ^lrefused;

I have stretched out my hand, and no man regarded;

²⁵But ye have ^mset at nought all my counsel,

And ⁿwould none of my reproof:

²⁶I also will ^olaugh at your calamity;

I will ^omock when your fear cometh;

²⁷When your fear cometh as ^pdesolation,

And your destruction cometh as a whirlwind;

When distress and anguish cometh upon you:

^28qThen shall they call upon me, but I will not answer;

They shall ^rseek me early, but they shall not find me:

²⁹For that they ^hhated knowledge,

And did not ^schoose the fear of the Lord:

³⁰They ^uwould none of my counsel:

They ^tdespised all my reproof.

³¹Therefore shall they eat of ^uthe fruit of their own way,

And be ^wfilled with their own devices.

³²For the ^xturning away of the simple shall slay them,

And the prosperity of fools shall destroy them.

³³But ^ywhoso hearkeneth unto me shall dwell safely,

And ^zshall be quiet from fear of evil.

II.^aMy son, if thou wilt receive my words,

^aAnd ^bhide my commandments with thee;

²So that thou ^bbincline thine ear unto wisdom,

And apply thine heart to understanding;

³Yea, if thou criest after ^cknowledge,

And liftest up thy voice for understanding;

⁴If thou seekest her ^das silver,

And searchest for her as for ^ehid treasures;

^5kThen shalt thou understand the fear of the Lord,

And find the knowledge of God.

⁶For ^fthe Lord giveth wisdom:

Out of his mouth cometh knowledge and understanding.

⁷He ^blayeth up ^gsound wisdom for the righteous:

He is a ^hbuckler to them that ⁱwalk uprightly.

⁸He ⁱⁱkeepeth the paths of judgment,

And ^jpreserveth the way of his saints.

^9kThen shalt thou understand ^lrighteousness, and judgment,

And ^mequity; yea, every good path.

¹⁰When wisdom entereth into thine heart,

And knowledge is pleasant unto thy soul;

¹¹ⁿDiscretion ^oshall preserve thee,

Understanding shall keep thee:

¹²To deliver thee from the way of the evil man,

From the man that speaketh ^pfroward things;

¹³Who leave the paths of uprightness,

To ^qwalk in the ways of darkness;

^14rWho rejoice to do evil,

And ^sdelight in the ^pfrowardness of the wicked;

¹⁵Whose ways are ^tcrooked,

And they ^ufroward in their paths:

^16wTo deliver thee from the ^xstrange woman,

^wEven from ^ythe stranger which ^zflattereth with her words;

¹⁷Which forsaketh ^athe guide of her youth,

And forgetteth the covenant of her God.

¹⁸For ^bher house inclineth unto death,

And her ^cpaths unto ^dthe dead.

¹⁹None that go unto her return again,

Neither take they hold of the paths of life.

²⁰That thou mayest walk in the way of good men,

And keep the paths of the righteous.

²¹For the upright ^eshall dwell in the land,

And the perfect shall remain in it.

²²But the wicked ^fshall be cut off from the earth,

And ^gthe transgressors shall be rooted out of it.

III.