Proverbs 1

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.