Proverbs 1–2

THE PURPOSE OF PROVERBS

1The proverbs of Solomon^a son of David, king of Israel:

²For learning wisdom and discipline;

for understanding insightful sayings;

³for receiving prudent instruction

in righteousness, justice, and integrity;^b

⁴for teaching shrewdness to the inexperienced,^Ac

knowledge and discretion^d to a young man—

⁵let a wise person listen and increase learning,^e

and let a discerning person obtain guidance—

⁶for understanding a proverb or a parable,^B

the words of the wise, and their riddles.^f

⁷The fear of the Lord

is the beginning of knowledge;^g

fools despise wisdom and discipline.^h

AVOID THE PATH OF THE VIOLENT

⁸Listen, my son, to your father’s instruction,

and don’t reject your mother’s teaching,ⁱ

⁹for they will be a garland^j of favor on your head

and pendants^C around your neck.^k

¹⁰My son, if sinners entice you,^l

don’t be persuaded.^m

¹¹If they say—“Come with us!

Let’s set an ambushⁿ and kill someone.^D

Let’s attack some innocent person^o just for fun!^E

¹²Let’s swallow them alive,^p like Sheol,

whole, like those who go down to the Pit.^q

¹³We’ll find all kinds of valuable property

and fill our houses with plunder.^r

¹⁴Throw in your lot with us,

and we’ll all share the loot”^F—

¹⁵my son, don’t travel that road with them^s

or set foot on their path,^t

¹⁶because their feet run toward evil

and they hurry to shed blood.^u

¹⁷It is useless to spread a net

where any bird can see it,

¹⁸but they set an ambush to kill themselves;^G

they attack their own lives.

¹⁹Such are the paths of all who make profit dishonestly;^v

it takes the lives of those who receive it.^H

WISDOM’S PLEA

²⁰Wisdom calls out in the street;

she makes her voice heard in the public squares.^w

²¹She cries out above^A the commotion;

she speaks at the entrance of the city gates:

²²“How long, inexperienced ones, will you love ignorance?

How long will you mockers^x enjoy mocking

and you fools hate knowledge?^y

²³If you respond to my warning,^Bz

then I will pour out my spirit on you^aa

and teach you my words.

²⁴Since I called out and you refused,^ab

extended my hand and no one paid attention,^ac

²⁵since you neglected all my counsel^ad

and did not accept my correction,

²⁶I, in turn, will laugh at your calamity.^ae

I will mock when terror strikes you,

²⁷when terror strikes you like a storm

and your calamity comes like a whirlwind,

when trouble and stress overcome you.

²⁸Then they will call me, but I won’t answer;

they will search for me, but won’t find me.^af

²⁹Because they hated knowledge,

didn’t choose to fear the Lord,^ag

³⁰were not interested in my counsel,

and rejected all my correction,^a

³¹they will eat the fruit of their way^b

and be glutted with their own schemes.^c

³²For the apostasy of the inexperienced will kill them,^d

and the complacency of fools will destroy them.

³³But whoever listens to me will live securely

and be undisturbed by the dread of danger.”^e

WISDOM’S WORTH

2My son, if you accept my words^f

and store up my commands within you,

²listening closely^C to wisdom

and directing your heart to understanding;

³furthermore, if you call out to insight

and lift your voice to understanding,

⁴if you seek it like silver

and search for it like hidden treasure,^g

⁵then you will understand the fear of the Lord

and discover the knowledge of God.

⁶For the Lord gives wisdom;

from his mouth come knowledge and understanding.^h

⁷He stores up success^D for the upright;

He is a shield for those who live with integrityⁱ

⁸so that he may guard the paths of justice

and protect the way of his faithful followers.^j

⁹Then you will understand righteousness, justice,

and integrity—every good path.

¹⁰For wisdom will enter your heart,

and knowledge will delight you.

¹¹Discretion will watch over you,

and understanding will guard you.^k

¹²It will rescue you from the way of evil—

from anyone who says perverse things,

¹³from those who abandon the right paths

to walk in ways of darkness,^l

¹⁴from those who enjoy doing evil^m

and celebrate perversion,

¹⁵whose paths are crooked,ⁿ

and whose ways are devious.^o

¹⁶It will rescue you from a forbidden woman,^p

from a wayward woman with her flattering talk,^q

¹⁷who abandons the companion of her youth^r

and forgets the covenant of her God;

¹⁸for her house sinks down to death

and her ways to the land of the departed spirits.^s

¹⁹None return who go to her;

none reach the paths of life.^t

²⁰So follow the way of the good,^u

and keep to the paths of the righteous.

²¹For the upright will inhabit the land,

and those of integrity will remain in it;^v

²²but the wicked will be cut off from the land,^w

and the treacherous ripped out of it.^x