Proverbs 1–2

The Beginning of Knowledge

1^aThe proverbs of Solomon, son of David, king of Israel:

²To know wisdom and instruction,

to understand words of insight,

³to receive instruction in wise dealing,

in ^brighteousness, justice, and equity;

⁴to give prudence to ^cthe simple,

knowledge and ^ddiscretion to the youth—

⁵Let the wise hear and ^eincrease in learning,

and the one who understands obtain guidance,

⁶to understand a proverb and a saying,

^fthe words of the wise and their ^griddles.

^7hThe fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge;

fools despise wisdom and instruction.

The Enticement of Sinners

⁸ⁱHear, my son, your father’s instruction,

and forsake not your mother’s teaching,

⁹for they are ^ja graceful garland for your head

and ^kpendants for your neck.

¹⁰My son, if sinners ^lentice you,

do not consent.

¹¹If they say, “Come with us, ^mlet us lie in wait for blood;

ⁿlet us ambush the innocent without reason;

¹²like Sheol let us ^oswallow them alive,

and whole, like ^pthose who go down to the pit;

¹³we shall find all precious goods,

we shall fill our houses with plunder;

¹⁴throw in your lot among us;

we will all have one purse”—

¹⁵my son, ^qdo not walk in the way with them;

^rhold back your foot from their paths,

¹⁶for ^stheir feet run to evil,

and they make haste to shed blood.

^17tFor in vain is a net spread

in the sight of any bird,

¹⁸but these men ^ulie in wait for their own blood;

they ^uset an ambush for their own lives.

^19vSuch are the ways of everyone who is ^wgreedy for unjust gain;

^xit takes away the life of its possessors.

The Call of Wisdom

^20yWisdom cries aloud in the street,

in the markets she raises her voice;

²¹at the head of the noisy streets she cries out;

at ^zthe entrance of the city gates she speaks:

²²“How long, O ^asimple ones, will you love being simple?

How long will ^bscoffers delight in their scoffing

and fools ^chate knowledge?

²³If you turn at my reproof,¹

behold, I will ^dpour out my spirit to you;

I will make my words known to you.

^24eBecause I have called and ^fyou refused to listen,

have ^gstretched out my hand and no one has heeded,

²⁵because you have ^hignored all my counsel

and ⁱwould have none of my reproof,

²⁶I also ^jwill laugh at your calamity;

I will mock when ^kterror strikes you,

²⁷when terror strikes you like ^la storm

and your calamity comes like a whirlwind,

when distress and anguish come upon you.

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

they will seek me diligently but will not find me.

²⁹Because they ^chated knowledge

and ⁿdid not choose the fear of the Lord,

^30hwould have none of my counsel

and ⁱdespised all my reproof,

³¹therefore they shall eat ^othe fruit of their way,

and have ^ptheir fill of their own devices.

³²For the simple are killed by ^qtheir turning away,

and ^rthe complacency of fools destroys them;

³³but ^swhoever listens to me will dwell secure

and will be ^tat ease, without dread of disaster.”

The Value of Wisdom

2^uMy son, ^vif you receive my words

and treasure up my commandments with you,

²making your ear attentive to wisdom

and inclining your heart to understanding;

³yes, if you call out for insight

and raise your voice ^wfor understanding,

⁴if you seek it like ^xsilver

and search for it as for ^yhidden treasures,

⁵then ^zyou will understand the fear of the Lord

and find the knowledge of God.

⁶For ^athe Lord gives wisdom;

from his mouth come knowledge and understanding;

⁷he stores up sound wisdom for the upright;

he is ^ba shield to those who ^cwalk in integrity,

⁸guarding the paths of justice

and ^dwatching over the way of his ^esaints.

^9fThen you will understand ^grighteousness and justice

and equity, every good path;

¹⁰for wisdom will come into your heart,

and knowledge will be pleasant to your soul;

^11hdiscretion will ⁱwatch over you,

understanding will guard you,

¹²delivering you from the way of evil,

from men of perverted speech,

¹³who forsake the paths of uprightness

to ^jwalk in the ways of darkness,

¹⁴who ^krejoice in doing evil

and ^ldelight in the perverseness of evil,

¹⁵men whose ^mpaths are crooked,

ⁿand who are ^odevious in their ways.

¹⁶So ^pyou will be delivered from the forbidden¹ woman,

from ^qthe adulteress² with ^rher smooth words,

¹⁷who forsakes ^sthe companion of her youth

and forgets ^tthe covenant of her God;

^18ufor her house sinks down to death,

and her paths to the departed;³

¹⁹none who go to her come back,

nor do they regain the paths of life.

²⁰So you will walk in the way of the good

and keep to the paths of the righteous.

²¹For the upright ^vwill inhabit the land,

and those with integrity will remain in it,

²²but the wicked will be ^wcut off from the land,

and the treacherous will be ^xrooted out of it.