Proverbs 1:1–9:18

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.

Trust in the Lord with All Your Heart

3^yMy son, do not forget my teaching,

^zbut let your heart keep my commandments,

²for ^alength of days and years of life

and ^bpeace they will add to you.

³Let not ^csteadfast love and ^dfaithfulness forsake you;

^ebind them around your neck;

^fwrite them on the tablet of your heart.

⁴So you will ^gfind favor and ^hgood success¹

in the sight of God and man.

⁵ⁱTrust in the Lord with all your heart,

and ^jdo not lean on your own understanding.

⁶In all your ways ^kacknowledge him,

and he ^lwill make straight your paths.

^7mBe not wise in your own eyes;

ⁿfear the Lord, and turn away from evil.

⁸It will be ^ohealing to your flesh²

and ^prefreshment³ to your bones.

⁹Honor the Lord with your wealth

and with ^qthe firstfruits of all your produce;

¹⁰then your ^rbarns will be filled with plenty,

and your vats will be bursting with wine.

^11sMy son, do not despise the Lord’s discipline

or be weary of his reproof,

¹²for the Lord reproves him whom he loves,

as ^ta father the son in whom he delights.

Blessed Is the One Who Finds Wisdom

^13uBlessed is the one who finds wisdom,

and the one who gets understanding,

^14vfor the gain from her is better than gain from silver

and her profit better than ^wgold.

¹⁵She is more precious than ^xjewels,

and ^ynothing you desire can compare with her.

^16zLong life is in her right hand;

in her left hand are ^ariches and honor.

¹⁷Her ^bways are ways of pleasantness,

and all her paths are peace.

¹⁸She is ^ca tree of life to those who ^dlay hold of her;

those who hold her fast are called blessed.

^19eThe Lord by wisdom founded the earth;

by understanding ^ehe established the heavens;

²⁰by his knowledge ^fthe deeps broke open,

and ^gthe clouds drop down the dew.

²¹My son, ^hdo not lose sight of these—

keep sound wisdom and discretion,

²²and they will be ⁱlife for your soul

and ^jadornment for your neck.

^23kThen you will walk on your way securely,

^land your foot will not stumble.

^24mIf you lie down, you will not be afraid;

when you lie down, ⁿyour sleep will be sweet.

^25oDo not be afraid of sudden terror

or of ^pthe ruin⁴ of the wicked, when it comes,

²⁶for the Lord will be your confidence

and will ^qkeep your foot from being caught.

^27rDo not withhold good from those to whom it is due,⁵

when it is in your power to do it.

^28sDo not say to your neighbor, “Go, and come again,

tomorrow I will give it”—when you have it with you.

^29tDo not plan evil against your neighbor,

who ^udwells trustingly beside you.

^30vDo not contend with a man for no reason,

when he has done you no harm.

^31wDo not envy ^xa man of violence

and do not choose any of his ways,

³²for ^ythe devious person is an abomination to the Lord,

but the upright are ^zin his confidence.

^33aThe Lord’s curse is on the house of the wicked,

but he ^bblesses the dwelling of the righteous.

³⁴Toward the ^cscorners he ^dis scornful,

^ebut to the humble he gives favor.⁶

³⁵The wise will inherit honor,

but fools get⁷ disgrace.

A Father’s Wise Instruction

4^fHear, O sons, a father’s instruction,

and be attentive, that you may ^ggain¹ insight,

²for I give you good ^hprecepts;

do not forsake my teaching.

³When I was a son with my father,

ⁱtender, ^jthe only one in the sight of my mother,

⁴he ^ktaught me and said to me,

^l“Let your heart hold fast my words;

^mkeep my commandments, and live.

⁵ⁿGet wisdom; get ^ginsight;

do not forget, and do not turn away from the words of my mouth.

⁶Do not forsake her, and she will keep you;

^olove her, and she will guard you.

^7pThe beginning of wisdom is this: Get wisdom,

and whatever you get, get ^ginsight.

⁸Prize her highly, and she will exalt you;

she will ^qhonor you ^rif you embrace her.

⁹She will place on your head ^sa graceful garland;

she will bestow on you a beautiful crown.”

^10fHear, ^tmy son, and accept my words,

that ^uthe years of your life may be many.

¹¹I have ^vtaught you the way of wisdom;

I have led you in the paths of uprightness.

¹²When you walk, ^wyour step will not be hampered,

and ^xif you run, you will not stumble.

^13yKeep hold of instruction; do not let go;

guard her, for she is your ^zlife.

^14aDo not enter the path of the wicked,

and do not walk in the way of the evil.

¹⁵Avoid it; do not go on it;

turn away from it and pass on.

¹⁶For they ^bcannot sleep unless they have done wrong;

they are robbed of sleep unless they have made someone stumble.

¹⁷For they eat the bread of wickedness

^cand drink the wine of violence.

¹⁸But ^dthe path of the righteous is like ^ethe light of dawn,

which shines ^fbrighter and brighter until ^gfull day.

^19hThe way of the wicked is like deep ⁱdarkness;

they do not know over what they ^jstumble.

^20kMy son, be attentive to my words;

incline your ear to my sayings.

^21lLet them not escape from your sight;

^mkeep them within your heart.

²²For they are ⁿlife to those who find them,

and healing to all their² flesh.

²³Keep your heart with all vigilance,

for ^ofrom it flow ^pthe springs of life.

²⁴Put away from you ^qcrooked speech,

and put ^rdevious talk far from you.

^25sLet your eyes look directly forward,

and your gaze be straight before you.

^26tPonder³ the path of your feet;

^uthen all your ways will be sure.

^27vDo not swerve to the right or to the left;

turn your foot away from evil.

Warning Against Adultery

5^wMy son, be attentive to my wisdom;

^xincline…