Proverbs 1:1–9
1 aThe proverbs of Solomon, son of David, king of Israel:
2 To know wisdom and instruction,
to understand words of insight,
3 to receive instruction in wise dealing,
in brighteousness, justice, and equity;
4 to give prudence to cthe simple,
knowledge and ddiscretion to the youth—
5 Let the wise hear and eincrease in learning,
and the one who understands obtain guidance,
6 to understand a proverb and a saying,
fthe words of the wise and their griddles.
7 hThe fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge;
fools despise wisdom and instruction.
8 iHear, my son, your father’s instruction,
and forsake not your mother’s teaching,
9 for they are ja graceful garland for your head
and kpendants for your neck.
Proverbs 1:1–9 — The New International Version (NIV)
1 The proverbs of Solomon son of David, king of Israel:
2 for gaining wisdom and instruction;
for understanding words of insight;
3 for receiving instruction in prudent behavior,
doing what is right and just and fair;
4 for giving prudence to those who are simple,
knowledge and discretion to the young—
5 let the wise listen and add to their learning,
and let the discerning get guidance—
6 for understanding proverbs and parables,
the sayings and riddles of the wise.
7 The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge,
but fools despise wisdom and instruction.
8 Listen, my son, to your father’s instruction
and do not forsake your mother’s teaching.
9 They are a garland to grace your head
and a chain to adorn your neck.
Proverbs 1:1–9 — King James Version (KJV 1900)
1 The proverbs of Solomon the son of David, king of Israel;
2 To know wisdom and instruction;
To perceive the words of understanding;
3 To receive the instruction of wisdom,
Justice, and judgment, and equity;
4 To give subtilty to the simple,
To the young man knowledge and discretion.
5 A wise man will hear, and will increase learning;
And a man of understanding shall attain unto wise counsels:
6 To understand a proverb, and the interpretation;
The words of the wise, and their dark sayings.
7 The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge:
But fools despise wisdom and instruction.
8 My son, hear the instruction of thy father,
And forsake not the law of thy mother:
9 For they shall be an ornament of grace unto thy head,
And chains about thy neck.
Proverbs 1:1–9 — New Living Translation (NLT)
1 These are the proverbs of Solomon, David’s son, king of Israel.
2 Their purpose is to teach people wisdom and discipline,
to help them understand the insights of the wise.
3 Their purpose is to teach people to live disciplined and successful lives,
to help them do what is right, just, and fair.
4 These proverbs will give insight to the simple,
knowledge and discernment to the young.
5 Let the wise listen to these proverbs and become even wiser.
Let those with understanding receive guidance
6 by exploring the meaning in these proverbs and parables,
the words of the wise and their riddles.
7 Fear of the Lord is the foundation of true knowledge,
but fools despise wisdom and discipline.
8 My child, listen when your father corrects you.
Don’t neglect your mother’s instruction.
9 What you learn from them will crown you with grace
and be a chain of honor around your neck.
Proverbs 1:1–9 — The New King James Version (NKJV)
1 The proverbs of Solomon the son of David, king of Israel:
2 To know wisdom and instruction,
To perceive the words of understanding,
3 To receive the instruction of wisdom,
Justice, judgment, and equity;
4 To give prudence to the simple,
To the young man knowledge and discretion—
5 A wise man will hear and increase learning,
And a man of understanding will attain wise counsel,
6 To understand a proverb and an enigma,
The words of the wise and their riddles.
7 The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge,
But fools despise wisdom and instruction.
8 My son, hear the instruction of your father,
And do not forsake the law of your mother;
9 For they will be a graceful ornament on your head,
And chains about your neck.
Proverbs 1:1–9 — New Century Version (NCV)
1 These are the wise words of Solomon son of David, king of Israel.
2 They teach wisdom and self-control;
they will help you understand wise words.
3 They will teach you how to be wise and self-controlled
and will teach you to do what is honest and fair and right.
4 They make the uneducated wise
and give knowledge and sense to the young.
5 Wise people can also listen and learn;
even they can find good advice in these words.
6 Then anyone can understand wise words and stories,
the words of the wise and their riddles.
7 Knowledge begins with respect for the Lord,
but fools hate wisdom and discipline.
8 My child, listen to your father’s teaching
and do not forget your mother’s advice.
9 Their teaching will be like flowers in your hair
or a necklace around your neck.
Proverbs 1:1–9 — American Standard Version (ASV)
1 The proverbs of Solomon the son of David, king of Israel:
2 To know wisdom and instruction;
To discern the words of understanding;
3 To receive instruction in wise dealing,
In righteousness and justice and equity;
4 To give prudence to the simple,
To the young man knowledge and discretion:
5 That the wise man may hear, and increase in learning;
And that the man of understanding may attain unto sound counsels:
6 To understand a proverb, and a figure,
The words of the wise, and their dark sayings.
7 The fear of Jehovah is the beginning of knowledge;
But the foolish despise wisdom and instruction.
8 My son, hear the instruction of thy father,
And forsake not the law of thy mother:
9 For they shall be a chaplet of grace unto thy head,
And chains about thy neck.
Proverbs 1:1–9 — 1890 Darby Bible (DARBY)
1 Proverbs of Solomon, son of David, king of Israel: 2 to know wisdom and instruction; to discern the words of understanding; 3 to receive the instruction of wisdom, righteousness and judgment, and equity; 4 to give prudence to the simple, to the young man knowledge and discretion. 5 He that is wise will hear, and will increase learning; and the intelligent will gain wise counsels: 6 to understand a proverb and an allegory, the words of the wise and their enigmas.
7 The fear of Jehovah is the beginning of knowledge: fools despise wisdom and instruction. 8 Hear, my son, the instruction of thy father, and forsake not the teaching of thy mother; 9 for they shall be a garland of grace unto thy head, and chains about thy neck.
Proverbs 1:1–9 — GOD’S WORD Translation (GW)
1 The proverbs of Solomon, David’s son who was king of Israel, ⸤given⸥
2 to grasp wisdom and discipline,
to understand deep thoughts,
3 to acquire the discipline of wise behavior—
righteousness and justice and fairness—
4 to give insight to gullible people,
to give knowledge and foresight to the young—
5 a wise person will listen and continue to learn,
and an understanding person will gain direction—
6 to understand a proverb and a clever saying,
the words of wise people and their riddles.
7 The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge.
Stubborn fools despise wisdom and discipline.
8 My son,
listen to your father’s discipline,
and do not neglect your mother’s teachings,
9 because discipline and teachings
are a graceful garland on your head
and a ⸤golden⸥ chain around your neck.
Proverbs 1:1–9 — The Holman Christian Standard Bible (HCSB)
1 The proverbs of Solomon son of David, king of Israel:
2 For learning what wisdom and discipline are;
for understanding insightful sayings;
3 for receiving wise instruction
in righteousness, justice, and integrity;
4 for teaching shrewdness to the inexperienced,
knowledge and discretion to a young man—
5 a wise man will listen and increase his learning,
and a discerning man will obtain guidance—
6 for understanding a proverb or a parable,
the words of the wise, and their riddles.
7 The fear of the Lord
is the beginning of knowledge;
fools despise wisdom and discipline.
8 Listen, my son, to your father’s instruction,
and don’t reject your mother’s teaching,
9 for they will be a garland of grace on your head
and a gold chain around your neck.
Proverbs 1:1–9 — The New Revised Standard Version (NRSV)
1 The proverbs of Solomon son of David, king of Israel:
2 For learning about wisdom and instruction,
for understanding words of insight,
3 for gaining instruction in wise dealing,
righteousness, justice, and equity;
4 to teach shrewdness to the simple,
knowledge and prudence to the young—
5 let the wise also hear and gain in learning,
and the discerning acquire skill,
6 to understand a proverb and a figure,
the words of the wise and their riddles.
7 The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge;
fools despise wisdom and instruction.
8 Hear, my child, your father’s instruction,
and do not reject your mother’s teaching;
9 for they are a fair garland for your head,
and pendants for your neck.
Proverbs 1:1–9 — The Lexham English Bible (LEB)
1 Proverbs of Solomon, son of David, king of Israel:
2 To know wisdom and instruction,
to understand sayings of understanding,
3 to gain insightful instruction,
righteousness and justice and equity,
4 to give shrewdness to the simple,
knowledge and purpose to the young,
5 may the wise hear and increase learning,
and the one who understands gain direction,
6 to understand a proverb and an expression,
words of wisdom and their riddles.
7 Fear of Yahweh is the beginning of knowledge;
wisdom and instruction, fools despise.
8 My child, may you keep your father’s instruction,
and do not reject your mother’s teachings,
9 for they are a garland of favor for your head,
and pendants for your neck.
Proverbs 1:1–9 — New International Reader’s Version (1998) (NIrV)
1 These are the proverbs of Solomon. He was the son of David and the king of Israel.
2 Proverbs teach you wisdom and train you.
They help you understand wise sayings.
3 They provide you with training and help you live wisely.
They lead to what is right and honest and fair.
4 They give understanding to childish people.
They give knowledge and good sense to those who are young.
5 Let wise people listen and add to what they have learned.
Let those who understand what is right get guidance.
6 What I’m teaching also helps you understand proverbs and stories.
It helps you understand the sayings and riddles of those who are wise.
7 If you really want to gain knowledge, you must begin by having respect for the Lord.
But foolish people hate wisdom and training.
8 My son, listen to your father’s advice.
Don’t turn away from your mother’s teaching.
9 What they teach you will be like a beautiful crown on your head.
It will be like a chain to decorate your neck.
Proverbs 1:1–9 — New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update (NASB95)
1 The proverbs of Solomon the son of David, king of Israel:
2 To know wisdom and instruction,
To discern the sayings of understanding,
3 To receive instruction in wise behavior,
Righteousness, justice and equity;
4 To give prudence to the naive,
To the youth knowledge and discretion,
5 A wise man will hear and increase in learning,
And a man of understanding will acquire wise counsel,
6 To understand a proverb and a figure,
The words of the wise and their riddles.
7 The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge;
Fools despise wisdom and instruction.
8 Hear, my son, your father’s instruction
And do not forsake your mother’s teaching;
9 Indeed, they are a graceful wreath to your head
And ornaments about your neck.