Proverbs 1–2

The Value of Proverbs

1^*The proverbs of Solomon, son of David and king of Israel.

²Here are proverbs that will help you to recognize wisdom and good advice, and understand sayings with deep meaning. ³They can teach you how to live intelligently and how to be honest, just, and fair. ⁴They can make an inexperienced person clever and teach young people how to be resourceful. ⁵These proverbs can even add to the knowledge of the wise and give guidance to the educated, ⁶so that they can understand the hidden meanings of proverbs and the problems that the wise raise.

Advice to Young Men

^7*To have knowledge, you must first have reverence for the Lord.^a Stupid people have no respect for wisdom and refuse to learn.

⁸Pay attention to what your father and mother tell you, my son. ⁹Their teaching will improve your character as a handsome turban or a necklace improves your appearance.

¹⁰When sinners tempt you, my son, don’t give in. ¹¹Suppose they say, “Come on; let’s find someone to kill! Let’s attack some innocent people for the fun of it! ¹²They may be alive and well when we find them, but they’ll be dead when we’re through with them! ¹³We’ll find all kinds of riches and fill our houses with loot! ¹⁴Come and join us, and we’ll all share what we steal.”

¹⁵Don’t go with people like that, my son. Stay away from them. ¹⁶They can’t wait to do something bad. They’re always ready to kill. ¹⁷It does no good to spread a net when the bird you want to catch is watching, ¹⁸but people like that are setting a trap for themselves, a trap in which they will die. ¹⁹Robbery always claims the life of the robber—this is what happens to^b anyone who lives by violence.

Wisdom Calls

^20*Listen! Wisdom is calling out in the streets and market places, ^21*calling loudly at the city gates and wherever people come together:

²²“Foolish people! How long do you want to be foolish? How long will you enjoy pouring scorn on knowledge? Will you never learn? ²³Listen when I reprimand you; I will give you good advice and share my knowledge with you. ²⁴I have been calling you, inviting you to come, but you would not listen. You paid no attention to me. ²⁵You have ignored all my advice and have not been willing to let me correct you. ²⁶So when you get into trouble, I will laugh at you. I will mock you when terror strikes- ²⁷when it comes on you like a storm, bringing fierce winds of trouble, and you are in pain and misery. ²⁸Then you will call for wisdom, but I will not answer. You may look for me everywhere, but you will not find me. ²⁹You have never had any use for knowledge and have always refused to obey the Lord. ³⁰You have never wanted my advice or paid any attention when I corrected you. ³¹So then, you will get what you deserve, and your own actions will make you sick. ³²Inexperienced people die because they reject wisdom. Stupid people are destroyed by their own lack of concern. ³³But whoever listens to me will have security. He will be safe, with no reason to be afraid.”

The Rewards of Wisdom

2Learn what I teach you, my son, and never forget what I tell you to do. ²Listen to what is wise and try to understand it. ³Yes, beg for knowledge; plead for insight. ⁴Look for it as hard as you would for silver or some hidden treasure. ⁵If you do, you will know what it means to fear the Lord and you will succeed in learning about God. ⁶It is the Lord who gives wisdom; from him come knowledge and understanding. ⁷He provides help and protection for those who are righteous and honest. ⁸He protects those who treat others fairly, and guards those who are devoted to him.

⁹If you listen to me, you will know what is right, just, and fair. You will know what you should do. ¹⁰You will become wise, and your knowledge will give you pleasure. ¹¹Your insight and understanding will protect you ¹²and prevent you from doing the wrong thing. They will keep you away from people who stir up trouble by what they say- ¹³those who have abandoned a righteous life to live in the darkness of sin, ¹⁴those who find pleasure in doing wrong and who enjoy senseless evil, ¹⁵unreliable people who cannot be trusted.

¹⁶You will be able to resist any immoral woman who tries to seduce you with her smooth talk, ¹⁷who is faithless to her own husband and forgets her sacred vows. ¹⁸If you go to her house, you are travelling the road to death. To go there is to approach the world of the dead. ¹⁹No one who visits her ever comes back. He never returns to the road to life. ²⁰So you must follow the example of good people and live a righteous life. ²¹Righteous people—people of integrity—will live in this land of ours. ²²But God will snatch the wicked from the land and pull sinners out of it like plants from the ground.