Proverbs 1–9

Prologue

1Proverbs of Solomon, son of David, king of Israel:

²To know wisdom and instruction,

to understand sayings of understanding,

³to gain insightful instruction,^a

righteousness and justice and equity,

⁴to give shrewdness^b to the simple,

knowledge and purpose^c to the young,

⁵may the wise hear and increase learning,

and the one who understands gain direction,^d

⁶to understand a proverb and an expression,

words of wisdom and their riddles.

⁷Fear of Yahweh is the beginning of knowledge;

wisdom and instruction, fools despise.

Lecture Against Gang Behavior

⁸My child, may you keep^e your father’s instruction,

and do not reject your mother’s teachings,

⁹for they are a garland of favor for your head,

and pendants for your neck.

¹⁰My child, if sinners entice you, do not consent.

¹¹If they say,

“Come with us!

We shall lie in wait for blood;

we shall ambush the innocent without cause.^f

¹²Like Sheol,^g we will swallow them alive

and whole, like those who descend to the pit.^h

¹³We shall find all precious wealth,

we shall fill our houses with booty,

¹⁴you shall throw your lot in our midst,

there will be one purse for all of us.”

¹⁵My child, do not walk in their way.ⁱ

Keep your foot from their paths,

¹⁶for their feet run to evil,

and they hurry to shed blood,

¹⁷for “in vain^j is the net scattered,

in the sight of any winged bird.”^k

¹⁸They lie in wait for their own blood.

They ambush their own lives.

¹⁹Thus are the ways of all who are greedy for gain—

it will take the life of its possessors.

The Call of Lady Wisdom

²⁰Wisdom calls out in the streets,

in the squares she raises her voice.

²¹On a busy corner^l she cries out,

at the entrances of the gates in the city, she speaks her sayings:

²²“How long,^m O simple ones, will you love simplicity?

And how long will scoffers delight in their scoffing,

and fools hate knowledge?

²³May you turn to my argument!ⁿ

Behold, I shall pour out my spirit upon you;

I will make my words known to you.

²⁴Because I called out and you refused me,

I stretched out my hand, yet there is none who heeds.

²⁵You have ignored all my counsel,

and my reproof you are not willing to accept.

²⁶I will also laugh at your calamity;^o

I will mock when panic^p comes upon you.

²⁷When your panic comes like a storm,

and your calamity arrives like a whirlwind,

when distress and anguish come upon you,

²⁸then they will call^q me, but I will not answer;

they will seek me diligently but not find me.

²⁹Since they hated knowledge,

and did not choose the fear of Yahweh,

³⁰they were not willing to accept my counsel,

they despised all my reproof.

³¹They shall eat from the fruit of their way,

and they shall be sated from their own schemes,

³²for the waywardness of the simple ones will kill them,

and the complacency of fools will destroy them.

³³Whoever listens to me will dwell in security

and rest securely^r from dread and disaster.”

The Benefits of Wisdom

2My child, if you will receive^a my sayings,

and hide my commands with you,

²in order to incline your ear toward wisdom,

then you shall apply your heart to understanding.

³For if you cry out for understanding,^b

if you lift^c your voice for insight,

⁴if you seek her like silver

and search her out like treasure,^d

⁵then you will understand the fear of Yahweh,

and the knowledge of God you will find.

⁶For Yahweh will give wisdom;

from his mouth come knowledge and understanding.

⁷For the upright, he stores^e sound judgment, a shield for those who walk uprightly,

⁸in order to guard paths of justice

and keep^f the way of his faithful ones.

⁹Then you will understand righteousness and justice

and uprightness—every good course—

¹⁰for wisdom will enter your heart,

and knowledge will be pleasing to your soul.^g

¹¹Discretion will watch over you;

understanding will protect you,

¹²in order to deliver you from the way of evil,^h

from a man who speaks devious things—

¹³those who forsake the paths of uprightness

to walk in ways of darkness,

¹⁴those who are happy to do evil,

for they delight in the deviousness of evil,

¹⁵who are crooked in their ways,ⁱ

and devious in their paths;

¹⁶in order to deliver you from a strange woman,

from a foreign woman who flatters^j with her sayings,

¹⁷she who forsakes the partner of her youth

and has forgotten the covenant of her God,

¹⁸for her house sinks to death,

and to the dead^k are her paths.

¹⁹Of all who go to her, none shall return,

nor do they reach paths of life.

²⁰So that you will walk on the road of those who are good,

and the paths of those who are righteous you shall keep.

²¹For those who are upright will dwell in the land,^l

and those who are blameless^m will remain in it.

²²And those who are wicked will be cut off from the land,

and those who are treacherous will be uprooted from it.

Wisdom and Piety

3My child, do not forget my instruction,

and may your heart guard my commands.

²For length of days, years of life,

and peace they^a shall add to you.

³May loyal love^b and truth not forsake you;

bind them around your neck,

write them upon your heart.

⁴And you shall find favor and good sense^c

in the eyes of God and humankind.

⁵Trust Yahweh^d with all your heart;

do not lean toward your own understanding.

⁶In all your ways acknowledge him,

and he will straighten your paths.

⁷Do not be wise in your own eyes;

fear Yahweh and retreat from evil.

⁸There shall be healing for your flesh,^e

and refreshment for your body.

⁹Honor Yahweh from your substance,^f

and from the firstfruits of all that will come to you,

¹⁰and your barns shall be full of plenty,

and your vats shall burst with new wine.

Happy Is the One Who Finds Wisdom

¹¹Do not despise the discipline of Yahweh, my child.

Do not be weary of his reproof

¹²because whomever Yahweh will love, he will rebuke,

as a father delights in his son.

¹³Happy is the one^g who finds wisdom,

and one who obtains understanding.

¹⁴For her^h income is better than the income of silver,

and her revenue than that of gold.

¹⁵She is more precious than rubies,

and all your desires shall not compare with her.

¹⁶Length of days is in her right hand;

in her left hand are riches and honor.

¹⁷Her ways are ways of pleasantness,

and all her paths are peace.

¹⁸She is a tree of life for those who seize her;

those who take hold of her are considered happy.

Role of Wisdom in Creation and Society

¹⁹Yahweh in wisdom founded the earth;

he established the heavens in understanding.

²⁰With his knowledge, depths broke open,

and clouds dropped dew.

²¹My child, may theyⁱ not escape from your sight;^j

may you keep sound wisdom and prudence.

²²They shall be life for your soul^k

and adornment^l for your neck.

²³Then you will walk in the confidence of your ways,

and your foot will not stumble.

²⁴If you sit down, you will not panic,^m

and if you lie down, then your sleep shall be sweet.

²⁵Do not be afraid of sudden panic,ⁿ

or the storm of wickedness that will come.

²⁶Yahweh will be your confidence^o

and guard your foot from capture.

²⁷Do not withhold good from its owner^p

when it is in the power of your hand to do.

²⁸Do not say to your neighbor,

“Go and return and tomorrow I will give it,”

when it is with you.^q

²⁹Do not plot harm against your neighbor

who dwells in confidence beside you.

³⁰Do not quarrel with anyone without cause,

when he did not do you harm.

³¹Do not envy a man of violence,

and do not choose any of his ways,

³²for he who is perverse is an abomination of Yahweh,

but those who are upright are his confidence.

³³The curse of Yahweh is on the house of the wicked,

and the abode of the righteous ones he blesses.

³⁴With those who scorn, he is scornful,

but to those who are humble, he gives favor.

³⁵They will inherit the honor of the wise,

but stubborn fools, disgrace.

The Father’s Wisdom

4Children, listen to the instruction of a father,

and be attentive in order to know insight.

²For I have given you good instruction;

do not forsake my teaching.

³When I was a son to my father,

tender and alone before my mother,

⁴he taught me and said to me,

“May your heart hold fast to my words;

guard my commandments and live.

⁵Get wisdom and insight;

do not forget and do not turn from the sayings of my mouth.

⁶Do not forsake her—then she will guard you;

love her and she will keep you.

⁷The beginning of wisdom: Get wisdom!

With all that is in your possession, gain insight.

⁸Cherish her and she will exalt you;

she will honor you if you embrace her.

⁹She will give a garland for your head;

she shall bestow a crown of glory upon you.”

The Right Path

¹⁰Listen, my child, take my sayings,

and the years of your life shall be great.

¹¹In the way of wisdom I have instructed you;

I have led you in the path of uprightness.

¹²When you walk,^a your step will not be hampered,

and if you run, you will not stumble.

¹³Seize the instruction! Do not let go!

Guard her, for she is your life.

¹⁴In the path of the wicked do not go;

do not walk in the way of those who do evil.

¹⁵Avoid it; do not transgress it;

turn away from it and pass by.

¹⁶For they will not sleep if they have not done wrong,

and they are robbed of their sleep if they do not cause stumbling.

¹⁷For they ate the bread of wickedness,

and they drank the wine of violence.

¹⁸But the path of the righteous ones is like the light of dawn,

leading and shining until the day is full.^b

¹⁹The way of the wicked ones is like deep darkness;

they do not know what they stumble over.

Staying the Course

²⁰My child, be attentive to my words;

to my sayings incline your ear.

²¹May they not escape from your sight;^c

keep them in the midst of your heart.

²²For they are life to those who find them

and healing to the entire body.^d

²³With all vigilance, keep your heart,

for from it comes the source^e of life.

²⁴Remove from yourself deceitful speech,^f

and abolish devious talk^g from yourself.

²⁵May your eyes look forward^h

and your gaze be straight before you.

²⁶May the path of your foot be balanced

and all your ways be sure.

²⁷Do not swerve right or left;

remove your foot from…