Proverbs 1–2

CHAPTER 1

To Know Wisdom

¹The ^aproverbs of Solomon ^bthe son of David, king of Israel:

²To know ^awisdom and discipline,

To understand the sayings of ^bunderstanding,

³To ^areceive discipline ¹that leads to insight,

^bRighteousness, justice, and equity,

⁴To give ^aprudence to the ^1bsimple,

To the youth ^cknowledge and discretion;

⁵Let the wise man hear and ^aincrease in learning,

And a ^bman of understanding will acquire guidance,

⁶To understand a proverb and an enigma,

The words of the wise and their ^ariddles.

^7aThe fear of ¹Yahweh is the beginning of knowledge;

²Ignorant fools despise wisdom and discipline.

The Enticement of Sinners

^8aHear, my son, your father’s discipline

And ^bdo not abandon your mother’s ¹instruction;

⁹For they are a ^agarland of grace for your head

And ^1bornaments about your neck.

¹⁰My son, if sinners ^aentice you,

^bDo not be willing.

¹¹If they say, “Come with us,

Let us ^alie in wait for blood,

Let us ^bambush the innocent without cause;

¹²Let us ^aswallow them alive like Sheol,

And whole, as those who ^bgo down to the pit;

¹³We will find all kinds of precious wealth,

We will fill our houses with spoil;

¹⁴Cast in your lot ¹with us,

We shall all have one purse,”

¹⁵My son, ^ado not walk in the way with them.

^bWithhold your feet from their pathway,

¹⁶For ^atheir feet run to evil

And they hasten to shed blood.

¹⁷For it is ¹no use that a net is spread

In the sight of any ²bird;

¹⁸But they ^alie in wait for their own blood;

They ambush their own ¹lives.

¹⁹So are the paths of everyone who is ^agreedy for gain;

It takes away the ¹life of its possessors.

The Call of Wisdom

^20aWisdom shouts in the street,

She gives forth her voice in the square;

²¹At the head of the noisy streets she calls out;

At the entrance of the gates in the city she utters her sayings:

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

And ^bscoffers delight in scoffing

And ¹fools ^chate knowledge?

²³“Turn to my reproof,

Behold, I will ^apour out my spirit on you;

I will make my words known to you.

²⁴“Because ^aI called and you ^brefused,

I ^cstretched out my hand and no one paid attention;

²⁵And you ^aneglected all my counsel

And were not ^bwilling to accept my reproof;

²⁶I will also ^alaugh at your ^bdisaster;

I will mock when your ^cdread comes,

²⁷When your dread comes like a storm

And your disaster comes like a ^awhirlwind,

When distress and anguish come upon you.

²⁸“Then they will ^acall on me, but I will not answer;

They will ^bseek me earnestly but they will not find me,

²⁹Because they ^ahated knowledge

And did not choose the fear of Yahweh.

³⁰“They ^awere not willing to accept my counsel,

They spurned all my reproof.

³¹“So they shall ^aeat of the fruit of their way

And be ^bsatisfied with their own devices.

³²“For the ^aturning away of the simple will kill them,

And the complacency of fools will destroy them.

³³“But ^ahe who listens to me shall dwell securely

And will be at ease from the dread of evil.”

CHAPTER 2

Yahweh Gives Wisdom

¹My son, if you will ^areceive my words

And ^btreasure my commandments within you,

^2aTo make your ear pay attention to wisdom,

Incline your heart to discernment;

³For if you call out for understanding,

Give your voice for discernment;

⁴If you seek her as ^asilver

And search for her as for ^bhidden treasures;

⁵Then you will understand the ^afear of Yahweh

And find the knowledge of God.

⁶For ^aYahweh gives wisdom;

From His mouth come knowledge and discernment.

⁷He stores up sound wisdom for the upright,

A ^ashield to those who walk in integrity,

⁸To guard the paths of justice,

And He ^akeeps the way of His holy ones.

⁹Then you will understand ^arighteousness and justice

And equity—every ^bgood track.

¹⁰For ^awisdom will enter your heart

And ^bknowledge will be pleasant to your soul;

¹¹Discretion will ^akeep you,

Discernment will guard you,

¹²To ^adeliver you from the way of evil,

From the man who speaks ^bperverse things;

¹³From those who ^aforsake the paths of uprightness

To walk in the ^bways of darkness;

¹⁴Who are ^aglad to do evil

And they rejoice in the perversity of evil;

¹⁵Whose paths are ^acrooked,

And who are devious in their tracks;

¹⁶To deliver you from the ^1astrange woman,

From the ^2bforeign woman who flatters with her words;

¹⁷Who forsakes the close ^acompanion of her youth

And forgets the ^bcovenant of her God;

¹⁸For ^aher house ¹sinks down to death

And her tracks descend to the ²dead;

¹⁹All ^awho go to her will not return,

And they will not reach the ^bpaths of life.

²⁰So that you will ^awalk in the way of good men

And keep to the ^bpaths of the righteous.

²¹For ^athe upright will dwell in the land

And ^bthe blameless will remain in it;

²²But ^athe wicked will be cut off from the land

And ^bthe treacherous will be ^ctorn away from it.