Proverbs 1:1–9:18

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.

CHAPTER 3

Trust, Fear, and Honor Yahweh

¹My son, ^ado not forget my ¹law,

But let your heart ^bguard my commandments;

²For ^alength of days and years of life

And peace they will add to you.

³Do not let ^alovingkindness and truth forsake you;

^bBind them around your neck,

^cWrite them on the tablet of your heart.

⁴So you will ^afind favor and ^bgood insight

In the eyes of God and man.

^5aTrust in Yahweh with all your heart

And ^bdo not lean on your own understanding.

⁶In all your ways ^1aacknowledge Him,

And He will ^bmake your paths straight.

^7aDo not be wise in your own eyes;

^bFear Yahweh and turn away from evil.

⁸It will be ^ahealing to your ¹body

And ^brefreshment to your bones.

^9aHonor Yahweh from your wealth

And from the ^bfirst of all your produce;

¹⁰So your ^abarns will be filled with plenty

And your ^bvats will burst with new wine.

^11aMy son, do not reject the ¹discipline of Yahweh

Or loathe His reproof,

¹²For ^awhom Yahweh loves He reproves,

Even ^bas a father reproves the son in whom he delights.

^13aHow blessed is the man who finds wisdom

And the man who obtains discernment.

¹⁴For her ^aprofit is better than the profit of silver

And her produce better than fine gold.

¹⁵She is ^amore precious than ¹pearls;

And nothing you desire compares with her.

^16aLength of days is in her right hand;

In her left hand are ^briches and glory.

¹⁷Her ^aways are pleasant ways

And all her pathways are ^bpeace.

¹⁸She is a ^atree of life to those who seize her,

And all those who hold her fast are blessed.

¹⁹Yahweh ^aby wisdom founded the earth,

By discernment He ^bestablished the heavens.

²⁰By His knowledge the ^adeeps were split up

And the ^bskies drip with dew.

²¹My son, ^alet them not deviate from your eyes;

Guard sound wisdom and discretion,

²²So they will be ^alife for your soul

And ^bgrace for your neck.

²³Then you will ^awalk in your way securely

And your foot will not ^bstumble.

²⁴When you ^alie down, you will not be in dread;

You will lie down, and your sleep will be pleasant.

^25aDo not be afraid of sudden dread

Nor of the ^bstorm of the wicked when it comes;

²⁶For Yahweh will be ¹your confidence

And will ^akeep your foot from being caught.

^27aDo not withhold good from ¹those to whom it is due,

When it is in your hand to do it.

^28aDo not say to your neighbor, “Go, and come back,

And tomorrow I will give it,”

When it is there with you.

^29aDo not devise ¹harm against your neighbor,

While he lives securely beside you.

^30aDo not contend with a man without cause,

If he has dealt you no ¹harm.

^31aDo not envy a man of violence

And do not choose any of his ways.

³²For the ^adevious one is an abomination to Yahweh;

But His ^bsecret council is with the upright.

³³The ^acurse of Yahweh is on the house of the wicked one,

But He ^bblesses the abode of the righteous.

³⁴Though ^aHe scoffs at the scoffers,

Yet ^bHe gives grace to the humble.

^35aThe wise will inherit glory,

But ¹fools raise up disgrace.

CHAPTER 4

A Father’s Wise Instruction

¹Hear, O sons, the ^adiscipline of a father,

And ^bpay attention that you may know understanding,

²For I give you ¹sound ^alearning;

^bDo not forsake my ²instruction.

³When I was a son to my father,

^aTender and ^bthe only son before my mother,

⁴Then he ^ainstructed me and said to me,

“Let your heart ^bhold fast my words;

^cKeep my commandments and live;

^5aAcquire wisdom! ^bAcquire understanding!

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

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

^aLove her, and she will guard you.

⁷“^1aThe beginning of wisdom is: ^bAcquire wisdom;

And with all your acquiring, acquire understanding.

⁸“^aPrize her, and she will exalt you;

She will honor you if you embrace her.

⁹“She will give ^afor your head a garland of grace;

She will present you with a crown of beauty.”

¹⁰Hear, my son, and ^areceive my sayings

And the ^byears of your life will be many.

¹¹I have ^ainstructed you in the way of wisdom;

I have led you in upright tracks.

¹²When you walk, your ^asteps will not be impeded;

And if you run, you ^bwill not stumble.

^13aSeize discipline; do not let go.

Guard her, for she is your ^blife.

^14aDo not enter the path of wicked men

And do not step into the way of evil men.

¹⁵Avoid it, do not pass by it;

^aStray from it and pass on.

¹⁶For they ^ado not sleep unless they do evil;

And ¹they are robbed of sleep unless they make someone stumble.

¹⁷For they ^aeat the bread of wickedness

And drink the wine of violence.

¹⁸But the ^apath of the righteous is like the ^blight of dawn,

That ^cshines brighter and brighter until the ^dfullness of day.

¹⁹The ^away of the wicked is like thick darkness;

They do not know over what they ^1bstumble.

²⁰My son, ^apay attention to my words;

^bIncline your ear to my sayings.

^21aDo not let them deviate from your eyes;

^bKeep them in the midst of your heart.

²²For they are ^alife to those who find them

And ^bhealing to all his flesh.

²³Guard your heart with all diligence,

For ^afrom it flow the springs of life.

²⁴Put away from you a ^aperverse mouth

And ^bput devious lips far from you.

²⁵Let your eyes look directly ahead

And even let your eyelids be fixed straight in front of you.

^26aWatch the track of your feet

And all your ^bways will be established.

^27aDo not turn to the right nor to the left;

^bTurn your foot from evil.

CHAPTER 5

Warning Against Adultery

¹My son, ^apay attention to my wisdom,

^bIncline your ear to my…