Proverbs 1–2

Chapter 1

The Usefulness of Proverbs

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

²To know ^awisdom and instruction,

To discern the sayings of ^bunderstanding,

³To ^areceive instruction in wise behavior,

^bRighteousness, justice and equity;

⁴To give ^aprudence to the ¹naive,

To the youth ^bknowledge and discretion,

⁵A wise man will hear and ^aincrease in learning,

And a ^bman of understanding will acquire wise counsel,

⁶To understand a proverb and a figure,

The words of the wise and their ^ariddles.

^7aThe fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge;

Fools despise wisdom and instruction.

The Enticement of Sinners

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

And ^bdo not forsake your mother’s teaching;

⁹Indeed, they are a ^agraceful wreath to your head

And ^1bornaments about your neck.

¹⁰My son, if sinners ^aentice you,

^bDo not consent.

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,

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

¹³We will find all kinds of precious wealth,

We will fill our houses with spoil;

¹⁴Throw in your lot ¹with us,

We shall all have one purse,”

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

^bKeep your feet from their path,

¹⁶For ^atheir feet run to evil

And they hasten to shed blood.

¹⁷Indeed, it is ¹useless to spread the baited net

In the sight of any ²bird;

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

They ambush their own lives.

¹⁹So are the ways of everyone who ^agains by violence;

It takes away the life of its possessors.

Wisdom Warns

^20aWisdom shouts in the street,

She ¹lifts her voice in the square;

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

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

²²“How long, O ^1anaive ones, will you love ²being simple-minded?

And ^bscoffers delight themselves in scoffing

And fools ^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 did not ^bwant my reproof;

²⁶I will also ^alaugh at your ^bcalamity;

I will mock when your ^cdread comes,

²⁷When your dread comes like a storm

And your calamity 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 diligently but they will not find me,

²⁹Because they ^ahated knowledge

And did not choose the fear of the Lord.

³⁰“They ^awould not accept my counsel,

They spurned all my reproof.

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

And be ^bsatiated with their own devices.

³²“For the ^awaywardness of the ¹naive will kill them,

And the complacency of fools will destroy them.

³³“But ^ahe who listens to me shall ¹live securely

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

Chapter 2

The Pursuit of Wisdom Brings Security

¹My son, if you will ^areceive my words

And ^btreasure my commandments within you,

^2aMake your ear attentive to wisdom,

Incline your heart to understanding;

³For if you cry for discernment,

¹Lift your voice for understanding;

⁴If you seek her as ^asilver

And search for her as for ^bhidden treasures;

⁵Then you will discern the ^afear of the Lord

And discover the knowledge of God.

⁶For ^athe Lord gives wisdom;

From His mouth come knowledge and understanding.

⁷He stores up sound wisdom for the upright;

He is a ^ashield to those who walk in integrity,

⁸Guarding the paths of justice,

And He ^apreserves the way of His godly ones.

⁹Then you will discern ^arighteousness and justice

And equity and every ^bgood course.

¹⁰For ^awisdom will enter your heart

And ^bknowledge will be pleasant to your soul;

¹¹Discretion will ^aguard you,

Understanding will watch over you,

¹²To ^adeliver you from the way of evil,

From the man who speaks ^bperverse things;

¹³From those who ^aleave the paths of uprightness

To walk in the ^bways of darkness;

¹⁴Who ^adelight in doing evil

And rejoice in the perversity of evil;

¹⁵Whose paths are ^acrooked,

And who are devious in their ways;

¹⁶To ^adeliver you from the strange woman,

From the ^1badulteress who flatters with her words;

¹⁷That leaves the ^acompanion of her youth

And forgets the ^bcovenant of her God;

¹⁸For ^aher house ¹sinks down to death

And her tracks lead to the ²dead;

¹⁹None ^awho go to her return again,

Nor do they reach the ^bpaths of life.

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

And keep to the ^bpaths of the righteous.

²¹For ^athe upright will ¹live 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 ^cuprooted from it.