Proverbs 1–9

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.

Chapter 3

The Rewards of Wisdom

¹My son, ^ado not forget my ¹teaching,

But let your heart ^bkeep my commandments;

²For ^alength of days and years of life

And peace they will add to you.

³Do not let ^akindness and truth leave you;

^bBind them around your neck,

^cWrite them on the tablet of your heart.

⁴So you will ^afind favor and ^bgood ¹repute

In the sight of God and man.

^5aTrust in the Lord with all your heart

And ^bdo not lean on your own understanding.

⁶In all your ways ^aacknowledge Him,

And He will ^bmake your paths straight.

^7aDo not be wise in your own eyes;

^bFear the Lord and turn away from evil.

⁸It will be ^ahealing to your ¹body

And ^brefreshment to your bones.

^9aHonor the Lord from your wealth

And from the ^bfirst of all your produce;

¹⁰So your ^abarns will be filled with plenty

And your ^bvats will overflow with new wine.

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

Or loathe His reproof,

¹²For ^awhom the Lord loves He reproves,

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

^13aHow blessed is the man who finds wisdom

And the man who gains understanding.

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

And her gain better than fine gold.

¹⁵She is ^amore precious than ¹jewels;

And nothing you desire compares with her.

^161aLong life is in her right hand;

In her left hand are ^briches and honor.

¹⁷Her ^aways are pleasant ways

And all her paths are ^bpeace.

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

And happy are all who hold her fast.

¹⁹The Lord ^aby wisdom founded the earth,

By understanding He ^bestablished the heavens.

²⁰By His knowledge the ^adeeps were broken up

And the ^bskies drip with dew.

²¹My son, ^alet them not ¹vanish from your sight;

Keep sound wisdom and discretion,

²²So they will be ^alife to your soul

And ^badornment to your neck.

²³Then you will ^awalk in your way securely

And your foot will not ^bstumble.

²⁴When you ^alie down, you will not be afraid;

When you lie down, your sleep will be sweet.

^25aDo not be afraid of sudden fear

Nor of the ^1bonslaught of the wicked when it comes;

²⁶For the Lord 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 power to do it.

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

And tomorrow I will give it,”

When you have it with you.

^29aDo not devise harm against your neighbor,

While he lives securely beside you.

^30aDo not contend with a man without cause,

If he has done you no harm.

^31aDo not envy a man of violence

And do not choose any of his ways.

³²For the ^adevious are an abomination to the Lord;

But ¹He is ^bintimate with the upright.

³³The ^acurse of the Lord is on the house of the wicked,

But He ^bblesses the dwelling of the righteous.

³⁴Though ^aHe scoffs at the scoffers,

Yet ^bHe gives grace to the afflicted.

^35aThe wise will inherit honor,

But fools ¹display dishonor.

Chapter 4

A Father’s Instruction

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

And ^bgive attention that you may ¹gain understanding,

²For I give you ¹sound ^ateaching;

^bDo not abandon my ²instruction.

³When I was a son to my father,

^aTender and ^bthe only son in the sight of my mother,

⁴Then he ^ataught me and said to me,

“Let your heart ^bhold fast my words;

^cKeep my commandments and live;

^5aAcquire wisdom! ^bAcquire understanding!

Do not forget nor turn away from the words of my mouth.

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

^aLove her, and she will watch over you.

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

And with all your acquiring, get understanding.

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

She will honor you if you embrace her.

⁹“She will place ^aon your head a garland of grace;

She will present you with a crown of beauty.”

¹⁰Hear, my son, and ^aaccept my sayings

And the ^byears of your life will be many.

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

I have led you in upright paths.

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

And if you run, you ^bwill not stumble.

^13aTake hold of instruction; do not let go.

Guard her, for she is your ^blife.

^14aDo not enter the path of the wicked

And do not proceed in the way of evil men.

¹⁵Avoid it, do not pass by it;

Turn away from it and pass on.

¹⁶For they ^acannot 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 ^dfull day.

¹⁹The ^away of the wicked is like darkness;

They do not know over what they ^1bstumble.

²⁰My son, ^agive attention to my words;

^bIncline your ear to my sayings.

^21aDo not let them depart from your sight;

^bKeep them in the midst of your heart.

²²For they are ^alife to those who find them

And ^bhealth to all ¹their body.

²³Watch over your heart with all diligence,

For ^afrom it flow the springs of life.

²⁴Put away from you a ^adeceitful mouth

And ^bput devious ¹speech far from you.

²⁵Let your eyes look directly ahead

And let your ¹gaze be fixed straight in front of you.

^26aWatch the path 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

Pitfalls of Immorality

¹My son, ^agive attention to my wisdom,

^bIncline your ear to my understanding;

²That you may ^a…