Proverbs 1–2

The Beginning of Knowledge

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

²To know wisdom and instruction,

To ¹perceive the words of understanding,

³To receive the instruction of wisdom,

Justice, judgment, and equity;

⁴To give prudence to the ^bsimple,

To the young man knowledge and discretion—

^5cA wise man will hear and increase learning,

And a man of understanding will ²attain wise counsel,

⁶To understand a proverb and an enigma,

The words of the wise and their ^driddles.

^7eThe fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge,

But fools despise wisdom and instruction.

Shun Evil Counsel

^8fMy son, hear the instruction of your father,

And do not forsake the law of your mother;

⁹For they will be a ^ggraceful ornament on your head,

And chains about your neck.

¹⁰My son, if sinners entice you,

^hDo not consent.

¹¹If they say, “Come with us,

Let us ⁱlie in wait to shed blood;

Let us lurk secretly for the innocent without cause;

¹²Let us swallow them alive like ³Sheol,

And whole, ^jlike those who go down to the Pit;

¹³We shall find all kinds of precious ⁴possessions,

We shall fill our houses with ⁵spoil;

¹⁴Cast in your lot among us,

Let us all have one purse”—

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

^lKeep your foot from their path;

^16mFor their feet run to evil,

And they make haste to shed blood.

¹⁷Surely, in ⁶vain the net is spread

In the sight of any ⁷bird;

¹⁸But they lie in wait for their own blood,

They lurk secretly for their own lives.

¹⁹ⁿSo are the ways of everyone who is greedy for gain;

It takes away the life of its owners.

The Call of Wisdom

^20oWisdom calls aloud ⁸outside;

She raises her voice in the open squares.

²¹She cries out in the ⁹chief concourses,

At the openings of the gates in the city

She speaks her words:

²²“How long, you ¹simple ones, will you love ²simplicity?

For scorners delight in their scorning,

And fools hate knowledge.

²³Turn at my rebuke;

Surely ^pI will pour out my spirit on you;

I will make my words known to you.

^24qBecause I have called and you refused,

I have stretched out my hand and no one regarded,

²⁵Because you ^rdisdained all my counsel,

And would have none of my rebuke,

^26sI also will laugh at your calamity;

I will mock when your terror comes,

²⁷When ^tyour terror comes like a storm,

And your destruction comes like a whirlwind,

When distress and anguish come upon you.

²⁸“Then ^uthey will call on me, but I will not answer;

They will seek me diligently, but they will not find me.

²⁹Because they ^vhated knowledge

And did not ^wchoose the fear of the Lord,

^30xThey would have none of my counsel

And despised my every rebuke.

³¹Therefore ^ythey shall eat the fruit of their own way,

And be filled to the full with their own fancies.

³²For the ³turning away of the simple will slay them,

And the complacency of fools will destroy them;

³³But whoever listens to me will dwell ^zsafely,

And ^awill be ⁴secure, without fear of evil.”

The Value of Wisdom

2My son, if you receive my words, And ^atreasure my commands within you,

²So that you incline your ear to wisdom,

And apply your heart to understanding;

³Yes, if you cry out for discernment,

And lift up your voice for understanding,

^4bIf you seek her as silver,

And search for her as for hidden treasures;

^5cThen you will understand the fear of the Lord,

And find the knowledge of God.

^6dFor the Lord gives wisdom;

From His mouth come knowledge and understanding;

⁷He stores up sound wisdom for the upright;

^eHe is a shield to those who walk uprightly;

⁸He guards the paths of justice,

And ^fpreserves the way of His saints.

⁹Then you will understand righteousness and justice,

Equity and every good path.

¹⁰When wisdom enters your heart,

And knowledge is pleasant to your soul,

¹¹Discretion will preserve you;

^gUnderstanding will keep you,

¹²To deliver you from the way of evil,

From the man who speaks perverse things,

¹³From those who leave the paths of uprightness

To ^hwalk in the ways of darkness;

¹⁴ⁱWho rejoice in doing evil,

And delight in the perversity of the wicked;

^15jWhose ways are crooked,

And who are devious in their paths;

¹⁶To deliver you from ^kthe immoral woman,

^lFrom the seductress who flatters with her words,

¹⁷Who forsakes the companion of her youth,

And forgets the covenant of her God.

¹⁸For ^mher house ¹leads down to death,

And her paths to the dead;

¹⁹None who go to her return,

Nor do they ²regain the paths of life—

²⁰So you may walk in the way of goodness,

And keep to the paths of righteousness.

²¹For the upright will dwell in the ⁿland,

And the blameless will remain in it;

²²But the wicked will be ³cut off from the ⁴earth,

And the unfaithful will be uprooted from it.