Proverbs 1:1–9:18

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.

Guidance for the Young

3My son, do not forget my law,

^aBut let your heart keep my commands;

²For length of days and long life

And ^bpeace they will add to you.

³Let not mercy and truth forsake you;

^cBind them around your neck,

^dWrite them on the tablet of your heart,

^4eAnd so find favor and ¹high esteem

In the sight of God and man.

^5fTrust in the Lord with all your heart,

^gAnd lean not on your own understanding;

^6hIn all your ways acknowledge Him,

And He shall ²direct your paths.

⁷Do not be wise in your own ⁱeyes;

Fear the Lord and depart from evil.

⁸It will be health to your ³flesh,

And ^jstrength ⁴to your bones.

^9kHonor the Lord with your possessions,

And with the firstfruits of all your increase;

^10lSo your barns will be filled with plenty,

And your vats will overflow with new wine.

^11mMy son, do not despise the chastening of the Lord,

Nor detest His correction;

¹²For whom the Lord loves He corrects,

ⁿJust as a father the son in whom he delights.

^13oHappy is the man who finds wisdom,

And the man who gains understanding;

^14pFor her proceeds are better than the profits of silver,

And her gain than fine gold.

¹⁵She is more precious than rubies,

And ^qall the things you may desire cannot compare with her.

^16rLength of days is in her right hand,

In her left hand riches and honor.

^17sHer ways are ways of pleasantness,

And all her paths are peace.

¹⁸She is ^ta tree of life to those who take hold of her,

And happy are all who ⁵retain her.

^19uThe Lord by wisdom founded the earth;

By understanding He established the heavens;

²⁰By His knowledge the depths were ^vbroken up,

And clouds drop down the dew.

²¹My son, let them not depart from your eyes—

Keep sound wisdom and discretion;

²²So they will be life to your soul

And grace to your neck.

^23wThen you will walk safely in your way,

And your foot will not stumble.

²⁴When you lie down, you will not be afraid;

Yes, you will lie down and your sleep will be sweet.

^25xDo not be afraid of sudden terror,

Nor of trouble from the wicked when it comes;

²⁶For the Lord will be your confidence,

And will keep your foot from being caught.

^27yDo not withhold good from ⁶those to whom it is due,

When it is in the power of your hand to do so.

^28zDo not say to your neighbor,

“Go, and come back,

And tomorrow I will give it,”

When you have it with you.

²⁹Do not devise evil against your neighbor,

For he dwells by you for safety’s sake.

^30aDo not strive with a man without cause,

If he has done you no harm.

^31bDo not envy the oppressor,

And choose none of his ways;

³²For the perverse person is an abomination to the Lord,

^cBut His secret counsel is with the upright.

^33dThe curse of the Lord is on the house of the wicked,

But ^eHe blesses the home of the just.

^34fSurely He scorns the scornful,

But gives grace to the humble.

³⁵The wise shall inherit glory,

But shame shall be the legacy of fools.

Security in Wisdom

4Hear, ^amy children, the instruction of a father,

And give attention to know understanding;

²For I give you good doctrine:

Do not forsake my law.

³When I was my father’s son,

^bTender and the only one in the sight of my mother,

^4cHe also taught me, and said to me:

“Let your heart retain my words;

^dKeep my commands, and live.

^5eGet wisdom! Get understanding!

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

⁶Do not forsake her, and she will preserve you;

^fLove her, and she will keep you.

^7gWisdom is the principal thing;

Therefore get wisdom.

And in all your getting, get understanding.

^8hExalt her, and she will promote you;

She will bring you honor, when you embrace her.

⁹She will place on your head ⁱan ornament of grace;

A crown of glory she will deliver to you.”

¹⁰Hear, my son, and receive my sayings,

^jAnd the years of your life will be many.

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

I have led you in right paths.

¹²When you walk, ^lyour steps will not be hindered,

^mAnd when you run, you will not stumble.

¹³Take firm hold of instruction, do not let go;

Keep her, for she is your life.

¹⁴ⁿDo not enter the path of the wicked,

And do not walk in the way of evil.

¹⁵Avoid it, do not travel on it;

Turn away from it and pass on.

^16oFor they do not sleep unless they have done evil;

And their sleep is ¹taken away unless they make someone fall.

¹⁷For they eat the bread of wickedness,

And drink the wine of violence.

^18pBut the path of the just ^qis like the shining ²sun,

That shines ever brighter unto the perfect day.

^19rThe way of the wicked is like darkness;

They do not know what makes them stumble.

²⁰My son, give attention to my words;

Incline your ear to my sayings.

²¹Do not let them depart from your eyes;

Keep them in the midst of your heart;

²²For they are life to those who find them,

And health to all their flesh.

²³Keep your heart with all diligence,

For out of it spring the issues of ^slife.

²⁴Put away from you a ³deceitful mouth,

And put perverse lips far from you.

²⁵Let your eyes look straight ahead,

And your eyelids look right before you.

²⁶Ponder the path of your ^tfeet,

And let all your ways be established.

²⁷Do not turn to the right or the left;

Remove your foot from evil.

The Peril of Adultery

5My son, pay attention to my wisdom;

¹Lend your ear to my understanding,

²That you may ²preserve discretion,

And your lips ^amay keep knowledge.

^3bFor the lips of ³an immoral woman drip honey,

And her mouth is ^csmoother than oil;

⁴But in the end she is bitter as wormwood,

Sharp as a two-edged sword.

⁵Her feet go down to death,

^dHer steps lay hold of ⁴hell.

⁶Lest you ponder her path of life—

Her ways are unstable;

You do not know them.

⁷Therefore hear me now, my children,

And do not depart from the words of my mouth.

⁸…