Proverbs 1–9

¹The proverbs of Solomon son of David, king of Israel:^*

Prologue

²For learning about wisdom and instruction,

for understanding words of insight,

³for gaining instruction in wise dealing,

righteousness, justice, and equity;^*

⁴to teach shrewdness to the simple,

knowledge and prudence to the young—^*

⁵let the wise, too, hear and gain in learning

and the discerning acquire skill,^*

⁶to understand a proverb and a figure,

the words of the wise and their riddles.

⁷The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge;

fools despise wisdom and instruction.^*

Warnings against Evil Companions

⁸Hear, my child, your father’s instruction,

and do not reject your mother’s teaching,^*

⁹for they are a fair garland for your head

and pendants for your neck.^*

¹⁰My child, if sinners entice you,

do not consent.^*

¹¹If they say, “Come with us, let us lie in wait for blood;

let us wantonly ambush the innocent;^*

¹²like Sheol let us swallow them alive

and whole, like those who go down to the Pit.^*

¹³We shall find all kinds of costly things;

we shall fill our houses with spoil.

¹⁴Throw in your lot among us;

we will all have one purse”—

¹⁵my child, do not walk in their way;

keep your foot from their paths,^*

¹⁶for their feet run to evil,

and they hurry to shed blood.^*

¹⁷For in vain is the net baited

while the bird is looking on;

¹⁸yet they lie in wait—to kill themselves!

and set an ambush—for their own lives!

¹⁹Such is the end^a of all who are greedy for gain;

it takes away the life of its possessors.^*

The Call of Wisdom

²⁰Wisdom cries out in the street;

in the squares she raises her voice.^*

²¹At the busiest corner she cries out;

at the entrance of the city gates she speaks:

²²“How long, O simple ones, will you love being simple?

How long will scoffers delight in their scoffing

and fools hate knowledge?^*

²³Give heed to my reproof;

I will pour out my thoughts to you;

I will make my words known to you.^*

²⁴Because I have called and you refused,

have stretched out my hand and no one heeded,^*

²⁵and because you have ignored all my counsel

and would have none of my reproof,^*

²⁶I also will laugh at your calamity;

I will mock when panic strikes you,^*

²⁷when panic strikes you like a storm

and your calamity comes like a whirlwind,

when distress and anguish come upon you.

²⁸Then they will call upon me, but I will not answer;

they will seek me diligently but will not find me.^*

²⁹Because they hated knowledge

and did not choose the fear of the Lord,

³⁰would have none of my counsel

and despised all my reproof,^*

³¹therefore they shall eat the fruit of their way

and be sated with their own devices.^*

³²For waywardness kills the simple,

and the complacency of fools destroys them;^*

³³but those who listen to me will be secure

and will live at ease without dread of disaster.”^*

The Value of Wisdom

²My child, if you accept my words

and treasure up my commandments within you,^*

²making your ear attentive to wisdom

and inclining your heart to understanding,

³if you indeed cry out for insight

and raise your voice for understanding,

⁴if you seek it like silver

and search for it as for hidden treasures—^*

⁵then you will understand the fear of the Lord

and find the knowledge of God.^*

⁶For the Lord gives wisdom;

from his mouth come knowledge and understanding;^*

⁷he stores up sound wisdom for the upright;

he is a shield to those who walk blamelessly,^*

⁸guarding the paths of justice

and preserving the way of his faithful ones.^*

⁹Then you will understand righteousness and justice

and equity, every good path,^*

¹⁰for wisdom will come into your heart,

and knowledge will be pleasant to your soul;

¹¹prudence will watch over you,

and understanding will guard you.

¹²It will save you from the way of evil,

from those who speak perversely,

¹³who forsake the paths of uprightness

to walk in the ways of darkness,^*

¹⁴who rejoice in doing evil

and delight in the perverseness of evil,^*

¹⁵those whose paths are crooked

and who are devious in their ways.^*

¹⁶You will be saved from the loose woman,^b

from the adulteress^c with her smooth words,^*

¹⁷who forsakes the partner of her youth

and forgets her sacred covenant,

¹⁸for her way^d leads down to death

and her paths to the shades;^*

¹⁹those who go to her never come back,

nor do they regain the paths of life.

²⁰Therefore walk in the way of the good,

and keep to the paths of the just.

²¹For the upright will abide in the land,

and the innocent will remain in it,^*

²²but the wicked will be cut off from the earth,

and the treacherous will be rooted out of it.^*

Admonition to Trust and Honor God

³My child, do not forget my teaching,

but let your heart keep my commandments,^*

²for length of days and years of life

and abundant welfare they will give you.^*

³Do not let loyalty and faithfulness forsake you;

bind them around your neck;

write them on the tablet of your heart.^*

⁴Then you will find favor and high regard

in the sight of God and of people.^*

⁵Trust in the Lord with all your heart,

and do not rely on your own insight.^*

⁶In all your ways acknowledge him,

and he will make straight your paths.^*

⁷Do not be wise in your own eyes;

fear the Lord and turn away from evil.^*

⁸It will be a healing for your flesh

and a refreshment for your body.^*

⁹Honor the Lord with your substance

and with the first fruits of all your produce;^*

¹⁰then your barns will be filled with plenty,

and your vats will be bursting with wine.

¹¹My child, do not despise the Lord’s discipline

or be weary of his reproof,^*

¹²for the Lord reproves the one he loves,

as a father the son in whom he delights.^*

The True Wealth

¹³Happy are those who find wisdom

and those who get understanding,

¹⁴for her income is better than silver

and her revenue better than gold.^*

¹⁵She is more precious than jewels,

and nothing you desire can compare with her.^*

¹⁶Long life is in her right hand;

in her left hand are riches and honor.^*

¹⁷Her ways are ways of pleasantness,

and all her paths are peace.^*

¹⁸She is a tree of life to those who lay hold of her;

those who hold her fast are called happy.^*

God’s Wisdom in Creation

¹⁹The Lord by wisdom founded the earth;

by understanding he established the heavens;^*

²⁰by his knowledge the deeps broke open,

and the clouds drop down the dew.^*

The True Security

²¹My child, do not let these escape from your sight:

keep sound wisdom and prudence,

²²and they will be life for your soul

and adornment for your neck.^*

²³Then you will walk on your way securely,

and your foot will not stumble.^*

²⁴If you sit down,^e you will not be afraid;

when you lie down, your sleep will be sweet.

²⁵Then you will not be afraid of sudden panic

or of the storm that strikes the wicked,^*

²⁶for the Lord will be your confidence

and will keep your foot from being caught.

²⁷Do not withhold good from those to whom it is due,^f

when it is in your power to do it.^*

²⁸Do not say to your neighbor, “Go and come again;

tomorrow I will give it,” when you have it with you.^*

²⁹Do not plan harm against your neighbor

who lives trustingly beside you.^*

³⁰Do not quarrel with anyone without cause,

when no harm has been done to you.^*

³¹Do not envy the violent,

and do not choose any of their ways,^*

³²for the perverse are an abomination to the Lord,

but the upright are in his confidence.^*

³³The Lord’s curse is on the house of the wicked,

but he blesses the abode of the righteous.^*

³⁴Toward the scorners he is scornful,

but to the humble he shows favor.^*

³⁵The wise will inherit honor,

but stubborn fools, disgrace.

Parental Advice

⁴Listen, children, to a father’s instruction,

and be attentive, that you may gain^g insight,^*

²for I give you good precepts:

do not forsake my teaching.

³When I was a son with my father,

tender and my mother’s favorite,^*

⁴he taught me and said to me,

“Let your heart hold fast my words;

keep my commandments and live.^*

⁵Get wisdom; get insight: do not forget nor turn away

from the words of my mouth.^*

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

love her, and she will guard you.^*

⁷The beginning of wisdom is this: get wisdom,

and whatever else you get, get insight.^*

⁸Prize her highly, and she will exalt you;

she will honor you if you embrace her.^*

⁹She will place on your head a fair garland;

she will bestow on you a beautiful crown.”^*

Admonition to Keep to the Right Path

¹⁰Hear, my child, and accept my words,

that the years of your life may be many.

¹¹I have taught you the way of wisdom;

I have led you in the paths of uprightness.^*

¹²When you walk, your step will not be hampered,

and if you run, you will not stumble.^*

¹³Keep hold of instruction; do not let go;

guard her, for she is your life.

¹⁴Do not enter the path of the wicked,

and do not walk in the way of evildoers.^*

¹⁵Avoid it; do not go on it;

turn away from it and pass on.

¹⁶For they cannot sleep unless they have done wrong;

they are robbed of sleep unless they have made someone stumble.^*

¹⁷For they eat the bread of wickedness

and drink the wine of violence.

¹⁸But the path of the righteous is like the light of dawn,

which shines brighter and brighter until full day.^*

¹⁹The way of the wicked is like deep darkness;

they do not know what they stumble over.^*

²⁰My child, be attentive to my words;

incline your ear to my sayings.

²¹Do not let them escape from your sight;

keep them within your heart.^*

²²For they are life to those who find them

and healing to all their flesh.^*

²³Keep your heart with all vigilance,

for from it flow the springs of life.^*

²⁴Put away from you crooked speech,

and put devious talk far from you.^*

²⁵Let your eyes look directly forward

and your gaze be straight before you.

²⁶Keep straight the path of your feet,

and all your ways will be sure.^*

²⁷Do not swerve to the right or to the left;

turn your foot away from evil.^*

Warning against Impurity and Infidelity

⁵My child, be attentive to my wisdom;

incline your ear to my understanding,^*

²so that you may hold on to prudence,

and your lips may guard knowledge.

³For the lips of a loose woman^h drip honey,…