Proverbs 1:1-18 ▼

1 These are the proverbs of Solomon son of David, king of Israel,

2 for gaining wisdom and discipline, for comprehending words of insight,

3 and for receiving instruction in wise living and in righteousness, justice, and equity.

4 To impart prudence to the simple and knowledge and discretion to the young,

5 let the wise listen and gain instruction, and the discerning acquire wise counsel

6 by understanding the proverbs and parables, the sayings and riddles of the wise.

7 The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and discipline.

8 Listen, my son, to your father’s instruction, and do not forsake the teaching of your mother.

9 For they are a garland of grace on your head and a pendant around your neck.

10 My son, if sinners entice you, do not yield to them.

11 If they say, “Come along, let us lie in wait for blood, let us ambush the innocent without cause,

12 let us swallow them alive like Sheol, and whole like those descending into the Pit.

13 We will find all manner of precious goods; we will fill our houses with plunder.

14 Throw in your lot with us; let us all share one purse”—

15 my son, do not walk the road with them or set foot upon their path.

16 For their feet run to evil, and they are swift to shed blood.

17 How futile it is to spread the net where any bird can see it!

18 But they lie in wait for their own blood; they ambush their own lives.