Proverbs 1:1-23 ▼

1 The proverbs of Solomon the son of David, king of Israel:

2 To know wisdom and discipline, To understand the sayings of understanding,

3 To receive discipline that leads to insight, Righteousness, justice, and equity,

4 To give prudence to the simple, To the youth knowledge and discretion;

5 Let the wise man hear and increase in learning, And a man of understanding will acquire guidance,

6 To understand a proverb and an enigma, The words of the wise and their riddles.

7 The fear of Yahweh is the beginning of knowledge; Ignorant fools despise wisdom and discipline.

8 Hear, my son, your father’s discipline And do not abandon your mother’s instruction;

9 For they are a garland of grace for your head And ornaments about your neck.

10 My son, if sinners entice you, Do not be willing.

11 If they say, “Come with us, Let us lie in wait for blood, Let us ambush the innocent without cause;

12 Let us swallow them alive like Sheol, And whole, as those who go down to the pit;

13 We will find all kinds of precious wealth, We will fill our houses with spoil;

14 Cast in your lot with us, We shall all have one purse,”

15 My son, do not walk in the way with them. Withhold your feet from their pathway,

16 For their feet run to evil And they hasten to shed blood.

17 For it is no use that a net is spread In the sight of any bird;

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

19 So are the paths of everyone who is greedy for gain; It takes away the life of its possessors.

20 Wisdom shouts in the street, She gives forth her voice in the square;

21 At the head of the noisy streets she calls out; At the entrance of the gates in the city she utters her sayings:

22 “How long, O simple ones, will you love simplicity? And scoffers delight in scoffing And fools hate knowledge?

23 Turn to my reproof, Behold, I will pour out my spirit on you; I will make my words known to you.