Proverbs 1:16-33 ▼

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

17 Indeed, it is useless to spread the [baited] net 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 ways of everyone who gains by violence; It takes away the life of its possessors.

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

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

22 |How long, O naive ones, will you love being simple-minded? And scoffers delight themselves 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.

24 |Because I called and you refused, I stretched out my hand and no one paid attention;

25 And you neglected all my counsel And did not want my reproof;

26 I will also laugh at your calamity; I will mock when your dread comes,

27 When your dread comes like a storm And your calamity comes like a whirlwind, When distress and anguish come upon you.

28 |Then they will call on me, but I will not answer; They will seek me diligently but they will not find me,

29 Because they hated knowledge And did not choose the fear of the LORD.

30 |They would not accept my counsel, They spurned all my reproof.

31 |So they shall eat of the fruit of their own way And be satiated with their own devices.

32 |For the waywardness of the naive will kill them, And the complacency of fools will destroy them.

33 |But he who listens to me shall live securely And will be at ease from the dread of evil.|