Proverbs 1
1 The Proverbs of Solomon son of David, who reigned in Israel;
Proverbs of Solomon, son of David, king of Israel:
2 to know wisdom and instruction, and to perceive words of understanding;
For knowing wisdom and instruction, For understanding sayings of intelligence,
3 to receive also hard saying, and to understand true justice, and [how] to direct judgment;
For receiving the instruction of wisdom, Righteousness, judgment, and uprightness,
4 that he might give subtlety to the simple, and to the young man discernment and understanding.
For giving to simple ones — prudence, To a youth — knowledge and discretion.
5 For by the hearing of these a wise man will be wiser, and man of understanding will gain direction;
(The wise doth hear and increaseth learning, And the intelligent doth obtain counsels.)
6 and will understand a parable, and a dark speech; the saying of the wise also, and riddles.
For understanding a proverb and its sweetness, Words of the wise and their acute sayings.
7 The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom; and [there is] good understanding to all that practise it: and piety toward God is the beginning of discernment; but the ungodly will set at nought wisdom and instruction.
Fear of Jehovah [is] a beginning of knowledge, Wisdom and instruction fools have despised!
8 Hear, [my] son, the instruction of thy father, and reject not the rules of thy mother.
Hear, my son, the instruction of thy father, And leave not the law of thy mother,
9 For thou shalt receive for thine head a crown of graces, and a chain of gold round thy neck.
For a graceful wreath [are] they to thy head, And chains to thy neck.
10 [My] son, let not ungodly men lead thee astray, neither consent thou [to them].
My son, if sinners entice thee be not willing.
11 If they should exhort thee, saying, Come with us, partake in blood, and let us unjustly hide the just man in the earth:
If they say, 'Come with us, we lay wait for blood, We watch secretly for the innocent without cause,
12 and let us swallow him alive, as Hades [would], and remove the memorial of him from the earth: (Sheol h7585)
We swallow them as Sheol — alive, And whole — as those going down [to] the pit, (Sheol h7585)
13 let us seize on his valuable property, and let us fill our houses with spoils:
Every precious substance we find, We fill our houses [with] spoil,
14 but do thou cast in thy lot with us, and let us all provide a common purse, and let us have one pouch:
Thy lot thou dost cast among us, One purse is — to all of us.'
15 go not in the way with them, but turn aside thy foot from their paths:
My son! go not in the way with them, Withhold thy foot from their path,
16 [For their feet run to do evil, and are swift to shed blood. ]
For their feet to evil do run, And they haste to shed blood.
17 for nets are not without cause spread for birds.
Surely in vain is the net spread out before the eyes of any bird.
18 For they that are concerned in murder store up evils for themselves; and the overthrow of transgressors is evil.
And they for their own blood lay wait, They watch secretly for their own lives.
19 These are the ways of all that perform lawless deeds; for by ungodliness they destroy their own life.
So [are] the paths of every gainer of dishonest gain, The life of its owners it taketh.
20 Wisdom sings aloud in passages, and in the broad places speaks boldly.
Wisdom in an out-place crieth aloud, In broad places she giveth forth her voice,
21 And she makes proclamation on the top of the walls, and sits by the gates of princes; and at the gates of the city boldly says,
At the head of the multitudes she calleth, In the openings of the gates, In the city her sayings she saith:
22 So long as the simple cleave to justice, they shall not be ashamed: but the foolish being lovers of haughtiness, having become ungodly have hated knowledge, and are become subject to reproofs.
'Till when, ye simple, do ye love simplicity? And have scorners their scorning desired? And do fools hate knowledge?
23 Behold, I will bring forth to you the utterance of my breath, and I will instruct you in my speech.
Turn back at my reproof, lo, I pour forth to you my spirit, I make known my words with you.
24 Since I called, and ye did not hearken; and I spoke at length, and ye gave no heed;
Because I have called, and ye refuse, I stretched out my hand, and none is attending,
25 but ye set at nought my counsels, and disregarded my reproofs;
And ye slight all my counsel, And my reproof ye have not desired.
26 therefore I also will laugh at your destruction; and I will rejoice against [you] when ruin comes upon you:
I also in your calamity do laugh, I deride when your fear cometh,
27 yea when dismay suddenly comes upon you, and [your] overthrow shall arrive like a tempest; and when tribulation and distress shall come upon you, or when ruin shall come upon you.
When your fear cometh as destruction, And your calamity as a hurricane doth come, When on you come adversity and distress.
28 For it shall be that when ye call upon me, I will not hearken to you: wicked men shall seek me, but shall not find [me].
Then they call me, and I do not answer, They seek me earnestly, and find me not.
29 For they hated wisdom, and did not choose the word of the Lord:
Because that they have hated knowledge, And the fear of Jehovah have not chosen.
30 neither would they attend to my counsels, but derided my reproofs.
They have not consented to my counsel, They have despised all my reproof,
31 Therefore shall they eat the fruits of their own way, and shall be filled with their own ungodliness.
And they eat of the fruit of their way, And from their own counsels they are filled.
32 For because they wronged the simple, they shall be slain; and an inquisition shall ruin the ungodly.
For the turning of the simple slayeth them, And the security of the foolish destroyeth them.
33 But he that hearkens to me shall dwell in confidence, and shall rest securely from all evil.
And whoso is hearkening to me dwelleth confidently, And [is] quiet from fear of evil!'
