Proverbs 1
1 The proverbs of Solomon the son of David, king of Israel;
The proverbs of Solomon son of David, the king of Israel.
2 To know wisdom and instruction; to perceive the words of understanding;
These proverbs are to teach wisdom and instruction, to teach words of insight,
3 To receive the instruction of wisdom, justice, and judgment, and equity;
that you may receive instruction in order to live by doing what is right, just, and fair.
4 To give subtilty to the simple, to the young man knowledge and discretion.
These proverbs are also to give wisdom to the naive, and to give knowledge and discretion to young people.
5 A wise [man] will hear, and will increase learning; and a man of understanding shall attain to wise counsels:
Let wise people listen and increase their learning, and let discerning people get guidance,
6 To understand a proverb, and the interpretation; the words of the wise, and their dark sayings.
to understand proverbs, sayings, and words of wise people and their riddles.
7 The fear of the LORD [is] the beginning of knowledge: [but] fools despise wisdom and instruction.
The fear of Yahweh is the beginning of knowledge— fools despise wisdom and instruction.
8 My son, hear the instruction of thy father, and forsake not the law of thy mother:
My son, hear the instruction of your father and do not lay aside the rules of your mother;
9 For they [shalt be] an ornament of grace to thy head, and chains about thy neck.
they will be a graceful wreath for your head and pendants hanging from your neck.
10 My son, if sinners entice thee, consent thou not.
My son, if sinners try to entice you into their sin, refuse to follow them.
11 If they say, Come with us, let us lay wait for blood, let us lurk privily for the innocent without cause:
If they say, “Come with us, let us lie in wait for blood, let us hide and attack innocent people for no reason.
12 Let us swallow them up alive as the grave; and whole, as those that go down into the pit: (Sheol h7585)
Let us swallow them up alive, like Sheol takes away those who are healthy, and make them like those who fall into the pit. (Sheol h7585)
13 We shall find all precious substance, we shall fill our houses with spoil:
We shall find all kinds of valuable things; we will fill our houses with what we steal from others.
14 Cast in thy lot among us; let us all have one purse:
Throw in your lot with us; we will all have one purse together.”
15 My son, walk not thou in the way with them; refrain thy foot from their path:
My son, do not walk down that road with them; do not let your foot touch where they walk;
16 For their feet run to evil, and make haste to shed blood.
their feet run to evil and they hurry to shed blood.
17 Surely in vain the net is spread in the sight of any bird.
For it is useless to spread the net in the sight of any bird.
18 And they lay wait for their [own] blood; they lurk privily for their [own] lives.
These men lie in wait for their own blood— they set an ambush for their own lives.
19 So [are] the ways of every one that is greedy of gain; [who] taketh away the life of its owners.
So are the ways of everyone who gains riches by injustice; unjust gain takes away the lives of those who hold on to it.
20 Wisdom crieth without; she uttereth her voice in the streets:
Wisdom cries aloud in the street, she raises her voice in the open places;
21 She crieth in the chief place of concourse, in the openings of the gates: in the city she uttereth her words, [saying],
at the head of the noisy streets she cries out, at the entrance of the city gates she speaks,
22 How long, ye simple ones, will ye love simplicity? and the scorners delight in their scorning, and fools hate knowledge?
“How long, you naive people, will you love being naive? How long, you mockers, will you delight in mockery, and how long, you fools, will you hate knowledge?
23 Turn you at my reproof: behold, I will pour out my spirit to you, I will make known to you my words.
Pay attention to my correction; I will pour out my thoughts to you; I will make my words known to you.
24 Because I have called, and ye refused; I have stretched out my hand, and no man regarded;
I have called, and you have refused to listen; I reached out with my hand, but there was no one who paid attention.
25 But ye have set at naught all my counsel, and rejected my reproof:
But you have ignored all my instruction and paid no attention to my correction.
26 I also will laugh at your calamity; I will mock when your fear cometh;
I will laugh at your calamity, I will mock you when the terror comes—
27 When your fear cometh as desolation, and your destruction cometh as a whirlwind; when distress and anguish cometh upon you.
when your fearful dread comes like a storm and disaster sweeps over you like a whirlwind, when distress and anguish come upon you.
28 Then shall they call upon me, but I will not answer; they shall seek me early, but they shall not find me:
Then they will call upon me, and I will not answer; they will desperately call for me, but they will not find me.
29 For that they hated knowledge, and did not choose the fear of the LORD:
Because they hate knowledge and did not choose the fear of Yahweh,
30 They rejected my counsel: they despised all my reproof.
they would not follow my instruction, and they despised all my correction.
31 Therefore shall they eat of the fruit of their own way, and be filled with their own devices.
They will eat the fruit of their ways, and with the fruit of their schemes they will be filled.
32 For the turning away of the simple shall slay them, and the prosperity of fools shall destroy them.
For the naive are killed when they turn away, and the indifference of fools will destroy them.
33 But whoever hearkeneth to me shall dwell in safety, and shall be quiet from fear of evil.
But whoever listens to me will live in safety and will rest secure with no fear of disaster.”
