1:1 | The Proverbs* of* Solomon* son of David,* king of Israel:* |
1:2 | To* learn* wisdom* and moral instruction,* and to discern* wise counsel.* |
1:3 | To receive* moral instruction* in skillful living,* in* righteousness,* justice,* and equity.* |
1:4 | To impart* shrewdness* to the morally naive,* and* a discerning* plan* to the young person.* |
1:5 | (Let the wise also* hear* and gain* instruction, and let the discerning* acquire* guidance!*) |
1:6 | To discern* the meaning of* a proverb and a parable,* the sayings of the wise* and their* riddles.* |
1:7 | Fearing the Lord* is the beginning* of moral knowledge,* but* fools* despise* wisdom and instruction.* |
1:8 | Listen,* my child,* to the instruction* from* your father, and do not forsake the teaching* from* your mother. |
1:9 | For they will be like* an elegant* garland* on* your head, and like* pendants* around* your neck. |
1:10 | My child, if sinners* try to entice* you, do not consent!* |
1:11 | If they say, “Come with us! We will* lie in wait* to shed blood;* we will ambush* an innocent person* capriciously.* |
1:12 | We will swallow them alive* like Sheol,* those full of vigor* like those going down to the Pit. |
1:13 | We will seize* all kinds* of precious wealth; we will fill our houses with plunder.* |
1:14 | Join with us!* We will all share* equally in what we steal.”* |
1:15 | My child, do not go down* their way,* withhold yourself* from their path;* |
1:16 | for they* are eager* to inflict harm,* and they hasten* to shed blood.* |
1:17 | Surely it is futile to spread* a net in plain sight of* any bird,* |
1:18 | but these men lie in wait for their own blood,* they ambush their own lives!* |
1:19 | Such* are the ways* of all who gain profit unjustly;* it* takes away the life* of those who obtain it!* |
1:20 | Wisdom* calls out* in the street, she shouts loudly* in the plazas;* |
1:21 | at the head of the noisy* streets she calls, in the entrances of the gates in the city* she utters her words:* |
1:22 | “How long will you simpletons* love naiveté?* How long* will mockers* delight* in mockery* and fools* hate knowledge? |
1:23 | If only* you will respond* to my rebuke,* then* I will pour* out my thoughts* to you and* I will make* my words known to you. |
1:24 | However,* because* I called but you refused to listen,* because* I stretched out my hand* but no one paid attention, |
1:25 | because* you neglected* all my advice, and did not comply* with my rebuke, |
1:26 | so* I myself will laugh* when disaster strikes you,* I will mock when what you dread* comes, |
1:27 | when what you dread* comes like a whirlwind,* and disaster strikes you* like a devastating storm,* when distressing trouble* comes on you. |
1:28 | Then they will call to me, but I will not answer; they will diligently seek* me, but they will not find me. |
1:29 | Because* they hated moral knowledge,* and did not choose to fear the Lord,* |
1:30 | they did not comply with my advice, they spurned* all my rebuke. |
1:31 | Therefore* they will eat from the fruit* of their way,* and they will be stuffed full* of their own counsel. |
1:32 | For the waywardness* of the simpletons will kill* them, and the careless ease* of fools will destroy them. |
1:33 | But the one who listens* to me will live in security,* and will be at ease* from the dread of harm. |