Proverbs 1

¹ The wise sayings of Solomon, the son of David, king of Israel.

² To have knowledge of wise teaching; to be clear about the words of reason:

³ To be trained in the ways of wisdom, in righteousness and judging truly and straight behaviour:

⁴ To make the simple-minded sharp, and to give the young man knowledge, and serious purpose:

⁵ (The wise man, hearing, will get greater learning, and the acts of the man of good sense will be wisely guided:)

⁶ To get the sense of wise sayings and secrets, and of the words of the wise and their dark sayings.

⁷ The fear of the Lord is the start of knowledge: but the foolish have no use for wisdom and teaching.

⁸ My son, give ear to the training of your father, and do not give up the teaching of your mother:

⁹ For they will be a crown of grace for your head, and chain-ornaments about your neck.

¹⁰ My son, if sinners would take you out of the right way, do not go with them.

¹¹ If they say, Come with us; let us make designs against the good, waiting secretly for the upright, without cause;

¹² Let us overcome them living, like the underworld, and in their strength, as those who go down to death;

¹³ Goods of great price will be ours, our houses will be full of wealth;

¹⁴ Take your chance with us, and we will all have one money-bag:

¹⁵ My son, do not go with them; keep your feet from their ways:

¹⁶ For their feet are running after evil, and they are quick to take a man’s life.

¹⁷ Truly, to no purpose is the net stretched out before the eyes of the bird:

¹⁸ And they are secretly waiting for their blood and making ready destruction for themselves.

¹⁹ Such is the fate of everyone who goes in search of profit; it takes away the life of its owners.

²⁰ Wisdom is crying out in the street; her voice is loud in the open places;

²¹ Her words are sounding in the meeting-places, and in the doorways of the town:

²² How long, you simple ones, will foolish things be dear to you? and pride a delight to the haters of authority? how long will the foolish go on hating knowledge?

²³ Be turned again by my sharp words: see, I will send the flow of my spirit on you, and make my words clear to you.

²⁴ Because your ears were shut to my voice; no one gave attention to my out-stretched hand;

²⁵ You were not controlled by my guiding, and would have nothing to do with my sharp words:

²⁶ So in the day of your trouble I will be laughing; I will make sport of your fear;

²⁷ When your fear comes on you like a storm, and your trouble like a rushing wind; when pain and sorrow come on you.

²⁸ Then I will give no answer to their cries; searching for me early, they will not see me:

²⁹ For they were haters of knowledge, and did not give their hearts to the fear of the Lord:

³⁰ They had no desire for my teaching, and my words of protest were as nothing to them.

³¹ So the fruit of their way will be their food, and with the designs of their hearts they will be made full.

³² For the turning back of the simple from teaching will be the cause of their death, and the peace of the foolish will be their destruction.

³³ But whoever gives ear to me will take his rest safely, living in peace without fear of evil.