• The Usefulness of Proverbs

  • 1 The proverbs of Solomon the son of David, king of Israel:
  • 2 To know wisdom and instruction, To discern the sayings of understanding,
  • 3 To receive instruction in wise behavior, Righteousness, justice, and integrity;
  • 4 To give prudence to the naive, To the youth knowledge and discretion,
  • 5 A wise person will hear and increase in learning, And a person of understanding will acquire wise counsel,
  • 6 To understand a proverb and a saying, The words of the wise and their riddles.
  • 7 The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge; Fools despise wisdom and instruction.

  • The Enticement of Sinners

  • 8 Listen, my son, to your father’s instruction, And do not ignore your mother’s teaching;
  • 9 For they are a graceful wreath for your head And necklaces for your neck.
  • 10 My son, if sinners entice you, Do not consent.
  • 11 If they say, “Come with us, Let’s lie in wait for blood, Let’s ambush the innocent without cause;
  • 12 Let’s swallow them alive like Sheol, Even whole, like those who go down to the pit;
  • 13 We will find all kinds of precious wealth, We will fill our houses with plunder;
  • 14 Throw in your lot with us; We will all have one money bag,”
  • 15 My son, do not walk on the way with them. Keep your feet from their path,
  • 16 For their feet run to evil, And they are quick 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 Such are the ways of everyone who makes unjust gain; It takes away the life of its possessors.

  • Wisdom Warns

  • 20 Wisdom shouts in the street, She raises her voice in the public square;
  • 21 At the head of the noisy streets she cries out; At the entrance of the gates in the city she declares her sayings:
  • 22 “How long, you naive ones, will you love simplistic thinking? And how long will scoffers delight themselves in scoffing And fools hate knowledge?
  • 23 “Turn to my rebuke, 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 advice And did not want my rebuke;
  • 26 I will also laugh at your disaster; I will mock when your dread comes,
  • 27 When your dread comes like a storm And your disaster 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 will not find me,
  • 29 Because they hated knowledge And did not choose the fear of the Lord.
  • 30 “They did not accept my advice, They disdainfully rejected every rebuke from me.
  • 31 “So they shall eat of the fruit of their own way, And be filled with their own schemes.
  • 32 “For the faithlessness of the naive will kill them, And the complacency of fools will destroy them.
  • 33 “But whoever listens to me will live securely And will be at ease from the dread of evil.”