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Proverbs 1:8-19
Easy-to-Read Version
Proverbs 1:8-19
Easy-to-Read Version
Advice to a Son
8 My son,[a] listen to your father when he corrects you, and don’t ignore what your mother teaches you. 9 What you learn from your parents will bring you honor and respect, like a crown or a gold medal.[b]
10 My son, those who love to do wrong will try to trick you. Don’t listen to them. 11 They will say, “Come with us. Let’s hide and beat to death anyone who happens to walk by. 12 We will swallow them whole, as the grave swallows the dying. 13 We will take everything they have and fill our houses with stolen goods. 14 So join us, and you can share everything we get.”
15 My son, don’t follow them. Don’t even take the first step along that path. 16 They run to do something evil, and they cannot wait to kill someone.
17 You cannot trap birds with a net if they see you spreading it out. 18 But evil people cannot see the trap they set for themselves. 19 This is what happens to those who are greedy. Whatever they get destroys them.
Read full chapterFootnotes
- Proverbs 1:8 My son The proverbs in this section may have been directed originally to a teenage boy, perhaps a prince, who was becoming a young man. They are intended to teach him how to be a responsible person and leader who loves and respects God.
- Proverbs 1:9 Literally, “They are like a wreath of favor to your head and a necklace around your neck.”
Proverbs 1:8-19
The Message
Proverbs 1:8-19
The Message
8-19 Pay close attention, friend, to what your father tells you;
never forget what you learned at your mother’s knee.
Wear their counsel like a winning crown,
like rings on your fingers.
Dear friend, if bad companions tempt you,
don’t go along with them.
If they say—“Let’s go out and raise some hell.
Let’s beat up some old man, mug some old woman.
Let’s pick them clean
and get them ready for their funerals.
We’ll load up on top-quality loot.
We’ll haul it home by the truckload.
Join us for the time of your life!
With us, it’s share and share alike!”—
Oh, friend, don’t give them a second look;
don’t listen to them for a minute.
They’re racing to a very bad end,
hurrying to ruin everything they lay hands on.
Nobody robs a bank
with everyone watching,
Yet that’s what these people are doing—
they’re doing themselves in.
When you grab all you can get, that’s what happens:
the more you get, the less you are.
Proverbs 1:8-19
New Living Translation
Proverbs 1:8-19
New Living Translation
A Father’s Exhortation: Acquire Wisdom
8 My child,[a] listen when your father corrects you.
Don’t neglect your mother’s instruction.
9 What you learn from them will crown you with grace
and be a chain of honor around your neck.
10 My child, if sinners entice you,
turn your back on them!
11 They may say, “Come and join us.
Let’s hide and kill someone!
Just for fun, let’s ambush the innocent!
12 Let’s swallow them alive, like the grave[b];
let’s swallow them whole, like those who go down to the pit of death.
13 Think of the great things we’ll get!
We’ll fill our houses with all the stuff we take.
14 Come, throw in your lot with us;
we’ll all share the loot.”
15 My child, don’t go along with them!
Stay far away from their paths.
16 They rush to commit evil deeds.
They hurry to commit murder.
17 If a bird sees a trap being set,
it knows to stay away.
18 But these people set an ambush for themselves;
they are trying to get themselves killed.
19 Such is the fate of all who are greedy for money;
it robs them of life.
Proverbs 1:8-19
New International Version
Proverbs 1:8-19
New International Version
Prologue: Exhortations to Embrace Wisdom
Warning Against the Invitation of Sinful Men
8 Listen, my son,(A) to your father’s(B) instruction
and do not forsake your mother’s teaching.(C)
9 They are a garland to grace your head
and a chain to adorn your neck.(D)
10 My son, if sinful men entice(E) you,
do not give in(F) to them.(G)
11 If they say, “Come along with us;
let’s lie in wait(H) for innocent blood,
let’s ambush some harmless soul;
12 let’s swallow(I) them alive, like the grave,
and whole, like those who go down to the pit;(J)
13 we will get all sorts of valuable things
and fill our houses with plunder;
14 cast lots with us;
we will all share the loot(K)”—
15 my son, do not go along with them,
do not set foot(L) on their paths;(M)
16 for their feet rush into evil,(N)
they are swift to shed blood.(O)
17 How useless to spread a net
where every bird can see it!
18 These men lie in wait(P) for their own blood;
they ambush only themselves!(Q)
19 Such are the paths of all who go after ill-gotten gain;
it takes away the life of those who get it.(R)
Easy-to-Read Version (ERV)
Copyright © 2006 by Bible League International
The Message (MSG)
Copyright © 1993, 2002, 2018 by Eugene H. Peterson
New Living Translation (NLT)
Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
New International Version (NIV) 
Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
NIV Reverse Interlinear Bible: English to Hebrew and English to Greek. Copyright © 2019 by Zondervan.