Proverbs 1:10-19

New International Reader's Version

¹⁰ My son, if sinful men tempt you,
    don’t give in to them.
¹¹ They might say, “Come along with us.
    Let’s hide and wait to kill someone who hasn’t done anything wrong.
    Let’s catch some harmless person in our trap.
¹² Let’s swallow them alive, as the grave does.
    Let’s swallow them whole, like those who go down into the pit.
¹³ We’ll get all kinds of valuable things.
    We’ll fill our houses with what we steal.
¹⁴ Cast lots with us for what they own.
    We’ll share everything we take from them.”
¹⁵ My son, don’t go along with them.
    Don’t even set your feet on their paths.
¹⁶ They are always in a hurry to sin.
    They are quick to spill someone’s blood.
¹⁷ How useless it is to spread a net
    where every bird can see it!
¹⁸ Those who hide and wait will spill their own blood.
    They will be caught in their own trap.
¹⁹ That’s what happens to everyone
    who goes after money in the wrong way.
That kind of money takes away
    the life of those who get it.