Proverbs 1
American Standard Version
1 The proverbs of Solomon the son of David, king of Israel:
2 To know wisdom and instruction;
To discern the words of understanding;
3 To receive instruction in wise dealing,
In righteousness and justice and equity;
4 To give prudence to the simple,
To the young man knowledge and discretion:
5 That the wise man may hear, and increase in learning;
And that the man of understanding may attain unto sound counsels:
6 To understand a proverb, and [a]a figure,
The words of the wise, and their [b]dark sayings.
7 The fear of Jehovah is the [c]beginning of knowledge;
But the foolish despise wisdom and instruction.
8 My son, hear the instruction of thy father,
And forsake not the [d]law of thy mother:
9 For they shall be a chaplet of grace unto thy head,
And chains about thy neck.
10 My son, if sinners entice thee,
Consent thou not.
11 If they say, Come with us,
Let us lay wait for blood;
Let us lurk privily for the innocent without cause;
12 Let us swallow them up alive as Sheol,
[e]And whole, as those that go down into the pit;
13 We shall find all precious substance;
We shall fill our houses with spoil;
14 [f]Thou shalt cast thy lot among us;
We will all have one purse:
15 My son, walk not thou in the way with them;
Refrain thy foot from their path:
16 For their feet run to evil,
And they make haste to shed blood.
17 For in vain is the net spread
In the sight of any bird:
18 And these lay wait for their own blood;
They lurk privily for their own lives.
19 So are the ways of every one that is greedy of gain;
It taketh away the life of the owners thereof.
20 Wisdom crieth aloud in the street;
She uttereth her voice in the broad places;
21 She crieth [g]in the chief place of concourse;
At the entrance of the gates,
In the city, she uttereth her words:
22 How long, ye simple ones, will ye love simplicity?
And scoffers delight them in scoffing,
And fools hate knowledge?
23 Turn you at my reproof:
Behold, I will pour out my spirit upon you;
I will make known my words unto you.
24 Because I have called, and ye have refused;
I have stretched out my hand, and no man hath regarded;
25 But ye have set at nought all my counsel,
And would none of my reproof:
26 I also will laugh in the day of your calamity;
I will mock when your fear cometh;
27 When your fear cometh as [h]a storm,
And your calamity cometh on as a whirlwind;
When distress and anguish come upon you.
28 Then will they call upon me, but I will not answer;
They will seek me [i]diligently, but they shall not find me:
29 For that they hated knowledge,
And did not choose the fear of Jehovah,
30 They would none of my counsel,
They despised all my reproof.
31 Therefore shall they eat of the fruit of their own way,
And be filled with their own devices.
32 For the backsliding of the simple shall slay them,
And the careless ease of fools shall destroy them.
33 But whoso hearkeneth unto me shall dwell securely,
And shall be quiet without fear of evil.
Footnotes
- Proverbs 1:6 Or, an interpretation
- Proverbs 1:6 Or, riddles
- Proverbs 1:7 Or, chief part
- Proverbs 1:8 Or, teaching
- Proverbs 1:12 Or, Even the perfect
- Proverbs 1:14 Or, Cast in thy lot
- Proverbs 1:21 Hebrew at the head of the noisy streets.
- Proverbs 1:27 Or, desolation
- Proverbs 1:28 Or, early
Proverbs 1
Lexham English Bible
Prologue
1 Proverbs of Solomon, son of David, king of Israel:
2 To know wisdom and instruction,
to understand sayings of understanding,
3 to gain insightful instruction,[a]
righteousness and justice and equity,
4 to give shrewdness[b] to the simple,
knowledge and purpose[c] to the young,
5 may the wise hear and increase learning,
and the one who understands gain direction,[d]
6 to understand a proverb and an expression,
words of wisdom and their riddles.
7 Fear of Yahweh is the beginning of knowledge;
wisdom and instruction, fools despise.
Lecture Against Gang Behavior
8 My child, may you keep[e] your father’s instruction,
and do not reject your mother’s teachings,
9 for they are a garland of favor for your head,
and pendants for your neck.
10 My child, if sinners entice you, do not consent.
11 If they say,
“Come with us!
We shall lie in wait for blood;
we shall ambush the innocent without cause.[f]
12 Like Sheol,[g] we will swallow them alive
and whole, like those who descend to the pit.[h]
13 We shall find all precious wealth,
we shall fill our houses with booty,
14 you shall throw your lot in our midst,
there will be one purse for all of us.”
15 My child, do not walk in their way.[i]
Keep your foot from their paths,
16 for their feet run to evil,
and they hurry to shed blood,
17 for “in vain[j] is the net scattered,
in the sight of any winged bird.”[k]
18 They lie in wait for their own blood.
They ambush their own lives.
19 Thus are the ways of all who are greedy for gain—
it will take the life of its possessors.
The Call of Lady Wisdom
20 Wisdom calls out in the streets,
in the squares she raises her voice.
21 On a busy corner[l] she cries out,
at the entrances of the gates in the city, she speaks her sayings:
22 “How long,[m] O simple ones, will you love simplicity?
And how long will scoffers delight in their scoffing,
and fools hate knowledge?
23 May you turn to my argument![n]
Behold, I shall pour out my spirit upon you;
I will make my words known to you.
24 Because I called out and you refused me,
I stretched out my hand, yet there is none who heeds.
25 You have ignored all my counsel,
and my reproof you are not willing to accept.
26 I will also laugh at your calamity;[o]
I will mock when panic[p] comes upon you.
27 When your panic comes like a storm,
and your calamity arrives like a whirlwind,
when distress and anguish come upon you,
28 then they will call[q] me, but I will not answer;
they will seek me diligently but not find me.
29 Since they hated knowledge,
and did not choose the fear of Yahweh,
30 they were not willing to accept my counsel,
they despised all my reproof.
31 They shall eat from the fruit of their way,
and they shall be sated from their own schemes,
32 for the waywardness of the simple ones will kill them,
and the complacency of fools will destroy them.
33 Whoever listens to me will dwell in security
and rest securely[r] from dread and disaster.”
Footnotes
- Proverbs 1:3 Literally “the instruction of insight”
- Proverbs 1:4 Or “cleverness,” or “prudence”
- Proverbs 1:4 Or “plan”
- Proverbs 1:5 Or “guidance”
- Proverbs 1:8 Or “obey,” or “hear”
- Proverbs 1:11 Or “wantonly,” or “for nothing”
- Proverbs 1:12 A term for the place where the dead reside, i.e., the Underworld
- Proverbs 1:12 Literally “like the descenders of a pit”
- Proverbs 1:15 Or “on their road”
- Proverbs 1:17 Or “without cause,” or “for nothing”
- Proverbs 1:17 Literally “bird of wing”
- Proverbs 1:21 Literally “head of commotion,” or “head of stirring, bustling”
- Proverbs 1:22 Literally “Until when”
- Proverbs 1:23 Or “turn at my reproach”
- Proverbs 1:26 Or “downfall”
- Proverbs 1:26 Or “dread, fear”
- Proverbs 1:28 Or “cry out to”
- Proverbs 1:33 Or “be at ease, peace”
Public Domain (Why are modern Bible translations copyrighted?)
2012 by Logos Bible Software. Lexham is a registered trademark of Logos Bible Software