Proverbs 1
New American Standard Bible
The Usefulness of Proverbs
1 The (A)proverbs of Solomon (B)the son of David, king of Israel:
2 To know (C)wisdom and instruction,
To discern the sayings of (D)understanding,
3 To (E)receive instruction in wise behavior,
(F)Righteousness, justice, and integrity;
4 To give (G)prudence to the naive,
To the youth (H)knowledge and discretion,
5 A wise person will hear and (I)increase in learning,
And a (J)person of understanding will acquire wise counsel,
6 To understand a proverb and a saying,
The words of the wise and their (K)riddles.
7 (L)The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge;
Fools despise wisdom and instruction.
The Enticement of Sinners
8 (M)Listen, my son, to your father’s instruction,
And (N)do not ignore your mother’s teaching;
9 For they are a (O)graceful wreath for your head
And (P)necklaces for your neck.
10 My son, if sinners (Q)entice you,
(R)Do not consent.
11 If they say, “Come with us,
Let’s (S)lie in wait for blood,
Let’s (T)ambush the innocent without cause;
12 Let’s (U)swallow them alive like Sheol,
Even whole, like those who (V)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 [a]with us;
We will all have one money bag,”
15 My son, (W)do not walk on the way with them.
(X)Keep your feet from their path,
16 For (Y)their feet run to evil,
And they are quick to shed blood.
17 Indeed, it is [b]useless to spread the baited net
In the sight of any [c]bird;
18 But they (Z)lie in wait for their own blood;
They ambush their own lives.
19 Such are the ways of everyone who (AA)makes unjust gain;
It takes away the life of its possessors.
Wisdom Warns
20 (AB)Wisdom shouts in the street,
She [d]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 (AC)naive ones, will you love simplistic thinking?
And how long will (AD)scoffers delight themselves in scoffing
And fools (AE)hate knowledge?
23 Turn to my rebuke,
Behold, I will (AF)pour out my spirit on you;
I will make my words known to you.
24 Because (AG)I called and you (AH)refused,
I (AI)stretched out my hand and no one paid attention;
25 And you (AJ)neglected all my advice
And did not (AK)want my rebuke;
26 I will also (AL)laugh at your (AM)disaster;
I will mock when your (AN)dread comes,
27 When your dread comes like a storm
And your disaster comes like a (AO)whirlwind,
When distress and anguish come upon you.
28 Then they will (AP)call on me, but I will not answer;
They will (AQ)seek me diligently but will not find me,
29 Because they (AR)hated knowledge
And did not choose the fear of the Lord.
30 They (AS)did not accept my advice,
They disdainfully rejected every rebuke from me.
31 So they shall (AT)eat of the fruit of their own way,
And be (AU)filled with their own schemes.
32 For the (AV)faithlessness of the naive will kill them,
And the complacency of fools will destroy them.
33 But (AW)whoever listens to me will live securely
And will be at ease from the dread of evil.”
Footnotes
- Proverbs 1:14 Lit in the midst of us
- Proverbs 1:17 Lit in vain
- Proverbs 1:17 Lit possessor of wing
- Proverbs 1:20 Lit gives
Proverbs 1
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
1 The proverbs of Solomon son of David, king of Israel:(A)
Prologue
2 For learning about wisdom and instruction,
for understanding words of insight,
3 for gaining instruction in wise dealing,
righteousness, justice, and equity;(B)
4 to teach shrewdness to the simple,
knowledge and prudence to the young—(C)
5 let the wise, too, hear and gain in learning
and the discerning acquire skill,(D)
6 to understand a proverb and a figure,
the words of the wise and their riddles.
7 The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge;
fools despise wisdom and instruction.(E)
Warnings against Evil Companions
8 Hear, my child, your father’s instruction,
and do not reject your mother’s teaching,(F)
9 for they are a fair garland for your head
and pendants for your neck.(G)
10 My child, if sinners entice you,
do not consent.(H)
11 If they say, “Come with us, let us lie in wait for blood;
let us wantonly ambush the innocent;(I)
12 like Sheol let us swallow them alive
and whole, like those who go down to the Pit.(J)
13 We shall find all kinds of costly things;
we shall fill our houses with spoil.
14 Throw in your lot among us;
we will all have one purse”—
15 my child, do not walk in their way;
keep your foot from their paths,(K)
16 for their feet run to evil,
and they hurry to shed blood.(L)
17 For in vain is the net baited
while the bird is looking on;
18 yet they lie in wait—to kill themselves!
and set an ambush—for their own lives!
19 Such is the end[a] of all who are greedy for gain;
it takes away the life of its possessors.(M)
The Call of Wisdom
20 Wisdom cries out in the street;
in the squares she raises her voice.(N)
21 At the busiest corner she cries out;
at the entrance of the city gates she speaks:
22 “How long, O simple ones, will you love being simple?
How long will scoffers delight in their scoffing
and fools hate knowledge?(O)
23 Give heed to my reproof;
I will pour out my thoughts to you;
I will make my words known to you.(P)
24 Because I have called and you refused,
have stretched out my hand and no one heeded,(Q)
25 and because you have ignored all my counsel
and would have none of my reproof,(R)
26 I also will laugh at your calamity;
I will mock when panic strikes you,(S)
27 when panic strikes you like a storm
and your calamity comes like a whirlwind,
when distress and anguish come upon you.
28 Then they will call upon me, but I will not answer;
they will seek me diligently but will not find me.(T)
29 Because they hated knowledge
and did not choose the fear of the Lord,
30 would have none of my counsel
and despised all my reproof,(U)
31 therefore they shall eat the fruit of their way
and be sated with their own devices.(V)
32 For waywardness kills the simple,
and the complacency of fools destroys them;(W)
33 but those who listen to me will be secure
and will live at ease without dread of disaster.”(X)
Footnotes
- 1.19 Gk: Heb are the ways
New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved.
New Revised Standard Version, Updated Edition. Copyright © 2021 National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.