Proverbs 1:8-22

English Standard Version

^8 (A)Hear, my son, your father's instruction,
    and forsake not your mother's teaching,
⁹ for they are ^(B)a graceful garland for your head
    and ^(C)pendants for your neck.
¹⁰ My son, if sinners ^(D)entice you,
    do not consent.
¹¹ If they say, “Come with us, ^(E)let us lie in wait for blood;
    ^(F)let us ambush the innocent without reason;
¹² like Sheol let us ^(G)swallow them alive,
    and whole, like ^(H)those who go down to the pit;
¹³ we shall find all precious goods,
    we shall fill our houses with plunder;
¹⁴ throw in your lot among us;
    we will all have one purse”—
¹⁵ my son, ^(I)do not walk in the way with them;
    ^(J)hold back your foot from their paths,
¹⁶ for ^(K)their feet run to evil,
    and they make haste to shed blood.
^17 (L)For in vain is a net spread
    in the sight of any bird,
¹⁸ but these men ^(M)lie in wait for their own blood;
    they ^(N)set an ambush for their own lives.
^19 (O)Such are the ways of everyone who is ^(P)greedy for unjust gain;
    ^(Q)it takes away the life of its possessors.

^20 (R)Wisdom cries aloud in the street,
    in the markets she raises her voice;
²¹ at the head of the noisy streets she cries out;
    at ^(S)the entrance of the city gates she speaks:
²² “How long, O ^(T)simple ones, will you love being simple?
How long will ^(U)scoffers delight in their scoffing
    and fools ^(V)hate knowledge?