The Beginning of Knowledge

(A)The proverbs of Solomon, son of David, king of Israel:

To know wisdom and instruction,
    to understand words of insight,
to receive instruction in wise dealing,
    in (B)righteousness, justice, and equity;
to give prudence to (C)the simple,
    knowledge and (D)discretion to the youth—
Let the wise hear and (E)increase in learning,
    and the one who understands obtain guidance,
to understand a proverb and a saying,
    (F)the words of the wise and their (G)riddles.

(H)The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge;
    fools despise wisdom and instruction.

The Enticement of Sinners

(I)Hear, my son, your father's instruction,
    and forsake not your mother's teaching,
for they are (J)a graceful garland for your head
    and (K)pendants for your neck.
10 My son, if sinners (L)entice you,
    do not consent.
11 If they say, “Come with us, (M)let us lie in wait for blood;
    (N)let us ambush the innocent without reason;
12 like Sheol let us (O)swallow them alive,
    and whole, like (P)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, (Q)do not walk in the way with them;
    (R)hold back your foot from their paths,
16 for (S)their feet run to evil,
    and they make haste to shed blood.
17 (T)For in vain is a net spread
    in the sight of any bird,
18 but these men (U)lie in wait for their own blood;
    they (V)set an ambush for their own lives.
19 (W)Such are the ways of everyone who is (X)greedy for unjust gain;
    (Y)it takes away the life of its possessors.

The Call of Wisdom

20 (Z)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 (AA)the entrance of the city gates she speaks:
22 “How long, O (AB)simple ones, will you love being simple?
How long will (AC)scoffers delight in their scoffing
    and fools (AD)hate knowledge?
23 If you turn at my reproof,[a]
behold, I will (AE)pour out my spirit to you;
    I will make my words known to you.
24 (AF)Because I have called and (AG)you refused to listen,
    have (AH)stretched out my hand and no one has heeded,
25 because you have (AI)ignored all my counsel
    and (AJ)would have none of my reproof,
26 I also (AK)will laugh at your calamity;
    I will mock when (AL)terror strikes you,
27 when terror strikes you like (AM)a storm
    and your calamity comes like a whirlwind,
    when distress and anguish come upon you.
28 (AN)Then they will call upon me, but I will not answer;
    they will seek me diligently but will not find me.
29 Because they (AO)hated knowledge
    and (AP)did not choose the fear of the Lord,
30 (AQ)would have none of my counsel
    and (AR)despised all my reproof,
31 therefore they shall eat (AS)the fruit of their way,
    and have (AT)their fill of their own devices.
32 For the simple are killed by (AU)their turning away,
    and (AV)the complacency of fools destroys them;
33 but (AW)whoever listens to me will dwell secure
    and will be (AX)at ease, without dread of disaster.”

Footnotes

  1. Proverbs 1:23 Or Will you turn away at my reproof?

The Usefulness of Proverbs

The (A)proverbs of Solomon (B)the son of David, king of Israel:

To know (C)wisdom and instruction,
To discern the sayings of (D)understanding,
To (E)receive instruction in wise behavior,
(F)Righteousness, justice, and integrity;
To give (G)prudence to the naive,
To the youth (H)knowledge and discretion,
A wise person will hear and (I)increase in learning,
And a (J)person of understanding will acquire wise counsel,
To understand a proverb and a saying,
The words of the wise and their (K)riddles.

(L)The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge;
Fools despise wisdom and instruction.

The Enticement of Sinners

(M)Listen, my son, to your father’s instruction,
And (N)do not ignore your mother’s teaching;
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

  1. Proverbs 1:14 Lit in the midst of us
  2. Proverbs 1:17 Lit in vain
  3. Proverbs 1:17 Lit possessor of wing
  4. Proverbs 1:20 Lit gives

I Proverbi di Salomone, figlio di Davide, re d'Israele,

per conoscere sapienza e ammaestramento per intendere i detti di senno;

per ricevere ammaestramento circa l'agire saggiamente, la giustizia, il giudizio e la dirittura

per dare accorgimento ai semplici, conoscenza e riflessione al giovane.

Il savio ascolterà e accrescerà il suo sapere; l'uomo con intendimento ne otterrà saggi consigli,

per comprendere una sentenza e un enigma, le parole dei savi e i loro detti oscuri

Il timore dell'Eterno è il principio della conoscenza, ma gli stolti disprezzano la sapienza e l'ammaestramento.

Ascolta, figlio mio, l'ammaestramento di tuo padre e non trascurare l'insegnamento di tua madre,

perché saranno un fregio di grazia al tuo capo e monili al tuo collo.

10 Figlio mio, se i peccatori ti vogliono sedurre, non acconsentire.

11 Se dicono: «Vieni con noi; stiamo in agguato per spargere sangue, tendiamo insidie senza motivo all'innocente,

12 inghiottiamoli vivi, come lo Sceol tutt'interi come quelli che scendono nella fossa;

13 noi troveremo ogni sorta di beni preziosi, riempiremo le nostre case di bottino;

14 tu trarrai a sorte la tua parte con noi, e fra noi tutti ci sarà una sola borsa»

15 figlio mio, non incamminarti con loro, trattieni il tuo piede dal loro sentiero,

16 perché i loro piedi corrono al male e si affrettano a versare sangue.

17 Si tende invano la rete davanti a ogni sorta di uccelli;

18 ma costoro pongono agguati al loro proprio sangue e tendono insidie alla loro stessa vita.

19 Tali sono le vie di ogni uomo avido di guadagno; esso toglie la vita del suo proprietario.

20 La sapienza grida per le vie, fa sentire la sua voce per le piazze;

21 essa chiama nei luoghi affollati e pronuncia i suoi discorsi all'ingresso delle porte in città:

22 «Fino a quando, o semplici, amerete la semplicioneria, e gli schernitori prenderanno gusto a schernire e gli stolti avranno in odio la conoscenza?

23 Volgetevi alla mia riprensione; ecco, io verserò il mio Spirito su di voi e vi farò conoscere le mie parole.

24 Poiché ho chiamato e voi avete rifiutato, ho steso la mia mano e nessuno vi ha fatto attenzione,

25 anzi avete respinto ogni mio consiglio e non avete accettato la mia correzione,

26 anch'io riderò della vostra sventura, mi farò beffe quando verrà ciò che temete,

27 quando ciò che temete verrà come una tempesta, e la vostra sventura arriverà come un uragano, quando verranno su di voi l'avversità e l'angoscia.

28 Allora essi grideranno a me, ma io non risponderò, mi cercheranno con premura, ma non mi troveranno.

29 Poiché hanno odiato la conoscenza e non hanno scelto il timore dell'Eterno,

30 non hanno voluto accettare il mio consiglio e hanno disprezzato ogni mia riprensione.

31 Perciò si ciberanno del frutto della loro condotta e si sazieranno dei loro propri consigli.

32 Poiché lo sviamento dei semplici li uccide e la falsa tranquillità degli stolti li fa perire;

33 ma chi mi ascolta abiterà al sicuro, sarà veramente tranquillo, senza paura di alcun male».