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 Century Version
The Importance of Proverbs
1 These are the wise words of Solomon son of David, king of Israel.
2 They teach wisdom and self-control;
they will help you understand wise words.
3 They will teach you how to be wise and self-controlled
and will teach you to do what is honest and fair and right.
4 They make the uneducated wise
and give knowledge and sense to the young.
5 Wise people can also listen and learn;
even they can find good advice in these words.
6 Then anyone can understand wise words and stories,
the words of the wise and their riddles.
7 Knowledge begins with respect for the Lord,
but fools hate wisdom and discipline.
Warnings Against Evil
8 My child, listen to your father’s teaching
and do not forget your mother’s advice.
9 Their teaching will be like flowers in your hair
or a necklace around your neck.
10 My child, if sinners try to lead you into sin,
do not follow them.
11 They will say, “Come with us.
Let’s ambush and kill someone;
let’s attack some innocent people just for fun.
12 Let’s swallow them alive, as death does;
let’s swallow them whole, as the grave does.
13 We will take all kinds of valuable things
and fill our houses with stolen goods.
14 Come join us,
and we will share with you stolen goods.”
15 My child, do not go along with them;
do not do what they do.
16 They are eager to do evil
and are quick to kill.
17 It is useless to spread out a net
right where the birds can see it.
18 But sinners will fall into their own traps;
they will only catch themselves!
19 All greedy people end up this way;
greed kills selfish people.
Wisdom Speaks
20 Wisdom is like a woman shouting in the street;
she raises her voice in the city squares.
21 She cries out in the noisy street
and shouts at the city gates:
22 “You fools, how long will you be foolish?
How long will you make fun of wisdom
and hate knowledge?
23 If only you had listened when I corrected you,
I would have told you what’s in my heart;
I would have told you what I am thinking.
24 I called, but you refused to listen;
I held out my hand, but you paid no attention.
25 You did not follow my advice
and did not listen when I corrected you.
26 So I will laugh when you are in trouble.
I will make fun when disaster strikes you,
27 when disaster comes over you like a storm,
when trouble strikes you like a whirlwind,
when pain and trouble overwhelm you.
28 “Then you will call to me,
but I will not answer.
You will look for me,
but you will not find me.
29 It is because you rejected knowledge
and did not choose to respect the Lord.
30 You did not accept my advice,
and you rejected my correction.
31 So you will get what you deserve;
you will get what you planned for others.
32 Fools will die because they refuse to listen;
they will be destroyed because they do not care.
33 But those who listen to me will live in safety
and be at peace, without fear of injury.”
New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved.
The Holy Bible, New Century Version®. Copyright © 2005 by Thomas Nelson, Inc.
