Proverbs 1
New Living Translation
The Purpose of Proverbs
1 These are the proverbs of Solomon, David’s son, king of Israel.
2 Their purpose is to teach people wisdom and discipline,
to help them understand the insights of the wise.
3 Their purpose is to teach people to live disciplined and successful lives,
to help them do what is right, just, and fair.
4 These proverbs will give insight to the simple,
knowledge and discernment to the young.
5 Let the wise listen to these proverbs and become even wiser.
Let those with understanding receive guidance
6 by exploring the meaning in these proverbs and parables,
the words of the wise and their riddles.
7 Fear of the Lord is the foundation of true knowledge,
but fools despise wisdom and discipline.
A Father’s Exhortation: Acquire Wisdom
8 My child,[a] listen when your father corrects you.
Don’t neglect your mother’s instruction.
9 What you learn from them will crown you with grace
and be a chain of honor around your neck.
10 My child, if sinners entice you,
turn your back on them!
11 They may say, “Come and join us.
Let’s hide and kill someone!
Just for fun, let’s ambush the innocent!
12 Let’s swallow them alive, like the grave[b];
let’s swallow them whole, like those who go down to the pit of death.
13 Think of the great things we’ll get!
We’ll fill our houses with all the stuff we take.
14 Come, throw in your lot with us;
we’ll all share the loot.”
15 My child, don’t go along with them!
Stay far away from their paths.
16 They rush to commit evil deeds.
They hurry to commit murder.
17 If a bird sees a trap being set,
it knows to stay away.
18 But these people set an ambush for themselves;
they are trying to get themselves killed.
19 Such is the fate of all who are greedy for money;
it robs them of life.
Wisdom Shouts in the Streets
20 Wisdom shouts in the streets.
She cries out in the public square.
21 She calls to the crowds along the main street,
to those gathered in front of the city gate:
22 “How long, you simpletons,
will you insist on being simpleminded?
How long will you mockers relish your mocking?
How long will you fools hate knowledge?
23 Come and listen to my counsel.
I’ll share my heart with you
and make you wise.
24 “I called you so often, but you wouldn’t come.
I reached out to you, but you paid no attention.
25 You ignored my advice
and rejected the correction I offered.
26 So I will laugh when you are in trouble!
I will mock you when disaster overtakes you—
27 when calamity overtakes you like a storm,
when disaster engulfs you like a cyclone,
and anguish and distress overwhelm you.
28 “When they cry for help, I will not answer.
Though they anxiously search for me, they will not find me.
29 For they hated knowledge
and chose not to fear the Lord.
30 They rejected my advice
and paid no attention when I corrected them.
31 Therefore, they must eat the bitter fruit of living their own way,
choking on their own schemes.
32 For simpletons turn away from me—to death.
Fools are destroyed by their own complacency.
33 But all who listen to me will live in peace,
untroubled by fear of harm.”
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”
Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
2012 by Logos Bible Software. Lexham is a registered trademark of Logos Bible Software