Proverbs 1-3

New American Standard Bible 1995

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 equity;
⁴ To give ^(G)prudence to the ^[a]naive,
To the youth ^(H)knowledge and discretion,
⁵ A wise man will hear and ^(I)increase in learning,
And a ^(J)man of understanding will acquire wise counsel,
⁶ To understand a proverb and a figure,
The words of the wise and their ^(K)riddles.

^8 (M)Hear, my son, your father’s instruction
And ^(N)do not forsake your mother’s teaching;
⁹ Indeed, they are a ^(O)graceful wreath to your head
And ^[b](P)ornaments about your neck.
¹⁰ My son, if sinners ^(Q)entice you,
^(R)Do not consent.
¹¹ If they say, “Come with us,
Let us ^(S)lie in wait for blood,
Let us ^(T)ambush the innocent without cause;
¹² Let us ^(U)swallow them alive like Sheol,
Even whole, as those who ^(V)go down to the pit;
¹³ We will find all kinds of precious wealth,
We will fill our houses with spoil;
¹⁴ Throw in your lot ^[c]with us,
We shall all have one purse,”
¹⁵ My son, ^(W)do not walk in the way with them.
^(X)Keep your feet from their path,
¹⁶ For ^(Y)their feet run to evil
And they hasten to shed blood.
¹⁷ Indeed, it is ^[d]useless to spread the baited net
In the sight of any ^[e]bird;
¹⁸ But they ^(Z)lie in wait for their own blood;
They ambush their own lives.
¹⁹ So are the ways of everyone who ^(AA)gains by violence;
It takes away the life of its possessors.

^20 (AB)Wisdom shouts in the street,
She ^[f]lifts her voice in the square;
²¹ At the head of the noisy streets she cries out;
At the entrance of the gates in the city she utters her sayings:
²² “How long, O ^[g](AC)naive ones, will you love ^[h]being simple-minded?
And ^(AD)scoffers delight themselves in scoffing
And fools ^(AE)hate knowledge?
²³ “Turn to my reproof,
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 counsel
And did not ^(AK)want my reproof;
²⁶ I will also ^(AL)laugh at your ^(AM)calamity;
I will mock when your ^(AN)dread comes,
²⁷ When your dread comes like a storm
And your calamity 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 they will not find me,
²⁹ Because they ^(AR)hated knowledge
And did not choose the fear of the Lord.
³⁰ “They ^(AS)would not accept my counsel,
They spurned all my reproof.
³¹ “So they shall ^(AT)eat of the fruit of their own way
And be ^(AU)satiated with their own devices.
³² “For the ^(AV)waywardness of the ^[i]naive will kill them,
And the complacency of fools will destroy them.
³³ “But ^(AW)he who listens to me shall ^[j]live securely
And will be at ease from the dread of evil.”

2 My son, if you will ^(AX)receive my words
And ^(AY)treasure my commandments within you,
^2 (AZ)Make your ear attentive to wisdom,
Incline your heart to understanding;
³ For if you cry for discernment,
^[k]Lift your voice for understanding;
⁴ If you seek her as ^(BA)silver
And search for her as for ^(BB)hidden treasures;
⁵ Then you will discern the ^(BC)fear of the Lord
And discover the knowledge of God.
⁶ For ^(BD)the Lord gives wisdom;
From His mouth come knowledge and understanding.
⁷ He stores up sound wisdom for the upright;
He is a ^(BE)shield to those who walk in integrity,
⁸ Guarding the paths of justice,
And He ^(BF)preserves the way of His godly ones.
⁹ Then you will discern ^(BG)righteousness and justice
And equity and every ^(BH)good course.
¹⁰ For ^(BI)wisdom will enter your heart
And ^(BJ)knowledge will be pleasant to your soul;
¹¹ Discretion will ^(BK)guard you,
Understanding will watch over you,
¹² To ^(BL)deliver you from the way of evil,
From the man who speaks ^(BM)perverse things;
¹³ From those who ^(BN)leave the paths of uprightness
To walk in the ^(BO)ways of darkness;
¹⁴ Who ^(BP)delight in doing evil
And rejoice in the perversity of evil;
¹⁵ Whose paths are ^(BQ)crooked,
And who are devious in their ways;
¹⁶ To ^(BR)deliver you from the strange woman,
From the ^[l](BS)adulteress who flatters with her words;
¹⁷ That leaves the ^(BT)companion of her youth
And forgets the ^(BU)covenant of her God;
¹⁸ For ^(BV)her house ^[m]sinks down to death
And her tracks lead to the ^[n]dead;
¹⁹ None ^(BW)who go to her return again,
Nor do they reach the ^(BX)paths of life.
²⁰ So you will ^(BY)walk in the way of good men
And keep to the ^(BZ)paths of the righteous.
²¹ For ^(CA)the upright will ^[o]live in the land
And ^(CB)the blameless will remain in it;
²² But ^(CC)the wicked will be cut off from the land
And ^(CD)the treacherous will be ^(CE)uprooted from it.

3 My son, ^(CF)do not forget my ^[p]teaching,
But let your heart ^(CG)keep my commandments;
² For ^(CH)length of days and years of life
And peace they will add to you.
³ Do not let ^(CI)kindness and truth leave you;
^(CJ)Bind them around your neck,
^(CK)Write them on the tablet of your heart.
⁴ So you will ^(CL)find favor and ^(CM)good ^[q]repute
In the sight of God and man.
^5 (CN)Trust in the Lord with all your heart
And ^(CO)do not lean on your own understanding.
⁶ In all your ways ^(CP)acknowledge Him,
And He will ^(CQ)make your paths straight.
^7 (CR)Do not be wise in your own eyes;
^(CS)Fear the Lord and turn away from evil.
⁸ It will be ^(CT)healing to your ^[r]body
And ^(CU)refreshment to your bones.
^9 (CV)Honor the Lord from your wealth
And from the ^(CW)first of all your produce;
¹⁰ So your ^(CX)barns will be filled with plenty
And your ^(CY)vats will overflow with new wine.
^11 (CZ)My son, do not reject the ^[s]discipline of the Lord
Or loathe His reproof,
¹² For ^(DA)whom the Lord loves He reproves,
Even ^(DB)as a father corrects the son in whom he delights.