Proverbs 1:8-19

Living Bible

^7-9 How does a man become wise? The first step is to trust and reverence the Lord!

Only fools refuse to be taught. Listen to your father and mother. What you learn from them will stand you in good stead; it will gain you many honors.^[a]

¹⁰ If young toughs tell you, “Come and join us”—turn your back on them! ¹¹ “We’ll hide and rob and kill,” they say. ¹² “Good or bad, we’ll treat them all alike. ¹³ And the loot we’ll get! All kinds of stuff! ¹⁴ Come on, throw in your lot with us; we’ll split with you in equal shares.”

¹⁵ Don’t do it, son! Stay far from men like that, ¹⁶ for crime is their way of life, and murder is their specialty. ¹⁷ When a bird sees a trap being set, it stays away, ¹⁸ but not these men; they trap themselves! They lay a booby trap for their own lives. ¹⁹ Such is the fate of all who live by violence and murder.^[b] They will die a violent death.