Proverbs 1:20-33
New American Standard Bible
Wisdom Warns
20 (A)Wisdom shouts in the street,
She [a]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 (B)naive ones, will you love simplistic thinking?
And how long will (C)scoffers delight themselves in scoffing
And fools (D)hate knowledge?
23 Turn to my rebuke,
Behold, I will (E)pour out my spirit on you;
I will make my words known to you.
24 Because (F)I called and you (G)refused,
I (H)stretched out my hand and no one paid attention;
25 And you (I)neglected all my advice
And did not (J)want my rebuke;
26 I will also (K)laugh at your (L)disaster;
I will mock when your (M)dread comes,
27 When your dread comes like a storm
And your disaster comes like a (N)whirlwind,
When distress and anguish come upon you.
28 Then they will (O)call on me, but I will not answer;
They will (P)seek me diligently but will not find me,
29 Because they (Q)hated knowledge
And did not choose the fear of the Lord.
30 They (R)did not accept my advice,
They disdainfully rejected every rebuke from me.
31 So they shall (S)eat of the fruit of their own way,
And be (T)filled with their own schemes.
32 For the (U)faithlessness of the naive will kill them,
And the complacency of fools will destroy them.
33 But (V)whoever listens to me will live securely
And will be at ease from the dread of evil.”
Footnotes
- Proverbs 1:20 Lit gives
Proverbs 1:20-33
International Standard Version
The Benefits of Choosing Wisdom
20 Wisdom cries out in the street;
she raises her voice in the public squares.
21 She calls out at the busiest part[a] of the noisy streets,[b]
and at the entrance to the gates of the city she utters her words:
22 “You naïve ones, how long will you love naiveté?
And how long will scoffers delight in scoffing
or fools hate knowledge?”
23 Return to my correction!
Look, I will pour out my spirit on you,
and I will make my words known to you.
The Consequences of Refusing Wisdom
24 “Because I called out to you and you refused to respond—[c]
I appealed,[d] but no one paid attention—
25 because[e] you neglected all my advice
and did not want my correction,
26 I will laugh at your calamity.
I will mock when what you fear[f] comes,
27 when what you dread comes like a storm,
and your calamity comes on like a whirlwind,
when distress and anguish come upon you.
28 “Then they will call out to me,
but I will not answer;
they will seek me diligently,
but they will not find me.
29 “Because they hated knowledge
and did not choose the fear of the Lord;
30 they did not want my advice,
and they rejected all my correction.
31 They will eat the fruit[g] of their way,
and they will be filled with their own devices.
32 Indeed, the waywardness[h] of the naïve will kill them,
and the complacency of fools will destroy them.
33 “But the person who listens to me will live safely
and will be secure from the fear of evil.”
Footnotes
- Proverbs 1:21 Lit. head
- Proverbs 1:21 So MT; LXX Syr Targ read and on top of the walls
- Proverbs 1:24 Lit. you refused
- Proverbs 1:24 Lit. I stretched out my hand
- Proverbs 1:25 The Heb. lacks because
- Proverbs 1:26 Lit. when your fear
- Proverbs 1:31 I.e. experience the consequences
- Proverbs 1:32 So MT; DSS 4QProva reads narrow-mindedness; lit. the pull of; LXX reads Because they would wrong the naïve, they will be murdered
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