Proverbs 1 — Legacy Standard Bible

To Know Wisdom

1The ^aproverbs of Solomon ^bthe son of David, king of Israel:

²To know ^awisdom and discipline,To understand the sayings of ^bunderstanding,³To ^areceive discipline ¹that leads to insight,^bRighteousness, justice, and equity,⁴To give ^aprudence to the ¹^,^bsimple,To the youth ^cknowledge and discretion;⁵Let the wise man hear and ^aincrease in learning,And a ^bman of understanding will acquire guidance,⁶To understand a proverb and an enigma,The words of the wise and their ^ariddles.⁷^aThe fear of ¹Yahweh is the beginning of knowledge;²Ignorant fools despise wisdom and discipline.

The Enticement of Sinners

⁸^aHear, my son, your father’s disciplineAnd ^bdo not abandon your mother’s ¹instruction;⁹For they are a ^agarland of grace for your headAnd ¹^,^bornaments about your neck.¹⁰My son, if sinners ^aentice you,^bDo not be willing.¹¹If they say, “Come with us,Let us ^alie in wait for blood,Let us ^bambush the innocent without cause;¹²Let us ^aswallow them alive like Sheol,And whole, as those who ^bgo down to the pit;¹³We will find all kinds of precious wealth,We will fill our houses with spoil;¹⁴Cast in your lot ¹with us,We shall all have one purse,”¹⁵My son, ^ado not walk in the way with them.^bWithhold your feet from their pathway,¹⁶For ^atheir feet run to evilAnd they hasten to shed blood.¹⁷For it is ¹no use that a net is spreadIn the sight of any ²bird;¹⁸But they ^alie in wait for their own blood;They ambush their own ¹lives.¹⁹So are the paths of everyone who is ^agreedy for gain;It takes away the ¹life of its possessors.

The Call of Wisdom

²⁰^aWisdom shouts in the street,She gives forth her voice in the square;²¹At the head of the noisy streets she calls out;At the entrance of the gates in the city she utters her sayings:²²“How long, O ^asimple ones, will you love simplicity?And ^bscoffers delight in scoffingAnd ¹fools ^chate knowledge?²³“Turn to my reproof,Behold, I will ^apour out my spirit on you;I will make my words known to you.²⁴“Because ^aI called and you ^brefused,I ^cstretched out my hand and no one paid attention;²⁵And you ^aneglected all my counselAnd were not ^bwilling to accept my reproof;²⁶I will also ^alaugh at your ^bdisaster;I will mock when your ^cdread comes,²⁷When your dread comes like a stormAnd your disaster comes like a ^awhirlwind,When distress and anguish come upon you.²⁸“Then they will ^acall on me, but I will not answer;They will ^bseek me earnestly but they will not find me,²⁹Because they ^ahated knowledgeAnd did not choose the fear of Yahweh.³⁰“They ^awere not willing to accept my counsel,They spurned all my reproof.³¹“So they shall ^aeat of the fruit of their wayAnd be ^bsatisfied with their own devices.³²“For the ^aturning away of the simple will kill them,And the complacency of fools will destroy them.³³“But ^ahe who listens to me shall dwell securelyAnd will be at ease from the dread of evil.”