1:1  The proverbs of Solomon the son of David, king of Israel:

1:2  To know wisdom and instruction, To discern the sayings of understanding,

1:3  To receive instruction in wise behavior, Righteousness, justice and equity;

1:4  To give prudence to the naive, To the youth knowledge and discretion,

1:5  A wise man will hear and increase in learning, And a man of understanding will acquire wise counsel,

1:6  To understand a proverb and a figure, The words of the wise and their riddles.

1:7  The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge; Fools despise wisdom and instruction.

1:8  Hear, my son, your father's instruction And do not forsake your mother's teaching;

1:9  Indeed, they are a graceful wreath to your head And ornaments about your neck.

1:10  My son, if sinners entice you, Do not consent.

1:11  If they say, "Come with us, Let us lie in wait for blood, Let us ambush the innocent without cause;

1:12  Let us swallow them alive like Sheol, Even whole, as those who go down to the pit;

1:13  We will find all {kinds} of precious wealth, We will fill our houses with spoil;

1:14  Throw in your lot with us, We shall all have one purse,"

1:15  My son, do not walk in the way with them. Keep your feet from their path,

1:16  For their feet run to evil And they hasten to shed blood.

1:17  Indeed, it is useless to spread the {baited} net In the sight of any bird;

1:18  But they lie in wait for their own blood; They ambush their own lives.

1:19  So are the ways of everyone who gains by violence; It takes away the life of its possessors.

1:20  Wisdom shouts in the street, She lifts her voice in the square;

1:21  At the head of the noisy {streets} she cries out; At the entrance of the gates in the city she utters her sayings:

1:22  "How long, O naive ones, will you love being simple-minded? And scoffers delight themselves in scoffing And fools hate knowledge?

1:23  "Turn to my reproof, Behold, I will pour out my spirit on you; I will make my words known to you.

1:24  "Because I called and you refused, I stretched out my hand and no one paid attention;

1:25  And you neglected all my counsel And did not want my reproof;

1:26  I will also laugh at your calamity; I will mock when your dread comes,

1:27  When your dread comes like a storm And your calamity comes like a whirlwind, When distress and anguish come upon you.

1:28  "Then they will call on me, but I will not answer; They will seek me diligently but they will not find me,

1:29  Because they hated knowledge And did not choose the fear of the LORD.

1:30  "They would not accept my counsel, They spurned all my reproof.

1:31  "So they shall eat of the fruit of their own way And be satiated with their own devices.

1:32  "For the waywardness of the naive will kill them, And the complacency of fools will destroy them.

1:33  "But he who listens to me shall live securely And will be at ease from the dread of evil."