1The proverbs of Solomon the son of David, king of Israel:
2To know wisdom and instruction; To discern the words of understanding;
3To receive instruction in wise dealing, In righteousness and justice and equity;
4To give prudence to the simple, To the young man knowledge and discretion:
5That the wise man may hear, and increase in learning; And that the man of understanding may attain to sound counsels:
6To understand a proverb, and a figure, The words of the wise, and their dark sayings.
7The fear of Yehovah is the beginning of knowledge; But the foolish despise wisdom and instruction.
8My son, hear the instruction of your father, And do not forsake the law of your mother:
9For they shall be a garland of grace to your head, And chains around your neck.
10My son, if sinners entice you, Do not consent.
11If they say, Come with us, Let us lie in wait for blood; Let us lurk secretly for the innocent without cause;
12Let us swallow them up alive as Sheol, And whole, as those who go down into the pit;
13We shall find all precious wealth; We shall fill our houses with spoil;
14You shall cast your lot among us; We will all have one purse:
15My son, do not walk in the way with them; Restrain your foot from their path:
16For their feet run to evil, And they make haste to shed blood.
17For in vain is the net spread In the sight of any bird:
18And these lie in wait for their own blood; They lurk secretly for their own lives.
19So are the ways of every one who is greedy for gain; It takes away the life of its owners.
20Wisdom cries aloud in the street; She utters her voice in the broad places;
21She cries at the head of the noisy streets; At the entrance of the gates, In the city, she utters her words:
22How long, you simple ones, will you love simplicity? And scoffers delight themselves in scoffing, And fools hate knowledge?
23Turn at my reproof: Behold, I will pour out my spirit upon you; I will make known my words to you.
24Because I have called, and you have refused; I have stretched out my hand, and no man has paid attention;
25But you have ignored all my counsel, And would have none of my reproof:
26I also will laugh in the day of your calamity; I will mock when your fear comes;
27When your fear comes as a storm, And your calamity comes on as a whirlwind; When distress and anguish come upon you.
28Then they will call upon me, but I will not answer; They will seek me diligently, but they shall not find me:
29Because they hated knowledge, And did not choose the fear of Yehovah,
30They would have none of my counsel, They despised all my reproof.
31Therefore they shall eat of the fruit of their own way, And be filled with their own devices.
32For the backsliding of the simple shall slay them, And the careless ease of fools shall destroy them.
33But whoever listens to me shall dwell securely, And shall be quiet without fear of evil.