The Usefulness of Proverbs
1 The (A)proverbs of Solomon (B)the son of David, king of Israel:
2 To know (C)wisdom and instruction,
To discern the sayings of (D)understanding,
3 To (E)receive instruction in wise behavior,
(F)Righteousness, justice, and integrity;
4 To give (G)prudence to the naive,
To the youth (H)knowledge and discretion,
5 A wise person will hear and (I)increase in learning,
And a (J)person of understanding will acquire wise counsel,
6 To understand a proverb and a saying,
The words of the wise and their (K)riddles.
7 (L)The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge;
Fools despise wisdom and instruction.
The Enticement of Sinners
8 (M)Listen, my son, to your father’s instruction,
And (N)do not ignore your mother’s teaching;
9 For they are a (O)graceful wreath for your head
And (P)necklaces for your neck.
10 My son, if sinners (Q)entice you,
(R)Do not consent.
11 If they say, “Come with us,
Let’s (S)lie in wait for blood,
Let’s (T)ambush the innocent without cause;
12 Let’s (U)swallow them alive like Sheol,
Even whole, like those who (V)go down to the pit;
13 We will find all kinds of precious wealth,
We will fill our houses with plunder;
14 Throw in your lot [a]with us;
We will all have one money bag,”
15 My son, (W)do not walk on the way with them.
(X)Keep your feet from their path,
16 For (Y)their feet run to evil,
And they are quick to shed blood.
17 Indeed, it is [b]useless to spread the baited net
In the sight of any [c]bird;
18 But they (Z)lie in wait for their own blood;
They ambush their own lives.
19 Such are the ways of everyone who (AA)makes unjust gain;
It takes away the life of its possessors.
Wisdom Warns
20 (AB)Wisdom shouts in the street,
She [d]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 (AC)naive ones, will you love simplistic thinking?
And how long will (AD)scoffers delight themselves in scoffing
And fools (AE)hate knowledge?
23 Turn to my rebuke,
Behold, I will (AF)pour out my spirit on you;
I will make my words known to you.
24 Because (AG)I called and you (AH)refused,
I (AI)stretched out my hand and no one paid attention;
25 And you (AJ)neglected all my advice
And did not (AK)want my rebuke;
26 I will also (AL)laugh at your (AM)disaster;
I will mock when your (AN)dread comes,
27 When your dread comes like a storm
And your disaster comes like a (AO)whirlwind,
When distress and anguish come upon you.
28 Then they will (AP)call on me, but I will not answer;
They will (AQ)seek me diligently but will not find me,
29 Because they (AR)hated knowledge
And did not choose the fear of the Lord.
30 They (AS)did not accept my advice,
They disdainfully rejected every rebuke from me.
31 So they shall (AT)eat of the fruit of their own way,
And be (AU)filled with their own schemes.
32 For the (AV)faithlessness of the naive will kill them,
And the complacency of fools will destroy them.
33 But (AW)whoever listens to me will live securely
And will be at ease from the dread of evil.”
Footnotes
- Proverbs 1:14 Lit in the midst of us
- Proverbs 1:17 Lit in vain
- Proverbs 1:17 Lit possessor of wing
- Proverbs 1:20 Lit gives
Cross references
- Proverbs 1:1 : 1 Kin 4:32; Prov 10:1; 25:1; Eccl 12:9
- Proverbs 1:1 : Eccl 1:1
- Proverbs 1:2 : Prov 15:33
- Proverbs 1:2 : Prov 4:1
- Proverbs 1:3 : Prov 2:1; 19:20
- Proverbs 1:3 : Prov 2:9
- Proverbs 1:4 : Prov 8:5, 12
- Proverbs 1:4 : Prov 2:10, 11; 3:21
- Proverbs 1:5 : Prov 9:9
- Proverbs 1:5 : Prov 14:6; Eccl 9:11
- Proverbs 1:6 : Num 12:8; Ps 49:4; 78:2; Dan 8:23
- Proverbs 1:7 : Job 28:28; Ps 111:10; Prov 9:10; 15:33; Eccl 12:13
- Proverbs 1:8 : Prov 4:1
- Proverbs 1:8 : Prov 6:20
- Proverbs 1:9 : Prov 4:9
- Proverbs 1:9 : Gen 41:42; Dan 5:29
- Proverbs 1:10 : Prov 16:29
- Proverbs 1:10 : Gen 39:7-10; Deut 13:8; Ps 50:18; Eph 5:11
- Proverbs 1:11 : Prov 12:6; Jer 5:26
- Proverbs 1:11 : Ps 10:8; Prov 1:18
- Proverbs 1:12 : Ps 124:3
- Proverbs 1:12 : Ps 28:1
- Proverbs 1:15 : Ps 1:1; Prov 4:14
- Proverbs 1:15 : Ps 119:101
- Proverbs 1:16 : Prov 6:17, 18; Is 59:7
- Proverbs 1:18 : Prov 11:19
- Proverbs 1:19 : Prov 15:27
- Proverbs 1:20 : Prov 8:1-3; 9:3
- Proverbs 1:22 : Prov 1:4, 32; 8:5; 9:4; 22:3
- Proverbs 1:22 : Ps 1:1
- Proverbs 1:22 : Prov 1:29; 5:12
- Proverbs 1:23 : Is 32:15; Joel 2:28; John 7:39
- Proverbs 1:24 : Is 65:12; 66:4; Jer 7:13
- Proverbs 1:24 : Zech 7:11
- Proverbs 1:24 : Is 65:2; Rom 10:21
- Proverbs 1:25 : Ps 107:11; Luke 7:30
- Proverbs 1:25 : Prov 15:10
- Proverbs 1:26 : Ps 2:4
- Proverbs 1:26 : Prov 6:15
- Proverbs 1:26 : Prov 10:24
- Proverbs 1:27 : Prov 10:25
- Proverbs 1:28 : 1 Sam 8:18; Job 27:9; 35:12; Ps 18:41; Is 1:15; Jer 11:11; 14:12; Ezek 8:18; Mic 3:4; Zech 7:13; James 4:3
- Proverbs 1:28 : Prov 8:17
- Proverbs 1:29 : Job 21:14; Prov 1:22
- Proverbs 1:30 : Ps 81:11; Prov 1:25
- Proverbs 1:31 : Job 4:8; Prov 5:22, 23; 22:8; Is 3:11; Jer 6:19
- Proverbs 1:31 : Prov 14:14
- Proverbs 1:32 : Jer 2:19
- Proverbs 1:33 : Ps 25:12, 13; Prov 3:24-26