Proverbs 1
1The Proverbs of Solomon son of David, 1 Who reigned in Israel; 1
2To know wisdom and instruction, 1 And to perceive words of understanding; 1
3To receive also hard sayings, 1 And to understand true justice, 1 And how to direct judgment; 1
4That he might give subtlety to the simple, 1 And to the young man discernment and understanding. 1
5For by the hearing of these a wise man will be wiser, 1 And the man of understanding will gain direction; 1
6And will understand a parable, and a dark speech; 1 The sayings of the wise also, and riddles. 1
7The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom; 1 And there is good understanding to all that practice it: 1 And piety toward God is the beginning of discernment; 1 But the ungodly will set at nought wisdom and instruction. 1
8Hear, my son, the instruction of thy father, 1 And reject not the rules of thy mother. 1
9For thou shalt receive for thy head a crown of graces, 1 And a chain of gold round thy neck. 1
10My son, let not ungodly men lead thee astray, 1 Neither consent thou to them. 1
11If they should exhort thee, saying, Come with us, partake in blood, 1 And let us unjustly hide the just man in the earth: 1
12And let us swallow him alive, as Hades would, 1 And remove the memorial of him from the earth: 1
13Let us seize on his valuable property, 1 And let us fill our houses with spoils: 1
14But do thou cast in thy lot with us, 1 And let us all provide a common purse, 1 And let us have one pouch: 1
15Go not in the way with them, 1 But turn aside thy foot from their paths: 1
17For nets are not without cause spread for birds. 1
18For they that are concerned in murder store up evils for themselves; 1 And the overthrow of transgressors is evil. 1
19These are the ways of all that perform lawless deeds; 1 For by ungodliness they destroy their own life. 1
20Wisdom sings aloud in passages, 1 And in the broad places speaks boldly. 1
21And she makes proclamation on the top of the walls, 1 And sits by the gates of princes; 1 And at the gates of the city boldly says, 1
22So long as the simple cleave to justice, they shall not be ashamed: 1 But the foolish being lovers of haughtiness, 1 Having become ungodly have hated knowledge, 1 And are become subject to reproofs. 1
23Behold, I will bring forth to you the utterance of my breath, 1 And I will instruct you in my speech. 1
24Since I called, and ye did not hearken; 1 And I spoke at length, and ye gave no heed; 1
25But ye set at nought my counsels, 1 And disregarded my reproofs; 1
26Therefore I also will laugh at your destruction; 1 And I will rejoice against you when ruin comes upon you: 1
27Yea when dismay suddenly comes upon you, 1 And your overthrow shall arrive like a tempest; 1 And when tribulation and distress shall come upon you, 1 Or when ruin shall come upon you. 1
28For it shall be that when ye call upon me, I will not hearken to you: 1 Wicked men shall seek me, but shall not find me. 1
29For they hated wisdom, 1 And did not choose the word of the Lord: 1
30Neither would they attend to my counsels, 1 But derided my reproofs. 1
31Therefore shall they eat the fruits of their own way, 1 And shall be filled with their own ungodliness. 1
32For because they wronged the simple, they shall be slain; 1 And an inquisition shall ruin the ungodly. 1
33But he that hearkens to me shall dwell in confidence, 1 And shall rest securely from all evil.