| 1:1 | The Beginning of KnowledgeThe Beginning of Knowledge The proverbs of Solomon the son of David, king of Israel: |
| 1:2 | To know wisdom and instruction, To perceive the words of understanding, |
| 1:3 | To receive the instruction of wisdom, Justice, judgment, and equity; |
| 1:4 | To give prudence to the simple, To the young man knowledge and discretion-- |
| 1:5 | A wise man will hear and increase learning, And a man of understanding will attain wise counsel, |
| 1:6 | To understand a proverb and an enigma, The words of the wise and their riddles. |
| 1:7 | The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge, But fools despise wisdom and instruction. Shun Evil Counsel |
| 1:8 | My son, hear the instruction of your father, And do not forsake the law of your mother; |
| 1:9 | For they will be a graceful ornament on your head, And chains 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 to shed blood; Let us lurk secretly for the innocent without cause; |
| 1:12 | Let us swallow them alive like Sheol, And whole, like those who go down to the Pit; |
| 1:13 | We shall find all kinds of precious possessions, We shall fill our houses with spoil; |
| 1:14 | Cast in your lot among us, Let us all have one purse"-- |
| 1:15 | My son, do not walk in the way with them, Keep your foot from their path; |
| 1:16 | For their feet run to evil, And they make haste to shed blood. |
| 1:17 | Surely, in vain the net is spread In the sight of any bird; |
| 1:18 | But they lie in wait for their own blood, They lurk secretly for their own lives. |
| 1:19 | So are the ways of everyone who is greedy for gain; It takes away the life of its owners. The Call of Wisdom |
| 1:20 | Wisdom calls aloud outside; She raises her voice in the open squares. |
| 1:21 | She cries out in the chief concourses, At the openings of the gates in the city She speaks her words: |
| 1:22 | How long, you simple ones, will you love simplicity? For scorners delight in their scorning, And fools hate knowledge. |
| 1:23 | Turn at my rebuke; Surely I will pour out my spirit on you; I will make my words known to you. |
| 1:24 | Because I have called and you refused, I have stretched out my hand and no one regarded, |
| 1:25 | Because you disdained all my counsel, And would have none of my rebuke, |
| 1:26 | I also will laugh at your calamity; I will mock when your terror comes, |
| 1:27 | When your terror comes like a storm, And your destruction 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 have none of my counsel And despised my every rebuke. |
| 1:31 | Therefore they shall eat the fruit of their own way, And be filled to the full with their own fancies. |
| 1:32 | For the turning away of the simple will slay them, And the complacency of fools will destroy them; |
| 1:33 | But whoever listens to me will dwell safely, And will be secure, without fear of evil." |