Proverbes 1

¹ The proverbs of Solomon the son of David, king of Israel; ² To know wisdom and instruction; To comprehend the words of understanding; ³ To receive the discipline of wisdom, Justice, and right, and equity; ⁴ To give prudence to the simple, To the young man knowledge and discretion; ⁵ That the wise man may hear, and increase in learning, And the man of understanding may attain unto wise counsels; ⁶ To understand a proverb, and a figure; The words of the wise, and their dark sayings. ⁷ The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge; But the foolish despise wisdom and discipline. ⁸ Hear, my son, the instruction of thy father, And forsake not the teaching of thy mother; ⁹ For they shall be a chaplet of grace unto thy head, And chains about thy neck. ¹⁰ My son, if sinners entice thee, Consent thou not. ¹¹ If they say: "Come with us, Let us lie in wait for blood, Let us lurk for the innocent without cause; ¹² Let us swallow them up alive as the grave, And whole, as those that go down into the pit; ¹³ We shall find all precious substance, We shall fill our houses with spoil; ¹⁴ Cast in thy lot among us; Let us all have one purse" ¹⁵ My son, walk not thou in the way with them, Restrain thy foot from their path; ¹⁶ For their feet run to evil, A nd they make haste to shed blood. ¹⁷ For in vain the net is spread In the eyes of any bird; ¹⁸ And these lie in wait for their own blood, They lurk for their own lives. ¹⁹ So are the ways of every one that is greedy of gain; It taketh away the life of the owners thereof. ²⁰ Wisdom crieth aloud in the streets, She uttereth her voice in the broad places; ²¹ She calleth at the head of the noisy streets, At the entrances of the gates, in the city, she uttereth her words: ²² "How long, ye thoughtless, will ye love thoughtlessness? And how long will scorners delight them in scorning, And fools hate knowledge? ²³ Turn you at my reproof; Behold, I will pour out my spirit unto you, I will make known my words unto you. ²⁴ Because I have called, and ye refused, I have stretched out my hand, and no man attended, ²⁵ But ye have set at nought all my counsel, And would none of my reproof; ²⁶ I also, in your calamity, will laugh, I will mock when your dread cometh; ²⁷ When your dread cometh as a storm, And your calamity cometh on as a whirlwind; When trouble and distress come upon you. ²⁸ Then will they call me, but I will not answer, They will seek me earnestly, but they shall not find me. ²⁹ For that they hated knowledge, And did not choose the fear of the LORD; ³⁰ They would none of my counsel, They despised all my reproof. ³¹ Therefore shall they eat of the fruit of their own way, And be filled with their own devices. ³² For the waywardness of the thoughtless shall slay them, And the confidence of fools shall destroy them. ³³ But whoso hearkeneth unto me shall dwell securely, And shall be quiet without fear of evil."