Study

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The proverbs of Solomon son of David, king of Israel:

 

Prologue

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For learning about wisdom and instruction,

for understanding words of insight,

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for gaining instruction in wise dealing,

righteousness, justice, and equity;

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to teach shrewdness to the simple,

knowledge and prudence to the young—

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let the wise also hear and gain in learning,

and the discerning acquire skill,

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to understand a proverb and a figure,

the words of the wise and their riddles.

 

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The fear of the L ord is the beginning of knowledge;

fools despise wisdom and instruction.

 

Warnings against Evil Companions

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Hear, my child, your father’s instruction,

and do not reject your mother’s teaching;

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for they are a fair garland for your head,

and pendants for your neck.

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My child, if sinners entice you,

do not consent.

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If they say, “Come with us, let us lie in wait for blood;

let us wantonly ambush the innocent;

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like Sheol let us swallow them alive

and whole, like those who go down to the Pit.

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We shall find all kinds of costly things;

we shall fill our houses with booty.

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Throw in your lot among us;

we will all have one purse”—

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my child, do not walk in their way,

keep your foot from their paths;

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for their feet run to evil,

and they hurry to shed blood.

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For in vain is the net baited

while the bird is looking on;

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yet they lie in wait—to kill themselves!

and set an ambush—for their own lives!

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Such is the end of all who are greedy for gain;

it takes away the life of its possessors.

 

The Call of Wisdom

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Wisdom cries out in the street;

in the squares she raises her voice.

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At the busiest corner she cries out;

at the entrance of the city gates she speaks:

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“How long, O simple ones, will you love being simple?

How long will scoffers delight in their scoffing

and fools hate knowledge?

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Give heed to my reproof;

I will pour out my thoughts to you;

I will make my words known to you.

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Because I have called and you refused,

have stretched out my hand and no one heeded,

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and because you have ignored all my counsel

and would have none of my reproof,

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I also will laugh at your calamity;

I will mock when panic strikes you,

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when panic strikes you like a storm,

and your calamity comes like a whirlwind,

when distress and anguish come upon you.

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Then they will call upon me, but I will not answer;

they will seek me diligently, but will not find me.

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Because they hated knowledge

and did not choose the fear of the L ord,

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would have none of my counsel,

and despised all my reproof,

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therefore they shall eat the fruit of their way

and be sated with their own devices.

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For waywardness kills the simple,

and the complacency of fools destroys them;

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but those who listen to me will be secure

and will live at ease, without dread of disaster.”