Proverbs 1

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

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for attaining wisdom and discipline; for understanding words of insight;

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for acquiring a disciplined and prudent life, doing what is right and just and fair;

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for giving prudence to the simple, knowledge and discretion to the young--

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let the wise listen and add to their learning, and let the discerning get guidance--

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for understanding proverbs and parables, the sayings and riddles of the wise.

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The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge, but fools ^[1] despise wisdom and discipline.

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Listen, my son, to your father's instruction and do not forsake your mother's teaching.

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They will be a garland to grace your head and a chain to adorn your neck.

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My son, if sinners entice you, do not give in to them.

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If they say, "Come along with us; let's lie in wait for someone's blood, let's waylay some harmless soul;

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let's swallow them alive, like the grave, ^[2] and whole, like those who go down to the pit;

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we will get all sorts of valuable things and fill our houses with plunder;

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throw in your lot with us, and we will share a common purse"--

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my son, do not go along with them, do not set foot on their paths;

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for their feet rush into sin, they are swift to shed blood.

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How useless to spread a net in full view of all the birds!

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These men lie in wait for their own blood; they waylay only themselves!

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Such is the end of all who go after ill-gotten gain; it takes away the lives of those who get it.

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Wisdom calls aloud in the street, she raises her voice in the public squares;

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at the head of the noisy streets ^[3] she cries out, in the gateways of the city she makes her speech:

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"How long will you simple ones ^[4] love your simple ways? How long will mockers delight in mockery and fools hate knowledge?

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If you had responded to my rebuke, I would have poured out my heart to you and made my thoughts known to you.

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But since you rejected me when I called and no one gave heed when I stretched out my hand,

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since you ignored all my advice and would not accept my rebuke,

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I in turn will laugh at your disaster; I will mock when calamity overtakes you--

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when calamity overtakes you like a storm, when disaster sweeps over you like a whirlwind, when distress and trouble overwhelm you.

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"Then they will call to me but I will not answer; they will look for me but will not find me.

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Since they hated knowledge and did not choose to fear the LORD,

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since they would not accept my advice and spurned my rebuke,

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they will eat the fruit of their ways and be filled with the fruit of their schemes.

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For the waywardness of the simple will kill them, and the complacency of fools will destroy them;

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but whoever listens to me will live in safety and be at ease, without fear of harm."

1. [7] The Hebrew words rendered fool in Proverbs, and often elsewhere in the Old Testament, denote one who is morally deficient.
2. [12] Hebrew Sheol
3. [21] Hebrew; Septuagint / on the tops of the walls
4. [22] The Hebrew word rendered simple in Proverbs generally denotes one without moral direction and inclined to evil.