Proverbs 1
1
The Importance of Proverbs
1These are the wise words of Solomon son of David, king of Israel.
2They teach wisdom and self-control;
they will help you understand wise words.
3They will teach you how to be wise and self-controlled
and will teach you to do what is honest and fair and right.
4They make the uneducated wise
and give knowledge and sense to the young.
5Wise people can also listen and learn;
even they can find good advice in these words.
6Then anyone can understand wise words and stories,
the words of the wise and their riddles.
7Knowledge begins with respect for the Lord,
but fools hate wisdom and discipline.
Warnings Against Evil
8My child, listen to your father’s teaching
and do not forget your mother’s advice.
9Their teaching will be like flowers in your hair
or a necklace around your neck.
10My child, if sinners try to lead you into sin,
do not follow them.
11They will say, “Come with us.
Let’s ambush and kill someone;
let’s attack some innocent people just for fun.
12Let’s swallow them alive, as death does;
let’s swallow them whole, as the grave does.
13We will take all kinds of valuable things
and fill our houses with stolen goods.
14Come join us,
and we will share with you stolen goods.”
15My child, do not go along with them;
do not do what they do.
16They are eager to do evil
and are quick to kill.
17It is useless to spread out a net
right where the birds can see it.
18But sinners will fall into their own traps;
they will only catch themselves!
19All greedy people end up this way;
greed kills selfish people.
Wisdom Speaks
20Wisdom is like a woman shouting in the street;
she raises her voice in the city squares.
21She cries out in the noisy street
and shouts at the city gates:
22“You fools, how long will you be foolish?
How long will you make fun of wisdom
and hate knowledge?
23If only you had listened when I corrected you,
I would have told you what’s in my heart;
I would have told you what I am thinking.
24I called, but you refused to listen;
I held out my hand, but you paid no attention.
25You did not follow my advice
and did not listen when I corrected you.
26So I will laugh when you are in trouble.
I will make fun when disaster strikes you,
27when disaster comes over you like a storm,
when trouble strikes you like a whirlwind,
when pain and trouble overwhelm you.
28“Then you will call to me,
but I will not answer.
You will look for me,
but you will not find me.
29It is because you rejected knowledge
and did not choose to respect the Lord.
30You did not accept my advice,
and you rejected my correction.
31So you will get what you deserve;
you will get what you planned for others.
32Fools will die because they refuse to listen;
they will be destroyed because they do not care.
33But those who listen to me will live in safety
and be at peace, without fear of injury.”
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Proverbs 1: NCV
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The Holy Bible, New Century Version, Copyright © 2005 Thomas Nelson. All rights reserved.
Proverbs 1
1
1 The parables of Solomon, son of David, king of Israel,
2 in order to know wisdom and discipline,
3 to understand words of prudence, and to accept the instruction of doctrine, justice and judgment, and equity,
4 so as to give discernment to little ones, knowledge and understanding to adolescents.
5 By listening, the wise shall become wiser and the intelligent shall possess governments.
6 He shall turn his soul to a parable and to its interpretation, to the words of the wise and their enigmas.
7 The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. The foolish despise wisdom as well as doctrine.
8 Listen, my son, to the discipline of your father, and forsake not the law of your mother,
9 so that grace may be added to your head and a collar to your neck.
10 My son, if sinners should entice you, do not consent to them.
11 If they should say: "Come with us. We will lie in wait for blood. We will lay traps against the innocent, without cause.
12 Let us swallow him alive, like Hell, and whole, like one descending into the pit.
13 We will discover every precious substance. We will fill our houses with spoils.
14 Cast your lot with us. One purse will be for us all."
15 My son, do not walk with them. Preclude your feet from their paths.
16 For their feet rush to evil, and they hurry to shed blood.
17 But a net is thrown in vain before the eyes of those who have wings.
18 Likewise, they lie in ambush against their own blood, and they undertake deceits against their own souls.
19 Thus, the ways of all those who are greedy seize the souls of those who possess.
20 Wisdom forewarns far and wide; she bestows her voice in the streets.
21 She cries out at the head of crowds; at the entrance of the gates of the city, she offers her words, saying:
22 "Little ones, how long will you choose to be childish, and how long will the foolish desire what is harmful to themselves, and how long will the imprudent hate knowledge?
23 Be converted by my correction. Lo, I will offer my spirit to you, and I will reveal my words to you.
24 For I called, and you refused. I extended my hand, and there was no one who watched.
25 You have despised all my counsels, and you have neglected my rebukes.
26 Similarly, I will ridicule you at your demise, and I will mock you, when that which you feared shall overcome you.
27 When sudden calamity rushes upon you, and your demise advances like a tempest, when tribulation and anguish overcome you,
28 then they will call to me, and I will not heed, they will arise in the morning, and not find me.
29 For they held hatred for discipline, and they would not accept the fear of the Lord;
30 they would not consent to my counsel, but they detracted from all of my corrections.
31 Therefore, they shall eat the fruit of their way, and they shall have their fill of their own counsels.
32 The loathing of the little ones shall destroy them, and the prosperity of the foolish shall perish them.
33 But whoever will listen to me shall rest without terror, and shall have full enjoyment of abundance, without fear of evils."
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