Proverbs 1
1
The Beginning of Knowledge
1The #1 Kin. 4:32; Prov. 10:1; 25:1; Eccl. 12:9proverbs of Solomon the son of David, king of Israel:
2To know wisdom and instruction,
To perceive the words of understanding,
3To receive the instruction of wisdom,
Justice, judgment, and equity;
4To give prudence to the #Prov. 9:4simple,
To the young man knowledge and discretion—
5#Prov. 9:9A wise man will hear and increase learning,
And a man of understanding will attain wise counsel,
6To understand a proverb and an enigma,
The words of the wise and their #Num. 12:8; Ps. 78:2; Dan. 8:23riddles.
7#Job 28:28; Ps. 111:10; Prov. 9:10; 15:33; (Eccl. 12:13)The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge,
But fools despise wisdom and instruction.
Shun Evil Counsel
8#Prov. 4:1My son, hear the instruction of your father,
And do not forsake the law of your mother;
9For they will be a #Prov. 3:22graceful ornament on your head,
And chains about your neck.
10My son, if sinners entice you,
#Gen. 39:7–10; Deut. 13:8; Ps. 50:18; (Eph. 5:11)Do not consent.
11If they say, “Come with us,
Let us #Prov. 12:6; Jer. 5:26lie in wait to shed blood;
Let us lurk secretly for the innocent without cause;
12Let us swallow them alive like Sheol,
And whole, #Ps. 28:1like those who go down to the Pit;
13We shall find all kinds of precious possessions,
We shall fill our houses with spoil;
14Cast in your lot among us,
Let us all have one purse”—
15My son, #Ps. 1:1; Prov. 4:14do not walk in the way with them,
#Ps. 119:101Keep your foot from their path;
16#Prov. 6:17, 18; (Is. 59:7); Rom. 3:15For their feet run to evil,
And they make haste to shed blood.
17Surely, in vain the net is spread
In the sight of any bird;
18But they lie in wait for their own blood,
They lurk secretly for their own lives.
19#Prov. 15:27; (1 Tim. 6:10)So are the ways of everyone who is greedy for gain;
It takes away the life of its owners.
The Call of Wisdom
20#Prov. 8:1; 9:3; (John 7:37)Wisdom calls aloud outside;
She raises her voice in the open squares.
21She cries out in the chief concourses,
At the openings of the gates in the city
She speaks her words:
22“How long, you simple ones, will you love simplicity?
For scorners delight in their scorning,
And fools hate knowledge.
23Turn at my rebuke;
Surely #Is. 32:15; Joel 2:28; (John 7:39)I will pour out my spirit on you;
I will make my words known to you.
24#Is. 65:12; 66:4; Jer. 7:13; Zech. 7:11Because I have called and you refused,
I have stretched out my hand and no one regarded,
25Because you #Ps. 107:11; Luke 7:30disdained all my counsel,
And would have none of my rebuke,
26#Ps. 2:4I also will laugh at your calamity;
I will mock when your terror comes,
27When #(Prov. 10:24, 25)your terror comes like a storm,
And your destruction comes like a whirlwind,
When distress and anguish come upon you.
28“Then#1 Sam. 8:18; Job 27:9; 35:12; Ps. 18:41; Is. 1:15; Jer. 11:11; 14:12; Ezek. 8:18; Mic. 3:4; Zech. 7:13; (James 4:3) they will call on me, but I will not answer;
They will seek me diligently, but they will not find me.
29Because they #Job 21:14; Prov. 1:22hated knowledge
And did not #Ps. 119:173choose the fear of the Lord,
30#Ps. 81:11; Prov. 1:25They would have none of my counsel
And despised my every rebuke.
31Therefore #Job 4:8; Prov. 5:22, 23; 22:8; Is. 3:11; Jer. 6:19they shall eat the fruit of their own way,
And be filled to the full with their own fancies.
32For the turning away of the simple will slay them,
And the complacency of fools will destroy them;
33But whoever listens to me will dwell #Prov. 3:24–26safely,
And #Ps. 112:7will be secure, without fear of evil.”
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Proverbs 1: NKJV
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The Holy Bible, New King James Version, Copyright © 1982 Thomas Nelson. All rights reserved.
Proverbs 1
1
Wise Sayings of Solomon
A Manual for Living
1-6These are the wise sayings of Solomon,
David’s son, Israel’s king—
Written down so we’ll know how to live well and right,
to understand what life means and where it’s going;
A manual for living,
for learning what’s right and just and fair;
To teach the inexperienced the ropes
and give our young people a grasp on reality.
There’s something here also for seasoned men and women,
still a thing or two for the experienced to learn—
Fresh wisdom to probe and penetrate,
the rhymes and reasons of wise men and women.
Start with God
7Start with God—the first step in learning is bowing down to God;
only fools thumb their noses at such wisdom and learning.
8-19Pay close attention, friend, to what your father tells you;
never forget what you learned at your mother’s knee.
Wear their counsel like a winning crown,
like rings on your fingers.
Dear friend, if bad companions tempt you,
don’t go along with them.
If they say—“Let’s go out and raise some hell.
Let’s beat up some old man, mug some old woman.
Let’s pick them clean
and get them ready for their funerals.
We’ll load up on top-quality loot.
We’ll haul it home by the truckload.
Join us for the time of your life!
With us, it’s share and share alike!”—
Oh, friend, don’t give them a second look;
don’t listen to them for a minute.
They’re racing to a very bad end,
hurrying to ruin everything they lay hands on.
Nobody robs a bank
with everyone watching,
Yet that’s what these people are doing—
they’re doing themselves in.
When you grab all you can get, that’s what happens:
the more you get, the less you are.
Lady Wisdom
20-21Lady Wisdom goes out in the street and shouts.
At the town center she makes her speech.
In the middle of the traffic she takes her stand.
At the busiest corner she calls out:
22-24“Simpletons! How long will you wallow in ignorance?
Cynics! How long will you feed your cynicism?
Idiots! How long will you refuse to learn?
About face! I can revise your life.
Look, I’m ready to pour out my spirit on you;
I’m ready to tell you all I know.
As it is, I’ve called, but you’ve turned a deaf ear;
I’ve reached out to you, but you’ve ignored me.
25-28“Since you laugh at my counsel
and make a joke of my advice,
How can I take you seriously?
I’ll turn the tables and joke about your troubles!
What if the roof falls in,
and your whole life goes to pieces?
What if catastrophe strikes and there’s nothing
to show for your life but rubble and ashes?
You’ll need me then. You’ll call for me, but don’t expect an answer.
No matter how hard you look, you won’t find me.
29-33“Because you hated Knowledge
and had nothing to do with the Fear-of-God,
Because you wouldn’t take my advice
and brushed aside all my offers to train you,
Well, you’ve made your bed—now lie in it;
you wanted your own way—now, how do you like it?
Don’t you see what happens, you simpletons, you idiots?
Carelessness kills; complacency is murder.
First pay attention to me, and then relax.
Now you can take it easy—you’re in good hands.”
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THE MESSAGE: The Bible in Contemporary Language copyright © 1993, 2002, 2018 by Eugene H. Peterson. All rights reserved. Used by permission of NavPress. Represented by Tyndale House Publishers.