Proverbs 1
1
Chapter 1
How proverbs help us
1These are the proverbs of Solomon, David's son, king of Israel.
2These are proverbs that will make you wise. They will help you to learn things and to understand good teaching. 3They will help you to understand how to live a good life. They will teach you how to live as a person who is good, honest and fair.
4They can cause even silly people to become clever. They teach young people what they should know, so that they can live well.
5 Wise people should also listen carefully, so that they learn something new. And people with clever minds can learn to live in a good way.
6People will learn to understand what proverbs and picture stories mean. They will understand the teaching and clever messages of wise people.
Good teaching for life
7If you want to know how to live in a good way, you must first learn to respect the Lord with fear. #1:7 When we write Lord like this, it is a special name for God. Sometimes people write it as ‘Yahweh’, or as ‘Jehovah’. It is his own name that he told Moses. See Exodus 3:14. It means ‘I am who I am’. This shows that God has always been there and he always will be there. Fools refuse to listen to wise teaching.
8Listen, my child, when your father shows you what is right. And do not forget what your mother has taught you. 9Their teaching will bring you honour, like a beautiful crown or a valuable necklace.
Keep away from sin
10My child, if sinners want you to join with them, do not agree! 11They may say, ‘Come with us. We will find someone to murder. We will attack any helpless person that we choose. 12We will send them quickly to their graves. They may be strong and healthy, but they will soon be under the earth. 13We will take all their valuable things for ourselves. We will fill our houses with lots of good things. 14So come and join us! We will share with each other everything that we rob from other people.’
15My child, do not go along with people like that. Stay away from them. 16They are in a hurry to do evil things. They cannot wait to murder someone!
17Think about it! If you put a trap where the birds can see it, you will never catch anything. 18These wicked men hide to attack someone. They are ready to kill someone, but they destroy their own lives! 19That is what happens to those who cheat other people to become rich themselves. The riches that they have taken from others will destroy their own lives.
Wisdom warns foolish people
20Listen! Wisdom is like a woman who shouts in the streets. She speaks loudly in the market places. 21She shouts above the noise in the city's streets. She calls aloud at its gates. This is what she says:
22‘Listen to me!
Will you silly people continue to be so silly?
You people who laugh at God, will you always be like that?
Will fools always refuse to learn anything?
23Listen to me as I warn you of danger!
Then I will let you know my thoughts.
I will let you hear my message.
24I called out to you, but you refused to listen.
I reached out to you, but you turned your backs to me.
25You would not accept my teaching.
When I warned you, you did nothing.
26So, when trouble comes to you, I will laugh.
I will laugh at you when you are afraid.
27 Fear may hit you like a strong wind.
Trouble may knock you down, like a storm.
Your problems may make you very afraid.
But I will laugh at you.
28 Foolish people will call to me for help, but I will not answer.
They will look for me everywhere, but they will not find me.
29They have refused to learn what is right.
They have refused to respect the Lord.
30They have not agreed to my advice.
When I warned them, they turned away.
31So now they will receive the trouble that they deserve.
Their own wicked ideas will make them sick.
32Silly people have turned away from me, and that will kill them.
Fools like an easy life, and that will destroy them.
33But whoever listens to me, Wisdom, will live safely.
That person will have peace in his mind.
He will not be afraid of trouble.’
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Proverbs 1: EASY
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