^1. THE proverbs of Solomon the son of David, king of Israel:

^2. To know wisdom and instruction, To discern the sayings of understanding,

^3. To receive instruction in wise behavior, Righteousness, justice and equity;

^4. To give prudence to the [1] naive, To the youth knowledge and discretion,

^5. A wise man will hear and increase in learning, And a man of understanding will acquire wise counsel,

^6. To understand a proverb and a figure, The words of the wise and their riddles.

^7. The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge; Fools despise wisdom and instruction.

^8. Hear, my son, your father's instruction And do not forsake your mother's teaching;

^9. Indeed, they are a graceful wreath to your head And [2] ornaments about your neck.

^10. My son, if sinners entice you, Do not consent.

^11. If they say, «Come with us, Let us lie in wait for blood, Let us ambush the innocent without cause;

^12. Let us swallow them alive like Sheol, Even whole, as those who go down to the pit;

^13. We will find all kinds of precious wealth, We will fill our houses with spoil;

^14. Throw in your lot [3] with us, We shall all have one purse,»

^15. My son, do not walk in the way with them. Keep your feet from their path,

^16. For their feet run to evil And they hasten to shed blood.

^17. Indeed, it is [5] useless to spread the baited net In the sight of any [4] bird;

^18. But they lie in wait for their own blood; They ambush their own lives.

^19. So are the ways of everyone who gains by violence; It takes away the life of its possessors.

^20. Wisdom shouts in the street, She [6] lifts her voice in the square;

^21. At the head of the noisy streets she cries out; At the entrance of the gates in the city she utters her sayings:

^22. «How long, O [8] naive ones, will you love [7] being simple-minded? And scoffers delight themselves in scoffing And fools hate knowledge?

^23. «Turn to my reproof, Behold, I will pour out my spirit on you; I will make my words known to you.

^24. «Because I called and you refused, I stretched out my hand and no one paid attention;

^25. And you neglected all my counsel And did not want my reproof;

^26. I will also laugh at your calamity; I will mock when your dread comes,

^27. When your dread comes like a storm And your calamity comes like a whirlwind, When distress and anguish come upon you.

^28. «Then they will call on me, but I will not answer; They will seek me diligently but they will not find me,

^29. Because they hated knowledge And did not choose the fear of the LORD.

^30. «They would not accept my counsel, They spurned all my reproof.

^31. «So they shall eat of the fruit of their own way And be satiated with their own devices.

^32. «For the waywardness of the [9] naive will kill them, And the complacency of fools will destroy them.

^33. «But he who listens to me shall [10] live securely And will be at ease from the dread of evil.»