1:1
1:1 The Proverbs of Solomon son of David,Who reigned in Israel;
1:2 To know wisdom and instruction,And to perceive words of understanding;
1:3 To receive also hard saying,And to understand true justice,And how to direct judgement;
1:4 That he might give subtlety to the simple,And to the young man discernment and understanding.
1:5 For by the hearing of these a wise man will be wiser,And man of understanding will gain direction;
1:6 And will understand a parable, and a dark speech;The saying of the wise also, and riddles.
1:7 The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom;And there is good understanding to all that practise it:And piety toward God is the beginning of discernment;But the ungodly will set at nought wisdom and instruction.
1:8 Hear, my son, the instruction of thy father,And reject not the rules of thy mother.
1:9 For thou shalt receive for thine head a crown of graces,And a chain of gold round thy neck.
1:10 My son, let not ungodly men lead thee astray,Neither consent thou to them.
1:11 If they should exhort thee, saying,"Come with us, partake in blood,And let us unjustly hide the just man in the earth:
1:12 And let us swallow him alive, as Hades would,And remove the memorial of him from the earth:
1:13 Let us seize on his valuable property,And let us fill our houses with spoils:
1:14 But do thou cast in thy lot with us,And let us all provide a common purse,And let us have one pouch:"
1:15 Go not in the way with them,But turn aside thy foot from their paths.
1:16 For their feet run to evil,And make haste to shed blood.
1:17 For nets are not without cause spread for birds.
1:18 For they that are concerned in murder store up evils for themselves;And the overthrow of transgressors is evil.
1:19 These are the ways of all that perform lawless deeds;For by ungodliness they destroy their own life.
1:20 Wisdom sings aloud in passages,And in the broad places speaks boldly.
1:21 And She maketh proclamation on the top of the walls,And sitteth by the gates of princes;And at the gates of the city boldly says,
1:22 "So long as the simple cleave to justice,They shall not be ashamed:But the foolish being lovers of haughtiness,Having become ungodly have hated knowledge,And are become subject to reproofs.
1:23 Behold, I will bring forth to you the utterance of my breath,And I will instruct you in My speech.
1:24 "Since I called, and ye did not hearken;And I spoke at length, and ye gave no heed;
1:25 But ye set at nought My counsels,And disregarded My reproofs;
1:26 Therefore I also will laugh at your destruction;And I will rejoice against you when ruin cometh upon you:
1:27 Yea when dismay suddenly cometh upon you,And your overthrow shall arrive like a tempest;And when tribulation and distress shall come upon you,Or when ruin shall come upon you.
1:28 For it shall be that when ye call upon Me,I will not hearken to you:Wicked men shall seek Me, but shall not find Me.
1:29 For they hated Wisdom, and did not choose the word of the Lord:
1:30 Neither would they attend to my counsels,But derided My reproofs.
1:31 Therefore shall they eat the fruits of their own way,And shall be filled with their own ungodliness.
1:32 For because they wronged the simple,They shall be slain;And an inquisition shall ruin the ungodly.
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