The Beginning of Knowledge

¹aThe proverbs of Solomon, son of David, king of Israel:

²To know wisdom and instruction,

to understand words of insight,

³to receive instruction in wise dealing,

in brighteousness, justice, and equity;

⁴to give prudence to cthe simple,

knowledge and ddiscretion to the youth—

⁵Let the wise hear and eincrease in learning,

and the one who understands obtain guidance,

⁶to understand a proverb and a saying,

fthe words of the wise and their griddles.

⁷hThe fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge;

fools despise wisdom and instruction.

The Enticement of Sinners

⁸iHear, my son, your father's instruction,

and forsake not your mother's teaching,

⁹for they are ja graceful garland for your head

and kpendants for your neck.

¹⁰My son, if sinners lentice you,

do not consent.

¹¹If they say, “Come with us, mlet us lie in wait for blood;

nlet us ambush the innocent without reason;

¹²like Sheol let us oswallow them alive,

and whole, like pthose who go down to the pit;

¹³we shall find all precious goods,

we shall fill our houses with plunder;

¹⁴throw in your lot among us;

we will all have one purse”—

¹⁵my son, qdo not walk in the way with them;

rhold back your foot from their paths,

¹⁶for stheir feet run to evil,

and they make haste to shed blood.

¹⁷tFor in vain is a net spread

in the sight of any bird,

¹⁸but these men ulie in wait for their own blood;

they uset an ambush for their own lives.

¹⁹vSuch are the ways of everyone who is wgreedy for unjust gain;

xit takes away the life of its possessors.

The Call of Wisdom

²⁰yWisdom cries aloud in the street,

in the markets she raises her voice;

²¹at the head of the noisy streets she cries out;

at zthe entrance of the city gates she speaks:

²²“How long, O asimple ones, will you love being simple?

How long will bscoffers delight in their scoffing

and fools chate knowledge?

²³If you turn at my reproof,1

behold, I will dpour out my spirit to you;

I will make my words known to you.

²⁴eBecause I have called and fyou refused to listen,

have gstretched out my hand and no one has heeded,

²⁵because you have hignored all my counsel

and iwould have none of my reproof,

²⁶I also jwill laugh at your calamity;

I will mock when kterror strikes you,

²⁷when terror strikes you like la storm

and your calamity comes like a whirlwind,

when distress and anguish come upon you.

²⁸mThen they will call upon me, but I will not answer;

they will seek me diligently but will not find me.

²⁹Because they chated knowledge

and ndid not choose the fear of the Lord,

³⁰hwould have none of my counsel

and idespised all my reproof,

³¹therefore they shall eat othe fruit of their way,

and have ptheir fill of their own devices.

³²For the simple are killed by qtheir turning away,

and rthe complacency of fools destroys them;

³³but swhoever listens to me will dwell secure

and will be tat ease, without dread of disaster.”