Proverbs Chapter 1 - The Beginning of Wisdom

The proverbs of Solomon the son of David, king of Israel;

To know wisdom and instruction; To comprehend the words of understanding;

To receive the discipline of wisdom, Justice, and right, and equity;

To give prudence to the simple, To the young man knowledge and discretion;

That the wise man may hear, and increase in learning, And the man of understanding may attain unto wise counsels;

To understand a proverb, and a figure; The words of the wise, and their dark sayings.

The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge; But the foolish despise wisdom and discipline.

Hear, my son, the instruction of thy father, And forsake not the teaching of thy mother;

For they shall be a chaplet of grace unto thy head, And chains about thy neck.

My son, if sinners entice thee, Consent thou not.

If they say: ‘Come with us, Let us lie in wait for blood, Let us lurk for the innocent without cause;

Let us swallow them up alive as the grave, and whole, as those that go down into the pit;

We shall find all precious substance, We shall fill our houses with spoil;

Cast in thy lot among us; Let us all have one purse’—

My son, walk not thou in the way with them, restrain thy foot from their path;

For their feet run to evil, and they make haste to shed blood.

For in vain the net is spread in the eyes of any bird;

And these lie in wait for their own blood, they lurk for their own lives.

So are the ways of every one that is greedy of gain; it taketh away the life of the owners thereof.

Wisdom crieth aloud in the streets, she uttereth her voice in the broad places;

She calleth at the head of the noisy streets, at the entrances of the gates, in the city, she uttereth her words:

’How long, ye thoughtless, will ye love thoughtlessness? And how long will scorners delight them in scorning, And fools hate knowledge?

Turn you at my reproof; behold, I will pour out my spirit unto you, I will make known my words unto you.

Because I have called, and ye refused, I have stretched out my hand, and no man attended,