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Proverbs 1 :: English Standard Version (ESV)

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The Beginning of Knowledge

Unchecked Copy BoxPro 1:1 - The proverbs of Solomon, son of David, king of Israel:
Unchecked Copy BoxPro 1:2 - To know wisdom and instruction,
to understand words of insight,
Unchecked Copy BoxPro 1:3 - to receive instruction in wise dealing,
in righteousness, justice, and equity;
Unchecked Copy BoxPro 1:4 - to give prudence to the simple,
knowledge and discretion to the youth—
Unchecked Copy BoxPro 1:5 - Let the wise hear and increase in learning,
and the one who understands obtain guidance,
Unchecked Copy BoxPro 1:6 - to understand a proverb and a saying,
the words of the wise and their riddles.
Unchecked Copy BoxPro 1:7 - The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge;
fools despise wisdom and instruction.

The Enticement of Sinners

Unchecked Copy BoxPro 1:8 - Hear, my son, your father’s instruction,
and forsake not your mother’s teaching,
Unchecked Copy BoxPro 1:9 - for they are a graceful garland for your head
and pendants for your neck.
Unchecked Copy BoxPro 1:10 - My son, if sinners entice you,
do not consent.
Unchecked Copy BoxPro 1:11 - If they say, “Come with us, let us lie in wait for blood;
let us ambush the innocent without reason;
Unchecked Copy BoxPro 1:12 - like Sheol let us swallow them alive,
and whole, like those who go down to the pit;
Unchecked Copy BoxPro 1:13 - we shall find all precious goods,
we shall fill our houses with plunder;
Unchecked Copy BoxPro 1:14 - throw in your lot among us;
we will all have one purse”—
Unchecked Copy BoxPro 1:15 - my son, do not walk in the way with them;
hold back your foot from their paths,
Unchecked Copy BoxPro 1:16 - for their feet run to evil,
and they make haste to shed blood.
Unchecked Copy BoxPro 1:17 - For in vain is a net spread
in the sight of any bird,
Unchecked Copy BoxPro 1:18 - but these men lie in wait for their own blood;
they set an ambush for their own lives.
Unchecked Copy BoxPro 1:19 - Such are the ways of everyone who is greedy for unjust gain;
it takes away the life of its possessors.

The Call of Wisdom

Unchecked Copy BoxPro 1:20 - Wisdom cries aloud in the street,
in the markets she raises her voice;
Unchecked Copy BoxPro 1:21 - at the head of the noisy streets she cries out;
at the entrance of the city gates she speaks:
Unchecked Copy BoxPro 1:22 - “How long, O simple ones, will you love being simple?
How long will scoffers delight in their scoffing
and fools hate knowledge?
Unchecked Copy BoxPro 1:23 - If you turn at my reproof,[fn]
behold, I will pour out my spirit to you;
I will make my words known to you.
Unchecked Copy BoxPro 1:24 - Because I have called and you refused to listen,
have stretched out my hand and no one has heeded,
Unchecked Copy BoxPro 1:25 - because you have ignored all my counsel
and would have none of my reproof,
Unchecked Copy BoxPro 1:26 - I also will laugh at your calamity;
I will mock when terror strikes you,
Unchecked Copy BoxPro 1:27 - when terror strikes you like a storm
and your calamity comes like a whirlwind,
when distress and anguish come upon you.
Unchecked Copy BoxPro 1:28 - Then they will call upon me, but I will not answer;
they will seek me diligently but will not find me.
Unchecked Copy BoxPro 1:29 - Because they hated knowledge
and did not choose the fear of the LORD,
Unchecked Copy BoxPro 1:30 - would have none of my counsel
and despised all my reproof,
Unchecked Copy BoxPro 1:31 - therefore they shall eat the fruit of their way,
and have their fill of their own devices.
Unchecked Copy BoxPro 1:32 - For the simple are killed by their turning away,
and the complacency of fools destroys them;
Unchecked Copy BoxPro 1:33 - but whoever listens to me will dwell secure
and will be at ease, without dread of disaster.”
ESV Footnotes
Or Will you turn away at my reproof?
ESV

The Holy Bible, English Standard Version copyright © 2001, 2007, 2011, 2016 by Crossway Books and Bibles, a Publishing Ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

See detailed copyright information.

For more information on this translation, see the ESV Preface.

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