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Proverbs 1 :: New International Version (NIV)

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Unchecked Copy BoxPro 1:1 - The proverbs of Solomon son of David, king of Israel:
Unchecked Copy BoxPro 1:2 - for gaining wisdom and instruction; for understanding words of insight;
Unchecked Copy BoxPro 1:3 - for receiving instruction in prudent behavior, doing what is right and just and fair;
Unchecked Copy BoxPro 1:4 - for giving prudence to those who are simple,[fn] knowledge and discretion to the young—
Unchecked Copy BoxPro 1:5 - let the wise listen and add to their learning, and let the discerning get guidance—
Unchecked Copy BoxPro 1:6 - for understanding proverbs and parables, the sayings and riddles of the wise.[fn]
Unchecked Copy BoxPro 1:7 - The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge, but fools[fn] despise wisdom and instruction.

Warning Against the Invitation of Sinful Men

Unchecked Copy BoxPro 1:8 - Listen, my son, to your father’s instruction and do not forsake your mother’s teaching.
Unchecked Copy BoxPro 1:9 - They are a garland to grace your head and a chain to adorn your neck.
Unchecked Copy BoxPro 1:10 - My son, if sinful men entice you, do not give in to them.
Unchecked Copy BoxPro 1:11 - If they say, “Come along with us; let’s lie in wait for innocent blood, let’s ambush some harmless soul;
Unchecked Copy BoxPro 1:12 - let’s swallow them alive, like the grave, and whole, like those who go down to the pit;
Unchecked Copy BoxPro 1:13 - we will get all sorts of valuable things and fill our houses with plunder;
Unchecked Copy BoxPro 1:14 - cast lots with us; we will all share the loot”—
Unchecked Copy BoxPro 1:15 - my son, do not go along with them, do not set foot on their paths;
Unchecked Copy BoxPro 1:16 - for their feet rush into evil, they are swift to shed blood.
Unchecked Copy BoxPro 1:17 - How useless to spread a net where every bird can see it!
Unchecked Copy BoxPro 1:18 - These men lie in wait for their own blood; they ambush only themselves!
Unchecked Copy BoxPro 1:19 - Such are the paths of all who go after ill-gotten gain; it takes away the life of those who get it.

Wisdom’s Rebuke

Unchecked Copy BoxPro 1:20 - Out in the open wisdom calls aloud, she raises her voice in the public square;
Unchecked Copy BoxPro 1:21 - on top of the wall[fn] she cries out, at the city gate she makes her speech:
Unchecked Copy BoxPro 1:22 - “How long will you who are simple love your simple ways? How long will mockers delight in mockery and fools hate knowledge?
Unchecked Copy BoxPro 1:23 - Repent at my rebuke! Then I will pour out my thoughts to you, I will make known to you my teachings.
Unchecked Copy BoxPro 1:24 - But since you refuse to listen when I call and no one pays attention when I stretch out my hand,
Unchecked Copy BoxPro 1:25 - since you disregard all my advice and do not accept my rebuke,
Unchecked Copy BoxPro 1:26 - I in turn will laugh when disaster strikes you; I will mock when calamity overtakes you—
Unchecked Copy BoxPro 1:27 - when calamity overtakes you like a storm, when disaster sweeps over you like a whirlwind, when distress and trouble overwhelm you.
Unchecked Copy BoxPro 1:28 - “Then they will call to me but I will not answer; they will look for me but will not find me,
Unchecked Copy BoxPro 1:29 - since they hated knowledge and did not choose to fear the LORD.
Unchecked Copy BoxPro 1:30 - Since they would not accept my advice and spurned my rebuke,
Unchecked Copy BoxPro 1:31 - they will eat the fruit of their ways and be filled with the fruit of their schemes.
Unchecked Copy BoxPro 1:32 - For the waywardness of the simple will kill them, and the complacency of fools will destroy them;
Unchecked Copy BoxPro 1:33 - but whoever listens to me will live in safety and be at ease, without fear of harm.”
NIV Footnotes
The Hebrew word rendered simple in Proverbs denotes a person who is gullible, without moral direction and inclined to evil.
Or understanding a proverb, namely, a parable, / and the sayings of the wise, their riddles
The Hebrew words rendered fool in Proverbs, and often elsewhere in the Old Testament, denote a person who is morally deficient.
Septuagint; Hebrew / at noisy street corners
NIV

THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®, NIV®
Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.®
Used by Permission of Biblica, Inc.® All rights reserved worldwide.


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

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