Chapter 1

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

²to know wisdom and instruction, to understand words of insight,

³to receive instruction in prudent behavior, doing what is right and just and fair,

⁴to give shrewdness to the naive, knowledge and discretion to the young,

⁵for the wise to listen and add to their learning, and for the discerning to acquire guidance,

⁶to understand a proverb and a figure, the words of the wise and their riddles.

⁷The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and instruction.

⁸Listen, my child, to your father’s instruction and do not forsake your mother’s teaching.

⁹They are a garland of grace for your head and pendants for your neck.

¹⁰My child, if sinners entice you, do not consent.

¹¹If they say, “Come with us; let us lie in wait for blood, let us ambush the innocent without cause;

¹²let us swallow them alive like the grave, and whole, like those who go down to the pit;

¹³we will find all kinds of precious wealth, we will fill our houses with spoil;

¹⁴throw in your lot among us; we will all have one purse”—

¹⁵my child, do not walk in the way with them; keep your foot from their path,

¹⁶for their feet run to evil, and they hurry to shed blood.

¹⁷For in vain is a net spread in the sight of any bird,

¹⁸but these lie in wait for their own blood; they ambush their own lives.

¹⁹Such are the ways of everyone who is greedy for unjust gain; it takes away the life of its possessors.

²⁰Wisdom cries aloud in the street; in the public squares she gives her voice.

²¹At the head of the noisy streets she calls out; at the entrance of the city gates she speaks:

²²“How long, you naive ones, will you love being naive? How long will scoffers delight in their scoffing and fools hate knowledge?

²³Turn at my rebuke. Behold, I will pour out my spirit to you; I will make my words known to you.

²⁴Because I have called and you refused to listen, have stretched out my hand and no one has heeded,

²⁵because you have ignored all my counsel and would have none of my reproof,

²⁶I in turn will laugh at your calamity; I will mock when terror strikes you,

²⁷when terror strikes you like a storm and your calamity comes like a whirlwind, when distress and anguish come upon you.

²⁸Then they will call upon me, but I will not answer; they will seek me diligently but will not find me.

²⁹Because they hated knowledge and did not choose the fear of the Lord,

³⁰would have none of my counsel and despised all my reproof,

³¹therefore they shall eat the fruit of their way, and have their fill of their own devices.

³²For the turning away of the naive will kill them, and the complacency of fools will destroy them;

³³but whoever listens to me will dwell secure and will be at ease, without dread of disaster.” Proverbs 2 The Book of Proverbs, Chapter 2 – Veritable King James Version