1 The aproverbs of Solomon bthe son of David, king of Israel: 2 To know awisdom and instruction, To discern the sayings of bunderstanding, 3 To areceive instruction in wise behavior, bRighteousness, justice and equity; 4 To give aprudence to the naive, To the youth bknowledge and discretion, 5 A wise man will hear and aincrease in learning, And a bman of understanding will acquire wise counsel, 6 To understand a proverb and a figure, The words of the wise and their ariddles. 7 aThe fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge; Fools despise wisdom and instruction. 8 aHear, my son, your father's instruction And bdo not forsake your mother's teaching; 9 Indeed, they are a agraceful wreath to your head And bornaments about your neck. 10 My son, if sinners aentice you, bDo not consent. 11 If they say, "Come with us, Let us alie in wait for blood, Let us bambush the innocent without cause; 12 Let us aswallow them alive like Sheol, Even whole, as those who bgo down to the pit; 13 We will find all kinds of precious wealth, We will fill our houses with spoil; 14 Throw in your lot with us, We shall all have one purse," 15 My son, ado not walk in the way with them. bKeep your feet from their path, 16 For atheir feet run to evil And they hasten to shed blood. 17 Indeed, it is useless to spread the baited net In the sight of any bird; 18 But they alie in wait for their own blood; They ambush their own lives. 19 So are the ways of everyone who agains by violence; It takes away the life of its possessors. 20 aWisdom shouts in the street, She lifts her voice in the square; 21 At the head of the noisy streets she cries out; At the entrance of the gates in the city she utters her sayings: 22 "How long, O anaive ones, will you love being simple-minded? And bscoffers delight themselves in scoffing And fools chate knowledge? 23 "Turn to my reproof, Behold, I will apour out my spirit on you; I will make my words known to you. 24 "Because aI called and you brefused, I cstretched out my hand and no one paid attention; 25 And you aneglected all my counsel And did not bwant my reproof; 26 I will also alaugh at your bcalamity; I will mock when your cdread comes, 27 When your dread comes like a storm And your calamity comes like a awhirlwind, When distress and anguish come upon you. 28 "Then they will acall on me, but I will not answer; They will bseek me diligently but they will not find me, 29 Because they ahated knowledge And did not choose the fear of the Lord. 30 "They awould not accept my counsel, They spurned all my reproof. 31 "So they shall aeat of the fruit of their own way And be bsatiated with their own devices. 32 "For the awaywardness of the naive will kill them, And the complacency of fools will destroy them. 33 "But ahe who listens to me shall live securely And will be at ease from the dread of evil."