Proverbs 1:8-33 (New American Standard)

The Enticement of Sinners

8 ¹Hear, my son, your father's instruction And ²do not forsake your mother's teaching ; 9 Indeed, they are a ³graceful wreath to your head And ^a4ornaments about your neck. 10 My son, if sinners ⁵entice you, ⁶Do not consent. 11 If they say, "Come with us, Let us ⁷lie in wait for blood, Let us ⁸ambush the innocent without cause ; 12 Let us ⁹swallow them alive like Sheol, Even whole, as those who ¹⁰go 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 ^bwith us, We shall all have one purse," 15 My son, ¹¹do not walk in the way with them. ¹²Keep your feet from their path, 16 For ¹³their feet run to evil And they hasten to shed blood. 17 Indeed, it is ^cuseless to spread the baited net In the sight of any ^dbird ; 18 But they ¹⁴lie in wait for their own blood ; They ambush their own lives. 19 So are the ways of everyone who ¹⁵gains by violence ; It takes away the life of its possessors.

Wisdom Warns

20 ¹⁶Wisdom shouts in the street, She ^elifts 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 ^f17naive ones, will you love ^gbeing simple-minded ? And ¹⁸scoffers delight themselves in scoffing And fools ¹⁹hate knowledge ? 23 "Turn to my reproof, Behold, I will ²⁰pour out my spirit on you; I will make my words known to you. 24 "Because ²¹I called and you ²²refused, I ²³stretched out my hand and no one paid attention ; 25 And you ²⁴neglected all my counsel And did not ²⁵want my reproof ; 26 I will also ²⁶laugh at your ²⁷calamity ; I will mock when your ²⁸dread comes, 27 When your dread comes like a storm And your calamity comes like a ²⁹whirlwind, When distress and anguish come upon you. 28 "Then they will ³⁰call on me, but I will not answer ; They will ³¹seek me diligently but they will not find me, 29 Because they ³²hated knowledge And did not choose the fear of the LORD. 30 "They ³³would not accept my counsel, They spurned all my reproof. 31 "So they shall ³⁴eat of the fruit of their own way And be ³⁵satiated with their own devices. 32 "For the ³⁶waywardness of the ^hnaive will kill them, And the complacency of fools will destroy them. 33 "But ³⁷he who listens to me shall ⁱlive securely And will be at ease from the dread of evil."