Parallel Bible results for "proverbs 1"

Proverbs 1

The Message Bible MSG

1 These are the wise sayings of Solomon, David's son, Israel's king -

2 Written down so we'll know how to live well and right, to understand what life means and where it's going;

3 A manual for living, for learning what's right and just and fair;

4 To teach the inexperienced the ropes and give our young people a grasp on reality.

5 There's something here also for seasoned men and women,

6 still a thing or two for the experienced to learn - Fresh wisdom to probe and penetrate, the rhymes and reasons of wise men and women. Start with God

7 Start with God - the first step in learning is bowing down to God; only fools thumb their noses at such wisdom and learning.

8 Pay close attention, friend, to what your father tells you; never forget what you learned at your mother's knee.

9 Wear their counsel like flowers in your hair, like rings on your fingers.

10 Dear friend, if bad companions tempt you, don't go along with them.

11 If they say - "Let's go out and raise some hell. Let's beat up some old man, mug some old woman.

12 Let's pick them clean and get them ready for their funerals.

13 We'll load up on top-quality loot. We'll haul it home by the truckload.

14 Join us for the time of your life! With us, it's share and share alike!" -

15 Oh, friend, don't give them a second look; don't listen to them for a minute.

16 They're racing to a very bad end, hurrying to ruin everything they lay hands on.

17 Nobody robs a bank with everyone watching,

18 Yet that's what these people are doing - they're doing themselves in.

19 When you grab all you can get, that's what happens: the more you get, the less you are. Lady Wisdom

20 Lady Wisdom goes out in the street and shouts. At the town center she makes her speech.

21 In the middle of the traffic she takes her stand. At the busiest corner she calls out:

22 "Simpletons! How long will you wallow in ignorance? Cynics! How long will you feed your cynicism? Idiots! How long will you refuse to learn?

23 About face! I can revise your life. Look, I'm ready to pour out my spirit on you; I'm ready to tell you all I know.

24 As it is, I've called, but you've turned a deaf ear; I've reached out to you, but you've ignored me.

25 "Since you laugh at my counsel and make a joke of my advice,

26 How can I take you seriously? I'll turn the tables and joke about your troubles!

27 What if the roof falls in, and your whole life goes to pieces? What if catastrophe strikes and there's nothing to show for your life but rubble and ashes?

28 You'll need me then. You'll call for me, but don't expect an answer. No matter how hard you look, you won't find me.

29 "Because you hated Knowledge and had nothing to do with the Fear-of-God,

30 Because you wouldn't take my advice and brushed aside all my offers to train you,

31 Well, you've made your bed - now lie in it; you wanted your own way - now, how do you like it?

32 Don't you see what happens, you simpletons, you idiots? Carelessness kills; complacency is murder.

33 First pay attention to me, and then relax. Now you can take it easy - you're in good hands."

English Standard Version ESV

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

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

3 to receive instruction in wise dealing, in righteousness, justice, and equity;

4 to give prudence to the simple, knowledge and discretion to the youth--

5 Let the wise hear and increase in learning, and the one who understands obtain guidance,

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

7 The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge; fools despise wisdom and instruction.

8 Hear, my son, your father's instruction, and forsake not your mother's teaching,

9 for they are a graceful garland for your head and pendants for your neck.

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

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

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

13 we shall find all precious goods, we shall fill our houses with plunder;

14 throw in your lot among us; we will all have one purse"--

15 my son, do not walk in the way with them; hold back your foot from their paths,

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

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

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

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

20 Wisdom cries aloud in the street, in the markets she raises her voice;

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

22 "How long, O simple ones, will you love being simple? How long will scoffers delight in their scoffing and fools hate knowledge?

23 If you turn at my reproof, behold, I will pour out my spirit to you; I will make my words known to you.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

32 For the simple are killed by their turning away, and the complacency of fools destroys them;

33 but whoever listens to me will dwell secure and will be at ease, without dread of disaster."