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1:1  The proverbs of David's son Solomon, king of Israel.
1:2  These proverbs are for gaining wisdom and discipline; for understanding words of insight;
1:3  for acquiring the discipline that produces wise behavior, righteousness, justice, and upright living;
1:4  for giving prudence to the na�ve, and knowledge and discretion to the young.
1:5  Let the wise listen and increase their learning; let the person of understanding receive guidance
1:6  in understanding proverbs, clever sayings, words of the wise, and their riddles.
1:7  The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and discipline.
1:8  My son, listen to your father's instruction, and do not let go of your mother's teaching.
1:9  They will be a graceful wreath for your head and a chain for your neck.
1:10  My son, if sinners entice you, do not consent.
1:11  If they say, "Come with us! Let's lie in wait for blood; let's ambush some innocent person for no reason at all.
1:12  Let's swallow them alive like Sheol, and whole like those who go down into the Pit.
1:13  We'll find all kinds of valuable wealth, and we'll fill our houses with spoil.
1:14  Throw your lot in with us, and all of us will have one purse."
1:15  My son, do not go along with them, and keep your feet away from their paths!
1:16  For they run toward evil; these enticers shed blood without hesitation.
1:17  Look, it is useless to spread a net in full view of all the birds,
1:18  but these people lie in wait for their own blood. They ambush only themselves.
1:19  Such is the way of all those who seek illicit gain— it takes away the lives of those who possess it.
1:20  Wisdom cries out in the street; she raises her voice in the public squares.
1:21  She calls out at the busiest part of the noisy streets, and at the entrance to the gates of the city she utters her words:
1:22  "You na�ve ones, how long will you love naivet�? And how long will scoffers delight in scoffing or fools hate knowledge?"
1:23  Return to my correction! Look, I will pour out my spirit on you, and I will make my words known to you.
1:24  "Because I called out to you and you refused to respond— I appealed, but no one paid attention—
1:25  because you neglected all my advice and did not want my correction,
1:26  I will laugh at your calamity. I will mock when what you fear comes,
1:27  when what you dread comes like a storm, and your calamity comes on like a whirlwind, when distress and anguish come upon you.
1:28  "Then they will call out to me, but I will not answer; they will seek me diligently, but they will not find me.
1:29  "Because they hated knowledge and did not choose the fear of the LORD;
1:30  they did not want my advice, and they rejected all my correction.
1:31  They will eat the fruit of their way, and they will be filled with their own devices.
1:32  Indeed, the waywardness of the na�ve will kill them, and the complacency of fools will destroy them.
1:33  "But the person who listens to me will live safely and will be secure from the fear of evil."