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1:1  The proverbs of Solomon the son of David, king of Israel:
1:2  To know wisdom and instruction, To discern the sayings of understanding,
1:3  To receive instruction in wise behavior, Righteousness, justice, and integrity;
1:4  To give prudence to the naive, To the youth knowledge and discretion,
1:5  A wise person will hear and increase in learning, And a person of understanding will acquire wise counsel,
1:6  To understand a proverb and a saying, The words of the wise and their riddles.
1:7  The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge; Fools despise wisdom and instruction.
1:8  Listen, my son, to your father’s instruction, And do not ignore your mother’s teaching;
1:9  For they are a graceful wreath for your head And necklaces 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 the innocent without cause;
1:12  Let’s swallow them alive like Sheol, Even whole, like those who go down to the pit;
1:13  We will find all kinds of precious wealth, We will fill our houses with plunder;
1:14  Throw in your lot with us; We will all have one money bag,”
1:15  My son, do not walk on the way with them. Keep your feet from their path,
1:16  For their feet run to evil, And they are quick to shed blood.
1:17  Indeed, it is useless to spread the baited net In the sight of any bird;
1:18  But they lie in wait for their own blood; They ambush their own lives.
1:19  Such are the ways of everyone who makes unjust gain; It takes away the life of its possessors.
1:20  Wisdom shouts in the street, She raises her voice in the public square;
1:21  At the head of the noisy streets she cries out; At the entrance of the gates in the city she declares her sayings:
1:22  “How long, you naive ones, will you love simplistic thinking? And how long will scoffers delight themselves in scoffing And fools hate knowledge?
1:23  Turn to my rebuke, Behold, I will pour out my spirit on you; I will make my words known to you.
1:24  Because I called and you refused, I stretched out my hand and no one paid attention;
1:25  And you neglected all my advice And did not want my rebuke;
1:26  I will also laugh at your disaster; I will mock when your dread comes,
1:27  When your dread comes like a storm And your disaster comes like a whirlwind, When distress and anguish come upon you.
1:28  Then they will call on me, but I will not answer; They will seek me diligently but will not find me,
1:29  Because they hated knowledge And did not choose the fear of the Lord.
1:30  They did not accept my advice, They disdainfully rejected every rebuke from me.
1:31  So they shall eat of the fruit of their own way, And be filled with their own schemes.
1:32  For the faithlessness of the naive will kill them, And the complacency of fools will destroy them.
1:33  But whoever listens to me will live securely And will be at ease from the dread of evil.”