Read the Bible

The Beginning of Knowledge

(Ezra 4:6-16; Esther 1:1-9; Proverbs 9:1-12)

¹ The proverbs of Solomon son of David, king of Israel:² To know wisdom and discipline, to comprehend the words of insight,³ to receive instruction in wise living, in righteousness, justice, and equity,⁴ to impart prudence to the simple^(a), knowledge and discretion to the young,⁵ let the wise listen and gain instruction, and the discerning acquire wise counsel⁶ to understand the proverbs and parables, the sayings and riddles of the wise.

⁷ The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge, but fools^(a) despise wisdom and discipline.

The Enticement of Sin

¹⁰ My son, if sinners entice you, do not yield to them.¹¹ If they say, “Come along, let us lie in wait for blood, let us ambush the innocent without cause,¹² let us swallow them alive like Sheol, and whole like those descending into the Pit.¹³ We will find all manner of precious goods; we will fill our houses with plunder.¹⁴ Throw in your lot with us; let us all share one purse”—¹⁵ my son, do not walk the road with them or set foot upon their path.¹⁶ For their feet run to evil, and they are swift to shed blood.¹⁷ How futile it is to spread the net where any bird can see it.¹⁸ But they lie in wait for their own blood; they ambush their own lives.¹⁹ Such is the fate of all who are greedy, whose unjust gain takes the lives of its possessors.

Wisdom Calls Aloud

²⁰ Wisdom calls out in the street, she lifts her voice in the square,²¹ in the main concourse^(a) she cries aloud, at the city gates she makes her speech:²² “How long, O simple ones, will you love your simple ways? How long will scoffers delight in their scorn and fools hate knowledge?²³ If you had repented at my rebuke, then surely I would have poured out my spirit on you; I would have made my words known to you.²⁴ Because you refused my call, and no one took my outstretched hand,²⁵ because you neglected all my counsel, and wanted none of my correction,²⁶ in turn I will mock your calamity; I will sneer when terror strikes you,²⁷ when your dread comes like a storm, and your destruction like a whirlwind, when distress and anguish overwhelm you.²⁸ Then they will call on me, but I will not answer; they will earnestly seek me, but will not find me.²⁹ For they hated knowledge and chose not to fear the LORD.³⁰ They accepted none of my counsel; they despised all my reproof.³¹ So they will eat the fruit of their own way, and be filled with their own devices.³² For the waywardness of the simple will slay them, and the complacency of fools will destroy them.³³ But whoever listens to me will dwell in safety, secure from the fear of evil.”