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¹ The proverbs of Solomon the son of David, king of Israel: ² To know wisdom and instruction, To perceive the words of understanding, ³ To receive the instruction of wisdom, Justice, judgment, and equity; ⁴ To give prudence to the simple, To the young man knowledge and discretion-- ⁵ A wise man will hear and increase learning, And a man of understanding will attain wise counsel, ⁶ To understand a proverb and an enigma, The words of the wise and their riddles.

⁷ The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge, But fools despise wisdom and instruction. ⁸ My son, hear the instruction of your father, And do not forsake the law of your mother; ⁹ For they will be a graceful ornament on your head, And chains about your neck.

¹⁰ My son, if sinners entice you, Do not consent. ¹¹ If they say, "Come with us, Let us lie in wait to shed blood; Let us lurk secretly for the innocent without cause; ¹² Let us swallow them alive like Sheol, [fn] And whole, like those who go down to the Pit; ¹³ We shall find all kinds of precious possessions, We shall fill our houses with spoil; ¹⁴ Cast in your lot among us, Let us all have one purse"-- ¹⁵ My son, do not walk in the way with them, Keep your foot from their path; ¹⁶ For their feet run to evil, And they make haste to shed blood. ¹⁷ Surely, in vain the net is spread In the sight of any bird; ¹⁸ But they lie in wait for their own blood, They lurk secretly for their own lives. ¹⁹ So are the ways of everyone who is greedy for gain; It takes away the life of its owners.

²⁰ Wisdom calls aloud outside; She raises her voice in the open squares. ²¹ She cries out in the chief concourses, [fn] At the openings of the gates in the cityShe speaks her words: ²² "How long, you simple ones, will you love simplicity? For scorners delight in their scorning, And fools hate knowledge. ²³ Turn at my rebuke; Surely I will pour out my spirit on you; I will make my words known to you. ²⁴ Because I have called and you refused, I have stretched out my hand and no one regarded, ²⁵ Because you disdained all my counsel, And would have none of my rebuke, ²⁶ I also will laugh at your calamity; I will mock when your terror comes, ²⁷ When your terror comes like a storm, And your destruction comes like a whirlwind, When distress and anguish come upon you. ²⁸ "Then they will call on me, but I will not answer; They will seek me diligently, but they will not find me. ²⁹ Because they hated knowledge And did not choose the fear of the LORD, ³⁰ They would have none of my counsel And despised my every rebuke. ³¹ Therefore they shall eat the fruit of their own way, And be filled to the full with their own fancies. ³² For the turning away of the simple will slay them, And the complacency of fools will destroy them; ³³ But whoever listens to me will dwell safely, And will be secure, without fear of evil."