King James Bible

New American Standard Bible 1995

1The proverbs of Solomon the son of David, king of Israel;

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

2To know wisdom and instruction; to perceive the words of understanding;

2To know wisdom and instruction, To discern the sayings of understanding,

3To receive the instruction of wisdom, justice, and judgment, and equity;

3To receive instruction in wise behavior, Righteousness, justice and equity;

4To give subtilty to the simple, to the young man knowledge and discretion.

4To give prudence to the naive, To the youth knowledge and discretion,

5A wise man will hear, and will increase learning; and a man of understanding shall attain unto wise counsels:

5A wise man will hear and increase in learning, And a man of understanding will acquire wise counsel,

6To understand a proverb, and the interpretation; the words of the wise, and their dark sayings.

6To understand a proverb and a figure, The words of the wise and their riddles.

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

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

8My son, hear the instruction of thy father, and forsake not the law of thy mother:

8Hear, my son, your father's instruction And do not forsake your mother's teaching;

9For they shall be an ornament of grace unto thy head, and chains about thy neck.

9Indeed, they are a graceful wreath to your head And ornaments about your neck.

10My son, if sinners entice thee, consent thou not.

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

11If they say, Come with us, let us lay wait for blood, let us lurk privily for the innocent without cause:

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

12Let us swallow them up alive as the grave; and whole, as those that go down into the pit:

12Let us swallow them alive like Sheol, Even whole, as those who go down to the pit;

13We shall find all precious substance, we shall fill our houses with spoil:

13We will find all kinds of precious wealth, We will fill our houses with spoil;

14Cast in thy lot among us; let us all have one purse:

14Throw in your lot with us, We shall all have one purse,"

15My son, walk not thou in the way with them; refrain thy foot from their path:

15My son, do not walk in the way with them. Keep your feet from their path,

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

16For their feet run to evil And they hasten to shed blood.

17Surely in vain the net is spread in the sight of any bird.

17Indeed, it is useless to spread the baited net In the sight of any bird;

18And they lay wait for their own blood; they lurk privily for their own lives.

18But they lie in wait for their own blood; They ambush their own lives.

19So are the ways of every one that is greedy of gain; which taketh away the life of the owners thereof.

19So are the ways of everyone who gains by violence; It takes away the life of its possessors.

20Wisdom crieth without; she uttereth her voice in the streets:

20Wisdom shouts in the street, She lifts her voice in the square;

21She crieth in the chief place of concourse, in the openings of the gates: in the city she uttereth her words, saying,

21At the head of the noisy streets she cries out; At the entrance of the gates in the city she utters her sayings:

22How long, ye simple ones, will ye love simplicity? and the scorners delight in their scorning, and fools hate knowledge?

22"How long, O naive ones, will you love being simple-minded? And scoffers delight themselves in scoffing And fools hate knowledge?

23Turn you at my reproof: behold, I will pour out my spirit unto you, I will make known my words unto you.

23"Turn to my reproof, Behold, I will pour out my spirit on you; I will make my words known to you.

24Because I have called, and ye refused; I have stretched out my hand, and no man regarded;

24"Because I called and you refused, I stretched out my hand and no one paid attention;

25But ye have set at nought all my counsel, and would none of my reproof:

25And you neglected all my counsel And did not want my reproof;

26I also will laugh at your calamity; I will mock when your fear cometh;

26I will also laugh at your calamity; I will mock when your dread comes,

27When your fear cometh as desolation, and your destruction cometh as a whirlwind; when distress and anguish cometh upon you.

27When your dread comes like a storm And your calamity comes like a whirlwind, When distress and anguish come upon you.

28Then shall they call upon me, but I will not answer; they shall seek me early, but they shall not find me:

28"Then they will call on me, but I will not answer; They will seek me diligently but they will not find me,

29For that they hated knowledge, and did not choose the fear of the LORD:

29Because they hated knowledge And did not choose the fear of the LORD.

30They would none of my counsel: they despised all my reproof.

30"They would not accept my counsel, They spurned all my reproof.

31Therefore shall they eat of the fruit of their own way, and be filled with their own devices.

31"So they shall eat of the fruit of their own way And be satiated with their own devices.

32For the turning away of the simple shall slay them, and the prosperity of fools shall destroy them.

32"For the waywardness of the naive will kill them, And the complacency of fools will destroy them.

33But whoso hearkeneth unto me shall dwell safely, and shall be quiet from fear of evil.

33"But he who listens to me shall live securely And will be at ease from the dread of evil."

King James Bible, text courtesy of BibleProtector.com.

New American Standard Bible Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation, La Habra, Calif. All rights reserved. For Permission to Quote Information visit //www.lockman.org