Proverbs 1

Berean Standard Bible

Chapter summary

Proverbs 1 begins by stating that the collection belongs to Solomon, son of David and king of Israel, written to impart wisdom, discipline, and understanding to both the simple and the wise. The text advises a son to heed the instructions of his father and mother while rejecting the enticements of sinners who plot violence, ambush the innocent, and seek unlawful gain. Furthermore, personified Wisdom calls out in the streets and city gates, reproaching those who hate knowledge and refuse her counsel. Because these individuals ignored her warnings, Wisdom states that she will mock their future calamities and refuse to answer when they call. The chapter concludes by contrasting the destruction of fools with the safety experienced by those who listen to Wisdom.

Summary automatically generated from the Bible text.

Words of Jesus in red

¹These are the proverbs of Solomon son of David, king of Israel, ²for gaining wisdom and discipline, for comprehending words of insight, ³and for receiving instruction in wise living and in righteousness, justice, and equity. ⁴To impart prudence to the simple and knowledge and discretion to the young, ⁵let the wise listen and gain instruction, and the discerning acquire wise counsel ⁶by understanding the proverbs and parables, the sayings and riddles of the wise. ⁷The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and discipline. ⁸Listen, my son, to your father’s instruction, and do not forsake the teaching of your mother. ⁹For they are a garland of grace on your head and a pendant around your neck. ¹⁰My son, if sinners entice you, do not yield to them. ¹¹If they say, “Come along, let us lie in wait for blood, let us ambush the innocent without cause, ¹²let us swallow them alive like Sheol, and whole like those descending into the Pit. ¹³We will find all manner of precious goods; we will fill our houses with plunder. ¹⁴Throw in your lot with us; let us all share one purse”— ¹⁵my son, do not walk the road with them or set foot upon their path. ¹⁶For their feet run to evil, and they are swift to shed blood. ¹⁷How futile it is to spread the net where any bird can see it! ¹⁸But they lie in wait for their own blood; they ambush their own lives. ¹⁹Such is the fate of all who are greedy, whose unjust gain takes the lives of its possessors. ²⁰Wisdom calls out in the street, she lifts her voice in the square; ²¹in the main concourse 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? ²³If 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. ²⁴Because you refused my call, and no one took my outstretched hand, ²⁵because you neglected all my counsel, and wanted none of my correction, ²⁶in turn I will mock your calamity; I will sneer when terror strikes you, ²⁷when your dread comes like a storm, and your destruction like a whirlwind, when distress and anguish overwhelm you. ²⁸Then they will call on me, but I will not answer; they will earnestly seek me, but will not find me. ²⁹For they hated knowledge and chose not to fear the LORD. ³⁰They accepted none of my counsel; they despised all my reproof. ³¹So they will eat the fruit of their own way, and be filled with their own devices. ³²For the waywardness of the simple will slay them, and the complacency of fools will destroy them. ³³But whoever listens to me will dwell in safety, secure from the fear of evil.”

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Louis Segond 1910 and Berean Standard Bible: public domain. Cross references: open-cross-ref, Creative Commons BY 4.0.