The Prologue

¹Here are kingdom revelations, words to live by,

and words of wisdom given to empower you to reign in life,

written as proverbs by Israel’s King Solomon, David’s son.

²Within these sayings will be found the revelation of wisdom[#1:2 There are six Hebrew words translated “wisdom” in the book of Proverbs. Some of them require an entire phrase in English to convey the meaning. The word used here is chokmah , and it is used in Proverbs forty-two times. Forty-two is the number of months Jesus ministered and the number of generations from Abraham to Christ listed in Matt. 1.]

and the impartation of spiritual understanding.

Use them as keys to unlock the treasures of true knowledge.

³Those who cling to these words will receive discipline

to demonstrate wisdom in every relationship

and to choose what is right and just and fair.

⁴These proverbs will give you great skill

to teach the immature and make them wise,

to give youth the understanding of their design and destiny.

⁵For the wise, these proverbs will make you even wiser,

and for those with discernment,

you will be able to acquire brilliant strategies for leadership.

⁶These kingdom revelations will break open your understanding

to unveil the deeper meaning of parables,

poetic riddles, and epigrams,

and to unravel the words and enigmas of the wise.

⁷We cross the threshold of true knowledge

when we live in obedient devotion to God.

Stubborn know-it-alls will never stop to do this,

for they scorn true wisdom and knowledge.

The Wisdom of a Father

⁸Pay close attention, my child, to your father’s wise words

and never forget your mother’s instructions.

⁹For their insight will bring you success,

adorning you with grace-filled thoughts

and giving you reins to guide your decisions.

¹⁰When peer pressure compels you to go with the crowd

and sinners invite you to join in,

you must simply say, “No!”

¹¹When the gang says—

“We’re going to steal and kill and get away with it.

¹²We’ll take down the rich and rob them.

We’ll swallow them up alive

and take what we want from whomever we want.

¹³Then we’ll take their treasures and fill our homes with loot.

¹⁴So come on and join us.

Take your chance with us.

We’ll divide up all we get;

we’ll each end up with big bags of cash!”—

¹⁵my son, refuse to go with them and stay far away from them.

¹⁶For crime is their way of life and bloodshed their specialty.

¹⁷To be aware of their snare is the best way of escape.

¹⁸They’ll resort to murder to steal their victim’s assets,

but eventually it will be their own lives that are ambushed.

¹⁹In their ungodly disrespect for God

they bring destruction on their own lives.

Wisdom’s Warning

²⁰Wisdom’s praises are sung in the streets

and celebrated far and wide.

²¹Yet wisdom’s song is not always heard in the halls of higher learning.

But in the hustle and bustle of everyday life

its lyrics can always be heard above the din of the crowd.

You will hear wisdom’s warning as she preaches courageously

to those who stop to listen:

²²“Foolish ones, how much longer will you cling to your deception?[#1:22 Or “Childish ones, how long will you love your childishness?”]

How much longer will you mock wisdom,

you cynical scorners who fight the facts?

²³Come back to your senses and be restored to reality.

Don’t even think about refusing my rebuke!

Don’t you know that I’m ready

to pour out my spirit of wisdom upon you

and bring to you the revelation of my words

that will make your heart wise?

²⁴I’ve called to you over and over;

still you refuse to come to me.

I’ve pleaded with you again and again,

yet you’ve turned a deaf ear to my voice.

²⁵Because you have laughed at my counsel

and have insisted on continuing in your stubbornness,

²⁶I will laugh when your calamity comes

and will turn away from you at the time of your disaster.

Make a joke of my advice, will you?

Then I’ll make a joke out of you!

²⁷When the storm clouds of terror gather over your head,

when dread and distress consume you

and your catastrophe comes like a hurricane,

²⁸you will cry out to me, but I won’t answer.

Then it will be too late to expect my help.

When desperation drives you to search for me,

I will be nowhere to be found.

²⁹Because you have turned up your nose at me

and closed your eyes to the facts

and refused to worship me in awe —

³⁰because you scoffed at my wise counsel

and laughed at my correction—

³¹now you will eat the bitter fruit of your own ways.

You’ve made your own bed; now lie in it!

So how do you like that?

³²Like an idiot you’ve turned away from me

and chosen destruction instead.

Your self-satisfied smugness will kill you.

³³But the one who always listens to me

will live undisturbed in a heavenly peace.

Free from fear, confident and courageous,

that one will rest unafraid and sheltered from the storms of life.”