The Beginning of Knowledge

¹The proverbs of Solomon the son of David, king of Israel:[#1 Kin. 4:32; Prov. 10:1; 25:1; Eccl. 12:9]

²To know wisdom and instruction,

To perceive the words of understanding,

³To receive the instruction of wisdom,

Justice, judgment, and equity;

⁴To give prudence to the simple,[#Prov. 9:4]

To the young man knowledge and discretion—

⁵A wise man will hear and increase learning,[#Prov. 9:9]

And a man of understanding will attain wise counsel,

⁶To understand a proverb and an enigma,

The words of the wise and their riddles.

⁷The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge,[#Job 28:28; Ps. 111:10; Prov. 9:10; 15:33; (Eccl. 12:13)]

But fools despise wisdom and instruction.

Shun Evil Counsel

⁸My son, hear the instruction of your father,[#Prov. 4:1]

And do not forsake the law of your mother;

⁹For they will be a graceful ornament on your head,[#Prov. 3:22]

And chains about your neck.

¹⁰My son, if sinners entice you,

Do not consent.

¹¹If they say, “Come with us,

Let us lie in wait to shed blood;

Let us lurk secretly for the innocent without cause;

¹²Let us swallow them alive like Sheol,

And whole, like those who go down to the Pit;

¹³We shall find all kinds of precious possessions,

We shall fill our houses with spoil;

¹⁴Cast in your lot among us,

Let us all have one purse”—

¹⁵My son, do not walk in the way with them,[#Ps. 1:1; Prov. 4:14]

Keep your foot from their path;

¹⁶For their feet run to evil,[#Prov. 6:17, 18; (Is. 59:7); Rom. 3:15]

And they make haste to shed blood.

¹⁷Surely, in vain the net is spread

In the sight of any bird;

¹⁸But they lie in wait for their own blood,

They lurk secretly for their own lives.

¹⁹So are the ways of everyone who is greedy for gain;[#Prov. 15:27; (1 Tim. 6:10)]

It takes away the life of its owners.

The Call of Wisdom

²⁰Wisdom calls aloud outside;[#Prov. 8:1; 9:3; (John 7:37)]

She raises her voice in the open squares.

²¹She cries out in the chief concourses,

At the openings of the gates in the city

She speaks her words:

²²“How long, you simple ones, will you love simplicity?

For scorners delight in their scorning,

And fools hate knowledge.

²³Turn at my rebuke;

Surely I will pour out my spirit on you;

I will make my words known to you.

²⁴Because I have called and you refused,[#Is. 65:12; 66:4; Jer. 7:13; Zech. 7:11]

I have stretched out my hand and no one regarded,

²⁵Because you disdained all my counsel,[#Ps. 107:11; Luke 7:30]

And would have none of my rebuke,

²⁶I also will laugh at your calamity;[#Ps. 2:4]

I will mock when your terror comes,

²⁷When your terror comes like a storm,[#(Prov. 10:24, 25)]

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;[#1 Sam. 8:18; Job 27:9; 35:12; Ps. 18:41; Is. 1:15; Jer. 11:11; 14:12; Ezek. 8:18; Mic. 3:4; Zech. 7:13; (James 4:3)]

They will seek me diligently, but they will not find me.

²⁹Because they hated knowledge[#Job 21:14; Prov. 1:22]

And did not choose the fear of the Lord ,

³⁰They would have none of my counsel[#Ps. 81:11; Prov. 1:25]

And despised my every rebuke.

³¹Therefore they shall eat the fruit of their own way,[#Job 4:8; Prov. 5:22, 23; 22:8; Is. 3:11; Jer. 6:19]

And be filled to the full with their own fancies.

³²For the turning away of the simple will slay them,

And the complacency of fools will destroy them;

³³But whoever listens to me will dwell safely,[#Prov. 3:24–26]

And will be secure, without fear of evil.”