Proverbs 1

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

The wise sayings from Solomon, David's son and Israel's king.

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

To truly grasp wisdom and guidance, to sense the essence of insightful words.

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

Embrace the teachings of wisdom, fairness, and discernment, and balance in life.

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

To provide wisdom to the naive, and to the youth, understanding and good judgment.

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

A smart person listens and grows wiser, and a thoughtful person gains guidance.

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

To truly grasp a wise saying and its meaning, to comprehend the words of the wise and their complex thoughts.

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

Respecting and understanding God is the first step towards gaining wisdom. However, those who lack wisdom often reject guidance and learning.

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

Dear child, listen closely to your father's guidance, and never forget your mother's teachings.

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

They will be like a crown of beauty on your head and a necklace of honor around your neck.

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

My child, if wrongdoers tempt you, don't give in.

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

If they say, "Come with us, let's lie in wait to kill, let's ambush the innocent for no reason," don't.

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

Let's consume them entirely, as if they're being devoured by the grave, just like those who descend into the abyss.

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

We will discover all valuable treasures, our homes will overflow with riches.

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

Join us, share your journey with us; let's pool our resources together.

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

Dear child, don't follow their lead; steer clear from their path.

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

They're quick to do wrong, eager to shed blood.

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

Indeed, it's pointless to lay a trap when the bird can clearly see it.

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

They unknowingly set a trap for their own destruction, secretly endangering their own lives.

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

The path of those consumed by greed is destructive; it steals the very life from those it possesses.

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

Wisdom calls out passionately, her voice echoing through the streets.

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

She calls out loudly in the bustling city center, at the city gates she speaks her truth, saying,

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

When will you, the naive, stop cherishing your ignorance? When will those who mock cease to find joy in their mockery, and the foolish stop rejecting wisdom?

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

Listen to my correction, for I will share my spirit with you and reveal my words to you.

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

I reached out to you with love and you ignored me; I called out for you, but you didn't care.

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

You've ignored all my advice and rejected my corrections.

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

I too will laugh at your disaster; I will mock you when terror strikes you.

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

When your fears engulf you like a storm, and your ruin sweeps over you like a tornado; when you're overwhelmed by distress and pain.

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

When they finally reach out to me in desperation, I will remain silent; they will search for me earnestly, but they won't be able to find me.

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

They despised wisdom and rejected reverence for the Lord.

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

They rejected my advice, scorned my corrections.

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

Thus, they will taste the consequences of their actions and be overwhelmed by their own schemes.

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

When the naive turn away, it kills them; and when fools become successful, it brings their ruin.

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

Whoever listens to me will live without fear and be at peace, free from the dread of harm.