Proverbs 1:1-33 NASBS

[1] The proverbs of Solomon the son of David, king of Israel: [2] To know wisdom and instruction, To discern the sayings of understanding, [3] To receive instruction in wise behavior, Righteousness, justice and equity; [4] To give prudence to the naive, To the youth knowledge and discretion, [5] A wise man will hear and increase in learning, And a man of understanding will acquire wise counsel, [6] To understand a proverb and a figure, The words of the wise and their riddles. [7] The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge; Fools despise wisdom and instruction. [8] Hear, my son, your father's instruction And do not forsake your mother's teaching; [9] Indeed, they are a graceful wreath to your head And ornaments about your neck. [10] My son, if sinners entice you, Do not consent. [11] If they say, "Come with us, Let us lie in wait for blood, Let us ambush the innocent without cause; [12] Let us swallow them alive like Sheol, Even whole, as those who go down to the pit; [13] We will find all kinds of precious wealth, We will fill our houses with spoil; [14] Throw in your lot with us, We shall all have one purse," [15] My son, do not walk in the way with them. Keep your feet from their path, [16] For their feet run to evil And they hasten to shed blood. [17] Indeed, it is useless to spread the baited net In the sight of any bird; [18] But they lie in wait for their own blood; They ambush their own lives. [19] So are the ways of everyone who gains by violence; It takes away the life of its possessors. [20] Wisdom shouts in the street, She lifts her voice in the square; [21] At the head of the noisy streets she cries out; At the entrance of the gates in the city she utters her sayings: [22] "How long, O naive ones, will you love being simple-minded? And scoffers delight themselves in scoffing And fools hate knowledge? [23] "Turn to my reproof, Behold, I will pour out my spirit on you; I will make my words known to you. [24] "Because I called and you refused, I stretched out my hand and no one paid attention; [25] And you neglected all my counsel And did not want my reproof; [26] I will also laugh at your calamity; I will mock when your dread comes, [27] When your dread comes like a storm And your calamity comes like a whirlwind, When distress and anguish come upon you. [28] "Then they will call on me, but I will not answer; They will seek me diligently but they will not find me, [29] Because they hated knowledge And did not choose the fear of the LORD. [30] "They would not accept my counsel, They spurned all my reproof. [31] "So they shall eat of the fruit of their own way And be satiated with their own devices. [32] "For the waywardness of the naive will kill them, And the complacency of fools will destroy them. [33] "But he who listens to me shall live securely And will be at ease from the dread of evil."