Proverbs 1

1The Proverbs of Solomon, the son of David, Who reigned in Israel.

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2To know wisdom and instruction, And to understand words of discernment;

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3To receive both subtlety of words, And to understand true righteousness and upright judgment;

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4So as to give astuteness to the simple, And both perception and understanding to a young man;

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5For a wise man who hears these things will be wiser, And the man of understanding will gain direction.

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6He will understand both a parable and a hidden saying, Both wise words and riddles.

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7The fear of God is the beginning of wisdom, And there is good understanding in all who practice it;

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8And godliness toward God is the beginning of perception, But the ungodly despise wisdom and instruction.

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9Hear, my son, the instruction of your father, And do not reject the laws of your mother.

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10For you will receive a crown of grace on your head And a gold chain around your neck.

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11My son, do not let the ungodly lead you astray, And do not consent if they invite you, saying,

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12"Come with us; take part in bloodshed, And let us hide a righteous man in the earth unjustly;

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13And let us swallow him, just as Hades does the living, And let us take away his remembrance from the earth;

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14Let us seize his valuable property, And let us fill our houses with spoils;

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15Cast your lot with us And let us acquire a common bag; Let there be one purse for us."

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16Do not walk in the way with them, But turn away your foot from their paths.

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17For their feet run to evil, And they make haste to shed blood.

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18For nets are not spread before birds for no reason, For those who participate in murder store up evils for themselves; And evil is the destruction of lawless men.

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19These are the ways of all who accomplish lawless things, For they take away their own soul in ungodliness.

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20Wisdom sings in the streets; She moves boldly in the squares.

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21She preaches on high city walls And sits at the gates of lords. At the gates of a city she boldly says,

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22"So long a time as the simple hold fast to righteousness, They shall not be ashamed;

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23But those without discernment, since they are desirous of arrogance, And are become ungodly, they hate perception, And are become subject to reproofs.

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24Behold, I shall bring forth upon you the utterance of my breath, And I shall teach you my word.

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25Since I called, but you did not obey, And spoke at length, but you paid no attention,

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26But made my counsels invalid, And were not persuaded by my reproofs;

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27Consequently, I will laugh at your annihilation, And will exult when ruin comes to you,

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28And when confusion reaches you unawares, And overthrow comes like a whirlwind,

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29And when tribulation and anguish come to you, And when destruction comes to you.

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30For it shall be, when you shall call upon me, I will not listen to you;

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31Evil men will seek me, but not find me, For they hate wisdom, and choose not the fear of the Lord.

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32Neither do they wish to follow my counsels, But despise my reproofs.

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33Therefore, they shall eat the fruits of their own way And be filled with their own ungodliness.

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34For since they wrong the simple, they shall be killed, And a close examination shall destroy the ungodly.

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35But he who obeys me shall dwell in hope, And shall be at rest without fear from every evil."

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