2  To know wisdom and instruction,

to understand words of insight,

3  to receive instruction in wise dealing,

in ^brighteousness, justice, and equity;

4  to give prudence to ^cthe simple,

knowledge and ^ddiscretion to the youth—

5  Let the wise hear and ^eincrease in learning,

and the one who understands obtain guidance,

6  to understand a proverb and a saying,

^fthe words of the wise and their ^griddles.

7  ^hThe fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge;

fools despise wisdom and instruction.

8  ⁱHear, my son, your father’s instruction,

and forsake not your mother’s teaching,

9  for they are ^ja graceful garland for your head

and ^kpendants for your neck.

10  My son, if sinners ^lentice you,

do not consent.

11  If they say, “Come with us, ^mlet us lie in wait for blood;

ⁿlet us ambush the innocent without reason;

12  like Sheol let us ^oswallow them alive,

and whole, like ^pthose who go down to the pit;

13  we shall find all precious goods,

we shall fill our houses with plunder;

14  throw in your lot among us;

we will all have one purse”—

15  my son, ^qdo not walk in the way with them;

^rhold back your foot from their paths,

16  for ^stheir feet run to evil,

and they make haste to shed blood.

17  ^tFor in vain is a net spread

in the sight of any bird,

18  but these men ^ulie in wait for their own blood;

they ^uset an ambush for their own lives.

19  ^vSuch are the ways of everyone who is ^wgreedy for unjust gain;

^xit takes away the life of its possessors.

20  ^yWisdom cries aloud in the street,

in the markets she raises her voice;

21  at the head of the noisy streets she cries out;

at ^zthe entrance of the city gates she speaks:

22  “How long, O ^asimple ones, will you love being simple?

How long will ^bscoffers delight in their scoffing

and fools ^chate knowledge?

23  If you turn at my reproof,¹

behold, I will ^dpour out my spirit to you;

I will make my words known to you.

24  ^eBecause I have called and ^fyou refused to listen,

have ^gstretched out my hand and no one has heeded,

25  because you have ^hignored all my counsel

and ⁱwould have none of my reproof,

26  I also ^jwill laugh at your calamity;

I will mock when ^kterror strikes you,

27  when terror strikes you like ^la storm

and your calamity comes like a whirlwind,

when distress and anguish come upon you.

28  ^mThen they will call upon me, but I will not answer;

they will seek me diligently but will not find me.

29  Because they ^chated knowledge

and ⁿdid not choose the fear of the Lord,

30  ^hwould have none of my counsel

and ⁱdespised all my reproof,

31  therefore they shall eat ^othe fruit of their way,

and have ^ptheir fill of their own devices.

32  For the simple are killed by ^qtheir turning away,

and ^rthe complacency of fools destroys them;

33  but ^swhoever listens to me will dwell secure

and will be ^tat ease, without dread of disaster.”

1  ^uMy son, ^vif you receive my words

and treasure up my commandments with you,

2  making your ear attentive to wisdom

and inclining your heart to understanding;

3  yes, if you call out for insight

and raise your voice ^wfor understanding,

4  if you seek it like ^xsilver

and search for it as for ^yhidden treasures,

5  then ^zyou will understand the fear of the Lord

and find the knowledge of God.

6  For ^athe Lord gives wisdom;

from his mouth come knowledge and understanding;

7  he stores up sound wisdom for the upright;

he is ^ba shield to those who ^cwalk in integrity,

8  guarding the paths of justice

and ^dwatching over the way of his ^esaints.

9  ^fThen you will understand ^grighteousness and justice

and equity, every good path;

10  for wisdom will come into your heart,

and knowledge will be pleasant to your soul;

11  ^hdiscretion will ⁱwatch over you,

understanding will guard you,

12  delivering you from the way of evil,

from men of perverted speech,

13  who forsake the paths of uprightness

to ^jwalk in the ways of darkness,

14  who ^krejoice in doing evil

and ^ldelight in the perverseness of evil,

15  men whose ^mpaths are crooked,

ⁿand who are ^odevious in their ways.

16  So ^pyou will be delivered from the forbidden² woman,

from ^qthe adulteress³ with ^rher smooth words,

17  who forsakes ^sthe companion of her youth

and forgets ^tthe covenant of her God;

18  ^ufor her house sinks down to death,

and her paths to the departed;⁴

19  none who go to her come back,

nor do they regain the paths of life.

20  So you will walk in the way of the good

and keep to the paths of the righteous.

21  For the upright ^vwill inhabit the land,

and those with integrity will remain in it,

22  but the wicked will be ^wcut off from the land,

and the treacherous will be ^xrooted out of it.