Proverbs 1-2New International Version (NIV)

Purpose and Theme

1 The proverbs of Solomon son of David, king of Israel:



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for gaining wisdom and instruction;
for understanding words of insight;

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for receiving instruction in prudent behavior,
doing what is right and just and fair;

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for giving prudence to those who are simple,
knowledge and discretion to the young—

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let the wise listen and add to their learning,
and let the discerning get guidance—

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for understanding proverbs and parables,
the sayings and riddles of the wise.



7
The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge,
but fools despise wisdom and instruction.

Prologue: Exhortations to Embrace Wisdom

Warning Against the Invitation of Sinful Men



8
Listen, my son, to your father’s instruction
and do not forsake your mother’s teaching.

9
They are a garland to grace your head
and a chain to adorn your neck.



10
My son, if sinful men entice you,
do not give in to them.

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If they say, “Come along with us;
let’s lie in wait for innocent blood,
let’s ambush some harmless soul;

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let’s swallow them alive, like the grave,
and whole, like those who go down to the pit;

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we will get all sorts of valuable things
and fill our houses with plunder;

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cast lots with us;
we will all share the loot”—

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my son, do not go along with them,
do not set foot on their paths;

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for their feet rush into evil,
they are swift to shed blood.

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How useless to spread a net
where every bird can see it!

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These men lie in wait for their own blood;
they ambush only themselves!

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Such are the paths of all who go after ill-gotten gain;
it takes away the life of those who get it.

Wisdom’s Rebuke



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Out in the open wisdom calls aloud,
she raises her voice in the public square;

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on top of the wall she cries out,
at the city gate she makes her speech:



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“How long will you who are simple love your simple ways?
How long will mockers delight in mockery
and fools hate knowledge?

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Repent at my rebuke!
Then I will pour out my thoughts to you,
I will make known to you my teachings.

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But since you refuse to listen when I call
and no one pays attention when I stretch out my hand,

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since you disregard all my advice
and do not accept my rebuke,

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I in turn will laugh when disaster strikes you;
I will mock when calamity overtakes you—

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when calamity overtakes you like a storm,
when disaster sweeps over you like a whirlwind,
when distress and trouble overwhelm you.



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“Then they will call to me but I will not answer;
they will look for me but will not find me,

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since they hated knowledge
and did not choose to fear the Lord.

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Since they would not accept my advice
and spurned my rebuke,

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they will eat the fruit of their ways
and be filled with the fruit of their schemes.

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For the waywardness of the simple will kill them,
and the complacency of fools will destroy them;

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but whoever listens to me will live in safety
and be at ease, without fear of harm.”

Moral Benefits of Wisdom


2 My son, if you accept my words
and store up my commands within you,

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turning your ear to wisdom
and applying your heart to understanding—

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indeed, if you call out for insight
and cry aloud for understanding,

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and if you look for it as for silver
and search for it as for hidden treasure,

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then you will understand the fear of the Lord
and find the knowledge of God.

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For the Lord gives wisdom;
from his mouth come knowledge and understanding.

7
He holds success in store for the upright,
he is a shield to those whose walk is blameless,

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for he guards the course of the just
and protects the way of his faithful ones.



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Then you will understand what is right and just
and fair—every good path.

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For wisdom will enter your heart,
and knowledge will be pleasant to your soul.

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Discretion will protect you,
and understanding will guard you.



12
Wisdom will save you from the ways of wicked men,
from men whose words are perverse,

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who have left the straight paths
to walk in dark ways,

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who delight in doing wrong
and rejoice in the perverseness of evil,

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whose paths are crooked
and who are devious in their ways.



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Wisdom will save you also from the adulterous woman,
from the wayward woman with her seductive words,

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who has left the partner of her youth
and ignored the covenant she made before God.

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Surely her house leads down to death
and her paths to the spirits of the dead.

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None who go to her return
or attain the paths of life.



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Thus you will walk in the ways of the good
and keep to the paths of the righteous.

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For the upright will live in the land,
and the blameless will remain in it;

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but the wicked will be cut off from the land,
and the unfaithful will be torn from it.