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