The Beginning of Knowledge
(Ezra 4:6-16; Esther 1:1-9; Proverbs 9:1-12)
1The proverbs of Solomon the son of David, king of Israel;
2To know wisdom and instruction; to perceive the words of understanding;
3To receive the instruction of wisdom, justice, and judgment, and equity;
4To give subtilty to the simple, to the young man knowledge and discretion.
5A wise man will hear, and will increase learning; and a man of understanding shall attain unto wise counsels:
6To understand a proverb, and the interpretation; the words of the wise, and their dark sayings.
7The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge: but fools despise wisdom and instruction.
The Enticement of Sin
8My son, hear the instruction of thy father, and forsake not the law of thy mother:
9For they shall be an ornament of grace unto thy head, and chains about thy neck.
10My son, if sinners entice thee, consent thou not.
11If they say, Come with us, let us lay wait for blood, let us lurk privily for the innocent without cause:
12Let us swallow them up alive as the grave; and whole, as those that go down into the pit:
13We shall find all precious substance, we shall fill our houses with spoil:
14Cast in thy lot among us; let us all have one purse:
15My son, walk not thou in the way with them; refrain thy foot from their path:
16For their feet run to evil, and make haste to shed blood.
17Surely in vain the net is spread in the sight of any bird.
18And they lay wait for their own blood; they lurk privily for their own lives.
19So are the ways of every one that is greedy of gain; which taketh away the life of the owners thereof.
Wisdom Calls Aloud
20Wisdom crieth without; she uttereth her voice in the streets:
21She crieth in the chief place of concourse, in the openings of the gates: in the city she uttereth her words, saying,
22How long, ye simple ones, will ye love simplicity? and the scorners delight in their scorning, and fools hate knowledge?
23Turn you at my reproof: behold, I will pour out my spirit unto you, I will make known my words unto you.
24Because I have called, and ye refused; I have stretched out my hand, and no man regarded;
25But ye have set at nought all my counsel, and would none of my reproof:
26I also will laugh at your calamity; I will mock when your fear cometh;
27When your fear cometh as desolation, and your destruction cometh as a whirlwind; when distress and anguish cometh upon you.
28Then shall they call upon me, but I will not answer; they shall seek me early, but they shall not find me:
29For that they hated knowledge, and did not choose the fear of the LORD:
30They would none of my counsel: they despised all my reproof.
31Therefore shall they eat of the fruit of their own way, and be filled with their own devices.
32For the turning away of the simple shall slay them, and the prosperity of fools shall destroy them.
33But whoso hearkeneth unto me shall dwell safely, and shall be quiet from fear of evil.
King James Bible
Text courtesy of BibleProtector.com.
The Beginning of Knowledge
(Proverbs 9:1–12)
1 The proverbs of Solomon, the son of David, king of Israel:
2 to know wisdom and instruction; to discern the words of understanding;
3 to receive instruction in wise dealing, in righteousness, justice, and equity;
4 to give prudence to the simple, knowledge and discretion to the young man:
5 that the wise man may hear, and increase in learning; that the man of understanding may attain to sound counsel:
6 to understand a proverb, and parables, the words and riddles of the wise.
7 The fear of Yahweh is the beginning of knowledge; but the foolish despise wisdom and instruction.
The Enticement of Sin
8 My son, listen to your father’s instruction, and don’t forsake your mother’s teaching:
9 for they will be a garland to grace your head, and chains around your neck.
10 My son, if sinners entice you, don’t consent.
11 If they say, “Come with us, Let’s lay in wait for blood; let’s lurk secretly for the innocent without cause;
12 let’s swallow them up alive like Sheol, and whole, like those who go down into the pit.
13 We’ll find all valuable wealth. We’ll fill our houses with spoil.
14 You shall cast your lot among us. We’ll all have one purse.”
15 My son, don’t walk in the way with them. Keep your foot from their path,
16 for their feet run to evil. They hurry to shed blood.
17 For in vain is the net spread in the sight of any bird:
18 but these lay wait for their own blood. They lurk secretly for their own lives.
19 So are the ways of everyone who is greedy for gain. It takes away the life of its owners.
Wisdom Calls Aloud
20 Wisdom calls aloud in the street. She utters her voice in the public squares.
21 She calls at the head of noisy places. At the entrance of the city gates, she utters her words:
22 “How long, you simple ones, will you love simplicity? How long will mockers delight themselves in mockery, and fools hate knowledge?
23 Turn at my reproof. Behold, I will pour out my spirit on you. I will make known my words to you.
24 Because I have called, and you have refused; I have stretched out my hand, and no one has paid attention;
25 but you have ignored all my counsel, and wanted none of my reproof;
26 I also will laugh at your disaster. I will mock when calamity overtakes you;
27 when calamity overtakes you like a storm, when your disaster comes on like a whirlwind; when distress and anguish come on you.
28 Then will they 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 didn’t choose the fear of Yahweh.
30 They wanted none of my counsel. They despised all my reproof.
31 Therefore they will eat of the fruit of their own way, and be filled with their own schemes.
32 For the backsliding of the simple will kill them. The careless ease of fools will destroy them.
33 But whoever listens to me will dwell securely, and will be at ease, without fear of harm.”
The Beginning of Knowledge
(Proverbs 9:1–12)
1 These are the proverbs of Solomon son of David,
king of Israel,
2 for gaining wisdom and discipline,
for comprehending words of insight,
3 and for receiving instruction in wise living
and in righteousness, justice, and equity.
4 To impart prudence to the simple a
and knowledge and discretion to the young,
5 let the wise listen and gain instruction,
and the discerning acquire wise counsel
6 by understanding the proverbs and parables,
the sayings and riddles of the wise.
7 The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge,
but fools b despise wisdom and discipline.
The Enticement of Sin
8 Listen, my son, to your father’s instruction,
and do not forsake the teaching of your mother.
9 For they are a garland of grace on your head
and a pendant around your neck.
10 My son, if sinners entice you,
do not yield to them.
11 If they say, “Come along, let us lie in wait for blood,
let us ambush the innocent without cause,
12 let us swallow them alive like Sheol,
and whole like those descending into the Pit.
13 We will find all manner of precious goods;
we will fill our houses with plunder.
14 Throw in your lot with us;
let us all share one purse”—
15 my son, do not walk the road with them
or set foot upon their path.
16 For their feet run to evil,
and they are swift to shed blood.
17 How futile it is to spread the net
where any bird can see it!
18 But they lie in wait for their own blood;
they ambush their own lives.
19 Such is the fate of all who are greedy,
whose unjust gain takes the lives of its possessors.
Wisdom Calls Aloud
20 Wisdom calls out in the street,
she lifts her voice in the square;
21 in the main concourse c she cries aloud,
at the city gates she makes her speech:
22 “How long, O simple ones, will you love your simple ways?
How long will scoffers delight in their scorn
and fools hate knowledge?
23 If you had repented at my rebuke,
then surely I would have poured out my spirit on you;
I would have made my words known to you.
24 Because you refused my call,
and no one took my outstretched hand,
25 because you neglected all my counsel,
and wanted none of my correction,
26 in turn I will mock your calamity;
I will sneer when terror strikes you,
27 when your dread comes like a storm,
and your destruction like a whirlwind,
when distress and anguish overwhelm you.
28 Then they will call on me, but I will not answer;
they will earnestly seek me, but will not find me.
29 For they hated knowledge
and chose not to fear the LORD.
30 They accepted none of my counsel;
they despised all my reproof.
31 So they will eat the fruit of their own way,
and be filled with their own devices.
32 For the waywardness of the simple will slay them,
and the complacency of fools will destroy them.
33 But whoever listens to me will dwell in safety,
secure from the fear of evil.”
Footnotes:
4 a The Hebrew word rendered simple in Proverbs refers to one who is naive, without moral direction, or inclined to evil.
7 b The Hebrew words rendered as fool in Proverbs denote one who is morally deficient.
21 c Or from the top of the wall
The Beginning of Knowledge
(Ezra 4:6-16; Esther 1:1-9; Proverbs 9:1-12)
1Proverbs of Solomon, son of David, king of Israel:
2For knowing wisdom and instruction, For understanding sayings of intelligence,
3For receiving the instruction of wisdom, Righteousness, judgment, and uprightness,
4For giving to simple ones -- prudence, To a youth -- knowledge and discretion.
5(The wise doth hear and increaseth learning, And the intelligent doth obtain counsels.)
6For understanding a proverb and its sweetness, Words of the wise and their acute sayings.
7Fear of Jehovah is a beginning of knowledge, Wisdom and instruction fools have despised!
The Enticement of Sin
8Hear, my son, the instruction of thy father, And leave not the law of thy mother,
9For a graceful wreath are they to thy head, And chains to thy neck.
10My son, if sinners entice thee be not willing.
11If they say, 'Come with us, we lay wait for blood, We watch secretly for the innocent without cause,
12We swallow them as Sheol -- alive, And whole -- as those going down to the pit,
13Every precious substance we find, We fill our houses with spoil,
14Thy lot thou dost cast among us, One purse is -- to all of us.'
15My son! go not in the way with them, Withhold thy foot from their path,
16For their feet to evil do run, And they haste to shed blood.
17Surely in vain is the net spread out before the eyes of any bird.
18And they for their own blood lay wait, They watch secretly for their own lives.
19So are the paths of every gainer of dishonest gain, The life of its owners it taketh.
Wisdom Calls Aloud
20Wisdom in an out-place crieth aloud, In broad places she giveth forth her voice,
21At the head of the multitudes she calleth, In the openings of the gates, In the city her sayings she saith:
22'Till when, ye simple, do ye love simplicity? And have scorners their scorning desired? And do fools hate knowledge?
23Turn back at my reproof, lo, I pour forth to you my spirit, I make known my words with you.
24Because I have called, and ye refuse, I stretched out my hand, and none is attending,
25And ye slight all my counsel, And my reproof ye have not desired.
26I also in your calamity do laugh, I deride when your fear cometh,
27When your fear cometh as destruction, And your calamity as a hurricane doth come, When on you come adversity and distress.
28Then they call me, and I do not answer, They seek me earnestly, and find me not.
29Because that they have hated knowledge, And the fear of Jehovah have not chosen.
30They have not consented to my counsel, They have despised all my reproof,
31And they eat of the fruit of their way, And from their own counsels they are filled.
32For the turning of the simple slayeth them, And the security of the foolish destroyeth them.
33And whoso is hearkening to me dwelleth confidently, And is quiet from fear of evil!'
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