Passage

Proverbs 1

Book: Proverbs · NASB95

Immediate context (±2 verses)

ASV (ASV)

"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 and justice and equity; 4. To give prudence to the simple, To the young man knowledge and discretion: 5. That the wise man may hear, and increase in learning; And that the man of understanding may attain unto sound counsels: 6. To understand a proverb, and a figure, The words of the wise, and their dark sayings. 7. The fear of Jehovah is the beginning of knowledge; But the foolish despise wisdom and instruction. 8. My son, hear the instruction of thy father, And forsake not the law of thy mother: 9. For they shall be a chaplet of grace unto thy head, And chains about thy neck. 10. My son, if sinners entice thee, Consent thou not. 11. If they say, Come with us, Let us lay wait for blood; Let us lurk privily for the innocent without cause; 12. Let us swallow them up alive as Sheol, And whole, as those that go down into the pit; 13. We shall find all precious substance; We shall fill our houses with spoil; 14. Thou shalt cast thy lot among us; We will all have one purse: 15. My son, walk not thou in the way with them; Refrain thy foot from their path: 16. For their feet run to evil, And they make haste to shed blood. 17. For in vain is the net spread In the sight of any bird: 18. And these lay wait for their own blood; They lurk privily for their own lives. 19. So are the ways of every one that is greedy of gain; It taketh away the life of the owners thereof. 20. Wisdom crieth aloud in the street; She uttereth her voice in the broad places; 21. She crieth in the chief place of concourse; At the entrance of the gates, In the city, she uttereth her words: 22. How long, ye simple ones, will ye love simplicity? And scoffers delight them in scoffing, And fools hate knowledge? 23. Turn you at my reproof: Behold, I will pour out my spirit upon you; I will make known my words unto you. 24. Because I have called, and ye have refused; I have stretched out my hand, and no man hath regarded; 25. But ye have set at nought all my counsel, And would none of my reproof: 26. I also will laugh in the day of your calamity; I will mock when your fear cometh; 27. When your fear cometh as a storm, And your calamity cometh on as a whirlwind; When distress and anguish come upon you. 28. Then will they call upon me, but I will not answer; They will seek me diligently, but they shall not find me: 29. For that they hated knowledge, And did not choose the fear of Jehovah: 30. They would none of my counsel; They despised all my reproof. 31. Therefore shall they eat of the fruit of their own way, And be filled with their own devices. 32. For the backsliding of the simple shall slay them, And the careless ease of fools shall destroy them. 33. But whoso hearkeneth unto me shall dwell securely, And shall be quiet without fear of evil." (Proverbs 1:1-33, ASV)

WEB (WEB)

"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. 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 plunder. 14. You shall cast your lot among us. We’ll all have one purse.” 15. My son, don’t walk on the path 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. 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.”" (Proverbs 1:1-33, WEB)

KJV (KJV)

"1. The proverbs of Solomon the son of David, king of Israel; 2. To know wisdom and instruction; to perceive the words of understanding; 3. To receive the instruction of wisdom, justice, and judgment, and equity; ^{equity: Heb. equities} 4. To give subtilty to the simple, to the young man knowledge and discretion. ^{discretion: or, advisement} 5. A wise man will hear, and will increase learning; and a man of understanding shall attain unto wise counsels: 6. To understand a proverb, and the interpretation; the words of the wise, and their dark sayings. ^{the interpretation: or, an eloquent speech} 7. The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge: but fools despise wisdom and instruction. ^{the beginning: or, the principal part} 8. My son, hear the instruction of thy father, and forsake not the law of thy mother: 9. For they shall be an ornament of grace unto thy head, and chains about thy neck. ^{an: Heb. an adding} 10. My son, if sinners entice thee, consent thou not. 11. If they say, Come with us, let us lay wait for blood, let us lurk privily for the innocent without cause: 12. Let us swallow them up alive as the grave; and whole, as those that go down into the pit: 13. We shall find all precious substance, we shall fill our houses with spoil: 14. Cast in thy lot among us; let us all have one purse: 15. My son, walk not thou in the way with them; refrain thy foot from their path: 16. For their feet run to evil, and make haste to shed blood. 17. Surely in vain the net is spread in the sight of any bird. ^{in the: Heb. in the eyes of every thing that hath a wing} 18. And they lay wait for their own blood; they lurk privily for their own lives. 19. So are the ways of every one that is greedy of gain; which taketh away the life of the owners thereof. 20. Wisdom crieth without; she uttereth her voice in the streets: ^{Wisdom: Heb. Wisdoms, that is, Excellent wisdom} 21. She crieth in the chief place of concourse, in the openings of the gates: in the city she uttereth her words, saying, 22. How long, ye simple ones, will ye love simplicity? and the scorners delight in their scorning, and fools hate knowledge? 23. Turn you at my reproof: behold, I will pour out my spirit unto you, I will make known my words unto you. 24. Because I have called, and ye refused; I have stretched out my hand, and no man regarded; 25. But ye have set at nought all my counsel, and would none of my reproof: 26. I also will laugh at your calamity; I will mock when your fear cometh; 27. When your fear cometh as desolation, and your destruction cometh as a whirlwind; when distress and anguish cometh upon you. 28. Then shall they call upon me, but I will not answer; they shall seek me early, but they shall not find me: 29. For that they hated knowledge, and did not choose the fear of the LORD: 30. They would none of my counsel: they despised all my reproof. 31. Therefore shall they eat of the fruit of their own way, and be filled with their own devices. 32. For the turning away of the simple shall slay them, and the prosperity of fools shall destroy them. ^{turning: or, ease of the simple} 33. But whoso hearkeneth unto me shall dwell safely, and shall be quiet from fear of evil." (Proverbs 1:1-33, KJV)

YLT (YLT)

"1. Proverbs of Solomon, son of David, king of Israel: 2. For knowing wisdom and instruction, For understanding sayings of intelligence, 3. For receiving the instruction of wisdom, Righteousness, judgment, and uprightness, 4. For 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.) 6. For understanding a proverb and its sweetness, Words of the wise and their acute sayings. 7. Fear of Jehovah [is] a beginning of knowledge, Wisdom and instruction fools have despised! 8. Hear, my son, the instruction of thy father, And leave not the law of thy mother, 9. For a graceful wreath [are] they to thy head, And chains to thy neck. 10. My son, if sinners entice thee be not willing. 11. If they say, 'Come with us, we lay wait for blood, We watch secretly for the innocent without cause, 12. We swallow them as Sheol, alive, And whole, as those going down [to] the pit, 13. Every precious substance we find, We fill our houses [with] spoil, 14. Thy lot thou dost cast among us, One purse is, to all of us.' 15. My son! go not in the way with them, Withhold thy foot from their path, 16. For their feet to evil do run, And they haste to shed blood. 17. Surely in vain is the net spread out before the eyes of any bird. 18. And they for their own blood lay wait, They watch secretly for their own lives. 19. So [are] the paths of every gainer of dishonest gain, The life of its owners it taketh. 20. Wisdom in an out-place crieth aloud, In broad places she giveth forth her voice, 21. At 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? 23. Turn back at my reproof, lo, I pour forth to you my spirit, I make known my words with you. 24. Because I have called, and ye refuse, I stretched out my hand, and none is attending, 25. And ye slight all my counsel, And my reproof ye have not desired. 26. I also in your calamity do laugh, I deride when your fear cometh, 27. When your fear cometh as destruction, And your calamity as a hurricane doth come, When on you come adversity and distress. 28. Then they call me, and I do not answer, They seek me earnestly, and find me not. 29. Because that they have hated knowledge, And the fear of Jehovah have not chosen. 30. They have not consented to my counsel, They have despised all my reproof, 31. And they eat of the fruit of their way, And from their own counsels they are filled. 32. For the turning of the simple slayeth them, And the security of the foolish destroyeth them. 33. And whoso is hearkening to me dwelleth confidently, And [is] quiet from fear of evil!'" (Proverbs 1:1-33, YLT)

Setting

Speaker: TBD
Audience: TBD
Location: TBD
Time period: TBD

Theological reading

Patristic / early-church-father exegesis, to be added.

Key words

Theologically-loaded Greek or Hebrew words in this verse may have entries in the lexicon. Curated to roughly 100 contested terms across the corpus, not every word; see Lexicon Roadmap.

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Quoted in

Christ Was Made (Misread Proof-Texts)

Why these four translations

ris3n chose ASV, WEB, KJV, and YLT for two reasons together. They are the most literal English translations available (formal-equivalence: word-for-word renderings that preserve the Hebrew and Greek grammar rather than smoothing it into modern dynamic-equivalence idiom). And they are in the public domain in the United States, which means fair-use quotation at any length requires no publisher license. Modern licensed translations (NASB95, ESV, NIV) restrict volume of quotation under their copyright terms, so they are not used at stub-level coverage here. NASB95 appears only on hand-curated rich passage hubs under Lockman Foundation's fair-use allowance.

The four:

ASV (American Standard Version, 1901). The basis of the modern critical-text English tradition.
WEB (World English Bible, contemporary). Public-domain revision in the ASV line, in current English.
KJV (King James Version, 1611). Reformation-era, Textus Receptus base.
YLT (Young's Literal Translation, Robert Young, 1862). Hyper-literal preservation of Hebrew and Greek grammar; useful for word-study work even where English reads stiff.

See Bibles for the full per-translation history, translators, textual basis, strengths, and weaknesses.