Proverbs teach people wisdom
1These are the proverbs of Solomon, son of David, King_of_Israel.
2Proverbs teach people wisdom. They teach them to know when people say things that are wise 3and they teach them to listen to someone who tells them about things that are honest, fair and right. 4Proverbs teach people who know very little to be clever. They teach young people to get knowledge and to understand what is right or wrong. 5Wise people must also listen to the proverbs so that they will know even more 6and so that they will understand the proverbs, the stories and the parables of wise people. 7If you really want to be wise and have knowledge, then you must listen to the Lord and respect Him. If you do that, you are really clever. Only fools think it is not important to have wisdom and to learn what is right. 8My child, you must listen to what your father and your mother teach you. Don't forget what they have told you. 9If you don't forget their words, you will have a good and beautiful life.
Don't listen when sinners want to seduce you
10My child, if sinners want to seduce you to do wrong, you must not listen to them. 11Maybe they will say: ‘Come with us. We will wait until some innocent people come along and we will kill them, even if they have done nothing wrong to us. 12While they are still_alive and well, we will kill them and send them to their graves. 13We will take all their precious things and fill our homes with the things that we take from them. 14You can be one of us and we will divide everything that we take from them.’
15My child, don't go with those people, and don't do what they do, 16because they want to do things that are wrong. They want to kill people. 17If a bird sees the net in which people want to catch him, he will not fly into the net. 18But sinners will fall into their own traps. They will catch themselves and die. 19That is what happens to all people who cheat other people and steal things from them. They lose their lives.
Wisdom is like a woman who calls
20Wisdom is a woman
who calls out in the street.
She shouts in the market places
in the city.
21She shouts where people come together.
She stands in front of the gates
of the city and she says:
22‘You fools,
how long will you be foolish?
How long will you laugh at wisdom
and turn your backs on knowledge?
23Listen when I rebuke you.
I will tell you everything that I know,
and I will help you understand what I say.
24I have called you,
but you did not want to listen.
I have put out my hand to you,
but you did not want to look at me.
25I have tried to give you advice,
but you did not accept it.
I have shown you how to live in the right way,
but you did not want me to teach you.
26That is why I also will laugh at you
and mock you when you are in trouble,
and when you start to be afraid.
27You will fear like when a storm is coming,
like when a strong wind blows
and destroys everything
and you become afraid.
28Then you will call me
and ask me to help,
but I will not answer you.
You will look for me,
but you will not find me.
29This will happen because
you hate to know things
and because you do not want
to obey the Lord and serve Him.
30You did not want to listen
to what I told you,
and you did not want to learn
when I warned you.
31Now you will suffer
because of what you did,
and you will have a lot of problems
because of the plans that you have made
to cheat other people.
32Yes, fools die because
they don't want to listen.
People who don't care about wisdom
and are satisfied with themselves
will be destroyed.
33But the people who listen to me
will live safely. They will not worry
or be afraid of bad things
that can happen to them.’
