Proverbs 1:8-33

My child, listen to your father’s teaching and do not forget your mother’s advice. Their teaching will be like flowers in your hair or a necklace around your neck. My child, if sinners try to lead you into sin, do not follow them. They will say, “Come with us. Let’s ambush and kill someone; let’s attack some innocent people just for fun. Let’s swallow them alive, as death does; let’s swallow them whole, as the grave does. We will take all kinds of valuable things and fill our houses with stolen goods. Come join us, and we will share with you stolen goods.” My child, do not go along with them; do not do what they do. They are eager to do evil and are quick to kill. It is useless to spread out a net right where the birds can see it. But sinners will fall into their own traps; they will only catch themselves! All greedy people end up this way; greed kills selfish people. Wisdom is like a woman shouting in the street; she raises her voice in the city squares. She cries out in the noisy street and shouts at the city gates: “You fools, how long will you be foolish? How long will you make fun of wisdom and hate knowledge? If only you had listened when I corrected you, I would have told you what’s in my heart; I would have told you what I am thinking. I called, but you refused to listen; I held out my hand, but you paid no attention. You did not follow my advice and did not listen when I corrected you. So I will laugh when you are in trouble. I will make fun when disaster strikes you, when disaster comes over you like a storm, when trouble strikes you like a whirlwind, when pain and trouble overwhelm you. “Then you will call to me, but I will not answer. You will look for me, but you will not find me. It is because you rejected knowledge and did not choose to respect the LORD. You did not accept my advice, and you rejected my correction. So you will get what you deserve; you will get what you planned for others. Fools will die because they refuse to listen; they will be destroyed because they do not care. But those who listen to me will live in safety and be at peace, without fear of injury.”