New King James Version

Proverbs 1:3-12 New King James Version (NKJV)

3. To receive the instruction of wisdom,Justice, judgment, and equity;

4. To give prudence to the simple,To the young man knowledge and discretion—

5. A wise man will hear and increase learning,And a man of understanding will attain wise counsel,

6. To understand a proverb and an enigma,The words of the wise and their riddles.

7. The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge,But fools despise wisdom and instruction.

8. My son, hear the instruction of your father,And do not forsake the law of your mother;

9. For they will be a graceful ornament on your head,And chains about your neck.

10. My son, if sinners entice you,Do not consent.

11. If they say, “Come with us,Let us lie in wait to shed blood;Let us lurk secretly for the innocent without cause;

12. Let us swallow them alive like Sheol,And whole, like those who go down to the Pit;