Proverbs 1:17-33 ▼

17 Surely in deceit is the net spread in the sight of any bird.

18 And they lie in wait, they hide themselves to shed blood.

19 Such are the ways of all who practice iniquity, who take away the life of their owners.

20 Wisdom is glorified in the market places; she raises her voice in the streets:

21 She preaches in the chief places of the concourse; in the openings of the gates of the city, she utters her words, saying,

22 How long, you simple ones, will you love childishness? And the scorners delight in their scorning, and fools hate knowledge?

23 If you will turn to my reproof, behold, I will pour out my spirit upon you; I will make known my words to you.

24 For I have called, and you refused; I have stretched out my hand, and you did not listen:

25 But you have despised all my counsels, and you were not pleased with my reproof.

26 I also will laugh at your calamity; I will rejoice when terror and sudden destruction come upon you;

27 When your destruction comes as a whirlwind; when distress and anguish come upon you,

28 Then they shall call upon me, but I will not answer them; they shall seek me early, but they shall not find me;

29 Because they hated knowledge, and did not choose the worship of the LORD.

30 They were not pleased with my counsels; they rejected all of my reproof.

31 Therefore they shall eat of the fruit of their own ways and be filled with their own devices.

32 For the turning away of the simple shall slay them, and the error of the weak-minded men shall destroy them.

33 But he who listens to me shall live in hope, and shall refrain from many evils.