[1] These words are the wise teachings of Solomon, the son of David. Solomon was the king of Israel.
[2] These words are written so that people can be wise and know the right things to do. These words will help people understand wise teachings.
[3] These words will teach people to develop their minds in the right way—people will learn the right way to be honest, fair, and good.
[4] These wise words can teach people who need to learn wisdom. These words can teach young people the things they need to know and how to use that information.
[5] Even wise people should listen to these words. They will learn more and become even wiser. And people who are skilled at solving problems will gain even more understanding.
[6] Then those people will be able to understand wise sayings and stories with hidden meanings. Those people will be able to understand the things wise men say.
[7] The first thing a person must learn is to respect and obey the Lord—that leads to true wisdom. But evil people hate discipline and true wisdom.
[8] My son, listen to your father when he corrects you. And don’t ignore what your mother teaches you.
[9] The things your parents teach you are like a nice hat or a beautiful necklace that makes a person look even better.
[10] My son, some people love to do bad things—and those people will try to make you do bad things too. Don’t listen to them!
[11] Those bad people might say, “Come with us! We are going to hide and wait for someone to kill. We will attack some innocent person.
[12] We will kill that person. We will send that person to the place of death. We will destroy that person and send him to the grave.
[13] We will steal all kinds of things worth lots of money. We will fill our houses with these things.
[14] So come with us and help us do these things. We will all share everything we get!”
[15] My son, don’t follow those people. Don’t even take the first step along that path.
[16] Those bad people race to do bad things. They are in a hurry to kill someone!
[17] People spread out nets to catch birds. But it is useless to set the trap while the birds are watching.
[18] So those bad people hide themselves and wait to kill someone. But really, they will be destroyed by their own trap!
[19] Greedy people are always destroyed by the things they take.
[20] Listen! Wisdom is trying to teach people. She ˻(Wisdom)˼ is shouting in the streets and in the market place.
[21] She is calling out on the busy street corners. She is near the city gates trying to get people to listen to her. ˻Wisdom says:˼
[22] “You are foolish people. How long will you continue doing foolish things? How long will you make fun of wisdom? How long will you continue to hate knowledge?
[23] You should have listened to my advice and teaching. I would have told you everything I knew. I would have given you all of my knowledge.
[24] “But you refused to listen to me. I tried to help. I offered my hand—but you refused to accept my help.
[25] You turned away and ignored all of my advice. You refused to accept my words.
[26] So, I will laugh at your trouble. I will enjoy seeing trouble come to you!
[27] Great trouble will come to you like a bad storm. Problems will hit you like a strong wind. Your troubles and sadness will be a very great burden on you.
[28] “When all these things happen, you will ask for my help. But I will not help you. You will look for me, but you will not find me.
[29] I will not help because you never wanted my knowledge. You refused to fear and respect the Lord.
[30] You people refused to listen to my words of advice. You would not listen to me when I showed you the right way.
[31] You people lived the way you wanted to live. You followed your own advice. So now you must accept the result of your own actions!
[32] “Foolish people die because they refuse to follow wisdom. They are happy to continue in their foolish ways, and this will destroy them.
[33] But the person who obeys me will live safely. That person will be comfortable. He will not have to be afraid of evil.”