מִשְׁלֵי שְׁלֹמֹה בֶן־דָּוִד מֶלֶךְ יִשְׂרָאֵל

The following are proverbs of Solomon son of David, king of Israel.

לָדַעַת חָכְמָה וּמוּסָר לְהָבִין אִמְרֵי בִינָה

To a great extent, this opening declaration stating the aim of the work applies to the entire book; it is to teach one to know wisdom and admonition and to comprehend statements of understanding. Not only does the book incorporate words of wisdom, it provides encouragement and instruction on how to seek out such important matters and how to try to understand them;

לָקַחַת מוּסַר הַשְׂכֵּל צֶדֶק וּמִשְׁפָּט מֵשָׁרִים

to accept, acquire and appreciate, admonition of prudence, lessons and practical conclusions for the performance of righteousness and justice, and how to follow the path of fairness;

לָתֵת לִפְתָאיִם עָרְמָה ולְנַעַר דַּעַת וּמְזִמָּה

and to give cleverness, practical wisdom, to the naïve. In other words, the book offers knowledge and prudence to the inexperienced lad.

יִשְׁמַע חָכָם וְיוֹסֶף לֶקַח וְנָבוֹן תַּחְבֻּלוֹת יִקְנֶה

Although the book of Proverbs is designed mainly for people who have no knowledge of the world, it is also written to let the wise one hear these ideas and gain a lesson, as the book’s sayings will be useful to him as well, and to let the discerning one acquire strategies,insights into reality,

לְהָבִין מָשָׁל וּמְלִיצָה דִּבְרֵי חֲכָמִים וְחִידֹתָם

to understand proverbs and aphorisms, the words of the wise and their riddles.

יִרְאַת רֵאשִׁית דָּעַת חָכְמָה וּמוּסָר אֱוִילִים בָּזוּ

At the outset, the book issues a fundamental declaration: The fear of the Lord is the beginning of all knowledge. From this basic starting point it is possible to construct various forms of knowledge, but fools scorn wisdom and admonition that include the fear of God.

שְׁמַע בְּנִי מוּסַר אָבִיךָ וְאַל־תִּטֹּשׁ תּוֹרַת אִמֶּךָ

Hear, listen and accept, my son, referring to a student, typically one who is young, the admonition, rules of behavior and reproof, of your father, and do not forsake the teaching of your mother. You must hold firm to the education you receive in your parents’ home, as it can be assumed that parents want their child to follow the right path.

כִּי לִוְיַת חֵן הֵם לְרֹאשֶׁךָ ועֲנָקִים לְגַרְגְּרֹתֶיךָ

It is fitting for you to attend to these words of discipline and Torah and to observe them, for they will be like a graceful adornment, a fine, decorative, ribbon, for your head and like necklaces for your neck.

בְּנִי אִם־יְפַתּוּךָ חַטָּאִים אַל־תֹּבֵא

My son, if sinners tempt you, do not accede.

אִם־יֹאמְרוּ לְכָה אִתָּנוּ נֶאֶרְבָה לְדָם נִצְפְּנָה לְנָקִי חִנָּם

If they, uncouth street youths, say to you: Come with us, join our gang; let us lie in wait for blood, we can ambush and rob people, let us lurk for the innocent passerby, without cost, without any risk or investment on our part, and thereby increase our profits;

נִבְלָעֵם כִּשְׁאוֹל חַיִּים וּתְמִימִים כְּיוֹרְדֵי בוֹר

let us swallow them, the innocent, as the grave ultimately does to all the living, and the blameless will be like those cast down into a pit, that is, the grave. We have the power to do all this without leaving a trace.

כָּל־הוֹן יָקָר נִמְצָא נְמַלֵּא בָתֵּינוּ שָׁלָל

Through these actions, we will find all precious wealth, we will fill our houses with spoils,

גּוֹרָלְךָ תַּפִּיל בְּתוֹכֵנוּ כִּיס אֶחָד יִהְיֶה לְכֻלָּנוּ

so cast your lot among us, as not only will we allow you to participate in our exploits, but there will be one purse for us all; we will also divide our gains between us.

בְּנִי אַל־תֵּלֵךְ בְּדֶרֶךְ אִתָּם מְנַע רַגְלְךָ מִנְּתִיבָתָם

My son, do not walk on a way, any kind of way, with them; prevent your foot from their pathway.

כִּי רַגְלֵיהֶם לָרַע יָרוּצוּ וִימַהֲרוּ לִשְׁפָּךְ־דָּם

For ultimately their feet will run to evil, and they will hasten to shed blood. Even if they claim that they will easily succeed in grabbing spoils, and they will take only a few luxury items from the rich, and other such claims, in practice they run toward evil, and it will not be long before they even commit murder.

כִּי חִנָּם מְזֹרָה הָרָשֶׁת בְּעֵינֵי כָּל־בַּעַל כָּנָף

For the net is spread for nothing in the eyes of any winged creature. From a bird’s perspective, the net is spread for no reason, and as they do not know it is a trap, they are liable to be caught in it. Likewise, those sinners who are enticed to gain their livelihood by taking money from others are in fact caught in a trap and are seeking to snare you unawares as well. This is a group of apparently clever, successful people, but in truth they do not understand what they are doing.

הֵם לְדָמָם יֶאֱרֹבוּ יִצְפְּנוּ לְנַפְשֹׁתָם

These sinners think that they are waiting to ambush others, but it is not so simple, for in reality they lie in wait for their own blood; they lurk, set a trap, for their own lives, as they will eventually be caught and punished.

כֵּן אָרְחוֹת כָּל־בֹּצֵעַ בָּצַע אֶת־נֶפֶשׁ בְּעָלָיו יִקָּח

So are the ways of every pursuer of ill-gotten gain; it, this path, takes the life of its owners. This is true not only in a moral, lofty sense, but even in this world, a life of theft and banditry is no life at all.

חָכְמוֹת בַּחוּץ תָּרֹנָּה בָּרְחֹבוֹת תִּתֵּן קוֹלָהּ

A person outside the home is exposed to more than just enticement to sin. Wisdom also sings out in the street; it projects its voice in the squares, issuing an invitation to all. The verse personifies wisdom, comparing it to a peddler woman advertising her wares with a melodious cry in the streets and thoroughfares.

בְּרֹאשׁ הֹמִיּוֹת תִּקְרָא בְּפִתְחֵי שְׁעָרִים בָּעִיר אֲמָרֶיהָ תֹאמֵר

It calls out at the head of throngs, at the entrances of the gates; in the city, it says its sayings:

עַד־מָתַי פְּתָיִם תְּאֵהֲבוּ פֶתִי וְלֵצִים לָצוֹן חָמְדוּ לָהֶם וּכְסִילִים יִשְׂנְאוּ־דָעַת

How long, naïfs, will you love naïveté, and how long will scoffers covet scoffing for themselves, and fools, until when will they hate knowledge? These categories represent three levels of recklessness: naïve people with little understanding, who are liable to believe anything; cynics who tend not to believe anything; and complete fools.

תָּשׁוּבוּ לְתוֹכַחְתִּי הִנֵּה אַבִּיעָה לָכֶם רוּחִי אוֹדִיעָה דְבָרַי אֶתְכֶם

Wisdom continues: Return at my rebuke. If you will only listen to it, then behold, I will express my spirit to you, I will provide you with guidance and direction, and thus I will make known to you my words. All you need to do is listen.

יַעַן קָרָאתִי וַתְּמָאֵנוּ נָטִיתִי יָדִי אֵין מַקְשִׁיב

But because I have called you, and you have refused; I have extended my hand as a signal for you to come to me, and yet there is no one listening;

וַתִּפְרְעוּ כָל־עֲצָתִי וְתוֹכַחְתִּי לֹא אֲבִיתֶם

you neglect all my counsel and are unwilling to receive my rebuke, because you do as you wish, you do not listen to my words of reproof at all, and nothing can compel you to change your ways,

גַּם־אֲנִי בְּבוא אֵידְכֶם אֶשְׂחָק אֶלְעַג בְּבֹא פַחְדְּכֶם

since you will not even consider amending your behavior, I too will laugh at your coming calamity; I will mock you with the coming of your fear. When your bitter end arrives, you will feel as though I am standing to the side and scorning you for your foolishness,

בְּבֹא כְשׁוֹאָה פַּחְדְּכֶם וְאֵידְכֶם כְּסוּפָה יֶאֱתֶה בְּבֹא עֲלֵיכֶם צָרָה וְמצוּקָה

with the coming of your fear like a cataclysm, and your calamity appearing like a storm, with trouble and distress coming upon you, and you stand helpless.

אָז יִקְרָאֻנְנִי וְלֹא אֶעֱנֶה יְשַׁחֲרֻנְנִי וְלֹא יִמְצָאֻנְנִי

Then they will call me, but I, Wisdom, will not answer; they will look for me, but they will not find me,

תַּחַת כִּי שָׂנְאוּ דָעַת וְיִרְאַת ה'לֹא בָחָרוּ

because they hated knowledge and did not choose fear of the Lord.

לֹא־אָבוּ לַעֲצָתִי נָאֲצוּ כָּל־תּוֹכַחְתִּי

They were unreceptive to my counsel; they reviled and entirely rejected all my rebuke,

יֹאכְלוּ מִפְּרִי דַרְכָּם וּמִמֹּעֲצֹתֵיהֶם יִשְׂבָּעוּ

and ultimately they will eat of the fruit of their way; they will bear the consequences of the corrupt path they chose, and be sated with their own evil intrigues.

כִּי מְשׁוּבַת פְּתָיִם תַּהַרְגֵם וְשַׁלְוַת כְּסִילִים תְּאַבְּדֵם

Those consequences will be disastrous, for the waywardness of the naïve will kill them, and the complacency of fools, who do not take into account that they will have to pay for their sins, will itself destroy them.

וְשֹׁמֵעַ לִי יִשְׁכָּן־בֶּטַח וְשַׁאֲנַן מִפַּחַד רָעָה

But one who heeds me, Wisdom, who seeks to straighten his path, will reside securely and tranquilly, without fear of evil.