Proverbs 1:1-7 - Prologue

¹ The proverbs of David's son Solomon, king of Israel. ² These proverbs are for gaining wisdom and discipline; for understanding words of insight; ³ for acquiring the discipline that produces wise behavior, righteousness, justice, and upright living; ⁴ for giving prudence to the naive, and knowledge and discretion to the young. ⁵ Let the wise listen and increase their learning; let the person of understanding receive guidance ⁶ in understanding proverbs, clever sayings, words of the wise, and their riddles.

⁷ The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and discipline.

¹ The words of the Teacher, the son of David, king in Jerusalem.

¹ What existed from the beginning, what we have heard, what we have seen with our eyes, what we observed and touched with our own hands this is the Word of life! ² This life was revealed to us, and we have seen it and testify about it. We declare to you this eternal life that was with the Father and was revealed to us. ³ What we have seen and heard we declare to you so that you, too, can have fellowship with us. Now this fellowship of ours is with the Father and with his Son, Jesus, the Messiah. ⁴ We are writing these things so that our joy may be full.

¹ This is the revelation of Jesus the Messiah, which God gave him to show his servants the things that must happen soon. He made it known by sending his messenger to his servant John, ² who testified about this message from God and the testimony about Jesus the Messiah. ³ How blessed is the one who reads aloud and those who hear the words of this prophecy and obey what is written in it, for the time is near!