Proverbs 1:8-19

New King James Version

Shun Evil Counsel

⁸^(A)My son, hear the instruction of your father,
And do not forsake the law of your mother;
⁹For they will be a ^(B)graceful ornament on your head,
And chains about your neck.

¹⁰My son, if sinners entice you,
^(C)Do not consent.
¹¹If they say, “Come with us,
Let us ^(D)lie in wait to shed blood;
Let us lurk secretly for the innocent without cause;
¹²Let us swallow them alive like ^[a]Sheol,
And whole, ^(E)like those who go down to the Pit;
¹³We shall find all kinds of precious ^[b]possessions,
We shall fill our houses with ^[c]spoil;
¹⁴Cast in your lot among us,
Let us all have one purse”—
¹⁵My son, ^(F)do not walk in the way with them,
^(G)Keep your foot from their path;
¹⁶^(H)For their feet run to evil,
And they make haste to shed blood.
¹⁷Surely, in ^[d]vain the net is spread
In the sight of any ^[e]bird;
¹⁸But they lie in wait for their own blood,
They lurk secretly for their own lives.
¹⁹^(I)So are the ways of everyone who is greedy for gain;
It takes away the life of its owners.