Proverbs 1

1 ¹Di proverbs of Solomon, son of David, king of Israel:

²To sabi wisdom and correction, to understand words wey get sense, ³to collect correction for wise living, for correct-and-holy way, for justice, and for fairness, ⁴to give sense to person wey no sabi, knowledge and mind wey dey watch road to di young ones, ⁵make di wise person too hear and grow for learning, and make di person wey understand gain direction, ⁶to understand proverb and parable, di words of di wise people and dia hard-hard sayings.

⁷To fear our Papa na di beginning of knowledge; foolish people dey despise wisdom and correction.

One Papa Voice to Im Son

⁸Hear, my son, your papa im correction, and no turn comot from your mama im teaching, ⁹because dem be fine crown for your head and beads for your neck.

¹⁰My son, if sinners dey pull you go bad, no gree. ¹¹If dem talk say, “Come with us, make we hide dey wait for blood, make we ambush innocent person for nothing; ¹²like grave make we swallow dem alive, and complete, like people wey dey go down inside pit; ¹³we go find all kind precious property, we go fill our houses with di things wey we thief; ¹⁴put your own share join us; all of us go share one purse,” ¹⁵my son, no waka for di road with dem; hold your leg back from dia paths, ¹⁶because dia legs dey run go bad thing, and dem dey rush to pour blood. ¹⁷Because net wey dem spread for front of any bird eye no dey catch anything; ¹⁸but dis ones dey hide dey wait for dia own blood; dem dey ambush dia own life. ¹⁹Na so di ways of everybody wey greedy for gain wey no correct be; e dey carry di life of di ones wey get am comot.

Wisdom for di Streets

²⁰Wisdom dey shout loud for di street; for di open squares she dey raise her voice. ²¹For di head of di noisy streets she dey call out; for di entrance of di city gates she dey talk:

²²“How long, una wey no sabi, una go love to dey without sense? How long mockers go dey enjoy dia mocking and foolish people go dey hate knowledge? ²³If una answer my correction, Me, Wisdom—Jesus, di wisdom of our Papa—go pour my spirit on una; I go make my words known to una. ^a a v23 Wisdom wey dey talk for here na Paul identify am as Christ — di wisdom of our Papa (1 Corinthians 1:24, 1:30; Colossians 1:15-17). Di Pikin wey dey with di Papa before creation dey call out to everybody wey go turn and hear. ²⁴Because I don call and una refuse, I stretch out my hand and nobody pay attention, ²⁵and una ignore all my advice and reject all my correction, ²⁶Me too go laugh when trouble catch una; I go mock when fear come rush una, ²⁷when fear rush una like storm and una trouble come like whirlwind, when suffer and pain come fall on una.

²⁸Den dem go call me, but I no go answer; dem go look for me well-well but dem no go find me, ²⁹because dem hate knowledge and dem no choose to fear our Papa, ³⁰dem reject my advice and despise all my correction. ³¹So dem go chop di fruit of dia own way and belle-full with dia own plans. ³²Because di wayward-wayward of di people wey no sabi go kill dem, and di careless mind of foolish people go destroy dem; ³³but whoever dey hear me go stay safe and rest, without fear of any disaster.”