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The Usefulness of Proverbs
20¶Wisdom shouts in the street, She raises her voice in the public square;
21At the head of the noisy streets she cries out; At the entrance of the gates in the city she declares her sayings:
22“How long, you naive ones, will you love simplistic thinking? And how long will scoffers delight themselves in scoffing And fools hate knowledge?
23“Turn to my rebuke, Behold, I will pour out my spirit on you; I will make my words known to you.
24“Because I called and you refused, I stretched out my hand and no one paid attention;
25And you neglected all my advice And did not want my rebuke;
26I will also laugh at your disaster; I will mock when your dread comes,
27When your dread comes like a storm And your disaster comes like a whirlwind, When distress and anguish come upon you.
28“Then they will call on me, but I will not answer; They will seek me diligently but will not find me,
29Because they hated knowledge And did not choose the fear of the Lord.
30“They did not accept my advice, They disdainfully rejected every rebuke from me.
31“So they shall eat of the fruit of their own way, And be filled with their own schemes.
32“For the faithlessness of the naive will kill them, And the complacency of fools will destroy them.
33“But whoever listens to me will live securely And will be at ease from the dread of evil.”
Proverbs 1:20-33 (NASB)