¹Zvirevo zvaSoromoni, mwanakomana waDhavhidhi, mambo waIsiraeri.

¹The proverbs of Solomon the son of David, king of Israel;

²Kuti vanhu vazive uchenjeri nokurairirwa; Nokunzwisisa mashoko enjere;

²To know wisdom and instruction; to perceive the words of understanding;

³Varairirwe nzira yokungwara, Neyokururama, nokururamisa, nokutendeka;

³To receive the instruction of wisdom, justice, and judgment, and equity;

⁴Vasina mano vapiwe kungwara, Jaya ripiwe zivo nokuchenjera;

⁴To give subtilty to the simple, to the young man knowledge and discretion.

⁵Kuti wakachenjera anzwe, awedzere kudzidza; Nomunhu wenjere awane mano akanaka.

⁵A wise man will hear, and will increase learning; and a man of understanding shall attain unto wise counsels:

⁶Vanzwisise chirevo nomufananidzo, Mashoko avakachenjera nezvirabwe zvavo.

⁶To understand a proverb, and the interpretation; the words of the wise, and their dark sayings.

⁷Kutya Jehovha ndiko kuvamba kwezivo; Mapenzi anoshora uchenjeri nokurairirwa.

⁷The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge: but fools despise wisdom and instruction.

⁸Mwanakomana wangu, inzwa kurairira kwababa vako; Usarasha kudzidzisa kwamai vako.

⁸My son, hear the instruction of thy father, and forsake not the law of thy mother:

⁹nekuti zvichava chishongo chakanaka pamusoro wako, Nengetani pamutsipa pako.

⁹For they shall be an ornament of grace unto thy head, and chains about thy neck.

¹⁰Mwanakomana wangu, kana vatadzi vachikugombedzera, Usatenda iwe.

¹⁰My son, if sinners entice thee, consent thou not.

¹¹Kana vachiti, Hendei tose, Ngatirindire ropa; Ngativandire vasina mhosva kunyange pasina mhaka.

¹¹If they say, Come with us, let us lay wait for blood, let us lurk privily for the innocent without cause:

¹²Ngativamedze vari vapenyu seSheori, Vari vakukutu saivo vanoburukira kugomba.

¹²Let us swallow them up alive as the grave; and whole, as those that go down into the pit:

¹³Tichawana fuma yamarudzi mazhinji; Tichazadza dzimba dzedu nezvatakapamba;

¹³We shall find all precious substance, we shall fill our houses with spoil:

¹⁴Iwe uchava mumwe wedu; Tose tichava nechikwama chimwechete.

¹⁴Cast in thy lot among us; let us all have one purse:

¹⁵Mwanakomana wangu, usafamba navo nenzira yavo; Dzora rutsoka rwako panzira yavo;

¹⁵My son, walk not thou in the way with them; refrain thy foot from their path:

¹⁶nekuti tsoka dzavo dzinovangira zvakaipa; Vanokurumidza kudurura ropa.

¹⁶For their feet run to evil, and make haste to shed blood.

¹⁷nekuti mumbure unodzikirwa pasina Shiri dzamarudzi ose dzichizviona.

¹⁷Surely in vain the net is spread in the sight of any bird.

¹⁸Vanhu ava vanogarira ropa ravo vamene; Vanozvivandira hupenyu hwavo.

¹⁸And they lay wait for their own blood; they lurk privily for their own lives.

¹⁹Ndizvo zvakaitawo nzira dzavose vanokarira fuma; Zvinotorera mwene wazvo upenyu hwake.

¹⁹So are the ways of every one that is greedy of gain; which taketh away the life of the owners thereof.

²⁰Uchenjeri hunodanidzira panzira dzomumusha; hunonzwisa inzwi rahwo panzvimbo dzakafara;

²⁰Wisdom crieth without; she uttereth her voice in the streets:

²¹hunodana panzvimbo panoungana vazhinji; Pavanopinda pamasuwo, Paguta, ndipo pahunotaura mashoko ahwo, huchiti,

²¹She crieth in the chief place of concourse, in the openings of the gates: in the city she uttereth her words, saying,

²²Nhai imwi vasina mano, muchada kusava namano kusvikira rinhiko? nemwi vaseki kufarira kuseka kwenyu, Namapenzi kuvenga zivo?

²²How long, ye simple ones, will ye love simplicity? and the scorners delight in their scorning, and fools hate knowledge?

²³Dzokai kana muchinzwa kuraira kwangu, Tarirai ndichadurura mweya wangu pamusoro penyu; Ndichakuzivisai mashoko angu.

²³Turn you at my reproof: behold, I will pour out my spirit unto you, I will make known my words unto you.

²⁴Zvandakadana, imwi mukaramba; Ndikatambanudza ruoko rwangu, kukasava nomunhu akarangarira;

²⁴Because I have called, and ye refused; I have stretched out my hand, and no man regarded;

²⁵Asi makazvidza mano angu ose, Mukaramba chose kuraira kwangu,

²⁵But ye have set at nought all my counsel, and would none of my reproof:

²⁶Naizvozvo neniwo ndichaseka kana mava munhamo yenyu; Ndichakudadirai, kana kutya kwenyu kuchisvika.

²⁶I also will laugh at your calamity; I will mock when your fear cometh;

²⁷Kana kutya kwenyu kuchisvika sedutu guru, Nenhamo yenyu ichisvika sechamupupuri; Kana kutambudzika nokudumbirwa zvichikuwirai.

²⁷When your fear cometh as desolation, and your destruction cometh as a whirlwind; when distress and anguish cometh upon you.

²⁸Nenguva iyo uchadana kwandiri, asi handingapinduri; Vachanditsvaka zvikuru, asi havangandiwani.

²⁸Then shall they call upon me, but I will not answer; they shall seek me early, but they shall not find me:

²⁹Zvavakavenga zivo, Vakasazvitsaurira kutya Jehovha,

²⁹For that they hated knowledge, and did not choose the fear of the LORD:

³⁰Vakaramba mano angu ose, Vakashora kuraira kwangu kose,

³⁰They would none of my counsel: they despised all my reproof.

³¹Naizvozvo vachadya zvibereko zvenzira yavo; Vachagutswa namano avo.

³¹Therefore shall they eat of the fruit of their own way, and be filled with their own devices.

³²nekuti kudzokera shure kwavasina mano kuchavauraya, Kusava nehanya kwamapenzi kuchavaparadza.

³²For the turning away of the simple shall slay them, and the prosperity of fools shall destroy them.

³³Asi ani naani anonditeerera achagara zvakasimba, Achagadzikana, asingatyi zvakaipa.

³³But whoso hearkeneth unto me shall dwell safely, and shall be quiet from fear of evil.