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 discern the words of understanding;

³Varairirwe nzira yokungwara, Neyokururama, nokururamisa, nokutendeka;

³To receive instruction in wise dealing, In righteousness and justice and equity;

⁴Vasina mano vapiwe kungwara, Jaya ripiwe zivo nokuchenjera;

⁴To give prudence to the simple, To the young man knowledge and discretion:

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

⁵That the wise man may hear, and increase in learning; And that the man of understanding may attain unto sound counsels:

⁶Vanzwisise chirevo nomufananidzo, Mashoko avakachenjera nezvirabwe zvavo.

⁶To understand a proverb, and a figure, The words of the wise, and their dark sayings.

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

⁷The fear of Jehovah is the beginning of knowledge; [But] the foolish 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 a chaplet 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 Sheol, 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.

¹⁴Thou shalt cast thy lot among us; We will 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 they make haste to shed blood.

¹⁷nekuti mumbure unodzikirwa pasina Shiri dzamarudzi ose dzichizviona.

¹⁷For in vain is the net spread In the sight of any bird:

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

¹⁸And these 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; It taketh away the life of the owners thereof.

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

²⁰Wisdom crieth aloud in the street; She uttereth her voice in the broad places;

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

²¹She crieth in the chief place of concourse; At the entrance of the gates, In the city, she uttereth her words:

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 scoffers delight them in scoffing, 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 upon you; I will make known my words unto you.

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

²⁴Because I have called, and ye have refused; I have stretched out my hand, and no man hath 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 in [the day of] 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 a storm, And your calamity cometh on as a whirlwind; When distress and anguish come upon you.

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

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

²⁹Zvavakavenga zivo, Vakasazvitsaurira kutya Jehovha,

²⁹For that they hated knowledge, And did not choose the fear of Jehovah:

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 backsliding of the simple shall slay them, And the careless ease of fools shall destroy them.

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

³³But whoso hearkeneth unto me shall dwell securely, And shall be quiet without fear of evil.