January 5

My son, if sinners entice you,
do not consent.
If they say, “Come with us, let us lie in wait for blood;
let us ambush the innocent without reason;
like Sheol let us swallow them alive,
and whole, like those who go down to the pit;
we shall find all precious goods,
we shall fill our houses with plunder;
throw in your lot among us;
we will all have one purse”—
my son, do not walk in the way with them;
hold back your foot from their paths,
for their feet run to evil,
and they make haste to shed blood.
For in vain is a net spread
in the sight of any bird,
but these men lie in wait for their own blood;
they set an ambush for their own lives.
Such are the ways of everyone who is greedy for unjust gain;
it takes away the life of its possessors.
Proverbs 1:10-19

Verses 10-19 form a complete unit. In fact, after the summary warning in verse 10, the remaining nine verses are just one sentence. The entire paragraph is intended as a caution against the enticing promises of the bad crowd.

The twice repeated "my son" (verses 10 and 15, cf. also verse 8) expresses the care and concern of the teacher for his pupil and emphatically draws attention to the need for this wisdom.

A gang of "sinners" are attempting to persuade another to join in their criminal enterprise with promises if great profit. The crimes mentioned here are still significant in our society, though thankfully not quite as much in our circle of ministry. Verses 11 and 12 refer to premeditated murder and verses 13-14 to robbery. But for all the promises of gain, the outcome is actually significant loss. Greed motivates dangerous pursuits but in the end it may cost the criminal his very life. It really is true that crime doesn't pay; not in this life and definitely not in the next.

Wisdom calls us instead to walk not in the counsel of the wicked nor stand in the way of sinners, but to delight in the law of the Lord (Psalm 1:1-2; Proverbs 4:14-15).