Tuesday, September 1, 2026 · Chapter 1
Say No When They Say “Come With Us”
Right after Proverbs tells you the fear of the LORD is where wisdom starts, it gets specific fast: the very first test wisdom has to pass is a crowd of guys inviting you into something crooked for a quick payout. This is that test.
My son, if sinners entice thee, consent thou not.
Proverbs 1:10
If they say, Come with us, let us lay wait for blood, let us lurk privily for the innocent without cause:
Proverbs 1:11
Let us swallow them up alive as the grave; and whole, as those that go down into the pit:
Proverbs 1:12
We shall find all precious substance, we shall fill our houses with spoil:
Proverbs 1:13
IThe Hebrew, opened up
-
to open up, make roomy — and by extension to entice, persuade, flatter, or con someone into something
-
to lie in wait, to ambush — waiting in hiding for someone who doesn’t see it coming
Pathah literally means to open something wide — a door, a mind. Used on a person, it means to talk them open: flatter them, smooth-talk them, wear down their guard until they say yes to something they’d have refused cold. The temptation in verse 10 isn’t a gun to your head. It’s a friendly pitch. That’s exactly what makes it dangerous. Arab is hunting language — crouching in the brush for prey that has no idea you’re there. The men in this verse aren’t planning a fair fight or an honest deal; they’re planning to jump somebody who trusted them. The invitation to “come with us” is an invitation to become the kind of person who ambushes people for a payday.
IIWhat this actually means
This isn’t a warning about back-alley muggers. It’s a warning about the guy at work, in your group chat, or at the bar who makes crooked money sound smart and normal — the padded invoice, the “everybody does it” shortcut, the deal where somebody quietly gets hurt so you can get paid. Verse 10 says the ask will be smooth (pathah). Verse 11 says the plan underneath it is still an ambush (arab) — somebody unsuspecting eats the cost of your quick money. Solomon’s answer isn’t “think it over.” It’s “consent thou not” — a flat, immediate no, decided before the pitch ever gets made to you.
IIIObey it today
When someone pitches you an “easy money” shortcut today — a padded invoice, a return-for-cash scam, a “nobody will know” move — say the actual word “no” out loud to their face before lunch. Don’t just think it and let the moment slide.
Before you say yes to any deal or favor today, ask yourself out loud: “Who gets hurt if this goes exactly the way they’re planning?” If the honest answer is somebody, walk away from it before noon.
Call or text one person you trust today — your spouse, a mentor, an accountability friend — and tell them straight out about any shortcut you’re being tempted by right now. Get it out of your own head before the day is half over.
PrayerLord, when the easy-money crowd makes their pitch to me today, give me the guts to say no out loud before I talk myself into a yes.
Keep this in your chest
“My son, if sinners entice thee, consent thou not.”
Proverbs 1:10