The proverbs of Solomon the son of David,
king of Israel; To know wisdom and instruction; to perceive the
words of understanding; To receive the instruction of wisdom,
justice, and judgment, and equity; To give subtilty to the simple,
to the young man knowledge and discretion. A wise man will hear,
and will increase learning; and a man of understanding shall attain
unto wise counsels: To understand a proverb, and the interpretation;
the words of the wise, and their dark sayings.
The fear of the LORD is the beginning of
knowledge: but fools despise wisdom and instruction. My son, hear
the instruction of thy father, and forsake not the law of thy
mother: For they shall be an ornament of grace unto thy head,
and chains about thy neck.
My son, if sinners entice thee, consent
thou not. If they say, Come with us, let us lay wait for blood,
let us lurk privily for the innocent without cause: Let us swallow
them up alive as the grave; and whole, as those that go down into
the pit: We shall find all precious substance, we shall fill our
houses with spoil: Cast in thy lot among us; let us all have one
purse: My son, walk not thou in the way with them; refrain thy
foot from their path: For their feet run to evil, and make haste
to shed blood. Surely in vain the net is spread in the sight of
any bird. And they lay wait for their own blood; they lurk privily
for their own lives. So are the ways of every one that is greedy
of gain; which taketh away the life of the owners thereof.
Wisdom crieth without; she uttereth her
voice in the streets: She crieth in the chief place of concourse,
in the openings of the gates: in the city she uttereth her words,
saying, How long, ye simple ones, will ye love simplicity? and
the scorners delight in their scorning, and fools hate knowledge?
Turn you at my reproof: behold, I will pour out my spirit unto
you, I will make known my words unto you. Because I have called,
and ye refused; I have stretched out my hand, and no man regarded;
But ye have set at nought all my counsel, and would none of my
reproof: I also will laugh at your calamity; I will mock when
your fear cometh; When your fear cometh as desolation, and your
destruction cometh as a whirlwind; when distress and anguish cometh
upon you. Then shall they call upon me, but I will not answer;
they shall seek me early, but they shall not find me: For that
they hated knowledge, and did not choose the fear of the LORD:
They would none of my counsel: they despised all my reproof. Therefore
shall they eat of the fruit of their own way, and be filled with
their own devices. For the turning away of the simple shall slay
them, and the prosperity of fools shall destroy them. But whoso
hearkeneth unto me shall dwell safely, and shall be quiet from
fear of evil.
My son, if thou wilt receive my words, and
hide my commandments with thee; So that thou incline thine ear
unto wisdom, and apply thine heart to understanding; Yea, if thou
criest after knowledge, and liftest up thy voice for understanding;
If thou seekest her as silver, and searchest for her as for hid
treasures; Then shalt thou understand the fear of the LORD, and
find the knowledge of God. For the LORD giveth wisdom: out of
his mouth cometh knowledge and understanding. He layeth up sound
wisdom for the righteous: he is a buckler to them that walk uprightly.
He keepeth the paths of judgment, and preserveth the way of his
saints. Then shalt thou understand righteousness, and judgment,
and equity; yea, every good path.
When wisdom entereth into thine heart, and knowledge is pleasant unto thy soul; Discretion shall preserve thee, understanding shall keep thee: To deliver thee from the way of the evil man, from the man that speaketh froward things; Who leave the paths of uprightness, to walk in the ways of darkness; Who rejoice to do evil, and delight in the frowardness of the wicked; Whose ways are crooked, and they froward in their paths: To deliver thee from the strange woman, even from the stranger which flattereth with her words; Which forsaketh the guide of her youth, and forgetteth the covenant of her God. For her house inclineth unto death, and her paths unto the dead. None that go unto her return again, neither take they hold of the paths of life. That thou mayest walk in the way of good men, and keep the paths of the righteous. For the upright shall dwell in the land, and the perfect shall remain in it. But the wicked shall be cut off from the earth, and the transgressors shall be rooted out of it.
My son, forget not my law; but let thine heart keep my commandments: For length of days, and long life, and peace, shall they add to thee. Let not mercy and truth forsake thee: bind them about thy neck; write them upon the table of thine heart: So shalt thou find favour and good understanding in the sight of God and man. Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.
Be not wise in thine own eyes: fear the
LORD, and depart from evil. It shall be health to thy navel, and
marrow to thy bones. Honour the LORD with thy substance, and with
the firstfruits of all thine increase: So shall thy barns be filled
with plenty, and thy presses shall burst out with new wine. My
son, despise not the chastening of the LORD; neither be weary
of his correction: For whom the LORD loveth he correcteth; even
as a father the son in whom he delighteth.
Happy is the man that findeth wisdom, and
the man that getteth understanding. For the merchandise of it
is better than the merchandise of silver, and the gain thereof
than fine gold. She is more precious than rubies: and all the
things thou canst desire are not to be compared unto her. Length
of days is in her right hand; and in her left hand riches and
honour. Her ways are ways of pleasantness, and all her paths are
peace. She is a tree of life to them that lay hold upon her: and
happy is every one that retaineth her. The LORD by wisdom hath
founded the earth; by understanding hath he established the heavens.
By his knowledge the depths are broken up, and the clouds drop
down the dew.
My son, let not them depart from thine eyes:
keep sound wisdom and discretion: So shall they be life unto thy
soul, and grace to thy neck. Then shalt thou walk in thy way safely,
and thy foot shall not stumble. When thou liest down, thou shalt
not be afraid: yea, thou shalt lie down, and thy sleep shall be
sweet. Be not afraid of sudden fear, neither of the desolation
of the wicked, when it cometh. For the LORD shall be thy confidence,
and shall keep thy foot from being taken.
Withhold not good from them to whom it is due, when it is in the power of thine hand to do it. Say not unto thy neighbour, Go, and come again, and to morrow I will give; when thou hast it by thee. Devise not evil against thy neighbour, seeing he dwelleth securely by thee. Strive not with a man without cause, if he have done thee no harm. Envy thou not the oppressor, and choose none of his ways. For the froward is abomination to the LORD: but his secret is with the righteous. The curse of the LORD is in the house of the wicked: but he blesseth the habitation of the just. Surely he scorneth the scorners: but he giveth grace unto the lowly. The wise shall inherit glory: but shame shall be the promotion of fools.
Hear, ye children, the instruction of a
father, and attend to know understanding. For I give you good
doctrine, forsake ye not my law. For I was my father’s son,
tender and only beloved in the sight of my mother. He taught me
also, and said unto me, Let thine heart retain my words: keep
my commandments, and live. Get wisdom, get understanding: forget
it not; neither decline from the words of my mouth. Forsake her
not, and she shall preserve thee: love her, and she shall keep
thee. Wisdom is the principal thing; therefore get wisdom: and
with all thy getting get understanding. Exalt her, and she shall
promote thee: she shall bring thee to honour, when thou dost embrace
her. She shall give to thine head an ornament of grace: a crown
of glory shall she deliver to thee. Hear, O my son, and receive
my sayings; and the years of thy life shall be many. I have taught
thee in the way of wisdom; I have led thee in right paths. When
thou goest, thy steps shall not be straitened; and when thou runnest,
thou shalt not stumble. Take fast hold of instruction; let her
not go: keep her; for she is thy life.
Enter not into the path of the wicked, and
go not in the way of evil men. Avoid it, pass not by it, turn
from it, and pass away. For they sleep not, except they have done
mischief; and their sleep is taken away, unless they cause some
to fall. For they eat the bread of wickedness, and drink the wine
of violence. But the path of the just is as the shining light,
that shineth more and more unto the perfect day. The way of the
wicked is as darkness: they know not at what they stumble.
My son, attend to my words; incline thine ear unto my sayings. Let them not depart from thine eyes; keep them in the midst of thine heart. For they are life unto those that find them, and health to all their flesh. Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life. Put away from thee a froward mouth, and perverse lips put far from thee. Let thine eyes look right on, and let thine eyelids look straight before thee. Ponder the path of thy feet, and let all thy ways be established. Turn not to the right hand nor to the left: remove thy foot from evil.
My son, attend unto my wisdom, and bow thine ear to my understanding: That thou mayest regard discretion, and that thy lips may keep knowledge. For the lips of a strange woman drop as an honeycomb, and her mouth is smoother than oil: But her end is bitter as wormwood, sharp as a twoedged sword. Her feet go down to death; her steps take hold on hell. Lest thou shouldest ponder the path of life, her ways are moveable, that thou canst not know them. Hear me now therefore, O ye children, and depart not from the words of my mouth. Remove thy way far from her, and come not nigh the door of her house: Lest thou give thine honour unto others, and thy years unto the cruel: Lest strangers be filled with thy wealth; and thy labours be in the house of a stranger; And thou mourn at the last, when thy flesh and thy body are consumed, And say, How have I hated instruction, and my heart despised reproof; And have not obeyed the voice of my teachers, nor inclined mine ear to them that instructed me! I was almost in all evil in the midst of the congregation and assembly.
Drink waters out of thine own cistern, and running waters out of thine own well. Let thy fountains be dispersed abroad, and rivers of waters in the streets. Let them be only thine own, and not strangers’ with thee. Let thy fountain be blessed: and rejoice with the wife of thy youth. Let her be as the loving hind and pleasant roe; let her breasts satisfy thee at all times; and be thou ravished always with her love. And why wilt thou, my son, be ravished with a strange woman, and embrace the bosom of a stranger? For the ways of man are before the eyes of the LORD, and he pondereth all his goings. His own iniquities shall take the wicked himself, and he shall be holden with the cords of his sins. He shall die without instruction; and in the greatness of his folly he shall go astray.
My son, if thou be surety for thy friend, if thou hast stricken thy hand with a stranger, Thou art snared with the words of thy mouth, thou art taken with the words of thy mouth. Do this now, my son, and deliver thyself, when thou art come into the hand of thy friend; go, humble thyself, and make sure thy friend. Give not sleep to thine eyes, nor slumber to thine eyelids. Deliver thyself as a roe from the hand of the hunter, and as a bird from the hand of the fowler.
Go to the ant, thou sluggard; consider her
ways, and be wise: Which having no guide, overseer, or ruler,
Provideth her meat in the summer, and gathereth her food in the
harvest. How long wilt thou sleep, O sluggard? when wilt thou
arise out of thy sleep? Yet a little sleep, a little slumber,
a little folding of the hands to sleep: So shall thy poverty come
as one that travelleth, and thy want as an armed man.
A naughty person, a wicked man, walketh
with a froward mouth. He winketh with his eyes, he speaketh with
his feet, he teacheth with his fingers; Frowardness is in his
heart, he deviseth mischief continually; he soweth discord. Therefore
shall his calamity come suddenly; suddenly shall he be broken
without remedy. These six things doth the LORD hate: yea, seven
are an abomination unto him: A proud look, a lying tongue, and
hands that shed innocent blood, An heart that deviseth wicked
imaginations, feet that be swift in running to mischief, A false
witness that speaketh lies, and he that soweth discord among brethren.
My son, keep thy father’s commandment, and forsake not the law of thy mother: Bind them continually upon thine heart, and tie them about thy neck. When thou goest, it shall lead thee; when thou sleepest, it shall keep thee; and when thou awakest, it shall talk with thee. For the commandment is a lamp; and the law is light; and reproofs of instruction are the way of life: To keep thee from the evil woman, from the flattery of the tongue of a strange woman. Lust not after her beauty in thine heart; neither let her take thee with her eyelids. For by means of a whorish woman a man is brought to a piece of bread: and the adulteress will hunt for the precious life. Can a man take fire in his bosom, and his clothes not be burned? Can one go upon hot coals, and his feet not be burned? So he that goeth in to his neighbour’s wife; whosoever toucheth her shall not be innocent. Men do not despise a thief, if he steal to satisfy his soul when he is hungry; But if he be found, he shall restore sevenfold; he shall give all the substance of his house. But whoso committeth adultery with a woman lacketh understanding: he that doeth it destroyeth his own soul. A wound and dishonour shall he get; and his reproach shall not be wiped away. For jealousy is the rage of a man: therefore he will not spare in the day of vengeance. He will not regard any ransom; neither will he rest content, though thou givest many gifts.
My son, keep my words, and lay up my commandments with thee. Keep my commandments, and live; and my law as the apple of thine eye. Bind them upon thy fingers, write them upon the table of thine heart. Say unto wisdom, Thou art my sister; and call understanding thy kinswoman: That they may keep thee from the strange woman, from the stranger which flattereth with her words.
For at the window of my house I looked through
my casement, And beheld among the simple ones, I discerned among
the youths, a young man void of understanding, Passing through
the street near her corner; and he went the way to her house,
In the twilight, in the evening , in the black and dark night:
And, behold, there met him a woman with the attire of an harlot,
and subtil of heart. (She is loud and stubborn; her feet abide
not in her house: Now is she without, now in the streets, and
lieth in wait at every corner.) So she caught him, and kissed
him, and with an impudent face said unto him, I have peace offerings
with me; this day have I payed my vows. Therefore came I forth
to meet thee, diligently to seek thy face, and I have found thee.
I have decked my bed with coverings of tapestry, with carved works,
with fine linen of Egypt. I have perfumed my bed with myrrh, aloes,
and cinnamon. Come, let us take our fill of love until the morning:
let us solace ourselves with loves. For the goodman is not at
home, he is gone a long journey: He hath taken a bag of money
with him, and will come home at the day appointed. With her much
fair speech she caused him to yield, with the flattering of her
lips she forced him. He goeth after her straightway, as an ox
goeth to the slaughter, or as a fool to the correction of the
stocks; Till a dart strike through his liver; as a bird hasteth
to the snare, and knoweth not that it is for his life.
Hearken unto me now therefore, O ye children, and attend to the words of my mouth. Let not thine heart decline to her ways, go not astray in her paths. For she hath cast down many wounded: yea, many strong men have been slain by her. Her house is the way to hell, going down to the chambers of death.
Doth not wisdom cry? and understanding put
forth her voice? She standeth in the top of high places, by the
way in the places of the paths. She crieth at the gates, at the
entry of the city, at the coming in at the doors. Unto you, O
men, I call; and my voice is to the sons of man. O ye simple,
understand wisdom: and, ye fools, be ye of an understanding heart.
Hear; for I will speak of excellent things; and the opening of
my lips shall be right things. For my mouth shall speak truth;
and wickedness is an abomination to my lips. All the words of
my mouth are in righteousness; there is nothing froward or perverse
in them. They are all plain to him that understandeth, and right
to them that find knowledge. Receive my instruction, and not silver;
and knowledge rather than choice gold. For wisdom is better than
rubies; and all the things that may be desired are not to be compared
to it.
I wisdom dwell with prudence, and find out
knowledge of witty inventions. The fear of the LORD is to hate
evil: pride, and arrogancy, and the evil way, and the froward
mouth, do I hate. Counsel is mine, and sound wisdom: I am understanding;
I have strength. By me kings reign, and princes decree justice.
By me princes rule, and nobles, even all the judges of the earth.
I love them that love me; and those that seek me early shall find
me. Riches and honour are with me; yea, durable riches and righteousness.
My fruit is better than gold, yea, than fine gold; and my revenue
than choice silver. I lead in the way of righteousness, in the
midst of the paths of judgment: That I may cause those that love
me to inherit substance; and I will fill their treasures.
The LORD possessed me in the beginning of
his way, before his works of old. I was set up from everlasting,
from the beginning, or ever the earth was. When there were no
depths, I was brought forth; when there were no fountains abounding
with water. Before the mountains were settled, before the hills
was I brought forth: While as yet he had not made the earth, nor
the fields, nor the highest part of the dust of the world. When
he prepared the heavens, I was there: when he set a compass upon
the face of the depth: When he established the clouds above: when
he strengthened the fountains of the deep: When he gave to the
sea his decree, that the waters should not pass his commandment:
when he appointed the foundations of the earth: Then I was by
him, as one brought up with him: and I was daily his delight,
rejoicing always before him; Rejoicing in the habitable part of
his earth; and my delights were with the sons of men.
Now therefore hearken unto me, O ye children: for blessed are they that keep my ways. Hear instruction, and be wise, and refuse it not. Blessed is the man that heareth me, watching daily at my gates, waiting at the posts of my doors. For whoso findeth me findeth life, and shall obtain favour of the LORD. But he that sinneth against me wrongeth his own soul: all they that hate me love death.
Wisdom hath builded her house, she hath
hewn out her seven pillars: She hath killed her beasts; she hath
mingled her wine; she hath also furnished her table. She hath
sent forth her maidens: she crieth upon the highest places of
the city, Whoso is simple, let him turn in hither: as for him
that wanteth understanding, she saith to him, Come, eat of my
bread, and drink of the wine which I have mingled. Forsake the
foolish, and live; and go in the way of understanding. He that
reproveth a scorner getteth to himself shame: and he that rebuketh
a wicked man getteth himself a blot. Reprove not a scorner, lest
he hate thee: rebuke a wise man, and he will love thee. Give instruction
to a wise man, and he will be yet wiser: teach a just man, and
he will increase in learning. The fear of the LORD is the beginning
of wisdom: and the knowledge of the holy is understanding. For
by me thy days shall be multiplied, and the years of thy life
shall be increased. If thou be wise, thou shalt be wise for thyself:
but if thou scornest, thou alone shalt bear it.
A foolish woman is clamorous: she is simple, and knoweth nothing. For she sitteth at the door of her house, on a seat in the high places of the city, To call passengers who go right on their ways: Whoso is simple, let him turn in hither: and as for him that wanteth understanding, she saith to him, Stolen waters are sweet, and bread eaten in secret is pleasant. But he knoweth not that the dead are there; and that her guests are in the depths of hell.
