1:1 The Proverbs of Solomon son of David, king of Israel:
1:2 To learn wisdom and moral instruction,
and to discern wise counsel.
1:3 To receive moral instruction in skillful living,
in righteousness, justice, and equity.
1:4 To impart shrewdness to the morally naive,
and a discerning plan to the young person.
1:5 (Let the wise also hear and gain instruction,
and let the discerning acquire guidance!)
1:6 To discern the meaning of a proverb and a parable,
the sayings of the wise and their riddles.
1:7 Fearing the Lord is the beginning of moral knowledge,
but fools despise wisdom and instruction.
1:8 Listen, my child, to the instruction from your father,
and do not forsake the teaching from your mother.
1:9 For they will be like an elegant garland on your head,
and like pendants around your neck.
1:10 My child, if sinners try to entice you,
do not consent!
1:11 If they say, “Come with us!
We will lie in wait to shed blood;
we will ambush an innocent person capriciously.
1:12 We will swallow them alive like Sheol,
those full of vigor like those going down to the Pit.
1:13 We will seize all kinds of precious wealth;
we will fill our houses with plunder.
1:14 Join with us!
We will all share equally in what we steal.”
1:15 My child, do not go down their way,
withhold yourself from their path;
1:16 for they are eager to inflict harm,
and they hasten to shed blood.
1:17 Surely it is futile to spread a net
in plain sight of any bird,
1:18 but these men lie in wait for their own blood,
they ambush their own lives!
1:19 Such are the ways of all who gain profit unjustly;
it takes away the life of those who obtain it!
1:20 Wisdom calls out in the street,
she shouts loudly in the plazas;
1:21 at the head of the noisy streets she calls,
in the entrances of the gates in the city she utters her words:
1:22 “How long will you simpletons love naiveté?
How long will mockers delight in mockery
and fools hate knowledge?
1:23 If only you will respond to my rebuke,
then I will pour out my thoughts to you
and I will make my words known to you.
1:24 However, because I called but you refused to listen,
because I stretched out my hand but no one paid attention,
1:25 because you neglected all my advice,
and did not comply with my rebuke,
1:26 so I myself will laugh when disaster strikes you,
I will mock when what you dread comes,
1:27 when what you dread comes like a whirlwind,
and disaster strikes you like a devastating storm,
when distressing trouble comes on you.
1:28 Then they will call to me, but I will not answer;
they will diligently seek me, but they will not find me.
1:29 Because they hated moral knowledge,
and did not choose to fear the Lord,
1:30 they did not comply with my advice,
they spurned all my rebuke.
1:31 Therefore they will eat from the fruit of their way,
and they will be stuffed full of their own counsel.
1:32 For the waywardness of the
simpletons will kill them,
and the careless ease of fools will destroy them.
1:33 But the one who listens to me will live in security,
and will be at ease from the dread of harm.
2:1 My child, if you receive my words,
and store up my commands within you,
2:2 by making your ear attentive to wisdom,
and by turning your heart to understanding,
2:3 indeed, if you call out for discernment –
raise your voice for understanding –
2:4 if you seek it like silver,
and search for it like hidden treasure,
2:5 then you will understand how to fear the Lord,
and you will discover knowledge about God.
2:6 For the Lord gives wisdom,
and from his mouth comes knowledge and understanding.
2:7 He stores up effective counsel for the upright,
and is like a shield for those who live with integrity,
2:8 to guard the paths of the righteous
and to protect the way of his pious ones.
2:9 Then you will understand righteousness and justice
and equity – every good way.
2:10 For wisdom will enter your heart,
and moral knowledge will be attractive to you.
2:11 Discretion will protect you,
understanding will guard you,
2:12 to deliver you from the way of the wicked,
from those speaking perversity,
2:13 who leave the upright paths
to walk on the dark ways,
2:14 who delight in doing evil,
they rejoice in perverse evil;
2:15 whose paths are morally crooked,
and who are devious in their ways;
2:16 to deliver you from the adulteress,
from the sexually loose woman who speaks flattering words;
2:17 who leaves the husband from her younger days,
and forgets her marriage covenant made before God.
2:18 For her house sinks down to death,
and her paths lead to the place of the departed spirits.
2:19 None who go in to her will return,
nor will they reach the paths of life.
2:20 So you will walk in the way of good people,
and will keep on the paths of the righteous.
2:21 For the upright will reside in the land,
and those with integrity will remain in it,
2:22 but the wicked will be removed from the land,
and the treacherous will be torn away from it.
3:1 My child, do not forget my teaching,
but let your heart keep my commandments,
3:2 for they will provide a long and full life,
and they will add well-being to you.
3:3 Do not let truth and mercy leave you;
bind them around your neck,
write them on the tablet of your heart.
3:4 Then you will find favor and good understanding,
in the sight of God and people.
3:5 Trust in the Lord with all your heart,
and do not rely on your own understanding.
3:6 Acknowledge him in all your ways,
and he will make your paths straight.
3:7 Do not be wise in your own estimation;
fear the Lord and turn away from evil.
3:8 This will bring healing to your body,
and refreshment to your inner self.
3:9 Honor the Lord from your wealth
and from the first fruits of all your crops;
3:10 then your barns will be filled completely,
and your vats will overflow with new wine.
3:11 My child, do not despise discipline from the Lord,
and do not loathe his rebuke.
3:12 For the Lord disciplines those he loves,
just as a father disciplines the son in whom he delights.
3:13 Blessed is the one who finds wisdom,
and the one who obtains understanding.
3:14 For her benefit is more profitable than silver,
and her gain is better than gold.
3:15 She is more precious than rubies,
and none of the things you desire can compare with her.
3:16 Long life is in her right hand;
in her left hand are riches and honor.
3:17 Her ways are very pleasant,
and all her paths are peaceful.
3:18 She is like a tree of life to those who obtain her,
and everyone who grasps hold of her will be blessed.
3:19 By wisdom the Lord laid the foundation of the earth;
he established the heavens by understanding.
3:20 By his knowledge the primordial sea was broken open,
and the clouds drip down dew.
3:21 My child, do not let them escape from your sight;
safeguard sound wisdom and discretion.
3:22 So they will give life to you,
and grace to adorn your neck.
3:23 Then you will walk on your way with security,
and you will not stumble.
3:24 When you lie down you will not be filled with fear;
when you lie down your sleep will be pleasant.
3:25 You will not be afraid of sudden disaster,
or when destruction overtakes the wicked;
3:26 for the Lord will be the source of your confidence,
and he will guard your foot from being caught in a trap.
3:27 Do not withhold good from those who need it,
when you have the ability to help.
3:28 Do not say to your neighbor, “Go! Return tomorrow
and I will give it,” when you have it with you at the time.
3:29 Do not plot evil against your neighbor
when he dwells by you unsuspectingly.
3:30 Do not accuse anyone without legitimate cause,
if he has not treated you wrongly.
3:31 Do not envy a violent man,
and do not choose to imitate any of his ways;
3:32 for one who goes astray is an abomination to the Lord,
but he reveals his intimate counsel to the upright.
3:33 The Lord’s curse is on the household of the wicked,
but he blesses the home of the righteous.
3:34 Although he is scornful to arrogant scoffers,
yet he shows favor to the humble.
3:35 The wise inherit honor,
but he holds fools up to public contempt.
4:1 Listen, children, to a father’s instruction,
and pay attention so that you may gain discernment.
4:2 Because I give you good instruction,
do not forsake my teaching.
4:3 When I was a son to my father,
a tender only child before my mother,
4:4 he taught me, and he said to me:
“Let your heart lay hold of my words;
keep my commands so that you will live.
4:5 Acquire wisdom, acquire understanding;
do not forget and do not turn aside from the words I speak.
4:6 Do not forsake wisdom, and she will protect you;
love her, and she will guard you.
4:7 Wisdom is supreme – so acquire wisdom,
and whatever you acquire, acquire understanding!
4:8 Esteem her highly and she will exalt you;
she will honor you if you embrace her.
4:9 She will place a fair garland on your head;
she will bestow a beautiful crown on you.”
4:10 Listen, my child, and accept my words,
so that the years of your life will be many.
4:11 I will guide you in the way of wisdom
and I will lead you in upright paths.
4:12 When you walk, your steps will not be hampered,
and when you run, you will not stumble.
4:13 Hold on to instruction, do not let it go;
protect it, because it is your life.
4:14 Do not enter the path of the wicked
or walk in the way of those who are evil.
4:15 Avoid it, do not go on it;
turn away from it, and go on.
4:16 For they cannot sleep unless they cause harm;
they are robbed of sleep until they make someone stumble.
4:17 For they eat bread gained from wickedness
and drink wine obtained from violence.
4:18 But the path of the righteous is like the bright morning light,
growing brighter and brighter until full day.
4:19 The way of the wicked is like gloomy darkness;
they do not know what causes them to stumble.
4:20 My child, pay attention to my words;
listen attentively to my sayings.
4:21 Do not let them depart from your sight,
guard them within your heart;
4:22 for they are life to those who find them
and healing to one’s entire body.
4:23 Guard your heart with all vigilance,
for from it are the sources of life.
4:24 Remove perverse speech from your mouth;
keep devious talk far from your lips.
4:25 Let your eyes look directly in front of you
and let your gaze look straight before you.
4:26 Make the path for your feet level,
so that all your ways may be established.
4:27 Do not turn to the right or to the left;
turn yourself away from evil.
5:1 My child, be attentive to my wisdom,
pay close attention to my understanding,
5:2 in order to safeguard discretion,
and that your lips may guard knowledge.
5:3 For the lips of the adulterous woman drip honey,
and her seductive words are smoother than olive oil,
5:4 but in the end she is bitter as wormwood,
sharp as a two-edged sword.
5:5 Her feet go down to death;
her steps lead straight to the grave.
5:6 Lest she should make level the path leading to life,
her paths are unstable but she does not know it.
5:7 So now, children, listen to me;
do not turn aside from the words I speak.
5:8 Keep yourself far from her,
and do not go near the door of her house,
5:9 lest you give your vigor to others
and your years to a cruel person,
5:10 lest strangers devour your strength,
and your labor benefit another man’s house.
5:11 And at the end of your life you will groan
when your flesh and your body are wasted away.
5:12 And you will say, “How I hated discipline!
My heart spurned reproof!
5:13 For I did not obey my teachers
and I did not heed my instructors.
5:14 I almost came to complete ruin
in the midst of the whole congregation!”
5:15 Drink water from your own cistern
and running water from your own well.
5:16 Should your springs be dispersed outside,
your streams of water in the wide plazas?
5:17 Let them be for yourself alone,
and not for strangers with you.
5:18 May your fountain be blessed,
and may you rejoice in your young wife –
5:19 a loving doe, a graceful deer;
may her breasts satisfy you at all times,
may you be captivated by her love always.
5:20 But why should you be captivated, my son, by an adulteress,
and embrace the bosom of a different woman?
5:21 For the ways of a person are in front of the Lord’s eyes,
and the Lord weighs all that person’s paths.
5:22 The wicked will be captured by his own iniquities,
and he will be held by the cords of his own sin.
5:23 He will die because there was no discipline;
because of the greatness of his folly he will reel.
6:1 My child, if you have made a pledge for your neighbor,
and have become a guarantor for a stranger,
6:2 if you have been ensnared by the words you have uttered,
and have been caught by the words you have spoken,
6:3 then, my child, do this in order to deliver yourself,
because you have fallen into your neighbor’s power:
go, humble yourself,
and appeal firmly to your neighbor.
6:4 Permit no sleep to your eyes
or slumber to your eyelids.
6:5 Deliver yourself like a gazelle from a snare,
and like a bird from the trap of the fowler.
6:6 Go to the ant, you sluggard;
observe its ways and be wise!
6:7 It has no commander,
overseer, or ruler,
6:8 yet it prepares its food in the summer;
it gathers at the harvest what it will eat.
6:9 How long, you sluggard, will you lie there?
When will you rise from your sleep?
6:10 A little sleep, a little slumber,
a little folding of the hands to relax,
6:11 and your poverty will come like a robber,
and your need like an armed man.
6:12 A worthless and wicked person
walks around saying perverse things;
6:13 he winks with his eyes,
signals with his feet,
and points with his fingers;
6:14 he plots evil with perverse thoughts in his heart,
he spreads contention at all times.
6:15 Therefore, his disaster will come suddenly;
in an instant he will be broken, and there will be no remedy.
6:16 There are six things that the Lord hates,
even seven things that are an abomination to him:
6:17 haughty eyes, a lying tongue,
and hands that shed innocent blood,
6:18 a heart that devises wicked plans,
feet that are swift to run to evil,
6:19 a false witness who pours out lies,
and a person who spreads discord among family members.
6:20 My child, guard the commands of your father
and do not forsake the instruction of your mother.
6:21 Bind them on your heart continually;
fasten them around your neck.
6:22 When you walk about, they will guide you;
when you lie down, they will watch over you;
when you wake up, they will talk to you.
6:23 For the commandments are like a lamp,
instruction is like a light,
and rebukes of discipline are like the road leading to life,
6:24 by keeping you from the evil woman,
from the smooth tongue of the loose woman.
6:25 Do not lust in your heart for her beauty,
and do not let her captivate you with her alluring eyes;
6:26 for on account of a prostitute one is brought down to a loaf of bread,
but the wife of another man preys on your precious life.
6:27 Can a man hold fire against his chest
without burning his clothes?
6:28 Can a man walk on hot coals
without scorching his feet?
6:29 So it is with the one who has sex with his neighbor’s wife;
no one who touches her will escape punishment.
6:30 People do not despise a thief when he steals
to fulfill his need when he is hungry.
6:31 Yet if he is caught he must repay seven times over,
he might even have to give all the wealth of his house.
6:32 A man who commits adultery with a woman lacks wisdom,
whoever does it destroys his own life.
6:33 He will be beaten and despised,
and his reproach will not be wiped away;
6:34 for jealousy kindles a husband’s rage,
and he will not show mercy when he takes revenge.
6:35 He will not consider any compensation;
he will not be willing, even if you multiply the compensation.
7:1 My child, keep my words
and treasure up my commands in your own keeping.
7:2 Keep my commands so that you may live,
and obey my instruction as your most prized possession.
7:3 Bind them on your forearm;
write them on the tablet of your heart.
7:4 Say to wisdom, “You are my sister,”
and call understanding a close relative,
7:5 so that they may keep you from the adulterous woman,
from the loose woman who flatters you with her words.
7:6 For at the window of my house
through my window lattice I looked out
7:7 and I saw among the naive –
I discerned among the youths –
a young man who lacked wisdom.
7:8 He was passing by the street near her corner,
making his way along the road to her house
7:9 in the twilight, the evening,
in the dark of the night.
7:10 Suddenly a woman came out to meet him!
She was dressed like a prostitute and with secret intent.
7:11 (She is loud and rebellious,
she does not remain at home –
7:12 at one time outside, at another in the wide plazas,
and by every corner she lies in wait.)
7:13 So she grabbed him and kissed him,
and with a bold expression she said to him,
7:14 “I have fresh meat at home;
today I have fulfilled my vows!
7:15 That is why I came out to meet you,
to look for you, and I found you!
7:16 I have spread my bed with elegant coverings,
with richly colored fabric from Egypt.
7:17 I have perfumed my bed
with myrrh, aloes, and cinnamon.
7:18 Come, let’s drink deeply of lovemaking until morning,
let’s delight ourselves with sexual intercourse.
7:19 For my husband is not at home;
he has gone on a journey of some distance.
7:20 He has taken a bag of money with him;
he will not return until the end of the month.”
7:21 She persuaded him with persuasive words;
with her smooth talk she compelled him.
7:22 Suddenly he went after her
like an ox that goes to the slaughter,
like a stag prancing into a trapper’s snare
7:23 till an arrow pierces his liver –
like a bird hurrying into a trap,
and he does not know that it will cost him his life.
7:24 So now, sons, listen to me,
and pay attention to the words I speak.
7:25 Do not let your heart turn aside to her ways –
do not wander into her pathways;
7:26 for she has brought down many fatally wounded,
and all those she has slain are many.
7:27 Her house is the way to the grave,
going down to the chambers of death.
8:1 Does not wisdom call out?
Does not understanding raise her voice?
8:2 At the top of the elevated places along the way,
at the intersection of the paths she takes her stand;
8:3 beside the gates opening into the city,
at the entrance of the doorways she cries out:
8:4 “To you, O people, I call out,
and my voice calls to all mankind.
8:5 You who are naive, discern wisdom!
And you fools, understand discernment!
8:6 Listen, for I will speak excellent things,
and my lips will utter what is right.
8:7 For my mouth speaks truth,
and my lips hate wickedness.
8:8 All the words of my mouth are righteous;
there is nothing in them twisted or crooked.
8:9 All of them are clear to the discerning
and upright to those who find knowledge.
8:10 Receive my instruction rather than silver,
and knowledge rather than choice gold.
8:11 For wisdom is better than rubies,
and desirable things cannot be compared to her.
8:12 “I, wisdom, live with prudence,
and I find knowledge and discretion.
8:13 The fear of the Lord is to hate evil;
I hate arrogant pride and the evil way
and perverse utterances.
8:14 Counsel and sound wisdom belong to me;
I possess understanding and might.
8:15 Kings reign by means of me,
and potentates decree righteousness;
8:16 by me princes rule,
as well as nobles and all righteous judges.
8:17 I love those who love me,
and those who seek me find me.
8:18 Riches and honor are with me,
long-lasting wealth and righteousness.
8:19 My fruit is better than the purest gold,
and what I produce is better than choice silver.
8:20 I walk in the path of righteousness,
in the pathway of justice,
8:21 that I may cause those who love me to inherit wealth,
and that I may fill their treasuries.
8:22 The Lord created me as the beginning of his works,
before his deeds of long ago.
8:23 From eternity I was appointed,
from the beginning, from before the world existed.
8:24 When there were no deep oceans I was born,
when there were no springs overflowing with water;
8:25 before the mountains were set in place –
before the hills – I was born,
8:26 before he made the earth and its fields,
or the beginning of the dust of the world.
8:27 When he established the heavens, I was there;
when he marked out the horizon over the face of the deep,
8:28 when he established the clouds above,
when the fountains of the deep grew strong,
8:29 when he gave the sea his decree
that the waters should not pass over his command,
when he marked out the foundations of the earth,
8:30 then I was beside him as a master craftsman,
and I was his delight day by day,
rejoicing before him at all times,
8:31 rejoicing in the habitable part of his earth,
and delighting in its people.
8:32 “So now, children, listen to me;
blessed are those who keep my ways.
8:33 Listen to my instruction so that you may be wise,
and do not neglect it.
8:34 Blessed is the one who listens to me,
watching at my doors day by day,
waiting beside my doorway.
8:35 For the one who finds me finds life
and receives favor from the Lord.
8:36 But the one who does not find me brings harm to himself;
all who hate me love death.”
9:1 Wisdom has built her house;
she has carved out its seven pillars.
9:2 She has prepared her meat, she has mixed her wine;
she also has arranged her table.
9:3 She has sent out her female servants;
she calls out on the highest places of the city.
9:4 “Whoever is naive, let him turn in here,”
she says to those who lack understanding.
9:5 “Come, eat some of my food,
and drink some of the wine I have mixed.
9:6 Abandon your foolish ways so that you may live,
and proceed in the way of understanding.”
9:7 Whoever corrects a mocker is asking for insult;
whoever reproves a wicked person receives abuse.
9:8 Do not reprove a mocker or he will hate you;
reprove a wise person and he will love you.
9:9 Give instruction to a wise person, and he will become wiser still;
teach a righteous person and he will add to his learning.
9:10 The beginning of wisdom is to fear the Lord,
and acknowledging the Holy One is understanding.
9:11 For because of me your days will be many,
and years will be added to your life.
9:12 If you are wise, you are wise to your own advantage,
but if you are a mocker, you alone must bear it.
9:13 The woman called Folly is brash,
she is naive and does not know anything.
9:14 So she sits at the door of her house,
on a seat at the highest point of the city,
9:15 calling out to those who are passing by her in the way,
who go straight on their way.
9:16 “Whoever is simple, let him turn in here,”
she says to those who lack understanding.
9:17 “Stolen waters are sweet,
and food obtained in secret is pleasant!”
9:18 But they do not realize that the dead are there,
that her guests are in the depths of the grave.