Trust the Lord

3 My son, don’t forget my teaching,

but let your heart keep my commands; s

2 for they will bring you

many days, a full life, t u and well-being. v

3 Never let loyalty and faithfulness leave you.

Tie them around your neck;

write them on the tablet of your heart. w

4 Then you will find favor and high regard

in the sight of God and man. x

5 Trust in the Lord with all your heart, y

and do not rely on your own understanding; z

6 think about Him in all your ways,

and He will guide you on the right paths. a b

7 Don’t consider yourself to be wise; c

* fear the Lord and turn away from evil. d

8 This will be healing for your body e f

and strengthening for your bones. g

9 Honor the Lord with your possessions

and with the first produce of your entire harvest; h

10 then your barns will be completely filled,

and your vats will overflow with new wine. i

11 Do not despise the Lord’s instruction, my son,

and do not loathe His discipline; j

12 for the Lord disciplines the one He loves,

just as a father, the son he delights in. k

Wisdom Brings Happiness

13 Happy is a man who finds wisdom l

and who acquires understanding,

14 for she is more profitable than silver,

and her revenue is better than gold. m

15 She is more precious than jewels; n

nothing you desire compares with her. o

16 Long life p is in her right hand;

in her left, riches and honor. q

17 Her ways are pleasant, r

and all her paths, peaceful.

18 She is a tree of life s to those who embrace her,

and those who hold on to her are happy.

19 The Lord founded the earth by wisdom t

and established the heavens by understanding.

20 By His knowledge the watery depths broke open, u

and the clouds dripped with dew. v

21 Maintain your competence and discretion.

My son, don’t lose sight of them. w

22 They will be life for you x y z

and adornment a for your neck.

23 Then you will go safely on your way;

your foot will not stumble. b

24 When you lie c down, you will not be afraid; d

you will lie down, and your sleep will be pleasant.

25 Don’t fear sudden danger

or the ruin of the wicked when it comes, e

26 for the Lord will be your confidence f

and will keep your foot from a snare. g

Treat Others Fairly

27 When it is in your power, h

don’t withhold good i from the one it belongs to.

28 Don’t say to your neighbor, “Go away! Come back later.

I’ll give it tomorrow”—when it is there with you. j

29 Don’t plan any harm against your neighbor, k

for he trusts you and lives near you.

30 Don’t accuse anyone without cause, l

when he has done you no harm.

31 Don’t envy a violent man m

or choose any of his ways;

32 for the devious are detestable to the Lord,

but He is a friend n to the upright. o

33 The Lord’s curse is on the household of the wicked, p

but He blesses the home of the righteous;

34 He mocks those who mock,

but gives grace to the humble. q

35 The wise will inherit honor,

but He holds up fools to dishonor. r

A Father’s Example

4 Listen, my sons, to a father’s discipline, s

and pay attention so that you may gain understanding,

2 for I am giving you good instruction. t

Don’t abandon my teaching.

3 When I was a son with my father,

tender and precious to my mother,

4 he taught me and said:

“Your heart must hold on to my words.

Keep my commands and live. u

5 Get wisdom, get understanding; v

don’t forget or turn away from the words of my mouth.

6 Don’t abandon wisdom, and she will watch over you;

love her, w and she will guard you.

7 Wisdom is supreme—so get wisdom.

And whatever else you get, get understanding. x

8 Cherish her, and she will exalt you;

if you embrace her, she will honor you. y

9 She will place a garland of grace on your head;

she will give you a crown of beauty.” z

Two Ways of Life

10 Listen, my son. Accept my words, a

and you will live many years. b

11 I am teaching you the way of wisdom;

I am guiding you on straight paths. c

12 When you walk, your steps will not be hindered; d

when you run, you will not stumble. e

13 Hold on to instruction; don’t let go. f

Guard it, for it is your life.

14 Don’t set foot on the path of the wicked; g

don’t proceed in the way of evil ones.

15 Avoid it; don’t travel on it.

Turn away from it, and pass it by.

16 For they can’t sleep

unless they have done what is evil;

they are robbed of sleep

unless they make someone stumble. h

17 They eat the bread of wickedness

and drink the wine of violence.

18 The path of the righteous is like the light of dawn, i

shining brighter and brighter until midday.

19 But the way of the wicked is like the darkest gloom; j

they don’t know what makes them stumble. k

The Straight Path

20 My son, pay attention to my words;

listen closely to my sayings. l

21 Don’t lose sight of them; m

keep them within your heart.

22 For they are life to those who find them,

and health to one’s whole body.

23 Guard your heart above all else, n

for it is the source of life. o

24 Don’t let your mouth speak dishonestly, p

and don’t let your lips talk deviously.

25 Let your eyes look forward;

fix your gaze q straight ahead. r

26 Carefully consider the path s for your feet, t

and all your ways will be established.

27 Don’t turn to the right or to the left; u

keep your feet away from evil.

Avoid Seduction

5 My son, pay attention to my wisdom;

listen closely v to my understanding w

2 so that you may maintain discretion

and your lips safeguard knowledge. x

3 Though the lips of the forbidden woman drip honey

and her words are y smoother than oil,

4 in the end she’s as bitter as * wormwood z

and as sharp as a double-edged sword. a

5 Her feet go down to death;

her steps head straight for * Sheol. b

6 She doesn’t consider the path of life;

she doesn’t know that her ways are unstable.

7 So now, my sons, listen to me,

and don’t turn away from the words of my mouth. c

8 Keep your way far from her.

Don’t go near the door of her house. d

9 Otherwise, you will give up your vitality to others

and your years to someone cruel;

10 strangers will drain your resources,

and your earnings will end up in a foreigner’s house.

11 At the end of your life, you will lament

when your physical body has been consumed,

12 and you will say, “How I hated discipline,

and how my heart despised correction. e

13 I didn’t obey my teachers

or listen closely f to my mentors.

14 I am on the verge of complete ruin

before the entire community.”

Enjoy Marriage

15 Drink water from your own cistern,

water flowing from your own well. g

16 Should your springs flow in the streets,

streams of water in the public squares? h

17 They should be for you alone

and not for you to share with strangers.

18 Let your fountain be blessed,

and take pleasure in the wife of your youth. i

19 A loving doe, a graceful fawn—

let her breasts always satisfy you; j

be lost in her love forever.

20 Why, my son, would you be infatuated

with a forbidden woman

or embrace the breast of a stranger? k

21 For a man’s ways are before the Lord’s eyes, l

and He considers all his paths. m

22 A wicked man’s iniquities entrap him; n

he is entangled in the ropes of his own sin. o

23 He will die because there is no discipline, p

and be lost because of his great stupidity.

Financial Entanglements

6 My son, if you have put up security for your neighbor q

or entered into an agreement with r a stranger, s t

2 you have been trapped by the words of your lips u—

ensnared by the words of your mouth.

3 Do this, then, my son, and free yourself,

for you have put yourself in your neighbor’s power:

Go, humble yourself, and plead with your neighbor.

4 Don’t give sleep to your eyes

or slumber to your eyelids. v

5 Escape like a gazelle from a hunter, w

like a bird from a fowler’s trap. x y

Laziness

6 Go to the ant, z you slacker! a

Observe its ways and become wise.

7 Without leader, administrator, or ruler,

8 it prepares its provisions in summer;

it gathers its food during harvest. b

9 How long will you stay in bed, you slacker?

When will you get up from your sleep?

10 A little sleep, a little slumber,

a little folding of the arms to rest, c

11 and your poverty will come like a robber,

your need, like a bandit. d

The Malicious Man

12 A worthless person, e a wicked man

goes around speaking dishonestly, f

13 winking g his eyes, signaling with his feet,

and gesturing with his fingers.

14 He always plots evil h with perversity in his heart—

he stirs up trouble. i

15 Therefore calamity will strike him suddenly;

he will be shattered instantly—beyond recovery. j

What the Lord Hates

16 The Lord hates six things;

in fact, seven are detestable to Him:

17 arrogant eyes, k a lying tongue, l

hands that shed innocent blood, m

18 a heart that plots wicked schemes, n

feet eager to run to evil, o

19 a lying witness who gives false testimony, p

and one who stirs up trouble among brothers. q

Warning against Adultery

20 My son, keep your father’s command,

and don’t reject your mother’s teaching. r

21 Always bind them to your heart;

tie them around your neck. s

22 When you walk here and there, they will guide you;

when you lie down, they will watch over you;

when you wake up, they will talk to you.

23 For a command is a lamp, teaching is a light, t

and corrective discipline is the way to life. u

24 They will protect you from an evil woman, v

from the flattering w tongue of a stranger. x

25 Don’t lust in your heart for her beauty y

or let her captivate you with her eyelashes. z

26 For a prostitute’s fee is only a loaf of bread, a

but an adulteress b goes after a precious life. c

27 Can a man embrace fire d

and his clothes not be burned?

28 Can a man walk on burning coals

without scorching his feet?

29 So it is with the one who sleeps with

another man’s wife;

no one who touches her will go unpunished. e

30 People don’t despise the thief if he steals

to satisfy himself when he is hungry. f

31 Still, if caught, he must pay seven times as much; g

he must give up all the wealth in his house.

32 The one who commits adultery h lacks sense;

whoever does so destroys himself. i

33 He will get a beating j and dishonor,

and his disgrace will never be removed.

34 For jealousy enrages a husband, k

and he will show no mercy when he takes revenge.

35 He will not be appeased by anything

or be persuaded by lavish gifts.

7 My son, obey my words,

and treasure my commands. l

2 Keep my commands and live; m

protect my teachings

as the pupil of your eye. n

3 Tie them to your fingers;

write them on the tablet of your heart. o

4 Say to wisdom, “You are my sister,” p

and call understanding your relative.

5 She will keep you from a forbidden woman,

a stranger with her flattering talk. q

A Story of Seduction

6 At the window of my house

I looked through my lattice. r

7 I saw among the inexperienced, s

I noticed among the youths,

a young man lacking sense.

8 Crossing the street near her corner,

he strolled down the road to her house

9 at twilight, in the evening,

in the dark of the night. t

10 A woman came to meet him

dressed like a prostitute, u

having a hidden agenda. v

11 She is loud and defiant; w

her feet do not stay at home. x

12 Now in the street, now in the squares, y

she lurks at every corner. z

13 She grabs him and kisses him;

she brazenly says a to him,

14 “I’ve made * fellowship offerings; b

today I’ve fulfilled my vows. c

15 So I came out to meet you,

to search for you, and I’ve found you.

16 I’ve spread coverings on my bed d—

richly colored linen from Egypt. e

17 I’ve perfumed my bed

with myrrh, aloes, and cinnamon. f

18 Come, let’s drink deeply of lovemaking until morning. g

Let’s feast on each other’s love!

19 My husband isn’t home;

he went on a long journey.

20 He took a bag of money with him

and will come home at the time of the full moon.”

21 She seduces him with her persistent pleading;

she lures with her flattering h talk.

22 He follows her impulsively

like an ox going to the slaughter,

like a deer bounding toward a trap i

23 until an arrow pierces its j liver, k

like a bird darting into a snare l—

he doesn’t know it will cost him his life.

24 Now, my sons, listen to me,

and pay attention to the words of my mouth.

25 Don’t let your heart turn aside to her ways;

don’t stray onto her paths. m

26 For she has brought many down to death;

her victims are countless. n

27 Her house is the road to * Sheol,

descending to the chambers of death. o