4 aHear, ye children, the instruction of a father,

And attend to know bunderstanding.

2  For I give you good cdoctrine,

Forsake ye not my law.

3  For I was my father’s son,

dTender and eonly beloved in the sight of my mother.

4  fHe taught me also, and said unto me,

Let thine heart retain my words:

gKeep my commandments, and live.

5  hiGet wisdom, iget bunderstanding:

Forget it not; neither decline from the words of my mouth.

6  Forsake her not, and she shall preserve thee:

jLove her, and she shall keep thee.

7  Wisdom is kthe principal thing; therefore iget wisdom:

And with all thy getting iget bunderstanding.

8  Exalt her, and she shall promote thee:

She shall lbring thee to honour, when thou dost membrace her.

9  She shall give to thine head nan ornament of grace:

||A crown of glory shall she deliver to thee.

10  Hear, O my son, and receive my sayings;

And othe years of thy life shall be many.

11  pI have taught thee in the way of wisdom;

I have led thee in right paths.

12  When thou goest, qthy steps shall not be straitened;

And rwhen thou runnest, thou shalt not stumble.

13  sTake fast hold of instruction; slet her not go:

Keep her; for she is thy life.

14  tEnter not into the path of the wicked,

And ugo not in the way of evil men.

15  xAvoid it, pass not by it,

yTurn from it, and pass away.

16  zFor they sleep not, except they have done mischief;

And their sleep is taken away, unless they cause some to fall.

17  For they eat the bread of wickedness,

And drink the wine of violence.

18  aBut the path of the just is bas the shining light,

That shineth cmore and more unto the perfect day.

19  dThe way of the wicked is as darkness:

They know not eat what they stumble.

20  eeMy son, attend to my words;

Incline thine ear unto my sayings.

21  fLet them not depart from thine eyes;

gKeep them in the midst of thine heart.

22  For they are hlife unto those that find them,

And †health to all their flesh.

23  Keep thy heart †with all diligence;

iFor out of it are kthe issues of life.

24  Put away from thee †a lfroward mouth,

And mperverse lips put far from thee.

25  Let thine eyes look right on,

And let thine eyelids look straight before thee.

26  nPonder the path of thy feet,

And ||let all thy ways be established.

27  oTurn not to the right hand nor to the left:

pRemove thy foot from evil.

5 aMy son, attend unto my wisdom,

And aabow thine ear to my understanding:

2  That thou mayest regard bdiscretion,

And that thy lips may ckeep knowledge.

3  For the lips of a dstrange woman edrop as an honeycomb,

And her †mouth is fsmoother than oil:

4  But her end is gbitter as hwormwood,

fiSharp as a ktwoedged sword.

5  Her feet lgo down to death;

Her steps take hold on hell.

6  Lest thou shouldest mponder the path of life,

Her nways oare moveable, that pthou canst not know them.

7  qHear me now therefore, O ye children,

And depart not from the words of my mouth.

8  Remove thy way far from her,

And come not nigh the door of her house:

9  Lest thou give thine honour unto others,

And thy years unto the rcruel:

10  Lest strangers be filled with †thy wealth;

And thy slabours be in the house of a stranger;

11  And thou tmourn at the last,

When thy flesh and thy body are consumed,

12  And say, How have I uhated instruction,

And my heart xdespised reproof;

13  And have not obeyed the voice of my teachers,

Nor inclined mine ear to them that instructed me!

14  I was yalmost in all evil

In the midst of the congregation and assembly.

15  Drink zwaters out of thine own cistern,

And running waters out of thine own well.

16  Let thy afountains be dispersed abroad,

And rivers of waters bin the streets.

17  Let them be only thine own,

And not strangers’ with thee.

18  Let thy zfountain be blessed:

And crejoice with dthe wife of thy youth.

19  Let her be as the loving ehind and pleasant froe;

Let her gbreasts †hsatisfy thee at all times;

And †be thou ravished always with her love.

20  And why wilt thou, my son, be ravished with a istrange woman,

And embrace the bosom of a istranger?

21  For jthe ways of man are before kthe eyes of the Lord,

And he lpondereth all his mgoings.

22  nHis own iniquities shall otake the wicked himself,

And he shall be holden with the cords of his †sins.

23  pHe shall die without instruction;

And in the greatness of his folly he shall qgo astray.

6 My son, if thou abe surety for thy friend,

If thou hast astricken thy hand with a stranger,

2  Thou art snared with the words of thy mouth,

Thou art btaken with the words of thy mouth.

3  Do this now, my son, and deliver thyself,

When thou art come into the hand of thy friend;

Go, chumble thyself, ||and make sure thy friend.

4  dGive not sleep to thine eyes,

dNor slumber to thine eyelids.

5  Deliver thyself as a eroe from the hand of the hunter,

And fas a bird from the hand of the fowler.

6  gGo to the hant, thou isluggard;

Consider her ways, and kbe wise:

7  lWhich having no mguide, noverseer, or ruler,

8  hProvideth her meat in the summer,

And ogathereth her food in the harvest.

9  How long wilt thou sleep, O isluggard?

When wilt thou arise out of thy sleep?

10  pYet a little dsleep, a little dslumber,

A little folding of the hands to sleep:

11  qSo shall rthy poverty come as one that travelleth,

And thy want as an armed man.

12  rrA naughty person, a wicked man,

Walketh with a sfroward mouth.

13  He twinketh with his eyes,

He speaketh with his feet,

He teacheth with his fingers;

14  uFrowardness is in his heart,

xHe deviseth mischief continually;

He †soweth discord.

15  Therefore shall his calamity come suddenly;

ySuddenly shall he be broken zwithout remedy.

16  These asix things doth the Lord hate:

Yea, aseven are an abomination †unto him:

17  †A proud look, ba lying tongue,

And cehands that shed innocent blood,

18  dAn heart that deviseth ewicked imaginations,

efFeet that be swift in running to mischief,

19  A false witness gthat speaketh lies,

And he that hsoweth discord among brethren.

20  iMy son, keep thy father’s commandment,

And iforsake not the law of thy mother:

21  kBind them continually upon thine heart,

And ltie them about thy mneck.

22  nWhen thou goest, it shall lead thee;

nWhen thou sleepest, it oshall keep thee;

And when thou awakest, it shall talk with thee.

23  For the commandment is pa ||lamp; and the law is plight;

And ppreproofs of instruction are the way of life:

24  To keep thee from the evil woman,

From qthe flattery ||of the tongue of a rstrange woman.

25  sLust not after her beauty in thine heart;

Neither let her take thee with ther eyelids.

26  For uby means of a whorish woman a man is brought to xa piece of bread:

And †the adulteress will yhunt for zthe precious life.

27  Can a man atake bfire in chis bosom,

And his clothes not be burned?

28  Can one dgo upon hot coals,

And his feet not be dburned?

29  So he that goeth in to his neighbour’s wife;

Whosoever toucheth her shall not be ddinnocent.

30  Men do not despise a thief, if he steal

eTo satisfy his eesoul when he is hungry;

31  But if he fbe found, fhe shall restore gsevenfold;

He shall give all the substance of his house.

32  But whoso committeth adultery with a woman hlacketh †understanding:

He that doeth it destroyeth his own soul.

33  A wound and dishonour shall he get;

And his reproach shall not be wiped away.

34  For ijealousy is the rage of a man:

Therefore he will not spare kin the day of vengeance.

35  †He will not regard any ransom;

Neither will he rest content, though thou givest many gifts.