1:1Proverbs of Solomon, son of David, king of Israel:

1:2to know wisdom and instruction; to discern the words of understanding;

1:3to receive the instruction of wisdom, righteousness and judgment, and equity;

1:4to give prudence to the simple, to the young man knowledge and discretion.

1:5He that is wise will hear, and will increase learning; and the intelligent will gain wise counsels:

1:6to understand a proverb and an allegory, the words of the wise and their enigmas.

1:7The fear of Jehovah is the beginning of knowledge: fools despise wisdom and instruction.

1:8Hear, my son, the instruction of thy father, and forsake not the teaching of thy mother;

1:9for they shall be a garland of grace unto thy head, and chains about thy neck.

1:10My son, if sinners entice thee, consent not.

1:11If they say, Come with us, let us lay wait for blood, let us lurk secretly for the innocent without cause;

1:12let us swallow them up alive as Sheol, and whole, as those that go down into the pit;

1:13we shall find all precious substance, we shall fill our houses with spoil:

1:14cast in thy lot among us; we will all have one purse:

1:15-- my son, walk not in the way with them, keep back thy foot from their path;

1:16for their feet run to evil, and they make haste to shed blood.

1:17For in vain the net is spread in the sight of anything which hath wings.

1:18And these lay wait for their own blood; they lurk secretly for their own lives.

1:19So are the paths of every one that is greedy of gain: it taketh away the life of its possessors.

1:20Wisdom crieth without; she raiseth her voice in the broadways;

1:21she calleth in the chief place of concourse, in the entry of the gates; in the city she uttereth her words:

1:22How long, simple ones, will ye love simpleness, and scorners take pleasure in their scorning, and the foolish hate knowledge?

1:23Turn you at my reproof: behold, I will pour forth my spirit unto you, I will make known to you my words.

1:24Because I have called, and ye refused; I have stretched out my hand, and no one regarded;

1:25and ye have rejected all my counsel, and would none of my reproof:

1:26I also will laugh in your calamity, I will mock when your fear cometh;

1:27when your fear cometh as sudden destruction, and your calamity cometh as a whirlwind; when distress and anguish come upon you:

1:28-- then will they call upon me, but I will not answer; they will seek me early, and shall not find me.

1:29Because they hated knowledge, and did not choose the fear of Jehovah;

1:30they would none of my counsel, they despised all my reproof:

1:31therefore shall they eat of the fruit of their way, and be filled with their own devices.

1:32For the turning away of the simple shall slay them, and the prosperity of the foolish shall cause them to perish.

1:33But whoso hearkeneth unto me shall dwell safely, and shall be at rest from fear of evil.

2:1My son, if thou receivest my words, and layest up my commandments with thee,

2:2so that thou incline thine ear unto wisdom and thou apply thy heart to understanding;

2:3yea, if thou criest after discernment and liftest up thy voice to understanding;

2:4if thou seekest her as silver and searchest for her as for hidden treasures:

2:5then shalt thou understand the fear of Jehovah, and find the knowledge of God.

2:6For Jehovah giveth wisdom; out of his mouth come knowledge and understanding.

2:7He layeth up sound wisdom for the upright; he is a shield to them that walk in integrity;

2:8guarding the paths of just judgment and keeping the way of his godly ones.

2:9Then shalt thou understand righteousness and judgment and equity: every good path.

2:10When wisdom entereth into thy heart and knowledge is pleasant unto thy soul,

2:11discretion shall keep thee, understanding shall preserve thee:

2:12To deliver thee from the way of evil, from the man that speaketh froward things;

2:13from those who leave the paths of uprightness, to walk in the ways of darkness;

2:14who rejoice to do evil, and delight in the frowardness of evil;

2:15whose paths are crooked, and who are perverted in their course:

2:16To deliver thee from the strange woman, from the stranger who flattereth with her words;

2:17who forsaketh the guide of her youth, and forgetteth the covenant of her God;

2:18-- for her house inclineth unto death, and her paths unto the dead;

2:19none that go unto her return again, neither do they attain to the paths of life:

2:20-- that thou mayest walk in the way of the good, and keep the paths of the righteous.

2:21For the upright shall dwell in the land, and the perfect shall remain in it;

2:22but the wicked shall be cut off from the land, and the unfaithful shall be plucked up out of it.

3:1My son, forget not my teaching, and let thy heart observe my commandments;

3:2for length of days, and years of life, and peace shall they add to thee.

3:3Let not loving-kindness and truth forsake thee; bind them about thy neck, write them upon the tablet of thy heart:

3:4and thou shalt find favour and good understanding in the sight of God and man.

3:5Confide in Jehovah with all thy heart, and lean not unto thine own intelligence;

3:6in all thy ways acknowledge him, and he will make plain thy paths.

3:7Be not wise in thine own eyes; fear Jehovah, and depart from evil:

3:8it shall be health for thy navel, and moisture for thy bones.

3:9Honour Jehovah with thy substance, and with the first-fruits of all thine increase;

3:10so shall thy barns be filled with plenty, and thy vats shall overflow with new wine.

3:11My son, despise not the instruction of Jehovah, neither be weary of his chastisement;

3:12for whom Jehovah loveth he chasteneth, even as a father the son in whom he delighteth.

3:13Blessed is the man that findeth wisdom, and the man that getteth understanding.

3:14For the gain thereof is better than the gain of silver, and her revenue than fine gold.

3:15She is more precious than rubies; and all the things thou canst desire are not equal unto her.

3:16Length of days is in her right hand; in her left hand riches and honour.

3:17Her ways are ways of pleasantness, and all her paths are peace.

3:18She is a tree of life to them that lay hold upon her; and happy is he that retaineth her.

3:19Jehovah by wisdom founded the earth; by understanding he established the heavens.

3:20By his knowledge the deeps were broken up, and the skies drop down the dew.

3:21My son, let them not depart from thine eyes; keep sound wisdom and discretion:

3:22so shall they be life unto thy soul, and grace unto thy neck.

3:23Then shalt thou walk in thy way securely, and thy foot shall not stumble;

3:24when thou liest down, thou shalt not be afraid, but thou shalt lie down and thy sleep shall be sweet.

3:25Be not afraid of sudden fear, neither of the destruction of the wicked, when it cometh;

3:26for Jehovah shall be thy confidence, and he will keep thy foot from being taken.

3:27Withhold not good from them to whom it is due, when it is in the power of thy hand to do it.

3:28Say not unto thy neighbour, Go, and come again, and to-morrow I will give, when thou hast it by thee.

3:29Devise not evil against thy neighbour, seeing he dwelleth securely by thee.

3:30Strive not with a man without cause, if he have done thee no harm.

3:31Envy not the man of violence, and choose none of his ways.

3:32For the perverse is an abomination to Jehovah; but his secret is with the upright.

3:33The curse of Jehovah is in the house of the wicked; but he blesseth the habitation of the righteous.

3:34He indeed scorneth the scorners; but he giveth grace unto the lowly.

3:35The wise shall inherit glory; but shame shall be the promotion of the foolish.