Listen, my child, to the instruction from your father, and do not forsake the teaching from your mother.

My son, walk not thou in the way with them; refrain thy foot from their path:

Such are the paths of all who make profit dishonestly;
it takes the lives of those who receive it.

And they eat of the fruit of their way, And from their own counsels they are filled.

For the turning back of the simple from teaching will be the cause of their death, and the peace of the foolish will be their destruction.

But whoso hearkeneth unto me shall dwell safely, and shall be quiet from fear of evil.

For Jehovah giveth wisdom, From His mouth knowledge and understanding.

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

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

from those who enjoy doing evil
and celebrate perversion,

To deliver thee from the strange woman, even from the stranger which flattereth with her words;

who leaves the husband from her younger days, and forgets her marriage covenant made before God.

But the wicked shall be cut off from the earth, and the transgressors shall be rooted out of it.

Let not mercy and good faith go from you; let them be hanging round your neck, recorded on your heart;

Be not wise in thine own eyes: fear the LORD, and depart from evil.

Honour Jehovah from thy substance, And from the beginning of all thine increase;

My son, do not reject or take lightly the discipline of the Lord [learn from your mistakes and the testing that comes from His correction through discipline];
Nor despise His rebuke,

Happy [blessed, considered fortunate, to be admired] is the man who finds [skillful and godly] wisdom,
And the man who gains understanding and insight [learning from God’s word and life’s experiences],

For the gain from it is better than the gain from silver, and the profit thereof than fine gold.

By his knowledge the deep was parted, and dew came dropping from the skies.

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

Be not afraid of sudden fear, neither of the ruin from the wicked, when it comes.

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.

For I give you good teaching; do not give up the knowledge you are getting from me.

Get wisdom, get understanding: forget it not; neither decline from the words of my mouth.

Take hold of instruction; [actively seek it, grip it firmly and] do not let go.
Guard her, for she is your life.

Avoid it, pass not by it, turn from it, and pass away.

For they eat bread gained from wickedness and drink wine obtained from violence.

Let them not depart from thine eyes; keep them in the midst of thine heart.

With all vigilance, keep your heart, for from it [comes] the source of life.

Put away from thee a froward mouth, and perverse lips put far from thee.

Turn not to the right hand nor to the left: remove thy foot from evil.

For honey is dropping from the lips of the strange woman, and her mouth is smoother than oil;

Her feet, are going down to death, - on hades, will her steps take firm hold.

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:

And strangers will be filled with your strength
And your hard-earned wealth will go to the house of a foreigner [who does not know God];

Drink water from your [own] cistern and flowing waters from inside your own well.

Let thy well-spring be blessed, - and get thy joy from the wife of thy youth: -

He will come to his end for need of teaching; he is so foolish that he will go wandering from the right way.

Deliver thyself as a roe from the hand of the hunter, and as a bird from the hand of the fowler.

Till when, O slothful one, dost thou lie? When dost thou arise from thy sleep?

Observe thou, my son, the commandment of thy father, and do not decline from the instruction of thy mother:

During your travels wisdom will lead you; she will watch over you while you rest; and when you are startled from your sleep, she will commune with you.

To keep thee from the evil woman, from the flattery of the tongue of a strange woman.

So it is with him who goes in to his neighbour's wife; he who has anything to do with her will not go free from punishment.

He will not accept any ransom [offered to buy him off from demanding full punishment];
Nor will he be satisfied though you offer him many gifts (bribes).

That they may keep thee from the strange woman, from the stranger which flattereth with her words.

Looking out from my house, and watching through the window,

“I have peace offerings with me;
Today I have paid my vows.

“So I came out to meet you [that you might share with me the feast of my offering],
Diligently I sought your face and I have found you.

I have decked my bed with tapestry coverlets of variegated linen from Egypt;

At the hand of the gates, at the mouth of the city from the coming in of the doors she will cry:

Listen! For noble things I will speak, and upright things from the opening of my lips.

“I, [godly] wisdom, reside with prudence [good judgment, moral courage and astute common sense],
And I find knowledge and discretion.

Jehovah possessed me from 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 he made firm the skies above, When the fountains of the deep became strong,

In his setting his law to the sea, and the waters shall not pass by his mouth; in his making firm the foundations of the earth:

Then I was by his side, as a master workman: and I was his delight from day to day, playing before him at all times;

For whoso is finding me, hath found life, And bringeth out good-will from Jehovah.

She has sent out her maidens, she calls
From the highest places of the city:

For by me (wisdom from God) your days will be multiplied,
And years of life shall be increased.

Treasures of wickedness profit nothing: but righteousness delivereth from death.

The Lord will not let the upright be in need of food, but he puts far from him the desire of the evil-doers.

The blessing from the Lord makes a person rich, and he adds no sorrow to it.

When the whirlwind passes, the wicked is no more; but the righteous stand firm forever.

Riches profit not in the day of wrath: but righteousness delivereth from death.

When a wicked person dies, his hope vanishes; and what he expected from his scheming comes to nothing.

The righteous from distress is drawn out, And the wicked goeth in instead of him.

A city is exalted by the blessing provided from the upright, but it is destroyed by the counsel of the wicked.

He who puts up security and guarantees a debt for an outsider will surely suffer [for his foolishness],
But he who hates (declines) being a guarantor is secure [from its penalties].

Certainly the evil-doer will not go free from punishment, but the seed of the upright man will be safe.

A ring of gold in the nose of a swine, a fair woman and she departed from discernment

There is who is scattering, and yet is increased, And who is keeping back from uprightness, only to want.

The people curse him who holds back grain [when the public needs it],
But a blessing [from God and man] is upon the head of him who sells it.

The good bringeth forth favour from Jehovah, And the man of wicked devices He condemneth.

The thoughts of the righteous are just,
but guidance from the wicked leads to deceit.

After they're overthrown, the wicked won't be found, but the house of the righteous stands firm.

In transgression of the lips is the snare of the wicked, And the righteous goeth out from distress.

From the fruit of the mouth is one satisfied with good, And the deed of man's hands returneth to him.

A lip that is faithful, shall be firm to futurity, but, only for a twinkling, is the tongue that is false.

From the fruit of the mouth a man eateth good, And the soul of the treacherous -- violence.

The ransom for a man’s life is his wealth,
But the poor man does not even have to listen to a rebuke or threats [from the envious].

Wealth from vanity becometh little, And whoso is gathering by the hand becometh great.

The law of the wise is a fountain of life, to depart from the snares of death.

Every prudent man acts from knowledge, but a fool exposes folly.

The desire accomplished is sweet to the soul: but it is abomination to fools to depart from evil.

Go from the presence of a foolish man, when thou perceivest not in him the lips of knowledge.

The backslider in heart shall be filled with his own ways: and a good man shall be satisfied from himself.

A wise man feareth, and departeth from evil: but the fool rageth, and is confident.

Do they not go astray who devise evil and wander from the way of righteousness?
But kindness and truth will be to those who devise good.

The fear of the LORD is a fountain of life, to depart from the snares of death.

Knowledge is dropping from the tongue of the wise; but from the mouth of the foolish comes a stream of foolish words.

The lips of the wise spread knowledge [sifting it as chaff from the grain];
But the hearts of [shortsighted] fools are not so.

There is bitter punishment for him who is turned from the way; and death will be the fate of the hater of teaching.

The way of life is above to the wise, that he may depart from hell beneath.

The heart of the upright gives thought to his answer; but from the mouth of the evil-doer comes a stream of evil things.

The LORD is far from the wicked: but he heareth the prayer of the righteous.