That the wise man may hear, and increase in learning; And that the man of understanding may attain unto sound counsels:

My son, hear the instruction of thy father, And forsake not the law of thy mother:

My son, if sinners entice thee, Consent thou not.

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

Turn you at my reproof: Behold, I will pour out my spirit upon you; I will make known my words unto you.

Because I have called, and ye have refused; I have stretched out my hand, and no man hath regarded;

But ye have set at nought all my counsel, And would none of my reproof:

Then will they call upon me, but I will not answer; They will seek me diligently, but they shall not find me:

They would none of my counsel; They despised all my reproof.

But whoso hearkeneth unto me shall dwell securely, And shall be quiet without fear of evil.

My son, if thou wilt receive my words, And lay up my commandments with thee;

That he may guard the paths of justice, And preserve the way of his saints.

My son, forget not my law; But let thy heart keep my commandments:

My son, despise not the chastening of Jehovah; Neither be weary of his reproof:

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

Hear, my'sons, the instruction of a father, And attend to know understanding:

For I give you good doctrine; Forsake ye not my law.

For I was a son unto my father, Tender and only beloved in the sight of my mother.

And he taught me, and said unto me: Let thy heart retain my words; Keep my commandments, and live;

Get wisdom, get understanding; Forget not, neither decline from the words of my mouth;

Hear, O my son, and receive my sayings; And the years of thy life shall be many.

My son, attend to my words; Incline thine ear unto my sayings.

My son, attend unto my wisdom; Incline thine ear to my understanding:

That thou mayest preserve discretion, And that thy lips may keep knowledge.

Now therefore, my'sons, hearken unto me, And depart not from the words of my mouth.

And say, How have I hated instruction, And my heart despised reproof;

Neither have I obeyed the voice of my teachers, Nor inclined mine ear to them that instructed me!

For why shouldest thou, my son, be ravished with a strange woman, And embrace the bosom of a foreigner?

My son, if thou art become surety for thy neighbor, If thou hast stricken thy hands for a stranger;

Do this now, my son, and deliver thyself, Seeing thou art come into the hand of thy neighbor: Go, humble thyself, and importune thy neighbor;

My son, keep the commandment of thy father, And forsake not the law of thy mother:

My son, keep my words, And lay up my commandments with thee.

Keep my commandments and live; And my law as the apple of thine eye.

Say unto wisdom, Thou art my sister; And call understanding thy kinswoman:

That they may keep thee from the strange woman, From the foreigner that flattereth with her words.

For at the window of my house I looked forth through my lattice;

Sacrifices of peace-offerings are with me; This day have I paid my vows.

I have spread my couch with carpets of tapestry, With striped cloths of the yarn of Egypt.

I have perfumed my bed With myrrh, aloes, and cinnamon.

Now therefore, my'sons, hearken unto me, And attend to the words of my mouth.

Unto you, O men, I call; And my voice is to the sons of men.

Hear, for I will speak excellent things; And the opening of my lips shall be right things.

For my mouth shall utter truth; And wickedness is an abomination to my lips.

All the words of my mouth are in righteousness; There is nothing crooked or perverse in them.

Receive my instruction, and not silver; And knowledge rather than choice gold.

For wisdom is better than rubies; And all the things that may be desired are not to be compared unto it.

I wisdom have made prudence my dwelling, And find out knowledge and discretion.

By me kings reign, And princes decree justice.

By me princes rule, And nobles, even all the judges of the earth.

I love them that love me; And those that seek me diligently shall find me.

Riches and honor are with me; Yea , durable wealth and righteousness.

My fruit is better than gold, yea, than fine gold; And my revenue than choice silver.

That I may cause those that love me to inherit substance, And that I may fill their treasuries.

Jehovah possessed me in the beginning of his way, Before his works of old.

Rejoicing in his habitable earth; And my delight was with the sons of men.

Now therefore, my'sons, hearken unto me; For blessed are they that keep my ways.

Blessed is the man that heareth me, Watching daily at my gates, Waiting at the posts of my doors.

For whoso findeth me findeth life, And shall obtain favor of Jehovah.

But he that sinneth against me wrongeth his own soul: All they that hate me love death.

Come, eat ye of my bread, And drink of the wine which I have mingled.

For by me thy days shall be multiplied, And the years of thy life shall be increased.

The law of the wise is a fountain of life, That one may depart from the snares of death.

The fear of Jehovah is a fountain of life, That one may depart from the snares of death.

To the wise the way of life goeth upward, That he may depart from Sheol beneath.

A fool hath no delight in understanding, But only that his heart may reveal itself.

Cease, my son, to hear instruction Only to err from the words of knowledge.

Who can say, I have made my heart clean, I am pure from my sin?

An inheritance may be gotten hastily at the beginning; But the end thereof shall not be blessed.

Incline thine ear, and hear the words of the wise, And apply thy heart unto my knowledge.

That thy trust may be in Jehovah, I have made them known to thee this day, even to thee.

My son, if thy heart be wise, My heart will be glad, even mine:

Yea, my heart will rejoice, When thy lips speak right things.

Hear thou, my son, and be wise, And guide thy heart in the way.

My son, give me thy heart; And let thine eyes delight in my ways.

They have stricken me,'shalt thou say , and I was not hurt; They have beaten me, and I felt it not: When shall I awake? I will seek it yet again.

My son, eat thou honey, for it is good; And the droppings of the honeycomb, which are sweet to thy taste:

My son, fear thou Jehovah and the king; And company not with them that are given to change:

Say not, I will do so to him as he hath done to me; I will render to the man according to his work.

Boast not thyself of tomorrow; For thou knowest not what a day may bring forth.

My son, be wise, and make my heart glad, That I may answer him that reproacheth me.

Two things have I asked of thee; Deny me them not before I die:

Remove far from me falsehood and lies; Give me neither poverty nor riches; Feed me with the food that is needful for me:

Lest I be full, and deny thee , and say, Who is Jehovah? Or lest I be poor, and steal, And use profanely the name of my God.

There are three things which are too wonderful for me, Yea, four which I know not:

What, my son? and what, O son of my womb? And what, O son of my vows?