Hear, my son, your father’s instruction
And do not forsake your mother’s teaching;

My son, if sinners entice you,
Do not consent.

My son, do not walk in the way with them.
Keep your feet from their path,

Indeed, it is useless to spread the baited net
In the sight of any bird;

And you neglected all my counsel
And did not want my reproof;

“Then they will call on me, but I will not answer;
They will seek me diligently but they will not find me,

Because they hated knowledge
And did not choose the fear of the Lord.

“They would not accept my counsel,
They spurned all my reproof.

My son, do not forget my teaching,
But let your heart keep my commandments;

Do not let kindness and truth leave you;
Bind them around your neck,
Write them on the tablet of your heart.

Trust in the Lord with all your heart
And do not lean on your own understanding.

Do not be wise in your own eyes;
Fear the Lord and turn away from evil.

My son, do not reject the discipline of the Lord
Or loathe His reproof,

My son, let them not vanish from your sight;
Keep sound wisdom and discretion,

Then you will walk in your way securely
And your foot will not stumble.

When you lie down, you will not be afraid;
When you lie down, your sleep will be sweet.

Do not be afraid of sudden fear
Nor of the onslaught of the wicked when it comes;

Do not withhold good from those to whom it is due,
When it is in your power to do it.

Do not say to your neighbor, “Go, and come back,
And tomorrow I will give it,”
When you have it with you.

Do not devise harm against your neighbor,
While he lives securely beside you.

Do not contend with a man without cause,
If he has done you no harm.

Do not envy a man of violence
And do not choose any of his ways.

For I give you sound teaching;
Do not abandon my instruction.

Acquire wisdom! Acquire understanding!
Do not forget nor turn away from the words of my mouth.

“Do not forsake her, and she will guard you;
Love her, and she will watch over you.

When you walk, your steps will not be impeded;
And if you run, you will not stumble.

Take hold of instruction; do not let go.
Guard her, for she is your life.

Do not enter the path of the wicked
And do not proceed in the way of evil men.

Avoid it, do not pass by it;
Turn away from it and pass on.

The way of the wicked is like darkness;
They do not know over what they stumble.

Do not let them depart from your sight;
Keep them in the midst of your heart.

Do not turn to the right nor to the left;
Turn your foot from evil.

She does not ponder the path of life;
Her ways are unstable, she does not know it.

Now then, my sons, listen to me
And do not depart from the words of my mouth.

Keep your way far from her
And do not go near the door of her house,

“I have not listened to the voice of my teachers,
Nor inclined my ear to my instructors!

Let them be yours alone
And not for strangers with you.

Your poverty will come in like a vagabond
And your need like an armed man.

My son, observe the commandment of your father
And do not forsake the teaching of your mother;

Do not desire her beauty in your heart,
Nor let her capture you with her eyelids.

Can a man take fire in his bosom
And his clothes not be burned?

Or can a man walk on hot coals
And his feet not be scorched?

So is the one who goes in to his neighbor’s wife;
Whoever touches her will not go unpunished.

Men do not despise a thief if he steals
To satisfy himself when he is hungry;

Wounds and disgrace he will find,
And his reproach will not be blotted out.

For jealousy enrages a man,
And he will not spare in the day of vengeance.

He will not accept any ransom,
Nor will he be satisfied though you give many gifts.

In the twilight, in the evening,
In the middle of the night and in the darkness.

She is boisterous and rebellious,
Her feet do not remain at home;

“For my husband is not at home,
He has gone on a long journey;

Until an arrow pierces through his liver;
As a bird hastens to the snare,
So he does not know that it will cost him his life.

Do not let your heart turn aside to her ways,
Do not stray into her paths.

Does not wisdom call,
And understanding lift up her voice?

“Take my instruction and not silver,
And knowledge rather than choicest gold.

While He had not yet made the earth and the fields,
Nor the first dust of the world.

When He set for the sea its boundary
So that the water would not transgress His command,
When He marked out the foundations of the earth;

“Heed instruction and be wise,
And do not neglect it.

Do not reprove a scoffer, or he will hate you,
Reprove a wise man and he will love you.

But he does not know that the dead are there,
That her guests are in the depths of Sheol.

Ill-gotten gains do not profit,
But righteousness delivers from death.

The Lord will not allow the righteous to hunger,
But He will reject the craving of the wicked.

The righteous will never be shaken,
But the wicked will not dwell in the land.

Riches do not profit in the day of wrath,
But righteousness delivers from death.

Assuredly, the evil man will not go unpunished,
But the descendants of the righteous will be delivered.

A man will not be established by wickedness,
But the root of the righteous will not be moved.

A lazy man does not roast his prey,
But the precious possession of a man is diligence.

A wise son accepts his father’s discipline,
But a scoffer does not listen to rebuke.

The righteous has enough to satisfy his appetite,
But the stomach of the wicked is in need.

A trustworthy witness will not lie,
But a false witness utters lies.

Leave the presence of a fool,
Or you will not discern words of knowledge.

The heart knows its own bitterness,
And a stranger does not share its joy.

Will they not go astray who devise evil?
But kindness and truth will be to those who devise good.

The lips of the wise spread knowledge,
But the hearts of fools are not so.

A scoffer does not love one who reproves him,
He will not go to the wise.

Everyone who is proud in heart is an abomination to the Lord;
Assuredly, he will not be unpunished.

A divine decision is in the lips of the king;
His mouth should not err in judgment.

A man of violence entices his neighbor
And leads him in a way that is not good.

He who mocks the poor taunts his Maker;
He who rejoices at calamity will not go unpunished.

Excellent speech is not fitting for a fool,
Much less are lying lips to a prince.

He who returns evil for good,
Evil will not depart from his house.

It is also not good to fine the righteous,
Nor to strike the noble for their uprightness.

A fool does not delight in understanding,
But only in revealing his own mind.

To show partiality to the wicked is not good,
Nor to thrust aside the righteous in judgment.

Also it is not good for a person to be without knowledge,
And he who hurries his footsteps errs.

A false witness will not go unpunished,
And he who tells lies will not escape.

A false witness will not go unpunished,
And he who tells lies will perish.

Luxury is not fitting for a fool;
Much less for a slave to rule over princes.

Discipline your son while there is hope,
And do not desire his death.

The sluggard buries his hand in the dish,
But will not even bring it back to his mouth.

Wine is a mocker, strong drink a brawler,
And whoever is intoxicated by it is not wise.

The sluggard does not plow after the autumn,
So he begs during the harvest and has nothing.

Do not love sleep, or you will become poor;
Open your eyes, and you will be satisfied with food.

He who goes about as a slanderer reveals secrets,
Therefore do not associate with a gossip.

An inheritance gained hurriedly at the beginning
Will not be blessed in the end.

Do not say, “I will repay evil”;
Wait for the Lord, and He will save you.

Differing weights are an abomination to the Lord,
And a false scale is not good.

He who shuts his ear to the cry of the poor
Will also cry himself and not be answered.

He who loves pleasure will become a poor man;
He who loves wine and oil will not become rich.

All day long he is craving,
While the righteous gives and does not hold back.

Train up a child in the way he should go,
Even when he is old he will not depart from it.