Indeed, they are a graceful wreath to your head
And ornaments about your neck.

So are the ways of everyone who gains by violence;
It takes away the life of its possessors.

Whose paths are crooked,
And who are devious in their ways;

Long life is in her right hand;
In her left hand are riches and honor.

Her ways are pleasant ways
And all her paths are peace.

She is a tree of life to those who take hold of her,
And happy are all who hold her fast.

For the devious are an abomination to the Lord;
But He is intimate with the upright.

For they cannot sleep unless they do evil;
And they are robbed of sleep unless they make someone stumble.

For they are life to those who find them
And health to all their body.

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

And you groan at your final end,
When your flesh and your body are consumed;

For the ways of a man are before the eyes of the Lord,
And He watches all his paths.

There are six things which the Lord hates,
Yes, seven which are an abomination to Him:

For the commandment is a lamp and the teaching is light;
And reproofs for discipline are the way of life

Say to wisdom, “You are my sister,”
And call understanding your intimate friend;

For many are the victims she has cast down,
And numerous are all her slain.

“All the utterances of my mouth are in righteousness;
There is nothing crooked or perverted in them.

“They are all straightforward to him who understands,
And right to those who find knowledge.

“Riches and honor are with me,
Enduring wealth and righteousness.

“Now therefore, O sons, listen to me,
For blessed are they who keep my ways.

If you are wise, you are wise for yourself,
And if you scoff, you alone will bear it.

Calling to those who pass by,
Who are making their paths straight:

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

Blessings are on the head of the righteous,
But the mouth of the wicked conceals violence.

When there are many words, transgression is unavoidable,
But he who restrains his lips is wise.

The perverse in heart are an abomination to the Lord,
But the blameless in their walk are His delight.

The thoughts of the righteous are just,
But the counsels of the wicked are deceitful.

The wicked are overthrown and are no more,
But the house of the righteous will stand.

No harm befalls the righteous,
But the wicked are filled with trouble.

Lying lips are an abomination to the Lord,
But those who deal faithfully are His delight.

Where no oxen are, the manger is clean,
But much revenue comes by the strength of the ox.

The naive inherit foolishness,
But the sensible are crowned with knowledge.

The poor is hated even by his neighbor,
But those who love the rich are many.

The eyes of the Lord are in every place,
Watching the evil and the good.

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

All the days of the afflicted are bad,
But a cheerful heart has a continual feast.

Without consultation, plans are frustrated,
But with many counselors they succeed.

Evil plans are an abomination to the Lord,
But pleasant words are pure.

All the ways of a man are clean in his own sight,
But the Lord weighs the motives.

When a man’s ways are pleasing to the Lord,
He makes even his enemies to be at peace with him.

A just balance and scales belong to the Lord;
All the weights of the bag are His concern.

Righteous lips are the delight of kings,
And he who speaks right is loved.

Pleasant words are a honeycomb,
Sweet to the soul and healing to the bones.

A worthless man digs up evil,
While his words are like scorching fire.

Grandchildren are the crown of old men,
And the glory of sons is their fathers.

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

He who justifies the wicked and he who condemns the righteous,
Both of them alike are an abomination to the Lord.

Wisdom is in the presence of the one who has understanding,
But the eyes of a fool are on the ends of the earth.

The words of a man’s mouth are deep waters;
The fountain of wisdom is a bubbling brook.

A fool’s mouth is his ruin,
And his lips are the snare of his soul.

The words of a whisperer are like dainty morsels,
And they go down into the innermost parts of the body.

A brother offended is harder to be won than a strong city,
And contentions are like the bars of a citadel.

Death and life are in the power of the tongue,
And those who love it will eat its fruit.

All the brothers of a poor man hate him;
How much more do his friends abandon him!
He pursues them with words, but they are gone.

A foolish son is destruction to his father,
And the contentions of a wife are a constant dripping.

House and wealth are an inheritance from fathers,
But a prudent wife is from the Lord.

Many plans are in a man’s heart,
But the counsel of the Lord will stand.

Judgments are prepared for scoffers,
And blows for the back of fools.

A righteous man who walks in his integrity—
How blessed are his sons after him.

Differing weights and differing measures,
Both of them are abominable to the Lord.

There is gold, and an abundance of jewels;
But the lips of knowledge are a more precious thing.

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

Man’s steps are ordained by the Lord,
How then can man understand his way?

“Proud,” “Haughty,” “Scoffer,” are his names,
Who acts with insolent pride.

The prudent sees the evil and hides himself,
But the naive go on, and are punished for it.

The reward of humility and the fear of the Lord
Are riches, honor and life.

Thorns and snares are in the way of the perverse;
He who guards himself will be far from them.

And put a knife to your throat
If you are a man of great appetite.

And by knowledge the rooms are filled
With all precious and pleasant riches.

If you are slack in the day of distress,
Your strength is limited.

Deliver those who are being taken away to death,
And those who are staggering to slaughter, Oh hold them back.

My son, fear the Lord and the king;
Do not associate with those who are given to change,

These also are sayings of the wise.
To show partiality in judgment is not good.

He who says to the wicked, “You are righteous,”
Peoples will curse him, nations will abhor him;

These also are proverbs of Solomon which the men of Hezekiah, king of Judah, transcribed.

Like the legs which are useless to the lame,
So is a proverb in the mouth of fools.

The words of a whisperer are like dainty morsels,
And they go down into the innermost parts of the body.

Like an earthen vessel overlaid with silver dross
Are burning lips and a wicked heart.

When he speaks graciously, do not believe him,
For there are seven abominations in his heart.

Faithful are the wounds of a friend,
But deceitful are the kisses of an enemy.

A constant dripping on a day of steady rain
And a contentious woman are alike;

Sheol and Abaddon are never satisfied,
Nor are the eyes of man ever satisfied.

For riches are not forever,
Nor does a crown endure to all generations.

When the grass disappears, the new growth is seen,
And the herbs of the mountains are gathered in,

The wicked flee when no one is pursuing,
But the righteous are bold as a lion.

By the transgression of a land many are its princes,
But by a man of understanding and knowledge, so it endures.

Men of bloodshed hate the blameless,
But the upright are concerned for his life.

Where there is no vision, the people are unrestrained,
But happy is he who keeps the law.

There is a kind—oh how lofty are his eyes!
And his eyelids are raised in arrogance.

There is a kind of man whose teeth are like swords
And his jaw teeth like knives,
To devour the afflicted from the earth
And the needy from among men.

The leech has two daughters,
“Give,” “Give.”
There are three things that will not be satisfied,
Four that will not say, “Enough”:

There are three things which are too wonderful for me,
Four which I do not understand:

Four things are small on the earth,
But they are exceedingly wise:

The ants are not a strong people,
But they prepare their food in the summer;

The shephanim are not mighty people,
Yet they make their houses in the rocks;

There are three things which are stately in their march,
Even four which are stately when they walk:

She is not afraid of the snow for her household,
For all her household are clothed with scarlet.

Strength and dignity are her clothing,
And she smiles at the future.