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

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

We will find all kinds of precious wealth,
We will fill our houses with spoil;

Throw in your lot with us,
We shall all have one purse,”

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

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

I will also laugh at your calamity;
I will mock when your dread comes,

When your dread comes like a storm
And your calamity comes like a whirlwind,
When distress and anguish come upon you.

Make your ear attentive to wisdom,
Incline your heart to understanding;

For if you cry for discernment,
Lift your voice for understanding;

For wisdom will enter your heart
And knowledge will be pleasant to your soul;

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

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.

In all your ways acknowledge Him,
And He will make your paths straight.

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

It will be healing to your body
And refreshment to your bones.

Honor the Lord from your wealth
And from the first of all your produce;

So your barns will be filled with plenty
And your vats will overflow with new wine.

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

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.

By His knowledge the deeps were broken up
And the skies drip with dew.

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

So they will be life to your soul
And adornment to your neck.

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.

For the Lord will be your confidence
And will keep your foot from being caught.

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.

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

Then he taught me and said to me,
“Let your heart hold fast my words;
Keep my commandments and live;

“The beginning of wisdom is: Acquire wisdom;
And with all your acquiring, get understanding.

“She will place on your head a garland of grace;
She will present you with a crown of beauty.”

Hear, my son, and accept my sayings
And the years of your life will be many.

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.

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

My son, give attention to my words;
Incline your ear to my sayings.

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

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

Watch over your heart with all diligence,
For from it flow the springs of life.

Let your eyes look directly ahead
And let your gaze be fixed straight in front of you.

Watch the path of your feet
And all your ways will be established.

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

My son, give attention to my wisdom,
Incline your ear to my understanding;

That you may observe discretion
And your lips may reserve knowledge.

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

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

Or you will give your vigor to others
And your years to the cruel one;

And strangers will be filled with your strength
And your hard-earned goods will go to the house of an alien;

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

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

Drink water from your own cistern
And fresh water from your own well.

Should your springs be dispersed abroad,
Streams of water in the streets?

Let your fountain be blessed,
And rejoice in the wife of your youth.

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

My son, if you have become surety for your neighbor,
Have given a pledge for a stranger,

If you have been snared with the words of your mouth,
Have been caught with the words of your mouth,

Do this then, my son, and deliver yourself;
Since you have come into the hand of your neighbor,
Go, humble yourself, and importune your neighbor.

Give no sleep to your eyes,
Nor slumber to your eyelids;

Which, having no chief,
Officer or ruler,

How long will you lie down, O sluggard?
When will you arise from your sleep?

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

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

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

Bind them continually on your heart;
Tie them around your neck.

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

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

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

Keep my commandments and live,
And my teaching as the apple of your eye.

Bind them on your fingers;
Write them on the tablet of your heart.

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

“Therefore I have come out to meet you,
To seek your presence earnestly, and I have found you.

“Come, let us drink our fill of love until morning;
Let us delight ourselves with caresses.

Suddenly he follows her
As an ox goes to the slaughter,
Or as one in fetters to the discipline of a fool,

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.

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

On top of the heights beside the way,
Where the paths meet, she takes her stand;

“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.

“When there were no depths I was brought forth,
When there were no springs abounding with water.

“Before the mountains were settled,
Before the hills I was brought forth;

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

“Forsake your folly and live,
And proceed in the way of understanding.”

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

For by me your days will be multiplied,
And years of life will be added to you.

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.

Where there is no guidance the people fall,
But in abundance of counselors there is victory.

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.