It is foolish to spread a net
where any bird can see it,

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

Wisdom calls out in the street;
she raises her voice in the public squares.

She cries out above the commotion;
she speaks at the entrance of the city gates:

If you respond to my warning,
then I will pour out my spirit on you
and teach you my words.

Since I called out and you refused,
extended my hand and no one paid attention,

I, in turn, will laugh at your calamity.
I will mock when terror strikes you,

they will eat the fruit of their way
and be glutted with their own schemes.

furthermore, if you call out to insight
and lift your voice to understanding,

if you seek it like silver
and search for it like hidden treasure,

It will rescue you from a forbidden woman,
from a stranger with her flattering talk,

For the upright will inhabit the land,
and those of integrity will remain in it;

but the wicked will be cut off from the land,
and the treacherous uprooted from it.

Don’t fear sudden danger
or the ruin of the wicked when it comes,

When it is in your power,
don’t withhold good from the one it belongs to.

Don’t say to your neighbor, “Go away! Come back later.
I’ll give it tomorrow”—when it is there with you.

Hold on to instruction; don’t let go.
Guard it, for it is your life.

Avoid it; don’t travel on it.
Turn away from it, and pass it by.

For they can’t sleep
unless they have done what is evil;
they are robbed of sleep
unless they make someone stumble.

They eat the bread of wickedness
and drink the wine of violence.

But the way of the wicked is like the darkest gloom;
they don’t know what makes them stumble.

Guard your heart above all else,
for it is the source of life.

At the end of your life, you will lament
when your physical body has been consumed,

it prepares its provisions in summer;
it gathers its food during harvest.

So it is with the one who sleeps with
another man’s wife;
no one who touches her will go unpunished.

At the window of my house
I looked through my lattice.

at twilight, in the evening,
in the dark of the night.

She is loud and defiant;
her feet do not stay at home.

Now in the street, now in the squares,
she lurks at every corner.

So I came out to meet you,
to search for you, and I’ve found you.

He took a bag of money with him
and will come home at the time of the full moon.”

until an arrow pierces its liver,
like a bird darting into a snare—
he doesn’t know it will cost him his life.

Doesn’t Wisdom call out?
Doesn’t Understanding make her voice heard?

At the heights overlooking the road,
at the crossroads, she takes her stand.

Beside the gates at the entry to the city,
at the main entrance, she cries out:

“People, I call out to you;
my cry is to mankind.

Listen, for I speak of noble things,
and what my lips say is right.

For wisdom is better than jewels,
and nothing desirable can compare with it.

It is by me that kings reign
and rulers enact just law;

“The Lord made me
at the beginning of His creation,
before His works of long ago.

I was there when He established the heavens,
when He laid out the horizon on the surface of the ocean,

when He set a limit for the sea
so that the waters would not violate His command,
when He laid out the foundations of the earth.

Listen to instruction and be wise;
don’t ignore it.

Anyone who listens to me is happy,
watching at my doors every day,
waiting by the posts of my doorway.

Wisdom has built her house;
she has carved out her seven pillars.

She has sent out her female servants;
she calls out from the highest points of the city:

“Come, eat my bread,
and drink the wine I have mixed.

She sits by the doorway of her house,
on a seat at the highest point of the city,

The Lord will not let the righteous go hungry,
but He denies the wicked what they crave.

The one who lives with integrity lives securely,
but whoever perverts his ways will be found out.

The Lord’s blessing enriches,
and struggle adds nothing to it.

What the wicked dreads will come to him,
but what the righteous desire will be given to them.

The mouth of the righteous produces wisdom,
but a perverse tongue will be cut out.

The lips of the righteous know what is appropriate,
but the mouth of the wicked, only what is perverse.

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Dishonest scales are detestable to the Lord,
but an accurate weight is His delight.

A city is built up by the blessing of the upright,
but it is torn down by the mouth of the wicked.

If someone puts up security for a stranger,
he will suffer for it,
but the one who hates such agreements is protected.

The desire of the righteous turns out well,
but the hope of the wicked leads to wrath.

One person gives freely,
yet gains more;
another withholds what is right,
only to become poor.

People will curse anyone who hoards grain,
but a blessing will come to the one who sells it.

The one who searches for what is good finds favor,
but if someone looks for trouble, it will come to him.

Better to be dishonored, yet have a servant,
than to act important but have no food.

The wicked desire what evil men have,
but the root of the righteous produces fruit.

A fool’s displeasure is known at once,
but whoever ignores an insult is sensible.

Whoever speaks the truth declares what is right,
but a false witness, deceit.

Anxiety in a man’s heart weighs it down,
but a good word cheers it up.

The slacker craves, yet has nothing,
but the diligent is fully satisfied.

Wealth obtained by fraud will dwindle,
but whoever earns it through labor will multiply it.

The uncultivated field of the poor yields abundant food,
but without justice, it is swept away.

Every wise woman builds her house,
but a foolish one tears it down with her own hands.

A mocker seeks wisdom and doesn’t find it,
but knowledge comes easily to the perceptive.

Fools mock at making restitution,
but there is goodwill among the upright.

The disloyal one will get what his conduct deserves,
and a good man, what his deeds deserve.

The evil bow before those who are good,
the wicked, at the gates of the righteous.

The tongue of the wise makes knowledge attractive,
but the mouth of fools blurts out foolishness.

The Lord destroys the house of the proud,
but He protects the widow’s territory.

The mind of the righteous person thinks before answering,
but the mouth of the wicked blurts out evil things.

One who listens to life-giving rebukes
will be at home among the wise.

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

A king’s fury is a messenger of death,
but a wise man appeases it.

Get wisdom—
how much better it is than gold!
And get understanding—
it is preferable to silver.

There is a way that seems right to a man,
but its end is the way to death.

Gray hair is a glorious crown;
it is found in the way of righteousness.

Whoever conceals an offense promotes love,
but whoever gossips about it separates friends.

To start a conflict is to release a flood;
stop the dispute before it breaks out.

A friend loves at all times,
and a brother is born for a difficult time.

It is certainly not good to fine an innocent person
or to beat a noble for his honesty.

It is not good to show partiality to the guilty
by perverting the justice due the innocent.

The name of Yahweh is a strong tower;
the righteous run to it and are protected.

A rich man’s wealth is his fortified city;
in his imagination it is like a high wall.

The mind of the discerning acquires knowledge,
and the ear of the wise seeks it.

Life and death are in the power of the tongue,
and those who love it will eat its fruit.

A man’s own foolishness leads him astray,
yet his heart rages against the Lord.

A person with great anger bears the penalty;
if you rescue him, you’ll have to do it again.

The fear of the Lord leads to life;
one will sleep at night without danger.

The slacker buries his hand in the bowl;
he doesn’t even bring it back to his mouth.

It is honorable for a man to resolve a dispute,
but any fool can get himself into a quarrel.

The slacker does not plow during planting season;
at harvest time he looks, and there is nothing.

Counsel in a man’s heart is deep water;
but a man of understanding draws it out.

A king sitting on a throne to judge
sifts out all evil with his eyes.