(The wise man, hearing, will get greater learning, and the acts of the man of good sense will be wisely guided:)

For they will be a crown of grace for your head, and chain-ornaments about your neck.

Goods of great price will be ours, our houses will be full of wealth;

Take your chance with us, and we will all have one money-bag:

How long, you simple ones, will foolish things be dear to you? and pride a delight to the haters of authority? how long will the foolish go on hating knowledge?

Be turned again by my sharp words: see, I will send the flow of my spirit on you, and make my words clear to you.

So in the day of your trouble I will be laughing; I will make sport of your fear;

Then I will give no answer to their cries; searching for me early, they will not see me:

So the fruit of their way will be their food, and with the designs of their hearts they will be made full.

For the turning back of the simple from teaching will be the cause of their death, and the peace of the foolish will be their destruction.

But whoever gives ear to me will take his rest safely, living in peace without fear of evil.

My son, if you will take my words to your heart, storing up my laws in your mind;

Then the fear of the Lord will be clear to you, and knowledge of God will be yours.

Then you will have knowledge of righteousness and right acting, and upright behaviour, even of every good way.

For wisdom will come into your heart, and knowledge will be pleasing to your soul;

Wise purposes will be watching over you, and knowledge will keep you;

For the upright will be living in the land, and the good will have it for their heritage.

But sinners will be cut off from the land, and those whose acts are false will be uprooted.

For they will give you increase of days, years of life, and peace.

So you will have grace and a good name in the eyes of God and men.

Put all your hope in God, not looking to your reason for support.

In all your ways give ear to him, and he will make straight your footsteps.

This will give strength to your flesh, and new life to your bones.

Give honour to the Lord with your wealth, and with the first-fruits of all your increase:

So your store-houses will be full of grain, and your vessels overflowing with new wine.

Her ways are ways of delight, and all her goings are peace.

She is a tree of life to all who take her in their hands, and happy is everyone who keeps her.

So they will be life for your soul, and grace for your neck.

Then you will go safely on your way, and your feet will have no cause for slipping.

When you take your rest you will have no fear, and on your bed sleep will be sweet to you.

Have no fear of sudden danger, or of the storm which will come on evil-doers:

For the Lord will be your hope, and will keep your foot from being taken in the net.

Say not to your neighbour, Go, and come again, and tomorrow I will give; when you have it by you at the time.

The wise will have glory for their heritage, but shame will be the reward of the foolish.

Do not give her up, and she will keep you; give her your love, and she will make you safe.

The first sign of wisdom is to get wisdom; go, give all you have to get true knowledge.

Put her in a high place, and you will be lifted up by her; she will give you honour, when you give her your love.

She will put a crown of grace on your head, giving you a head-dress of glory.

Give ear, O my son, and let your heart be open to my sayings; and long life will be yours.

When you go, your way will not be narrow, and in running you will not have a fall.

For they are life to him who gets them, and strength to all his flesh.

And keep watch over your heart with all care; so you will have life.

Keep a watch on your behaviour; let all your ways be rightly ordered.

For honey is dropping from the lips of the strange woman, and her mouth is smoother than oil;

And you will be full of grief at the end of your life, when your flesh and your body are wasted;

And you will say, How was teaching hated by me, and my heart put no value on training;

I was in almost all evil in the company of the people.

As a loving hind and a gentle doe, let her breasts ever give you rapture; let your passion at all times be moved by her love.

For a man's ways are before the eyes of the Lord, and he puts all his goings in the scales.

The evil-doer will be taken in the net of his crimes, and prisoned in the cords of his sin.

He will come to his end for need of teaching; he is so foolish that he will go wandering from the right way.

How long will you be sleeping, O hater of work? when will you get up from your sleep?

Then loss will come on you like an outlaw, and your need like an armed man

For this cause his downfall will be sudden; quickly he will be broken, and there will be no help for him.

In your walking, it will be your guide; when you are sleeping, it will keep watch over you; when you are awake, it will have talk with you.

They will keep you from the evil woman, from the smooth tongue of the strange woman.

So it is with him who goes in to his neighbour's wife; he who has anything to do with her will not go free from punishment.

But if he is taken in the act he will have to give back seven times as much, giving up all his property which is in his house.

He who takes another man's wife is without all sense: he who does it is the cause of destruction to his soul.

Wounds will be his and loss of honour, and his shame may not be washed away.

For bitter is the wrath of an angry husband; in the day of punishment he will have no mercy.

He will not take any payment; and he will not make peace with you though your money offerings are increased.

Keep my rules and you will have life; let my teaching be to you as the light of your eyes;

For those wounded and made low by her are great in number; and all those who have come to their death through her are a great army.

All the words of my mouth are righteousness; there is nothing false or twisted in them.

They are all true to him whose mind is awake, and straightforward to those who get knowledge.

For wisdom is better than jewels, and all things which may be desired are nothing in comparison with her.

Those who have given me their love are loved by me, and those who make search for me with care will get me.

Then I was by his side, as a master workman: and I was his delight from day to day, playing before him at all times;

For whoever gets me gets life, and grace from the Lord will come to him.

But he who does evil to me, does wrong to his soul: all my haters are in love with death.

Do not say sharp words to a man of pride, or he will have hate for you; make them clear to a wise man, and you will be dear to him.

Give teaching to a wise man, and he will become wiser; give training to an upright man, and his learning will be increased.

For by me your days will be increased, and the years of your life will be long.

If you are wise, you are wise for yourself; if your heart is full of pride, you only will have the pain of it.

The foolish woman is full of noise; she has no sense at all.

The Lord will not let the upright be in need of food, but he puts far from him the desire of the evil-doers.

Blessings are on the head of the upright, but the face of sinners will be covered with sorrow.

The memory of the upright is a blessing, but the name of the evil-doer will be turned to dust.

The wise-hearted man will let himself be ruled, but the man whose talk is foolish will have a fall.

He whose ways are upright will go safely, but he whose ways are twisted will be made low.

Hate is a cause of violent acts, but all errors are covered up by love.

Where there is much talk there will be no end to sin, but he who keeps his mouth shut does wisely.

The thing feared by the evil-doer will come to him, but the upright man will get his desire.

The fear of the Lord gives long life, but the years of the evil-doer will be cut short.

The hope of the upright man will give joy, but the waiting of the evil-doer will have its end in sorrow.

The upright man will never be moved, but evil-doers will not have a safe resting-place in the land.

The mouth of the upright man is budding with wisdom, but the twisted tongue will be cut off.

The righteousness of the upright will be their guide, but the twisted ways of the false will be their destruction.

The righteousness of the good man will make his way straight, but the sin of the evil-doer will be the cause of his fall.

The righteousness of the upright will be their salvation, but the false will themselves be taken in their evil designs.

When things go well for the upright man, all the town is glad; at the death of sinners, there are cries of joy.

When there is no helping suggestion the people will have a fall, but with a number of wise guides they will be safe.

He who makes himself responsible for a strange man will undergo much loss; but the hater of such undertakings will be safe.

A woman who is full of grace is honoured, but a woman hating righteousness is a seat of shame: those hating work will undergo loss, but the strong keep their wealth.

The man who has mercy will be rewarded, but the cruel man is the cause of trouble to himself.

Certainly the evil-doer will not go free from punishment, but the seed of the upright man will be safe.

A man may give freely, and still his wealth will be increased; and another may keep back more than is right, but only comes to be in need.

He who gives blessing will be made fat, but the curser will himself be cursed.

He who keeps back grain will be cursed by the people; but a blessing will be on the head of him who lets them have it for a price.