These proverbs are for gaining wisdom and discipline; for understanding words of insight;

My son, listen to your father's instruction, and do not let go of your mother's teaching.

They will be a graceful wreath for your head and a chain for your neck.

We'll find all kinds of valuable wealth, and we'll fill our houses with spoil.

Throw your lot in with us, and all of us will have one purse."

My son, do not go along with them, and keep your feet away from their paths!

"You naive ones, how long will you love naivety And how long will scoffers delight in scoffing or fools hate knowledge?"

I will laugh at your calamity. I will mock when what you fear comes,

when what you dread comes like a storm, and your calamity comes on like a whirlwind, when distress and anguish come upon you.

making your ear attentive to wisdom, and turning your heart to understanding

if, indeed, you call out for insight and raise 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,

For they will add length to your days, years to your life, and abundant peace to you.

Do not let gracious love 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 depend on your own understanding.

In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight.

Do not be wise in your own opinion. Fear the LORD and turn away from evil.

This will bring healing to your body, and refreshment to your bones.

Honor the LORD with your wealth and with the first of all your produce,

so your barns will be filled with abundance, and your vats will burst open with new wine.

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

Her ways are pleasant ways, and all her paths are peaceful.

My son, do not let wisdom leave your sight. Carefully observe sound judgment and discernment,

and they will be life to you and a graceful ornament for your neck.

Then you will travel safely on your way, and your foot will not stumble.

When you sit down, you will not be afraid; when you lie down, your sleep will be pleasant.

Do not be afraid of sudden disaster, or the devastation that comes to the wicked.

Indeed, the LORD will be your confidence, and he 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 act.

Do not say to your neighbor, "Go, and come back. I will pay you tomorrow," when you have cash with you.

Do not plan to harm your neighbor, when he is living peacefully beside you.

Listen, children, to your father's instruction, and pay attention in order to gain understanding.

he taught me and told me, "Let your heart fully embrace what I have to say; keep my commandments and live!

Get wisdom! Get understanding! Do not forget or turn aside from the words of my mouth!

Wisdom is of utmost importance, therefore get wisdom, and with all your effort work to acquire understanding.

She will place on your head a graceful garland; she will present to you a crown of beauty."

When you walk, your step will not be hindered, and when you run, you will not stumble.

Hold on to instruction, do not let it go! Guard wisdom, because she is your life!

Do not enter the path of the wicked, or go along the way of evil men.

For they cannot sleep unless they are doing evil, and they are robbed of their sleep unless they cause someone to stumble.

But the way of the wicked is like deep darkness, and they do not know what they are stumbling over.

Do not let them out of your sight; keep them within your heart.

For they are life to those who find them, and healing to their whole body.

Above everything else guard your heart, because from it flow the springs of life.

Let your eyes look directly ahead; fix your gaze straight in front of you.

Carefully measure the paths for your feet, and all your ways will be established.

Do not turn to the right or to the left; turn your foot away from evil.

so you may carefully practice discretion and your lips preserve knowledge.

You aren't thinking about where her life is headed; her steps wander, but you do not realize it.

so that you don't give your honor to others, and waste your best years;

so that strangers don't enrich themselves at your expense, and your work won't end up the possession of foreigners.

You will cry out in anguish when your end comes, when your flesh and body are consumed,

Drink water from your own cistern, and fresh water from your own well.

Should your springs flow outside, or streams of water in the street?

They should be for you alone and not for strangers who are with you.

Let your fountain be blessed and enjoy the wife of your youth.

My son, if you guarantee a loan for your neighbor, if you have agreed to a deal with a stranger,

trapped by your own words, and caught by your own words,

then do this, my son, and deliver yourself, because you have come under your neighbor's control. Go, humble yourself! Plead passionately with your neighbor!

Don't allow yourself to sleep or even to close your eyes.

Deliver yourself like a gazelle from a hunter's hand, or like a bird from a fowler's hand.

It has no commander, officer, or ruler,

How long will you lie down, lazy man? When will you get up from your sleep?

and your poverty will come on you like a bandit and your desperation like an armed man.

Here are six things that the LORD hates seven, in fact, are detestable to him:

Keep your father's commands, my son, and never forsake your mother's rules,

by binding them to your heart continuously, fastening them around your neck.

During your travels wisdom will lead you; she will watch over you while you rest; and when you are startled from your sleep, she will commune with you.

Because the command is a lamp and the Law a light, rebukes that discipline are a way of life

Do not focus on her beauty in your mind, nor allow her to take you prisoner with her flirting eyes,

because the price of a whore is a loaf of bread, and an adulterous woman stalks a man's precious life.

Keep my commands and you'll live. Guard my teaching as you do your eyesight.

Strap them to your fingers and engrave them on the tablet of your heart.

Say to wisdom, "You're my sister!" and call understanding your close relative,

All of a sudden he follows her like an ox fit for slaughter or like a fool fit for a trap

until an arrow pierces his liver. As a bird darts into a snare, he doesn't realize his fatal decision.

For many are the victims whom she has conquered, and many are her slain.

On top of the highest places along the road she stands where the roads meet.

Everything I have to say is just; there isn't anything corrupt or perverse in my speech.

I walk on the way of righteousness, along paths that are just,

When there were no ocean depths, I brought them to birth at a time when there were no springs.

Before the mountains were shaped, before there were hills, I was bringing them to birth.

when he made the clouds from above, when the springs of the depths were established,

"So listen to me, children! Blessed are those who obey me.

Leave your naive ways, and live. Walk in the path of understanding."

Don't rebuke a mocker or he will hate you. Rebuke a wise person, and he will love you.

The fear of the LORD is where wisdom begins, and knowing holiness demonstrates understanding.

For because of me you will live a long life, and years will be added to your life.

If you are wise, your wisdom will assist you. If you mock, you alone will be held responsible.

She calls out to those passing by on the road, who are minding their own business,

"Stolen waters are sweet, and food eaten in secret is delicious."

Those who wink their eyes are trouble makers, and the mocking fool will be brought down.

Those who are wise store up knowledge, but when the fool speaks, destruction is near.

The rich hide within the fortress that is their wealth, but the poor are dismayed due to their poverty.

Transgression is at work where people talk too much, but anyone who holds his tongue is prudent.

What the righteous person says is like precious silver; the thoughts of the wicked are compared to small things.

Righteous lips know what is prudent, but the words of the wicked are perverse.

The righteousness of the upright delivers them, but the treacherous are trapped by their evil desires.

Evil people earn deceptive wages, but those who plant righteousness are truly rewarded.