That the very babes might have wit, and that young men might have knowledge and understanding.

The wise one will hear and he will add learning: and he understanding, shall obtain guidance:

and he that is endued with understanding shall obtain wit to perceive a parable, and the interpretation thereof; the words of the wise, and the dark speeches of the same.

My son, if sinners would take you out of the right way, do not go with them.

If they say, Come with us, let us lay wait for blood, let us lurk privily for the innocent without cause:

We will find and take all kinds of precious possessions,
We will fill our houses with spoil;

Join with us! We will all share equally in what we steal."

For their feet will run to evil, and they will hasten to pour out blood:

Surely in vain is the net spread out before the eyes of any bird.

And they lay wait for their own blood; they lurk privily for their own lives.

So are the ways of every one that is greedy of gain; It taketh away the life of the owners thereof.

Wisdom in an out-place crieth aloud, In broad places she giveth forth her voice,

She crieth in the chief place of concourse; At the entrance of the gates, In the city, she uttereth her words:

Turn you at my reproof: behold, I will pour out my spirit unto you, I will make known my words unto you.

Because I have called, and ye refused; I have stretched out my hand, and no man regarded;

But ye have set at nought all my counsel, and would none of my reproof:

I also will laugh at your calamity; I will mock when your fear cometh;

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

"Then they will call out to me, but I will not answer; they will seek me diligently, but they will not find me.

Therefore shall they eat of the fruit of their own way, and be filled with their own devices.

But whoso hearkeneth unto me shall dwell safely, and shall be at rest from fear of evil.

So that your ear is attentive to [skillful and godly] wisdom,
And apply your heart to understanding [seeking it conscientiously and striving for it eagerly];

Yes, if you cry out for insight,
And lift up your voice for understanding;

if you seek her like silver and search her out {like treasure},

For the LORD giveth wisdom: out of his mouth cometh knowledge and understanding.

He stores away sound wisdom for the righteous [those who are in right standing with Him];
He is a shield to those who walk in integrity [those of honorable character and moral courage],

Then you will understand what is right, just, and upright every good path.

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

All going in it shall not turn back, and they shall not overtake the paths of life.

For the upright shall dwell in the land, and the perfect shall remain in it.

But the wicked shall be cut off from the earth, and the transgressors shall be rooted out of it.

For length of days, and long life, and peace, shall they add to thee.

Do not let mercy and kindness and truth leave you [instead let these qualities define you];
Bind them [securely] around your neck,
Write them on the tablet of your heart.

It shall be health to thy navel, and marrow to thy bones.

So shall thy barns be filled with plenty, and thy presses shall burst out with new wine.

For whom the LORD loveth, him he chasteneth: and yet delighteth in him even as a father in his own son.

Happy [blessed, considered fortunate, to be admired] is the man who finds [skillful and godly] wisdom,
And the man who gains understanding and insight [learning from God’s word and life’s experiences],

For the merchandise of it is better than the merchandise of silver, and the gain thereof than fine gold.

So shall it be life unto thy soul, and grace unto thy mouth.

Be not afraid of sudden fear, neither of the desolation of the wicked, when it cometh.

For Jehovah is at thy side, And He hath kept thy foot from capture.

Withhold not good from them to whom it is due, when it is in the power of thine hand to do it.

Say not unto thy neighbour, Go, and come again, and to morrow I will give; when thou hast it by thee.

Do not take up a cause at law against a man for nothing, if he has done you no wrong.

Surely he scoffeth at the scoffers; But he giveth grace unto the lowly.

For I give you good doctrine;
Do not turn away from my instruction.

When I was a son to my father, not yet strong and an only son to my mother,

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: forget it not; neither decline from the words of my mouth.

Wisdom is supreme. Get wisdom. Yes, though it costs all your possessions, get understanding.

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

Avoid it, pass not by it, turn from it, and pass away.

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

For they eat the bread of wickedness, and drink the wine of violence.

But the path of the just (righteous) is like the light of dawn,
That shines brighter and brighter until [it reaches its full strength and glory in] the perfect day.

The way of the wicked is as darkness: they know not at what they stumble.

My son, pay attention to my words, and listen closely to what I say.

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

Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life.

Keep your eyes on what is in front of you, looking straight before you.

My son, be attentive to my wisdom [godly wisdom learned by costly experience],
Incline your ear to my understanding;

That thou mayest preserve discretion, - and, as for knowledge, that thy lips may guard it.

But at the last she is as bitter as wormwood, and as sharp as a two edged sword.

So that she findeth not the level path of life: Her ways are unstable, and'she knoweth it not.

Now, children, listen to me. Don't turn away from what I am saying.

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

And thou mourn at the last, when thy flesh and thy body are consumed,

I was almost at utter ruin in the midst of the assembly and congregation."

Drink waters out of thine own cistern, and running waters out of thine own well.

Should your springs be dispersed outside, your streams of water in the wide plazas?

Let her be as the loving hind and pleasant roe; let her breasts satisfy thee at all times; and be thou ravished always with her love.

Why let yourself, my son, go out of the way with a strange woman, and take another woman in your arms?

Indeed, what a man does is always in the LORD's presence, and he weighs all his paths.

Do this now, my son, and release yourself [from the obligation];
Since you have come into the hand of your neighbor,
Go humble yourself, and plead with your neighbor [to pay his debt and release you].

Deliver thyself, as a gazelle out of the hand, and as a bird, out of the hand of the fowler.

It has no chief, officer, or ruler.

In the summer, it prepares its food; in the harvest, it gathers its sustenance.

How long wilt thou sleep, O sluggard? when wilt thou arise out of thy sleep?

Yet a little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to sleep:

like a {robber} shall your poverty come, and what you lack like an armed man.

deceits are in his heart; he deviseth mischief at all times, he soweth discords.

Therefore [the crushing weight of] his disaster will come suddenly upon him;
Instantly he will be broken, and there will be no healing or remedy [because he has no heart for God].

A false witness who doth breathe out lies -- And one sending forth contentions between brethren.

When thou goest, it shall lead thee; when thou sleepest, it shall keep thee; and when thou awakest, it shall talk with thee.

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

Men do not have a low opinion of a thief who takes food when he is in need of it:

But when he is found, he must repay seven times [what he stole];
He must give all the property of his house [if necessary to meet his fine].

But whoso committeth adultery with a woman lacketh understanding: he that doeth it destroyeth his own soul.

A wound and dishonor he will find, and his disgrace will not be wiped out.

because jealousy incites a strong man's rage, and he will show no mercy when it's time for revenge.

He will not look, at any ransom, neither will he consent, though thou increase the bribe.

My son, guard what I say and treasure my commands.

For at the window of my house I looked through my casement,

passing on the street {at} her corner, and he takes the road [to] her house,

at twilight, at [the] day's evening, in [the] midst of night and the darkness.

And the woman came out to him, in the dress of a loose woman, with a designing heart;

She is loud and stubborn; her feet do not stay at her house.

Now is she without, now in the streets, and lieth in wait at every corner.)

"I have fresh meat at home; today I have fulfilled my vows!

So I have come out to meet you, to seek your face, and I have found you.