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

My son, if they sinning shall entice thee, thou shalt not go in.

If they say, “Come with us,
Let us lie in wait for blood,
Let us ambush the innocent without cause;

Let’s swallow them alive, like Sheol,
still healthy as they go down to the Pit.

Throw in your lot with us [they insist];
We will all have one money bag [in common],”

For their feet run to evil
And they hasten to shed blood.

But they lie in wait for their own blood;
They ambush their own lives.

“Then they will call on me, but I will not answer;
They will seek me diligently but they will not find me,

Because they hated knowledge
And did not choose the fear of the Lord.

“They would not accept my counsel,
They spurned all my reproof.

“So they shall eat of the fruit of their own way
And be satiated with their own devices.

Who are rejoicing to do evil, They delight in frowardness of the wicked,

Whose ways are crooked, and they froward in their paths:

They will deliver you from the strange woman, the stranger who flatters with her words,

None who go to her return again,
Nor do they reach the paths of life.

But, the lawless, out of the earth, shall he cut off, and, traitors, shall they tear away therefrom.

For length of days and years of life
And peace they will add to you.

She is a tree of life to them that lay hold upon her, and blessed are they that keep her fast.

My child, may they not escape from your {sight}; may you keep sound wisdom and prudence.

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

They will inherit the honor of the wise, but stubborn fools, disgrace.

Hear, my son, and receive my sayings, and they will multiply to thee the years of life.

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

For they eat the bread of wickedness
And drink the wine of violence.

The way of the wicked is like darkness;
They do not know over what they stumble.

May they not escape 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.

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

When you walk about, they will guide you;
When you sleep, they will watch over you;
And when you awake, they will talk to you.

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

They do not despise the thief, When he stealeth to fill his soul when he is hungry,

That they may keep you from an adulteress,
From the foreigner who flatters with her words.

“They are all straightforward to him who understands,
And right to those who find knowledge.

I am loving unto those that love me, and they that seek me early, shall find me.

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

But whoso offendeth against me, hurteth his own soul. All they that hate me, are the lovers of death."

“Stolen waters (pleasures) are sweet [because they are forbidden];
And bread eaten in secret is pleasant.”

But they consider not that death is there, and that her guests go down to hell.

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

What the righteous person says nourishes many, but fools die because they lack discerning hearts.

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

A gracious woman maintaineth honesty; as for the mighty, they maintain riches.

They that are of a froward heart are abomination to the LORD: but such as are upright in their way are his delight.

It shall not help the wicked, though they lay all their hands together; but the seed of the righteous shall be preserved.

Those who give freely gain even more; others hold back what they owe, becoming even poorer.

People will curse the one who withholds grain, but they will praise the one who sells it.

If the righteous receive what they are due here on earth, how much more will the wicked and the sinner.

The talking of the ungodly is how they may lay wait for blood; but the mouth of the righteous will deliver them.

After they're overthrown, the wicked won't be found, but the house of the righteous stands firm.

They that imagine evil in their mind, will deceive; but the counselors of peace shall have joy following them.

The LORD abhoreth deceitful lips; but they that labour for truth please him.

Some men are rich, though they have nothing; again, some men are poor having great riches.

Hastily gotten goods are soon spent; but they that be gathered together with the hand, shall increase.

Desire realized is sweet to the soul;
But it is detestable to fools to turn away from evil [which they have planned].

Will they not go astray who devise evil?
But kindness and truth will be to those who devise good.

The wicked one is thrown down by his own sin,
but the righteous one has a refuge in his death.

The heart of him who understands will seek knowledge, but the faces of fools, they will feed on folly.

Better is a little, with the fear of the LORD, than great treasure; for they are not without sorrow.

Without consultation, plans are frustrated,
But with many counselors they succeed.

The LORD detests those who are proud; truly they will not go unpunished.

Righteous lips are pleasant unto kings; and they love him that speaketh the truth.

He that justifieth the wicked, and he that condemneth the just, even they both are abomination to the LORD.

The words of a whisperer are like dainty morsels,
And they go down into the innermost parts of the body.

The unity of brethren is stronger than a castle, and they that hold together are like the bar of a palace.

Death and life are in the power of the tongue: and they that love it shall eat the fruit thereof.

All the brothers of a poor man hate him;
How much more do his friends abandon him!
He pursues them with words, but they are gone.

The scoffer you shall strike, and the simple, may they learn prudence, and reprove the intelligent [and] he will gain knowledge.

It is a man's honour to keep himself from strife; but they that have pleasure in brawling, are fools every one.

Unequal weights and unequal measures, they are all disgusting to the Lord.

A proud attitude, accompanied by a haughty look, is sin; they reveal wicked people.

Making a fortune by a lying tongue is like a vapor driven back and forth; they seek death.

By their violent acts the evil-doers will be pulled away, because they have no desire to do what is right.

The wicked become a ransom for the righteous,
And the treacherous in the place of the upright [for they fall into their own traps].

A wise man goes up into the town of the strong ones, and overcomes its strength in which they put their faith.

The offering of evil-doers is disgusting: how much more when they give it with an evil purpose!

For it will be pleasant if you keep them within you,
That they may be ready on your lips.

Do not take away the property of the poor man because he is poor, or be cruel to the crushed ones when they come before the judge:

for if thou hast nothing to pay, they shall take away thy bed from under thee.

Seest thou not, that they which be diligent in their business stand before kings, and not among the simple people?

Be not desirous of his dainties: for they are deceitful meat.

Wilt thou set thine eyes upon that which is not? for riches certainly make themselves wings; they fly away as an eagle toward heaven.

For the drunkard and gluttonous, they will become poor, and [with] rags, drowsiness will clothe them

They that tarry long at the wine; they that go to seek mixed wine.

They have overcome me, you will say, and I have no pain; they gave me blows without my feeling them: when will I be awake from my wine? I will go after it again.

because they plan violence, and they are always talking about trouble.

Whoso is devising to do evil, Him they call a master of wicked thoughts.

My son, eat thou honey, because it is good, - and droppings from the comb because they are sweet to thy palate:

They will be destroyed suddenly, and who knows what kind of punishment will come from these two?

But they that rebuke the ungodly shall be commended, and a rich blessing shall come upon them.

The words of one who says evil of his neighbour secretly are like sweet food, they go down into the inner parts of the stomach.

With his lips the hater makes things seem what they are not, but deceit is stored up inside him;

A stone is heavy, and the sand weighty; But a fool's vexation is heavier than they both.

A wise man seeing the plague will hide himself; as for fools they go on still, and suffer harm.

Because of the sin of the land, its troubles are increased; but by a man of wisdom and knowledge they will be put out like a fire.

They that forsake the law praise the wicked; but such as keep the law contend with them.

Evil men understand not judgment; but they that seek Jehovah understand everything.

He who misleads the upright onto the way of evil, into his pits he will fall. But as for the blameless, they will inherit good.

When the wicked rise, men hide themselves; but when they perish, the righteous increase.

The righteous person is concerned about the poor; but the wicked don't understand what they need to know.

The bloodthirsty hate him that is perfect; And as for the upright, they seek his life.