The fear of Jehovah is the beginning of knowledge; but fools despise wisdom and instruction.

for they shall be an ornament of grace to your head and chains around your neck.

If they say, Come with us, let us lie in wait for blood, we will watch secretly for the innocent without cause;

for their feet run to evil and make haste to shed blood.

And they lie in wait for their own blood; they watch secretly for their own lives.

I also will laugh at your trouble; I will mock when your fear comes;

when your fear comes as a wasting away, and your ruin comes like a tempest when trouble and pain come upon you.

instead they hated knowledge and did not choose the fear of Jehovah.

For the turning away of the simple kills them, and the ease of fools destroys them.

But whoever listens to me shall dwell safely, and shall be quiet from fear of evil.

yea, if you cry after knowledge and lift up your voice for understanding;

if you seek her as silver, and search for her as for hidden treasures,

then you shall understand the fear of Jehovah and find the knowledge of God.

For Jehovah gives wisdom; out of His mouth come knowledge and understanding.

He lays up sound wisdom for the righteous; He is a shield to those who walk uprightly.

For her house bows down to death, and her paths to the dead.

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

for they shall add length of days, and long life, and peace to you.

Do not be wise in your own eyes; fear Jehovah and depart from evil.

for whom Jehovah loves He corrects, even as a father corrects the son in whom he delights.

For the profit from it is better than the gain from silver, and its produce more than fine gold;

Do not be afraid of sudden fear, nor of the destroying of the wicked, when it comes.

For Jehovah shall be your hope, and shall keep your foot from being taken.

For the crooked man is hateful to Jehovah, but His secret is with the righteous.

For I give you good teaching; do not forsake my law.

For I was my father's son, tender and only beloved in the sight of my mother.

Take fast hold of instruction; do not let go; keep her; for she is your life.

For they do not sleep, except when they have done mischief; and their sleep is taken away unless they cause some to fall.

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

For they are life to those who find them, and health to all his flesh.

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

Put away from you a wicked mouth, and devious lips put far from you.

For the lips of a strange woman drip honey, and her palate is smoother than oil;

Remove your ways far from her, and do not come near the door of her house,

For the ways of man are before the eyes of Jehovah, and He watches all his paths.

My son, if you are surety for your friend, if you struck your palms with a stranger,

For the commandment is a lamp; and the law is light; and reproofs of instruction are the way of life;

For by means of a harlot a man comes to a piece of bread; and another man's wife will hunt for the precious life.

Can a man take fire in his bosom, and his clothes not be burned?

For jealousy is the rage of a man; therefore he will not spare in the day of vengeance.

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

For my husband is not at home, he has gone on a long journey;

With her much fair speech she caused him to yield, with the flattering of her lips she forced him.

until a dart strikes through his liver; as a bird hastens to the snare and does not know that it is for his soul.

For she has cast down many wounded; yea, many strong men have been slain by her.

Hear; for I will speak of excellent things; and the opening of my lips shall be right things.

For my mouth shall speak truth; and wickedness is hateful to my lips.

For wisdom is better than rubies; and all the things that may be desired are not to be compared to it.

The fear of Jehovah is to hate evil; I hate pride, and arrogance, and the evil way, and the wicked mouth.

And now listen to me, O sons; for blessed are those who keep my ways.

For whoever finds me finds life, and shall obtain favor from Jehovah.

The fear of Jehovah is the beginning of wisdom; and the knowledge of the holy is understanding.

For by Me your days shall be multiplied, and the years of your life shall be increased.

If you are wise, you shall be wise for yourself; but if you scorn, you alone shall bear it.

For she sits at the door of her house, in a seat in the high places of the city,

In the lips of him who has understanding, wisdom is found; but a rod is for the back of him who is without understanding.

The lips of the righteous feed many; but fools die for lack of wisdom.

The fear of Jehovah prolongs days; but the years of the wicked shall be shortened.

He who is surety for a stranger shall be ruined; and he who hates suretyship is safe.

The words of the wicked are to lie in wait for blood; but the mouth of the upright shall deliver them.

A good man leaves an inheritance to his sons' sons, and the wealth of the sinner is laid up for the just.

In the fear of Jehovah is strong hope, and His sons shall have a place of refuge.

The fear of Jehovah is a fountain of life to turn aside from the snares of death.

Better is a little with the fear of Jehovah than great treasure and tumult with it.

He who is greedy for gain troubles his own house, but he who hates bribes shall live.

Jehovah is far from the wicked, but He hears the prayer of the righteous.

The fear of Jehovah is the instruction of wisdom, and before honor is humility.

Jehovah has made all for His purpose; yea, even the wicked for the day of evil.

By mercy and truth, iniquity is purged, and by the fear of Jehovah men turn away from evil.

It is a hateful thing for kings to commit wickedness; for the throne is established by righteousness.

He who labors works for himself, for his mouth craves it from him.

An ungodly man plots evil, and his lips are like a burning fire.

The refining pot is for silver, and the furnace for gold, but Jehovah tries the hearts.

An excellent lip is not fitting for a fool; much less are lying lips fitting for a prince.

Whoever rewards evil for good, evil shall not depart from his house.

Why is there a price in the hand of a fool to get wisdom, since he has no heart for it?

A friend loves at all times, and a brother is born for the time of trouble.

And it is not good to punish the just, nor to strike princes for uprightness.

A fool's lips enter into argument, and his mouth calls for strokes.

A man's gift makes room for him, and brings him before great men.

All the brothers of the poor man hate him; how much more do his friends go far from him? He pursues them with words, yet they are lacking.

Luxury is not becoming for a fool; much less for a servant to have rule over princes.

A man of great wrath shall suffer punishment; for if you deliver him yet you must do it again.

The fear of Jehovah tends to life, and he rests satisfied; he shall not be visited with evil.

Judgments are prepared for scorners, and stripes for the back of fools.

The fear of a king is as the roaring of a lion; whoever stirs him up to anger sins against his own soul.

It is an honor for a man to cease from strife, but every fool exposes himself.

Take the garment of him who is surety for a stranger; and take a pledge from him for strangers.

The getting of treasures by a lying tongue is a vanity tossed to and fro by those who seek death.

The righteous wisely considers the house of the wicked; but God overthrows the wicked for their wickedness.

The wicked shall be a ransom for the righteous, and the transgressor for the upright.

The desire of the lazy man kills him, for his hands have refused to work.

The horse is prepared for the day of battle; but safety is from Jehovah.

By humility and the fear of Jehovah are riches and honor and life.

Thorns and snares are in the way of the perverse; he who keeps his soul shall be far from them.

He who has a bountiful eye shall be blessed; for he gives of his bread to the poor.

Foolishness is bound in the heart of a child; the rod of correction shall drive it far from him.

He who crushes the poor to multiply for himself, and he who gives to the rich, only to come to poverty.

For it is a pleasant thing if you keep them within you; they shall all be fitted in your lips,

for Jehovah will plead their cause, and strip the soul of those who plunder them.