Listen, my son, to your father’s instruction,
and don’t reject your mother’s teaching,

If they say—“Come with us!
Let’s set an ambush and kill someone.
Let’s attack some innocent person just for fun!

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

It is foolish to spread a net
where any bird can see it,

so that He may guard the paths of justice
and protect the way of His loyal followers.

So follow the way of good people,
and keep to the paths of the righteous.

Do not despise the Lord’s instruction, my son,
and do not loathe His discipline;

Don’t say to your neighbor, “Go away! Come back later.
I’ll give it tomorrow”—when it is there with you.

The Lord’s curse is on the household of the wicked,
but He blesses the home of the righteous;

Listen, my sons, to a father’s discipline,
and pay attention so that you may gain understanding,

Wisdom is supreme—so get wisdom.
And whatever else you get, get understanding.

For they are life to those who find them,
and health to one’s whole body.

so that you may maintain discretion
and your lips safeguard knowledge.

in the end she’s as bitter as wormwood
and as sharp as a double-edged sword.

So now, my sons, listen to me,
and don’t turn away from the words of my mouth.

strangers will drain your resources,
and your earnings will end up in a foreigner’s house.

and you will say, “How I hated discipline,
and how my heart despised correction.

For a man’s ways are before the Lord’s eyes,
and He considers all his paths.

A wicked man’s iniquities entrap him;
he is entangled in the ropes of his own sin.

Do this, then, my son, and free yourself,
for you have put yourself in your neighbor’s power:
Go, humble yourself, and plead with your neighbor.

Escape like a gazelle from a hunter,
like a bird from a fowler’s trap.

My son, keep your father’s command,
and don’t reject your mother’s teaching.

For a prostitute’s fee is only a loaf of bread,
but an adulteress goes after a precious life.

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

The one who commits adultery lacks sense;
whoever does so destroys himself.

Say to wisdom, “You are my sister,”
and call understanding your relative.

I saw among the inexperienced,
I noticed among the youths,
a young man lacking sense.

So I came out to meet you,
to search for you, and I’ve found you.

Come, let’s drink deeply of lovemaking until morning.
Let’s feast on each other’s love!

Listen, for I speak of noble things,
and what my lips say is right.

when He set a limit for the sea
so that the waters would not violate His command,
when He laid out the foundations of the earth.

Solomon’s proverbs:

A wise son brings joy to his father,
but a foolish son, heartache to his mother.

A rich man’s wealth is his fortified city;
the poverty of the poor is their destruction.

The Lord’s blessing enriches,
and struggle adds nothing to it.

As shameful conduct is pleasure for a fool,
so wisdom is for a man of understanding.

Like vinegar to the teeth and smoke to the eyes,
so the slacker is to the one who sends him on an errand.

A beautiful woman who rejects good sense
is like a gold ring in a pig’s snout.

A capable wife is her husband’s crown,
but a wife who causes shame
is like rottenness in his bones.

A righteous man cares about his animal’s health,
but even the merciful acts of the wicked are cruel.

A man will be satisfied with good
by the words of his mouth,
and the work of a man’s hands will reward him.

A fool’s way is right in his own eyes,
but whoever listens to counsel is wise.

A fool’s displeasure is known at once,
but whoever ignores an insult is sensible.

Anxiety in a man’s heart weighs it down,
but a good word cheers it up.

A wise son responds to his father’s discipline,
but a mocker doesn’t listen to rebuke.

Riches are a ransom for a man’s life,
but a poor man hears no threat.

A wise man’s instruction is a fountain of life,
turning people away from the snares of death.

A good man leaves an inheritance to his grandchildren,
but the sinner’s wealth is stored up for the righteous.

The sensible man’s wisdom is to consider his way,
but the stupidity of fools deceives them.

A large population is a king’s splendor,
but a shortage of people is a ruler’s devastation.

A fool despises his father’s discipline,
but a person who accepts correction is sensible.

The lips of the wise broadcast knowledge,
but not so the heart of fools.

A slacker’s way is like a thorny hedge,
but the path of the upright is a highway.

For the discerning the path of life leads upward,
so that he may avoid going down to Sheol.

The Lord destroys the house of the proud,
but He protects the widow’s territory.

The fear of the Lord is what wisdom teaches,
and humility comes before honor.

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All a man’s ways seem right to him,
but the Lord evaluates the motives.

When a man’s ways please the Lord,
He makes even his enemies to be at peace with him.

A man’s heart plans his way,
but the Lord determines his steps.

God’s verdict is on the lips of a king;
his mouth should not give an unfair judgment.

Honest balances and scales are the Lord’s;
all the weights in the bag are His concern.

Righteous lips are a king’s delight,
and he loves one who speaks honestly.

A king’s fury is a messenger of death,
but a wise man appeases it.

When a king’s face lights up, there is life;
his favor is like a cloud with spring rain.

A worker’s appetite works for him
because his hunger urges him on.

Patience is better than power,
and controlling one’s temper, than capturing a city.

Eloquent words are not appropriate on a fool’s lips;
how much worse are lies for a ruler.

Wisdom is the focus of the perceptive,
but a fool’s eyes roam to the ends of the earth.

The words of a man’s mouth are deep waters,
a flowing river, a fountain of wisdom.

A fool’s lips lead to strife,
and his mouth provokes a beating.

A fool’s mouth is his devastation,
and his lips are a trap for his life.

A gossip’s words are like choice food
that goes down to one’s innermost being.

A rich man’s wealth is his fortified city;
in his imagination it is like a high wall.

Before his downfall a man’s heart is proud,
but humility comes before honor.

A man’s spirit can endure sickness,
but who can survive a broken spirit?

From the fruit of his mouth a man’s stomach is satisfied;
he is filled with the product of his lips.

A man’s own foolishness leads him astray,
yet his heart rages against the Lord.

A person’s insight gives him patience,
and his virtue is to overlook an offense.

A king’s rage is like the roaring of a lion,
but his favor is like dew on the grass.

A foolish son is his father’s ruin,
and a wife’s nagging is an endless dripping.

Listen to counsel and receive instruction
so that you may be wise later in life.

Many plans are in a man’s heart,
but the Lord’s decree will prevail.

What is desirable in a man is his fidelity;
better to be a poor man than a liar.

A king’s terrible wrath is like the roaring of a lion;
anyone who provokes him endangers himself.

Counsel in a man’s heart is deep water;
but a man of understanding draws it out.

Who can say, “I have kept my heart pure;
I am cleansed from my sin”?

“It’s worthless, it’s worthless!” the buyer says,
but after he is on his way, he gloats.

Don’t say, “I will avenge this evil!”
Wait on the Lord, and He will rescue you.

A man’s steps are determined by the Lord,
so how can anyone understand his own way?

The Lord’s lamp sheds light on a person’s life,
searching the innermost parts.

A king’s heart is like streams of water in the Lord’s hand:
He directs it wherever He chooses.

A guilty man’s conduct is crooked,
but the behavior of the innocent is upright.

A slacker’s craving will kill him
because his hands refuse to work.

The sacrifice of a wicked person is detestable—
how much more so
when he brings it with ulterior motives!

The Lord’s eyes keep watch over knowledge,
but He overthrows the words of the treacherous.

The slacker says, “There’s a lion outside!
I’ll be killed in the public square!”

I have instructed you today—even you—
so that your confidence may be in the Lord.

in order to teach you true and reliable words,
so that you may give a dependable report
to those who sent you?

Do you see a man skilled in his work?
He will stand in the presence of kings.
He will not stand in the presence of unknown men.

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Don’t eat a stingy person’s bread,
and don’t desire his choice food,

for it’s like someone calculating inwardly.
“Eat and drink,” he says to you,
but his heart is not with you.