Let every thing that hath breath praise the LORD. Praise ye the LORD.

For giving to simple ones -- prudence, To a youth -- knowledge and discretion.

A wise man will hear, and will increase learning; and a man of understanding shall attain unto wise counsels:

To understand a proverb, and the interpretation; the words of the wise, and their dark sayings.

The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge: but fools despise wisdom and instruction.

My child, may you keep your father's instruction, and do not reject your mother's teachings,

For they shall be an ornament of grace unto thy head, and chains about thy neck.

My son, if sinners entice you,
Do not consent.

If they say, 'Come with us, we lay wait for blood, We watch secretly for the innocent without cause,

We swallow them as Sheol -- alive, And whole -- as those going down to the pit,

We shall find all precious substance, we shall fill our houses with spoil:

Thou shalt cast thy lot among us; We will all have one purse:

My son, walk not thou in the way with them; refrain thy foot from their path:

For their feet are running after evil, and they are quick to take a man's life.

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

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; which taketh away the life of the owners thereof.

She crieth in the chief place of concourse, in the openings of the gates: in the city she uttereth her words, saying,

How long, ye simple ones, will ye love simplicity? and the scorners delight in their scorning, and fools hate knowledge?

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 your fear cometh as desolation, and your destruction cometh as a whirlwind; when distress and anguish cometh upon you.

Then shall they call upon me, but I will not answer; they shall seek me early, but they shall not find me:

Since they hated knowledge, and did not choose the fear of Yahweh,

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

For the turning away of the simple shall slay them, and the prosperity of fools shall destroy them.

"But the person who listens to me will live safely and will be secure from the fear of evil."

My son, if you will receive my words
And treasure my commandments within you,

So that thou incline thine ear unto wisdom, and apply thine heart to understanding;

Yea, if thou criest after knowledge, and liftest up thy voice for understanding;

If thou seekest her as silver, and searchest for her as for hid treasures;

Then you will understand the [reverent] fear of the Lord [that is, worshiping Him and regarding Him as truly awesome]
And discover the knowledge of God.

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

He layeth up sound wisdom for the righteous: he is a buckler to them that walk uprightly.

He keepeth the paths of judgment, and preserveth the way of his saints.

Then shalt thou understand righteousness, and judgment, and equity; yea, every good path.

For [skillful and godly] wisdom will enter your heart
And knowledge will be pleasant to your soul.

Discretion will watch over you,
Understanding and discernment will guard you,

To deliver thee from the way of the evil man, from the man that speaketh froward things;

Who leave the paths of uprightness, to walk in the ways of darkness;

Who rejoice to do evil, and delight in the frowardness of the wicked;

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

To deliver thee from the strange woman, even from the stranger which flattereth with her words;

who forsaketh the guide of her youth, and forgetteth the covenant of her God;

For her house is on the way down to death; her footsteps go down to the shades:

None who go to her return again,
Nor do they regain the paths of life—

That thou mayest walk in the way of good men, and keep the paths of the righteous.

For those who are upright will dwell [in the] land, and those who are blameless will remain in it.

And those who are wicked will be cut off from the land, and those who are treacherous will be uprooted from it.

For length of days and years of life [worth living]
And tranquility and prosperity [the wholeness of life’s blessings] they will add to you.

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.

So find favor and high esteem
In the sight of God and man.

{Trust Yahweh} with all your heart; do not lean toward your own understanding.

think about Him in all your ways,
and He will guide you on the right paths.

Do not be wise in your own eyes;
Fear the Lord [with reverent awe and obedience] and turn [entirely] away from evil.

Honor Yahweh from your substance, and from the firstfruits of all that will come to you,

Do not despise the discipline of Yahweh, my child. Do not be weary of his reproof

For whom the LORD loveth he correcteth; even as a father the son in whom he delighteth.

Happy is the man that findeth wisdom, and the man that getteth understanding.

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

She is more precious than rubies: and all the things thou canst desire are not to be compared unto her.

Length of days is in her right hand; and in her left hand riches and honour.

Her ways are ways of pleasantness, and all her paths are peace.

She is a tree of life to them that lay hold upon her: and happy is every one that retaineth her.

Yahweh in wisdom founded the earth; he established the heavens in understanding.

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

And they will be life to your soul (your inner self)
And a gracious adornment to your neck (your outer self).

Then shalt thou walk in thy way safely, and thy foot shall not stumble.

When thou liest down, thou shalt not be afraid: yea, thou shalt lie down, and thy sleep shall be sweet.

Do not be afraid of sudden fear
Nor of the storm of the wicked when it comes [since you will be blameless];

For the Lord will be your confidence, firm and strong,
And will keep your foot from being caught [in a trap].

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 devise evil against your neighbor,
Who lives securely beside you.

Strive not with a man without cause, if he have done thee no harm.

Be not envious of a man of violence, Nor fix thou on any of his ways.

For the froward is abomination to the LORD: but his secret is with the righteous.

The curse of the LORD is in the house of the wicked: but he blesseth the habitation of the just.

With those who scorn, he is scornful, but to those who are humble, he gives favor.

Honour do the wise inherit, And fools are bearing away shame!

Hear, ye children, the instruction of a father, and attend to know understanding.

For I give you good doctrine, forsake ye not my law.

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

And he gave me teaching, saying to me, Keep my words in your heart; keep my rules so that you may have life:

Get wisdom, get understanding: forget it not; neither decline from the words of my mouth.

“Do not turn away from her (Wisdom) and she will guard and protect you;
Love her, and she will watch over you.

Wisdom is the principal thing; therefore get wisdom: and with all thy getting get understanding.

“Prize wisdom [and exalt her], and she will exalt you;
She will honor you if you embrace her.

She shall give to thine head an ornament of grace: a crown of glory shall she deliver to thee.

Hear, O my son, and receive my sayings; and the years of thy life shall be many.

I have taught thee in the way of wisdom; I have led thee in right paths.

When you walk, your steps will not be impeded [for your path will be clear and open];
And when you run, you will not stumble.

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

Enter not into the path of the wicked, and go not in the way of evil men.

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

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

But the path of the just is as the shining light, that shineth more and more unto the perfect day.

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