Ponder the path of thy feet, and let all thy ways be well-ordered.

Turn not to the right hand nor to the left; remove thy foot from evil.

that thou mayest keep reflection, and that thy lips may preserve knowledge.

Remove thy way far from her, and come not nigh the door of her house:

lest thou give thine honour unto others, and thy years unto the cruel;

lest strangers be filled with thy wealth, and the fruits of thy toil come into the house of a stranger;

and thou mourn in thine end, when thy flesh and thy body are consumed;

Thy fountains shall be poured forth, as water-brooks in the broadways.

Let thy fountain be blessed; and have joy of the wife of thy youth.

My son, if thou hast become surety for thy friend, if thou hast stricken thy hand for a stranger,

thou art snared with the words of thy mouth, thou art taken with the words of thy mouth.

Do this now, my son, and deliver thyself, since thou hast come into the hand of thy friend: go, humble thyself, and be urgent with thy friend.

How long, sluggard, wilt thou lie down? When wilt thou arise out of thy sleep?

So shall thy poverty come as a roving plunderer, and thy penury as an armed man.

My son, observe thy father's commandment, and forsake not the teaching of thy mother;

bind them continually upon thy heart, tie them about thy neck:

Lust not after her beauty in thy heart, neither let her take thee with her eyelids;

he will not regard any ransom, neither will he rest content though thou multipliest thy gifts.

Bind them upon thy fingers, write them upon the tablet of thy heart.

Say unto wisdom, Thou art my sister, and call intelligence thy kinswoman:

therefore came I forth to meet thee, to seek earnestly thy face, and I have found thee.

Let not thy heart decline to her ways, go not astray in her paths:

For by me thy days shall be multiplied, and years of life shall be added to thee.

Commit thy works unto Jehovah, and thy thoughts shall be established.

Chasten thy son, seeing there is hope; but set not thy soul upon killing him.

Hear counsel, and receive instruction, that thou mayest be wise in thy latter end.

Incline thine ear, and hear the words of the wise, and apply thy heart unto my knowledge.

For it is a pleasant thing if thou keep them within thee: they shall be together fitted on thy lips.

That thy confidence may be in Jehovah, I have made them known to thee this day, even to thee.

lest thou learn his paths, and get a snare to thy soul.

if thou hast nothing to pay, why should he take away thy bed from under thee?

Remove not the ancient landmark which thy fathers have set.

and put a knife to thy throat, if thou be a man given to appetite.

Thy morsel which thou hast eaten must thou vomit up, and thou wilt have wasted thy sweet words.

Speak not in the ears of a foolish man, for he will despise the wisdom of thy words.

Apply thy heart unto instruction, and thine ears to the words of knowledge.

My son, if thy heart be wise, my heart shall rejoice, even mine;

and my reins shall exult, when thy lips speak right things.

Let not thy heart envy sinners, but be thou in the fear of Jehovah all the day;

Thou, my son, hear and be wise, and direct thy heart in the way.

Hearken unto thy father that begat thee, and despise not thy mother when she is old.

let thy father and thy mother have joy, and let her that bore thee rejoice.

My son, give me thy heart, and let thine eyes observe my ways.

Thine eyes shall behold strange women, and thy heart shall speak froward things;

For with good advice shalt thou make thy war; and in the multitude of counsellors there is safety.

If thou losest courage in the day of trouble, thy strength is small.

If thou sayest, Behold, we knew it not, will not he that weigheth the hearts consider it? And he that preserveth thy soul, he knoweth it; and he rendereth to man according to his work.

Eat honey, my son, for it is good; and a honeycomb is sweet to thy taste:

so consider wisdom for thy soul; if thou hast found it, there shall be a result, and thine expectation shall not be cut off.

Rejoice not when thine enemy falleth, and let not thy heart be glad when he stumbleth;

Prepare thy work without, and put thy field in order, and afterwards build thy house.

Be not a witness against thy neighbour without cause; and wouldest thou deceive with thy lips?

So shall thy poverty come as a roving plunderer, and thy penury as an armed man.

Go not forth hastily to strive, lest thou know not what to do in the end thereof, when thy neighbour hath put thee to shame.

Debate thy cause with thy neighbour, but reveal not the secret of another;

Let thy foot be seldom in thy neighbour's house; lest he be weary of thee and hate thee.

Thine own friend, and thy father's friend, forsake not; and go not into thy brother's house in the day of thy calamity: better is a neighbour that is near than a brother far off.

Be well acquainted with the appearance of thy flocks; look well to thy herds:

The lambs are for thy clothing, and the goats are the price of a field;

and there is goats' milk enough for thy food, for the food of thy household, and sustenance for thy maidens.

Chasten thy son, and he shall give thee rest, and shall give delight unto thy soul.

If thou hast done foolishly in lifting up thyself, or if thou hast thought evil, lay the hand upon thy mouth.

Give not thy strength unto women, nor thy ways to them that destroy kings.

Open thy mouth for the dumb, for the cause of all those that are left desolate.

Open thy mouth, judge righteously, and minister justice to the afflicted and needy.

Keep thy foot when thou goest to the house of God, and draw near to hear, rather than to give the sacrifice of fools: for they know not that they do evil.

Be not rash with thy mouth, and let not thy heart be hasty to utter anything before God: for God is in the heavens, and thou upon earth; therefore let thy words be few.

Suffer not thy mouth to cause thy flesh to sin; neither say thou before the angel, that it was an inadvertence. Wherefore should God be wroth at thy voice, and destroy the work of thy hands?

Be not hasty in thy spirit to be vexed; for vexation resteth in the bosom of fools.

Be not overmuch wicked, neither be thou foolish: why shouldest thou die before thy time?

It is good that thou shouldest take hold of this; yea, also from that withdraw not thy hand: for he that feareth God cometh forth from them all.

Also give not heed unto all words that are spoken, lest thou hear thy servant curse thee.

Go, eat thy bread with joy, and drink thy wine with a merry heart; for God hath already accepted thy works.

Let thy garments be always white, and let not thy head lack oil.

Enjoy life with the wife whom thou lovest all the days of the life of thy vanity, which he hath given thee under the sun, all the days of thy vanity; for that is thy portion in life, and in thy labour wherein thou art labouring under the sun.

Whatever thy hand findeth to do, do with thy might; for there is no work, nor device, nor knowledge, nor wisdom, in Sheol, whither thou goest.

If the spirit of the ruler rise up against thee, leave not thy place; for quietness pacifieth great offences.

Woe to thee, O land, when thy king is a child, and thy princes eat in the morning!

Happy art thou, O land, when thy king is a son of nobles, and thy princes eat in due season, for strength, and not for drunkenness!

Curse not the king, no, not in thy thought; and curse not the rich in thy bedchamber: for the bird of the air will carry the voice, and that which hath wings will tell the matter.

Cast thy bread upon the waters; for thou shalt find it after many days.

In the morning sow thy seed, and in the evening withhold not thy hand; for thou knowest not which shall prosper, whether this or that, or whether they both shall be alike good.

Rejoice, young man, in thy youth; and let thy heart cheer thee in the days of thy youth, and walk in the ways of thy heart, and in the sight of thine eyes; but know that for all these things God will bring thee into judgment.

Then remove discontent from thy heart, and put away evil from thy flesh; for childhood and youth are vanity.

And remember thy Creator in the days of thy youth, before the evil days come, and the years draw nigh, of which thou shalt say, I have no pleasure in them;

Let him kiss me with the kisses of his mouth; For thy love is better than wine.

Thine ointments savour sweetly; Thy name is an ointment poured forth: Therefore do the virgins love thee.

Draw me, we will run after thee! The king hath brought me into his chambers We will be glad and rejoice in thee, We will remember thy love more than wine. They love thee uprightly.

Tell me, thou whom my soul loveth, Where thou feedest thy flock, Where thou makest it to rest at noon; For why should I be as one veiled Beside the flocks of thy companions?

If thou know not, thou fairest among women, Go thy way forth by the footsteps of the flock, And feed thy kids beside the shepherds' booths.

Thy cheeks are comely with bead-rows, Thy neck with ornamental chains.

My dove, in the clefts of the rock, In the covert of the precipice, Let me see thy countenance, let me hear thy voice; For sweet is thy voice, and thy countenance is comely.

Behold, thou art fair, my love; behold, thou art fair; Thine eyes are doves behind thy veil; Thy hair is as a flock of goats, On the slopes of mount Gilead.

Thy teeth are like a flock of shorn sheep, Which go up from the washing; Which have all borne twins, And none is barren among them.

Thy lips are like a thread of scarlet, And thy speech is comely; As a piece of a pomegranate are thy temples Behind thy veil.

Thy neck is like the tower of David, Built for an armoury: A thousand bucklers hang thereon, All shields of mighty men.

Thy two breasts are like two fawns, twins of a gazelle, Which feed among the lilies.

Thou hast ravished my heart, my sister, my spouse; Thou hast ravished my heart with one of thine eyes, With one chain of thy neck.

How fair is thy love, my sister, my spouse! How much better is thy love than wine! And the fragrance of thine ointments than all spices!

Thy lips, my spouse, drop as the honeycomb; Honey and milk are under thy tongue; And the smell of thy garments is like the smell of Lebanon.