Let their sins always remain before the Lord,
and let Him erase all memory of them from the earth.

He loved cursing—let it fall on him;
he took no delight in blessing—let it be far from him.

I will fervently thank the Lord with my mouth;
I will praise Him in the presence of many.

For He stands at the right hand of the needy
to save him from those who would condemn him.

He has provided food for those who fear Him;
He remembers His covenant forever.

Because He has turned His ear to me,
I will call out to Him as long as I live.

Praise the Lord, all nations!
Glorify Him, all peoples!

Happy are those who keep His decrees
and seek Him with all their heart.

Israel, put your hope in the Lord.
For there is faithful love with the Lord,
and with Him is redemption in abundance.

Let the righteous one strike me—
it is an act of faithful love;
let him rebuke me—
it is oil for my head;
let me not refuse it.
Even now my prayer is against
the evil acts of the wicked.

I pour out my complaint before Him;
I reveal my trouble to Him.

He is my faithful love and my fortress,
my stronghold and my deliverer.
He is my shield, and I take refuge in Him;
He subdues my people under me.

Lord, what is man, that You care for him,
the son of man, that You think of him?

The Lord is near all who call out to Him,
all who call out to Him with integrity.

He fulfills the desires of those who fear Him;
He hears their cry for help and saves them.

The Lord guards all those who love Him,
but He destroys all the wicked.

When his breath leaves him,
he returns to the ground;
on that day his plans die.

The Lord values those who fear Him,
those who put their hope in His faithful love.

Hallelujah!
Praise the Lord from the heavens;
praise Him in the heights.

Praise Him, all His angels;
praise Him, all His hosts.

Praise Him, sun and moon;
praise Him, all you shining stars.

Praise Him, highest heavens,
and you waters above the heavens.

He has raised up a horn for His people,
resulting in praise to all His godly ones,
to the Israelites, the people close to Him.
Hallelujah!

Let them praise His name with dancing
and make music to Him with tambourine and lyre.

Hallelujah!
Praise God in His sanctuary.
Praise Him in His mighty heavens.

Praise Him for His powerful acts;
praise Him for His abundant greatness.

Praise Him with trumpet blast;
praise Him with harp and lyre.

Praise Him with tambourine and dance;
praise Him with flute and strings.

Praise Him with resounding cymbals;
praise Him with clashing cymbals.

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

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

Therefore calamity will strike him suddenly;
he will be shattered instantly—beyond recovery.

The Lord hates six things;
in fact, seven are detestable to Him:

A woman came to meet him
dressed like a prostitute,
having a hidden agenda.

She grabs him and kisses him;
she brazenly says to him,

He took a bag of money with him
and will come home at the time of the full moon.”

She seduces him with her persistent pleading;
she lures with her flattering talk.

until an arrow pierces its liver,
like a bird darting into a snare—
he doesn’t know it will cost him his life.

I was a skilled craftsman beside Him.
I was His delight every day,
always rejoicing before Him.

What the wicked dreads will come to him,
but what the righteous desire will be given to them.

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

The one who searches for what is good finds favor,
but if someone looks for trouble, it will come to him.

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

The one who will not use the rod hates his son,
but the one who loves him disciplines him diligently.

Whoever lives with integrity fears the Lord,
but the one who is devious in his ways despises Him.

The one who oppresses the poor person insults his Maker,
but one who is kind to the needy honors Him.

A mocker doesn’t love one who corrects him;
he will not consult the wise.

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

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

A violent man lures his neighbor,
leading him in a way that is not good.

An evil man seeks only rebellion;
a cruel messenger will be sent against him.

A foolish son is grief to his father
and bitterness to the one who bore him.

The one who gives an answer before he listens—
this is foolishness and disgrace for him.

A gift opens doors for a man
and brings him before the great.

The first to state his case seems right
until another comes and cross-examines him.

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

All the brothers of a poor man hate him;
how much more do his friends
keep their distance from him!
He may pursue them with words,
but they are not there.

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

Discipline your son while there is hope;
don’t be intent on killing him.

A person with great anger bears the penalty;
if you rescue him, you’ll have to do it again.

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

The one who lives with integrity is righteous;
his children who come after him will be happy.

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

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

Foolishness is tangled up in the heart of a youth;
the rod of discipline will drive it away from him.

Don’t withhold discipline from a youth;
if you beat him with a rod, he will not die.

Strike him with a rod,
and you will rescue his life from Sheol.

The father of a righteous son will rejoice greatly,
and one who fathers a wise son will delight in him.

or the Lord will see, be displeased,
and turn His wrath away from him.

Whoever says to the guilty, “You are innocent”—
people will curse him, and tribes will denounce him;

Don’t say, “I’ll do to him what he did to me;
I’ll repay the man for what he has done.”

for it is better for him to say to you, “Come up here!”
than to demote you in plain view of a noble.

To those who send him, a trustworthy messenger
is like the coolness of snow on a harvest day;
he refreshes the life of his masters.

If your enemy is hungry, give him food to eat,
and if he is thirsty, give him water to drink;

Don’t answer a fool according to his foolishness
or you’ll be like him yourself.

Do you see a man who is wise in his own eyes?
There is more hope for a fool than for him.

When he speaks graciously, don’t believe him,
for there are seven abominations in his heart.

The one who digs a pit will fall into it,
and whoever rolls a stone—
it will come back on him.

If one blesses his neighbor
with a loud voice early in the morning,
it will be counted as a curse to him.

Though you grind a fool
in a mortar with a pestle along with grain,
you will not separate his foolishness from him.

A rich man is wise in his own eyes,
but a poor man who has discernment sees through him.

A man burdened by bloodguilt
will be a fugitive until death.
Let no one help him.

A greedy man is in a hurry for wealth;
he doesn’t know that poverty will come to him.

Bloodthirsty men hate an honest person,
but the upright care about him.

Do you see a man who speaks too soon?
There is more hope for a fool than for him.

A person’s pride will humble him,
but a humble spirit will gain honor.

Every word of God is pure;
He is a shield to those who take refuge in Him.

The words of King Lemuel,
an oracle that his mother taught him:

Let him drink so that he can forget his poverty
and remember his trouble no more.

She rewards him with good, not evil,
all the days of her life.

because who can eat and who can enjoy life apart from Him?

I know that all God does will last forever; there is no adding to it or taking from it. God works so that people will be in awe of Him.

I have seen that there is nothing better than for a person to enjoy his activities because that is his reward. For who can enable him to see what will happen after he dies?

For if either falls, his companion can lift him up; but pity the one who falls without another to lift him up.

And if someone overpowers one person, two can resist him. A cord of three strands is not easily broken.

I saw all the living, who move about under the sun, follow a second youth who succeeds him.

There is no limit to all the people who were before them, yet those who come later will not rejoice in him. This too is futile and a pursuit of the wind.

The sleep of the worker is sweet, whether he eats little or much, but the abundance of the rich permits him no sleep.

Here is what I have seen to be good: it is appropriate to eat, drink, and experience good in all the labor one does under the sun during the few days of his life God has given him, because that is his reward.

God has also given riches and wealth to every man, and He has allowed him to enjoy them, take his reward, and rejoice in his labor. This is a gift of God,