Many plans are in a man’s heart,
But the counsel of the Lord will stand.

The sluggard buries his hand in the dish,
But will not even bring it back to his mouth.

Strike a scoffer and the naive may become shrewd,
But reprove one who has understanding and he will gain knowledge.

Cease listening, my son, to discipline,
And you will stray from the words of knowledge.

Keeping away from strife is an honor for a man,
But any fool will quarrel.

Do not love sleep, or you will become poor;
Open your eyes, and you will be satisfied with food.

Bread obtained by falsehood is sweet to a man,
But afterward his mouth will be filled with gravel.

He who curses his father or his mother,
His lamp will go out in time of darkness.

An inheritance gained hurriedly at the beginning
Will not be blessed in the end.

Do not say, “I will repay evil”;
Wait for the Lord, and He will save you.

The violence of the wicked will drag them away,
Because they refuse to act with justice.

He who shuts his ear to the cry of the poor
Will also cry himself and not be answered.

A man who wanders from the way of understanding
Will rest in the assembly of the dead.

He who loves pleasure will become a poor man;
He who loves wine and oil will not become rich.

A false witness will perish,
But the man who listens to the truth will speak forever.

Thorns and snares are in the way of the perverse;
He who guards himself will be far from them.

Train up a child in the way he should go,
Even when he is old he will not depart from it.

He who sows iniquity will reap vanity,
And the rod of his fury will perish.

He who is generous will be blessed,
For he gives some of his food to the poor.

Drive out the scoffer, and contention will go out,
Even strife and dishonor will cease.

The sluggard says, “There is a lion outside;
I will be killed in the streets!”

The mouth of an adulteress is a deep pit;
He who is cursed of the Lord will fall into it.

Foolishness is bound up in the heart of a child;
The rod of discipline will remove it far from him.

He who oppresses the poor to make more for himself
Or who gives to the rich, will only come to poverty.

For it will be pleasant if you keep them within you,
That they may be ready on your lips.

For the Lord will plead their case
And take the life of those who rob them.

Or you will learn his ways
And find a snare for yourself.

Do you see a man skilled in his work?
He will stand before kings;
He will not stand before obscure men.

You will vomit up the morsel you have eaten,
And waste your compliments.

Do not speak in the hearing of a fool,
For he will despise the wisdom of your words.

For their Redeemer is strong;
He will plead their case against you.

Do not hold back discipline from the child,
Although you strike him with the rod, he will not die.

My son, if your heart is wise,
My own heart also will be glad;

And my inmost being will rejoice
When your lips speak what is right.

Surely there is a future,
And your hope will not be cut off.

For the heavy drinker and the glutton will come to poverty,
And drowsiness will clothe one with rags.

The father of the righteous will greatly rejoice,
And he who sires a wise son will be glad in him.

Your eyes will see strange things
And your mind will utter perverse things.

And you will be like one who lies down in the middle of the sea,
Or like one who lies down on the top of a mast.

“They struck me, but I did not become ill;
They beat me, but I did not know it.
When shall I awake?
I will seek another drink.”

For by wise guidance you will wage war,
And in abundance of counselors there is victory.

One who plans to do evil,
Men will call a schemer.

If you say, “See, we did not know this,”
Does He not consider it who weighs the hearts?
And does He not know it who keeps your soul?
And will He not render to man according to his work?

Know that wisdom is thus for your soul;
If you find it, then there will be a future,
And your hope will not be cut off.

Or the Lord will see it and be displeased,
And turn His anger away from him.

For there will be no future for the evil man;
The lamp of the wicked will be put out.

For their calamity will rise suddenly,
And who knows the ruin that comes from both of them?

He who says to the wicked, “You are righteous,”
Peoples will curse him, nations will abhor him;

But to those who rebuke the wicked will be delight,
And a good blessing will come upon them.

Do not say, “Thus I shall do to him as he has done to me;
I will render to the man according to his work.”

Then your poverty will come as a robber
And your want like an armed man.

Take away the wicked before the king,
And his throne will be established in righteousness.

Do not go out hastily to argue your case;
Otherwise, what will you do in the end,
When your neighbor humiliates you?

Or he who hears it will reproach you,
And the evil report about you will not pass away.

Let your foot rarely be in your neighbor’s house,
Or he will become weary of you and hate you.

For you will heap burning coals on his head,
And the Lord will reward you.

Do not answer a fool according to his folly,
Or you will also be like him.

Though his hatred covers itself with guile,
His wickedness will be revealed before the assembly.

He who digs a pit will fall into it,
And he who rolls a stone, it will come back on him.

He who blesses his friend with a loud voice early in the morning,
It will be reckoned a curse to him.

He who tends the fig tree will eat its fruit,
And he who cares for his master will be honored.

Though you pound a fool in a mortar with a pestle along with crushed grain,
Yet his foolishness will not depart from him.

The lambs will be for your clothing,
And the goats will bring the price of a field,

And there will be goats’ milk enough for your food,
For the food of your household,
And sustenance for your maidens.

He who leads the upright astray in an evil way
Will himself fall into his own pit,
But the blameless will inherit good.

He who conceals his transgressions will not prosper,
But he who confesses and forsakes them will find compassion.

How blessed is the man who fears always,
But he who hardens his heart will fall into calamity.

A leader who is a great oppressor lacks understanding,
But he who hates unjust gain will prolong his days.

A man who is laden with the guilt of human blood
Will be a fugitive until death; let no one support him.

He who walks blamelessly will be delivered,
But he who is crooked will fall all at once.

He who tills his land will have plenty of food,
But he who follows empty pursuits will have poverty in plenty.

A faithful man will abound with blessings,
But he who makes haste to be rich will not go unpunished.

To show partiality is not good,
Because for a piece of bread a man will transgress.

A man with an evil eye hastens after wealth
And does not know that want will come upon him.

He who rebukes a man will afterward find more favor
Than he who flatters with the tongue.

An arrogant man stirs up strife,
But he who trusts in the Lord will prosper.

He who trusts in his own heart is a fool,
But he who walks wisely will be delivered.

He who gives to the poor will never want,
But he who shuts his eyes will have many curses.

A man who hardens his neck after much reproof
Will suddenly be broken beyond remedy.

If a king judges the poor with truth,
His throne will be established forever.

When the wicked increase, transgression increases;
But the righteous will see their fall.

Correct your son, and he will give you comfort;
He will also delight your soul.

A slave will not be instructed by words alone;
For though he understands, there will be no response.

He who pampers his slave from childhood
Will in the end find him to be a son.

A man’s pride will bring him low,
But a humble spirit will obtain honor.

The fear of man brings a snare,
But he who trusts in the Lord will be exalted.

Do not add to His words
Or He will reprove you, and you will be proved a liar.

Do not slander a slave to his master,
Or he will curse you and you will be found guilty.

The leech has two daughters,
“Give,” “Give.”
There are three things that will not be satisfied,
Four that will not say, “Enough”:

The eye that mocks a father
And scorns a mother,
The ravens of the valley will pick it out,
And the young eagles will eat it.

For they will drink and forget what is decreed,
And pervert the rights of all the afflicted.

The heart of her husband trusts in her,
And he will have no lack of gain.

That which has been is that which will be,
And that which has been done is that which will be done.
So there is nothing new under the sun.

There is no remembrance of earlier things;
And also of the later things which will occur,
There will be for them no remembrance
Among those who will come later still.

I said to myself, “Come now, I will test you with pleasure. So enjoy yourself.” And behold, it too was futility.

So I turned to consider wisdom, madness and folly; for what will the man do who will come after the king except what has already been done?

Then I said to myself, “As is the fate of the fool, it will also befall me. Why then have I been extremely wise?” So I said to myself, “This too is vanity.”

For there is no lasting remembrance of the wise man as with the fool, inasmuch as in the coming days all will be forgotten. And how the wise man and the fool alike die!

Thus I hated all the fruit of my labor for which I had labored under the sun, for I must leave it to the man who will come after me.

And who knows whether he will be a wise man or a fool? Yet he will have control over all the fruit of my labor for which I have labored by acting wisely under the sun. This too is vanity.