Set me free and rescue me
from the grasp of foreigners
whose mouths speak lies,
whose right hands are deceptive.

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

Praise the Lord from the earth,
all sea monsters and ocean depths,

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!

Such are the paths of all who make profit dishonestly;
it takes the lives of those who receive it.

But whoever listens to me will live securely
and be free from the fear of danger.”

For the Lord gives wisdom;
from His mouth come knowledge and understanding.

rescuing you from the way of evil—
from the one who says perverse things,

from those who abandon the right paths
to walk in ways of darkness,

from those who enjoy doing evil
and celebrate perversion,

It will rescue you from a forbidden woman,
from a stranger with her flattering talk,

but the wicked will be cut off from the land,
and the treacherous uprooted from it.

Don’t consider yourself to be wise;
fear the Lord and turn away from evil.

for the Lord will be your confidence
and will keep your foot from a snare.

When it is in your power,
don’t withhold good from the one it belongs to.

Get wisdom, get understanding;
don’t forget or turn away from the words of my mouth.

Avoid it; don’t travel on it.
Turn away from it, and pass it by.

Don’t turn to the right or to the left;
keep your feet away from evil.

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

Keep your way far from her.
Don’t go near the door of her house.

Drink water from your own cistern,
water flowing from your own well.

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

How long will you stay in bed, you slacker?
When will you get up from your sleep?

They will protect you from an evil woman,
from the flattering tongue of a stranger.

She will keep you from a forbidden woman,
a stranger with her flattering talk.

I’ve spread coverings on my bed—
richly colored linen from Egypt.

I was formed before ancient times,
from the beginning, before the earth began.

For the one who finds me finds life
and obtains favor from the Lord,

She has sent out her female servants;
she calls out from the highest points of the city:

Ill-gotten gains do not profit anyone,
but righteousness rescues from death.

Wealth is not profitable on a day of wrath,
but righteousness rescues from death.

The righteous one is rescued from trouble;
in his place, the wicked one goes in.

The good person obtains favor from the Lord,
but He condemns a man who schemes.

The thoughts of the righteous are just,
but guidance from the wicked leads to deceit.

An evil man is trapped by his rebellious speech,
but a righteous one escapes from trouble.

From the words of his mouth,
a man will enjoy good things,
but treacherous people have an appetite for violence.

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

Desire fulfilled is sweet to the taste,
but to turn from evil
is an abomination to fools.

Stay away from a foolish man;
you will gain no knowledge from his speech.

A wise man is cautious and turns from evil,
but a fool is easily angered and is careless.

The fear of the Lord is a fountain of life,
turning people away from the snares of death.

The Lord is far from the wicked,
but He hears the prayer of the righteous.

The reflections of the heart belong to man,
but the answer of the tongue is from the Lord.

Wickedness is atoned for by loyalty and faithfulness,
and one turns from evil by the fear of the Lord.

The lot is cast into the lap,
but its every decision is from the Lord.

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If anyone returns evil for good,
evil will never depart from his house.

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

A man who finds a wife finds a good thing
and obtains favor from the Lord.

Wealth attracts many friends,
but a poor man is separated from his friend.

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 house and wealth are inherited from fathers,
but a sensible wife is from the Lord.

If you stop listening to correction, my son,
you will stray from the words of knowledge.

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

The man who strays from the way of wisdom
will come to rest
in the assembly of the departed spirits.

A horse is prepared for the day of battle,
but victory comes from the Lord.

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There are thorns and snares on the path of the crooked;
the one who guards himself stays far from them.

Teach a youth about the way he should go;
even when he is old he will not depart from it.

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

If you have no money to pay,
even your bed will be taken from under you.

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.

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

Remove impurities from silver,
and a vessel will be produced for a silversmith.

Remove the wicked from the king’s presence,
and his throne will be established in righteousness.

If you find honey, eat only what you need;
otherwise, you’ll get sick from it and vomit.

Good news from a distant land
is like cold water to a parched throat.

A stone is heavy and sand, a burden,
but aggravation from a fool outweighs them both.

A man wandering from his home
is like a bird wandering from its nest.

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

When hay is removed and new growth appears
and the grain from the hills is gathered in,

Anyone who turns his ear away from hearing the law—
even his prayer is detestable.

A slave pampered from his youth
will become arrogant later on.

Many seek a ruler’s favor,
but a man receives justice from the Lord.

Keep falsehood and deceitful words far from me.
Give me neither poverty nor wealth;
feed me with the food I need.

There is a generation that is pure in its own eyes,
yet is not washed from its filth.

There is a generation whose teeth are swords,
whose fangs are knives,
devouring the oppressed from the land
and the needy from among mankind.

She is like the merchant ships,
bringing her food from far away.

I constructed reservoirs of water for myself from which to irrigate a grove of flourishing trees.

There is nothing better for man than to eat, drink, and enjoy his work. I have seen that even this is from God’s hand,

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

What does the worker gain from his struggles?

He has made everything appropriate in its time. He has also put eternity in their hearts, but man cannot discover the work God has done from beginning to end.

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.

All are going to the same place; all come from dust, and all return to dust.

There is a person without a companion, without even a son or brother, and though there is no end to all his struggles, his eyes are still not content with riches. “So who am I struggling for,” he asks, “and depriving myself from good?” This too is futile and a miserable task.

For he came from prison to be king, even though he was born poor in his kingdom.

For dreams result from much work and a fool’s voice from many words.

The profit from the land is taken by all; the king is served by the field.

As he came from his mother’s womb, so he will go again, naked as he came; he will take nothing for his efforts that he can carry in his hands.

It is better to listen to rebuke from a wise person
than to listen to the song of fools,

It is good that you grasp the one and do not let the other slip from your hand. For the one who fears God will end up with both of them.

In such circumstances, I saw the wicked buried. They came and went from the holy place, and they were praised in the city where they did so. This too is futile.

There is an evil I have seen under the sun, an error proceeding from the presence of the ruler:

The words from the mouth of a wise man are gracious,
but the lips of a fool consume him.

Remove sorrow from your heart,
and put away pain from your flesh,
because youth and the prime of life are fleeting.

The sayings of the wise are like goads, and those from masters of collections are like firmly embedded nails. The sayings are given by one Shepherd.

N What is this coming up from the wilderness
like columns of smoke,
scented with myrrh and frankincense
from every fragrant powder of the merchant?

It is Solomon’s royal litter
surrounded by 60 warriors
from the mighty of Israel.

King Solomon made a sedan chair for himself
with wood from Lebanon.

Your teeth are like a flock of newly shorn sheep
coming up from washing,
each one having a twin,
and not one missing.