Teach me to do Your will,
for You are my God.
May Your gracious Spirit
lead me on level ground.

God, I will sing a new song to You;
I will play on a ten-stringed harp for You—

Happy are the people with such blessings.
Happy are the people whose God is Yahweh.

A Davidic hymn.I exalt You, my God the King,
and praise Your name forever and ever.

The Lord is good to everyone;
His compassion rests on all He has made.

Happy is the one whose help is the God of Jacob,
whose hope is in the Lord his God,

The Lord reigns forever;
Zion, your God reigns for all generations.
Hallelujah!

Hallelujah!
How good it is to sing to our God,
for praise is pleasant and lovely.

Sing to the Lord with thanksgiving;
play the lyre to our God,

Exalt the Lord, Jerusalem;
praise your God, Zion!

Let the exaltation of God be in their mouths
and a double-edged sword in their hands,

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

then you will understand the fear of the Lord
and discover the knowledge of God.

Then you will understand righteousness, justice,
and integrity—every good path.

who abandons the companion of her youth
and forgets the covenant of her God;

So follow the way of good people,
and keep to the paths of the righteous.

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

Then you will find favor and high regard
in the sight of God and man.

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

for I am giving you good instruction.
Don’t abandon my teaching.

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

Wisdom is supreme—so get wisdom.
And whatever else you get, get understanding.

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

He will get a beating and dishonor,
and his disgrace will never be removed.

I possess good advice and competence;
I have understanding and strength.

The one who corrects a mocker
will bring dishonor on himself;
the one who rebukes a wicked man will get hurt.

The fear of the Lord prolongs life,
but the years of the wicked are cut short.

The mouth of the righteous produces wisdom,
but a perverse tongue will be cut out.

A beautiful woman who rejects good sense
is like a gold ring in a pig’s snout.

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

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

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

Anxiety in a man’s heart weighs it down,
but a good word cheers it up.

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

Good sense wins favor,
but the way of the treacherous never changes.

Disaster pursues sinners,
but good rewards the righteous.

A good man leaves an inheritance to his grandchildren,
but the sinner’s wealth is stored up for the righteous.

The disloyal one will get what his conduct deserves,
and a good man, what his deeds deserve.

The evil bow before those who are good,
the wicked, at the gates of the righteous.

Don’t those who plan evil go astray?
But those who plan good find loyalty and faithfulness.

The eyes of the Lord are everywhere,
observing the wicked and the good.

A man takes joy in giving an answer;
and a timely word—how good that is!

Bright eyes cheer the heart;
good news strengthens the bones.

Anyone who ignores discipline despises himself,
but whoever listens to correction acquires good sense.

God’s verdict is on the lips of a king;
his mouth should not give an unfair judgment.

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

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

A joyful heart is good medicine,
but a broken spirit dries up the bones.

It is certainly not good to fine an innocent person
or to beat a noble for his honesty.

It is not good to show partiality to the guilty
by perverting the justice due the innocent.

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

Even zeal is not good without knowledge,
and the one who acts hastily sins.

The one who acquires good sense loves himself;
one who safeguards understanding finds success.

It is honorable for a man to resolve a dispute,
but any fool can get himself into a quarrel.

Take his garment,
for he has put up security for a stranger;
get collateral if it is for foreigners.

The one who loves pleasure will become a poor man;
whoever loves wine and oil will not get rich.

A good name is to be chosen over great wealth;
favor is better than silver and gold.

Don’t rob a poor man because he is poor,
and don’t crush the oppressed at the gate,

Don’t wear yourself out to get rich;
stop giving your attention to it.

Wisdom is inaccessible to a fool;
he does not open his mouth at the gate.

Eat honey, my son, for it is good,
and the honeycomb is sweet to your palate;

Though a righteous man falls seven times,
he will get up,
but the wicked will stumble into ruin.

These sayings also belong to the wise:

It is not good to show partiality in judgment.

It is the glory of God to conceal a matter
and the glory of kings to investigate a matter.

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

Seldom set foot in your neighbor’s house;
otherwise, he’ll get sick of you and hate you.

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

It is not good to eat too much honey
or to seek glory after glory.

Take his garment,
for he has put up security for a stranger;
get collateral if it is for foreigners.

there will be enough goat’s milk for your food—
food for your household
and nourishment for your female servants.

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The one who leads the upright into an evil way
will fall into his own pit,
but the blameless will inherit what is good.

A faithful man will have many blessings,
but one in a hurry to get rich
will not go unpunished.

It is not good to show partiality—
yet a man may sin for a piece of bread.

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

Otherwise, I might have too much
and deny You, saying, “Who is the Lord?”
or I might have nothing and steal,
profaning the name of my God.

a strutting rooster, a goat,
and a king at the head of his army.

The heart of her husband trusts in her,
and he will not lack anything good.

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

She sees that her profits are good,
and her lamp never goes out at night.

I applied my mind to seek and explore through wisdom all that is done under heaven. God has given people this miserable task to keep them occupied.

I said to myself, “Go ahead, I will test you with pleasure; enjoy what is good.” But it turned out to be futile.

I explored with my mind how to let my body enjoy life with wine and how to grasp folly—my mind still guiding me with wisdom—until I could see what is good for people to do under heaven during the few days of their lives.

For what does a man get with all his work and all his efforts that he labors at under the sun?

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,

For to the man who is pleasing in His sight, He gives wisdom, knowledge, and joy, but to the sinner He gives the task of gathering and accumulating in order to give to the one who is pleasing in God’s sight. This too is futile and a pursuit of the wind.

I have seen the task that God has given people to keep them occupied.

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 there is nothing better for them than to rejoice and enjoy the good life.

It is also the gift of God whenever anyone eats, drinks, and enjoys all his efforts.

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.

Whatever is, has already been, and whatever will be, already is. God repeats what has passed.

I said to myself, “God will judge the righteous and the wicked, since there is a time for every activity and every work.”

I said to myself, “This happens concerning people, so that God may test them and they may see for themselves that they are like animals.”

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.

Two are better than one because they have a good reward for their efforts.

Guard your steps when you go to the house of God. Better to draw near in obedience than to offer the sacrifice as fools do, for they ignorantly do wrong.

Do not be hasty to speak, and do not be impulsive to make a speech before God. God is in heaven and you are on earth, so let your words be few.

When you make a vow to God, don’t delay fulfilling it, because He does not delight in fools. Fulfill what you vow.

Do not let your mouth bring guilt on you, and do not say in the presence of the messenger that it was a mistake. Why should God be angry with your words and destroy the work of your hands?

For many dreams bring futility, so do many words. Therefore, fear God.