For why should you, my son, be exhilarated with an adulteress
And embrace the bosom of a foreigner?

My son, if you have become surety for your neighbor,
Have given a pledge for a stranger,

Do this then, my son, and deliver yourself;
Since you have come into the hand of your neighbor,
Go, humble yourself, and importune your neighbor.

My son, observe the commandment of your father
And do not forsake the teaching of your mother;

My son, keep my words
And treasure my commandments within you.

Keep my commandments and live,
And my teaching as the apple of your eye.

Say to wisdom, “You are my sister,”
And call understanding your intimate friend;

That they may keep you from an adulteress,
From the foreigner who flatters with her words.

For at the window of my house
I looked out through my lattice,

“I was due to offer peace offerings;
Today I have paid my vows.

“I have spread my couch with coverings,
With colored linens of Egypt.

“I have sprinkled my bed
With myrrh, aloes and cinnamon.

“For my husband is not at home,
He has gone on a long journey;

Now therefore, my sons, listen to me,
And pay attention to the words of my mouth.

“To you, O men, I call,
And my voice is to the sons of men.

“Listen, for I will speak noble things;
And the opening of my lips will reveal right things.

“For my mouth will utter truth;
And wickedness is an abomination to my lips.

“All the utterances of my mouth are in righteousness;
There is nothing crooked or perverted in them.

“Take my instruction and not silver,
And knowledge rather than choicest gold.

“By me kings reign,
And rulers decree justice.

“By me princes rule, and nobles,
All who judge rightly.

“I love those who love me;
And those who diligently seek me will find me.

“Riches and honor are with me,
Enduring wealth and righteousness.

“My fruit is better than gold, even pure gold,
And my yield better than choicest silver.

To endow those who love me with wealth,
That I may fill their treasuries.

“The Lord possessed me at the beginning of His way,
Before His works of old.

Rejoicing in the world, His earth,
And having my delight in the sons of men.

“Now therefore, O sons, listen to me,
For blessed are they who keep my ways.

“Blessed is the man who listens to me,
Watching daily at my gates,
Waiting at my doorposts.

“For he who finds me finds life
And obtains favor from the Lord.

“But he who sins against me injures himself;
All those who hate me love death.”

“Come, eat of my food
And drink of the wine I have mixed.

For by me your days will be multiplied,
And years of life will be added to you.

Even in laughter the heart may be in pain,
And the end of joy may be grief.

The fear of the Lord is a fountain of life,
That one may avoid the snares of death.

The path of life leads upward for the wise
That he may keep away from Sheol below.

Listen to counsel and accept discipline,
That you may be wise the rest of your days.

The fear of the Lord leads to life,
So that one may sleep satisfied, untouched by evil.

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.

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

Incline your ear and hear the words of the wise,
And apply your mind to my knowledge;

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

So that your trust may be in the Lord,
I have taught you today, even you.

To make you know the certainty of the words of truth
That you may correctly answer him who sent you?

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.

Listen, my son, and be wise,
And direct your heart in the way.

Give me your heart, my son,
And let your eyes delight in my ways.

“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.”

My son, eat honey, for it is good,
Yes, the honey from the comb is sweet to your taste;

My son, fear the Lord and the king;
Do not associate with those who are given to change,

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.”

By forbearance a ruler may be persuaded,
And a soft tongue breaks the bone.

Do not boast about tomorrow,
For you do not know what a day may bring forth.

Be wise, my son, and make my heart glad,
That I may reply to him who reproaches me.

Two things I asked of You,
Do not refuse me before I die:

Keep deception and lies far from me,
Give me neither poverty nor riches;
Feed me with the food that is my portion,

That I not be full and deny You and say, “Who is the Lord?”
Or that I not be in want and steal,
And profane the name of my God.

There are three things which are too wonderful for me,
Four which I do not understand:

The lizard you may grasp with the hands,
Yet it is in kings’ palaces.

What, O my son?
And what, O son of my womb?
And what, O son of my vows?

And I set my mind to seek and explore by wisdom concerning all that has been done under heaven. It is a grievous task which God has given to the sons of men to be afflicted with.

I said to myself, “Behold, I have magnified and increased wisdom more than all who were over Jerusalem before me; and my mind has observed a wealth of wisdom and knowledge.”

And I set my mind to know wisdom and to know madness and folly; I realized that this also is striving after wind.

I explored with my mind how to stimulate my body with wine while my mind was guiding me wisely, and how to take hold of folly, until I could see what good there is for the sons of men to do under heaven the few years of their lives.

I enlarged my works: I built houses for myself, I planted vineyards for myself;

I bought male and female slaves and I had homeborn slaves. Also I possessed flocks and herds larger than all who preceded me in Jerusalem.

Then I became great and increased more than all who preceded me in Jerusalem. My wisdom also stood by me.

All that my eyes desired I did not refuse them. I did not withhold my heart from any pleasure, for my heart was pleased because of all my labor and this was my reward for all my labor.

Thus I considered all my activities which my hands had done and the labor which I had exerted, and behold all was vanity and striving after wind and there was no profit under the sun.

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.”

So I hated life, for the work which had been done under the sun was grievous to me; because everything is futility and striving after wind.

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.

Therefore I completely despaired of all the fruit of my labor for which I had labored under the sun.

For to a person who is good in His sight He has given wisdom and knowledge and joy, while to the sinner He has given the task of gathering and collecting so that he may give to one who is good in God’s sight. This too is vanity and striving after wind.

Sorrow is better than laughter,
For when a face is sad a heart may be happy.

I have seen everything during my lifetime of futility; there is a righteous man who perishes in his righteousness and there is a wicked man who prolongs his life in his wickedness.

I tested all this with wisdom, and I said, “I will be wise,” but it was far from me.

I directed my mind to know, to investigate and to seek wisdom and an explanation, and to know the evil of folly and the foolishness of madness.

All this I have seen and applied my mind to every deed that has been done under the sun wherein a man has exercised authority over another man to his hurt.

Although a sinner does evil a hundred times and may lengthen his life, still I know that it will be well for those who fear God, who fear Him openly.

When I gave my heart to know wisdom and to see the task which has been done on the earth (even though one should never sleep day or night),

For I have taken all this to my heart and explain it that righteous men, wise men, and their deeds are in the hand of God. Man does not know whether it will be love or hatred; anything awaits him.

Also this I came to see as wisdom under the sun, and it impressed me.

He who digs a pit may fall into it, and a serpent may bite him who breaks through a wall.

He who quarries stones may be hurt by them, and he who splits logs may be endangered by them.

Divide your portion to seven, or even to eight, for you do not know what misfortune may occur on the earth.

But beyond this, my son, be warned: the writing of many books is endless, and excessive devotion to books is wearying to the body.

“May he kiss me with the kisses of his mouth!
For your love is better than wine.

“Draw me after you and let us run together!
The king has brought me into his chambers.”
“We will rejoice in you and be glad;
We will extol your love more than wine.
Rightly do they love you.”

“Do not stare at me because I am swarthy,
For the sun has burned me.
My mother’s sons were angry with me;
They made me caretaker of the vineyards,
But I have not taken care of my own vineyard.

“Tell me, O you whom my soul loves,
Where do you pasture your flock,
Where do you make it lie down at noon?
For why should I be like one who veils herself
Beside the flocks of your companions?”

“To me, my darling, you are like
My mare among the chariots of Pharaoh.

“While the king was at his table,
My perfume gave forth its fragrance.

“My beloved is to me a pouch of myrrh
Which lies all night between my breasts.

“My beloved is to me a cluster of henna blossoms
In the vineyards of Engedi.”

“How beautiful you are, my darling,
How beautiful you are!
Your eyes are like doves.”

“How handsome you are, my beloved,
And so pleasant!
Indeed, our couch is luxuriant!