Do not be afraid of sudden disaster, or the devastation that comes to the wicked.

The path of the righteous is like the light of dawn that grows brighter until the full light of day.

For the lips of an adulteress drip honey, and her speech is smoother than oil.

so that you don't give your honor to others, and waste your best years;

so that strangers don't enrich themselves at your expense, and your work won't end up the possession of foreigners.

Here are six things that the LORD hates seven, in fact, are detestable to him:

Because the command is a lamp and the Law a light, rebukes that discipline are a way of life

and I noticed among the naive that is, I discerned among the youths a senseless young man.

because wisdom is better than precious gems and nothing you desire can compare to it."

My fruit is better than gold, better than even refined gold, and my benefit surpasses the purest silver.

I walk on the way of righteousness, along paths that are just,

"Come! Eat my food, and drink the wine that I have mixed.

But he does not realize that the dead lurk there, and her invited guests wind up in the depths of Sheol.

The rich hide within the fortress that is their wealth, but the poor are dismayed due to their poverty.

It's better to be unimportant, yet have a servant, than to pretend to be important, but lack food.

In the pathway to righteousness there is life, and in that lifestyle there is no death.

There is a pathway that seems right to a man, but in the end it's a road to death.

The crown of the wise is their wealth, but the stupidity of fools is just that stupidity!

Better is a little accompanied by fear of the LORD than abundant wealth with turmoil.

A vegetarian meal served with love is better than a big, thick steak with a plateful of animosity.

A little gain with righteousness is better than great income without justice.

When a king is pleased, there is life, and his favor is like a cloud that brings spring rain.

How much better than gaining gold is the acquisition of wisdom, the attainment of wisdom better than silver!

Better to be humble among the poor, than to share what is stolen with the proud.

The wise-hearted person is told to be discerning, and that pleasant speech promotes instruction.

There is a road that seems right for a man to travel, but in the end it's the road to death.

A violent man entices his companion and leads him on a path that is not good.

Whoever controls his temper is better than a warrior, and anyone who has control of his spirit is better than someone who captures a city.

Dry crumbs in peace are better than a full meal with strife.

A rebuke is more effective with a man of understanding than a hundred lashes to a fool.

It's better to meet a mother bear who has lost her cubs than a fool in his stupidity.

An offended brother is more unyielding than a fortified city, and his disputes are like the bars of a fortress.

The positive words that a man speaks fill his stomach; he will be satisfied with what his lips produce.

A man with many friends can still be ruined, but a true friend sticks closer than a brother.

A poor man who walks blamelessly is better than a fool who speaks perversely.

A person's discretion makes him slow to anger, and it is to his credit that he ignores an offence.

A father's ruin is a foolish son, and a wife's quarreling is like dripping water that never stops.

Human beings long for grace, and it's better to be poor than a man of deceit.

The ear that hears and the eye that sees the LORD surely made them both.

Don't say "I'll avenge that wrong!" Wait on the LORD and he will deliver you.

Blows that wound clean away evil; such beatings cleanse the innermost being.

A king's heart is a water stream that the LORD controls; he directs it wherever he pleases.

To do what is right and just is more acceptable to the LORD than sacrifice.

It's better to live in a corner on the roof than to share a house with a contentious woman.

It's better to live in the wilderness than to live with a contentious and irritable woman.

A good reputation is more desirable than great wealth, and favorable acceptance more than silver and gold.

As a result, your trust will be in the LORD, that's why I'm teaching you today, even you.

Don't remove an ancient boundary stone that was set up by your ancestors.

Keep in mind that wisdom is like that for your soul; if you find it, there will be a future for you, and what you hope for won't be cut short.

A kiss on the lips that's what someone who gives an honest answer deserves.

First do your outside work, preparing your land for yourself. After that, build your house.

for it is better that it be told you, "Come up here," than for you to be placed lower in the presence of an official. What you've seen with your own eyes,

A club, a sword, and a sharp arrow that's what a man is who lies about his neighbor.

A bad tooth and an unsteady foot that's what confidence in an unreliable man is like in a time of trouble.

Taking your coat off when it's cold or pouring vinegar on soda that's what singing songs does to a heavy heart.

It's better to live in a corner on the roof than in a house with a contentious woman.

Cold water to someone who is thirsty that's what good news from a distant land is.

A muddied spring or a polluted well that's what a righteous person is who compromises with the wicked.

Useless legs to the lame that's what a proverb quoted by a fool is.

Tying a stone to a sling that's what giving honor to a fool is.

A thorn in the hand of a drunkard that's what a proverb quoted by a fool is.

A dog that returns to its vomit is like a fool who reverts to his folly.

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

The lazy person is wiser in his own opinion than seven men who can give an appropriate response.

Picking up a dog by the ears that's what someone is like who meddles in another's fight.

that's what someone is like who lies to his neighbor and then says, "I was joking, wasn't I?"

A clay vessel plated with a thin veneer of silver that's what smooth lips with a wicked heart are.

An open rebuke is better than unspoken love.

Like a bird that strays from its nest is a man who wanders away from his home.

Never abandon your friend nor your father's friend, and don't go to your brother's house in times of trouble. A neighbor who is near is better than a brother who lives far away.

A poor man who oppresses the weak is like a rainstorm that destroys all the crops.

It's better to be poor and live a blameless life than to be rich but crooked in one's lifestyle.

A roaring lion and a charging bear that's what a wicked tyrant is over poor people.

The miser is in a hurry to get wealthy, but he isn't aware that poverty will catch up with him.

Whoever rebukes a man will later on find more favor than someone who flatters with his words.

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

Keep deception and lies far away from me, and give me neither poverty nor wealth. Feed me with food that I need for today,

so that I don't become overfed and deny you by saying, "Who is the LORD?" or so that I don't become poor and steal, and then misuse the name of my God.

Don't lie about a servant to his master, or that servant will curse you and you will pay for it.

The afterlife, the barren womb, earth that still demands water, and fire they never say, "Enough".

The eye that mocks a father and looks with a disobedient attitude at a mother the valley ravens will pluck it out; and vultures will eat it.

She is like a seagoing ship that brings her food from far away.

She is confident that her profits are sufficient. Her lamp does not go out at night.

What does a man gain from all of the work that he undertakes on earth?

Everything is wearisome, more than man is able to express. The eye is never satisfied by seeing, nor the ear by hearing.

I dedicated myself to using wisdom for study and discovery of everything that is done under heaven. God uses terrible things so human beings will struggle with life.

I told myself, "I have become greater and wiser than anyone who ruled before me in Jerusalem yes, I have acquired a great deal of wisdom and knowledge."

So I dedicated myself to learn about wisdom and knowledge, and about insanity and foolishness. And I discovered that this is also like chasing after the wind.

I built for myself water reservoirs to irrigate forests that produce trees.

I acquired male and female slaves, and had other slaves born in my house. I also acquired for myself increasing numbers of herds and flocks more than anyone who had lived before me in Jerusalem.

So I became great, greater than anyone who had lived before me in Jerusalem. Throughout all of this, I remained wise.

Whenever I wanted something I had seen, I never refused that desire. Instead, I enjoyed everything I did, and this became the reward in what I had undertaken.

Then I examined all of my accomplishments that I had brought about by my own efforts, including the work that I had labored so hard to complete and it was all pointless, like chasing after the wind, and there was nothing to be gained on earth.

I concluded that wisdom is more useful than foolishness, just as light is more useful than darkness.

The wise use their eyes, but the fool walks in darkness. I also perceived that the same outcome affects them all.

Then I told myself, "Whatever happens to the fool will happen also to me. Therefore what's the point in being so wise?" And I told myself that this also is pointless.

Then I despised everything I had worked for on earth, that is, the things that I will leave to the person who will succeed me.

And who knows whether he will be wise or foolish? Either way, he will take possession of everything that I have done on earth, especially where I have excelled. This also is pointless.

For what does a person gain from everything that he accomplishes and from his inner life struggles that he undergoes while working on earth?

The only worthwhile thing for a human being is to eat, drink, and enjoy life's goodness that he finds in what he accomplishes. This, I observed, is also from the hand of God himself,