(Let the wise also hear and gain instruction, and let the discerning acquire guidance!)

My child, do not forget my teaching, but let your heart keep my commandments,

Do not let truth and mercy leave you; bind them around your neck, write them on the tablet of your heart.

My child, do not let them escape from your sight; safeguard sound wisdom and discretion.

he taught me, and he said to me: "Let your heart lay hold of my words; keep my commands so that you will live.

Hold on to instruction, do not let it go; protect it, because it is your life.

Do not let them depart from your sight, guard them within your heart;

Let your eyes look directly in front of you and let your gaze look straight before you.

Let them be for yourself alone, and not for strangers with you.

Do not lust in your heart for her beauty, and do not let her captivate you with her alluring eyes;

Come, let's drink deeply of lovemaking until morning, let's delight ourselves with sexual intercourse.

Do not let your heart turn aside to her ways -- do not wander into her pathways;

"Whoever is naive, let him turn in here," she says to those who lack understanding.

"Whoever is simple, let him turn in here," she says to those who lack understanding.

Do not let your heart envy sinners, but rather be zealous in fearing the Lord all the time.

Give me your heart, my son, and let your eyes observe my ways;

Do not rejoice when your enemy falls, and when he stumbles do not let your heart rejoice,

Let another praise you, and not your own mouth; someone else, and not your own lips.

The one who is tormented by the murder of another will flee to the pit; let no one support him.

A fool lets fly with all his temper, but a wise person keeps it back.

let them drink and forget their poverty, and remember their misery no more.

Give her credit for what she has accomplished, and let her works praise her in the city gates.

Do not be rash with your mouth or hasty in your heart to bring up a matter before God, for God is in heaven and you are on earth! Therefore, let your words be few.

Do not let your mouth cause you to sin, and do not tell the priest, "It was a mistake!" Why make God angry at you so that he would destroy the work of your hands?"

Do not let yourself be quickly provoked, for anger resides in the lap of fools.

Let your clothes always be white, and do not spare precious ointment on your head.

So, if a man lives many years, let him rejoice in them all, but let him remember that the days of darkness will be many -- all that is about to come is obscure.

Rejoice, young man, while you are young, and let your heart cheer you in the days of your youth. Follow the impulses of your heart and the desires of your eyes, but know that God will judge your motives and actions.

Draw me after you; let us hurry! May the king bring me into his bedroom chambers! The Maidens to the Lover: We will rejoice and delight in you; we will praise your love more than wine. The Beloved to Her Lover: How rightly the young women adore you!

The Lover to His Beloved: O my dove, in the clefts of the rock, in the hiding places of the mountain crags, let me see your face, let me hear your voice; for your voice is sweet, and your face is lovely.

Scarcely had I passed them by when I found my beloved! I held onto him tightly and would not let him go until I brought him to my mother's house, to the bedroom chamber of the one who conceived me.

The Beloved to Her Lover: Come, my beloved, let us go to the countryside; let us spend the night in the villages.

Let us rise early to go to the vineyards, to see if the vines have budded, to see if their blossoms have opened, if the pomegranates are in bloom -- there I will give you my love.

The Lover to His Beloved: O you who stay in the gardens, my companions are listening attentively for your voice; let me be the one to hear it!

Come, let's consider your options," says the Lord. "Though your sins have stained you like the color red, you can become white like snow; though they are as easy to see as the color scarlet, you can become white like wool.

many peoples will come and say, "Come, let us go up to the Lord's mountain, to the temple of the God of Jacob, so he can teach us his requirements, and we can follow his standards." For Zion will be the center for moral instruction; the Lord will issue edicts from Jerusalem.

O descendants of Jacob, come, let us walk in the Lord's guiding light.

Seven women will grab hold of one man at that time. They will say, "We will provide our own food, we will provide our own clothes; but let us belong to you -- take away our shame!"

They say, "Let him hurry, let him act quickly, so we can see; let the plan of the Holy One of Israel take shape and come to pass, then we will know it!"

They say, "Let's attack Judah, terrorize it, and conquer it. Then we'll set up the son of Tabeel as its king."

Sing to the Lord, for he has done magnificent things, let this be known throughout the earth!

Please let the Moabite fugitives live among you. Hide them from the destroyer!" Certainly the one who applies pressure will cease, the destroyer will come to an end, those who trample will disappear from the earth.

But where, oh where, are your wise men? Let them tell you, let them find out what the Lord who commands armies has planned for Egypt.

At that time they will say, "Look, here is our God! We waited for him and he delivered us. Here is the Lord! We waited for him. Let's rejoice and celebrate his deliverance!"

unless they became my subjects and made peace with me; let them make peace with me.

you will be blessed, you who plant seed by all the banks of the streams, you who let your ox and donkey graze.

Let the desert and dry region be happy; let the wilderness rejoice and bloom like a lily!

Let it richly bloom; let it rejoice and shout with delight! It is given the grandeur of Lebanon, the splendor of Carmel and Sharon. They will see the grandeur of the Lord, the splendor of our God.

This is what the king says: 'Don't let Hezekiah mislead you, for he is not able to rescue you!

Don't let Hezekiah talk you into trusting in the Lord by saying, "The Lord will certainly rescue us; this city will not be handed over to the king of Assyria."

"Tell King Hezekiah of Judah this: 'Don't let your God in whom you trust mislead you when he says, "Jerusalem will not be handed over to the king of Assyria."

Isaiah ordered, "Let them take a fig cake and apply it to the ulcerated sore and he will get well."

"Listen to me in silence, you coastlands! Let the nations find renewed strength! Let them approach and then speak; let us come together for debate!

"Let them produce evidence! Let them tell us what will happen! Tell us about your earlier predictive oracles, so we may examine them and see how they were fulfilled. Or decree for us some future events!

Let the desert and its cities shout out, the towns where the nomads of Kedar live! Let the residents of Sela shout joyfully; let them shout loudly from the mountaintops.

Let them give the Lord the honor he deserves; let them praise his deeds in the coastlands.

All nations gather together, the peoples assemble. Who among them announced this? Who predicted earlier events for us? Let them produce their witnesses to testify they were right; let them listen and affirm, 'It is true.'

Remind me of what happened! Let's debate! You, prove to me that you are right!

Who is like me? Let him make his claim! Let him announce it and explain it to me -- since I established an ancient people -- let them announce future events!

Look, all his associates will be put to shame; the craftsmen are mere humans. Let them all assemble and take their stand! They will panic and be put to shame.

O sky, rain down from above! Let the clouds send down showers of deliverance! Let the earth absorb it so salvation may grow, and deliverance may sprout up along with it. I, the Lord, create it.

Tell me! Present the evidence! Let them consult with one another! Who predicted this in the past? Who announced it beforehand? Was it not I, the Lord? I have no peer, there is no God but me, a God who vindicates and delivers; there is none but me.

Let your private parts be exposed! Your genitals will be on display! I will get revenge; I will not have pity on anyone,"

You are tired out from listening to so much advice. Let them take their stand -- the ones who see omens in the sky, who gaze at the stars, who make monthly predictions -- let them rescue you from the disaster that is about to overtake you!

Shout for joy, O sky! Rejoice, O earth! Let the mountains give a joyful shout! For the Lord consoles his people and shows compassion to the oppressed.

The one who vindicates me is close by. Who dares to argue with me? Let us confront each other! Who is my accuser? Let him challenge me!

Each one says, 'Come on, I'll get some wine! Let's guzzle some beer! Tomorrow will be just like today! We'll have everything we want!'

When you cry out for help, let your idols help you! The wind blows them all away, a breeze carries them away. But the one who looks to me for help will inherit the land and will have access to my holy mountain."

As when fire ignites dry wood, or fire makes water boil, let your adversaries know who you are, and may the nations shake at your presence!

But where are the gods you made for yourselves? Let them save you when you are in trouble. The sad fact is that you have as many gods as you have towns, Judah.

Let us acknowledge our shame. Let us bear the disgrace that we deserve. For we have sinned against the Lord our God, both we and our ancestors. From earliest times to this very day we have not obeyed the Lord our God.'

The Lord said, "Announce this in Judah and proclaim it in Jerusalem: 'Sound the trumpet throughout the land!' Shout out loudly, 'Gather together! Let us flee into the fortified cities!'

The prophets will prove to be full of wind. The Lord has not spoken through them. So, let what they say happen to them.'"

They do not say to themselves, "Let us revere the Lord our God. It is he who gives us the autumn rains and the spring rains at the proper time. It is he who assures us of the regular weeks of harvest."

They will say, 'Prepare to do battle against it! Come on! Let's attack it at noon!' But later they will say, 'Oh, oh! Too bad! The day is almost over and the shadows of evening are getting long.

So come on, let's go ahead and attack it by night and destroy all its fortified buildings.'

The people say, "Why are we just sitting here? Let us gather together inside the fortified cities. Let us at least die there fighting, since the Lord our God has condemned us to die. He has condemned us to drink the poison waters of judgment because we have sinned against him.

I said, "Indeed, let them come quickly and sing a song of mourning for us. Let them wail loudly until tears stream from our own eyes and our eyelids overflow with water.

Then I will keep the promise I swore on oath to your ancestors to give them a land flowing with milk and honey." That is the very land that you still live in today.'" And I responded, "Amen! Let it be so, Lord!"

Before this I had been like a docile lamb ready to be led to the slaughter. I did not know they were making plans to kill me. I did not know they were saying, "Let's destroy the tree along with its fruit! Let's remove Jeremiah from the world of the living so people will not even be reminded of him any more."

The people I call my own attack me like birds of prey or like hyenas. But other birds of prey are all around them. Let all the nations gather together like wild beasts. Let them come and destroy these people I call my own.

Why must I continually suffer such painful anguish? Why must I endure the sting of their insults like an incurable wound? Will you let me down when I need you like a brook one goes to for water, but that cannot be relied on?"

The Lord said, "So I will now let this wicked people know -- I will let them know my mighty power in judgment. Then they will know that my name is the Lord."

Listen to what they are saying to me. They are saying, "Where are the things the Lord threatens us with? Come on! Let's see them happen!"

May those who persecute me be disgraced. Do not let me be disgraced. May they be dismayed. Do not let me be dismayed. Bring days of disaster on them. Bring on them the destruction they deserve."

Then some people said, "Come on! Let us consider how to deal with Jeremiah! There will still be priests to instruct us, wise men to give us advice, and prophets to declare God's word. Come on! Let's bring charges against him and get rid of him! Then we will not need to pay attention to anything he says."

So let their children die of starvation. Let them be cut down by the sword. Let their wives lose their husbands and children. Let the older men die of disease and the younger men die by the sword in battle.

Let cries of terror be heard in their houses when you send bands of raiders unexpectedly to plunder them. For they have virtually dug a pit to capture me and have hidden traps for me to step into.

But you, Lord, know all their plots to kill me. Do not pardon their crimes! Do not ignore their sins as though you had erased them! Let them be brought down in defeat before you! Deal with them while you are still angry!

I hear many whispering words of intrigue against me. Those who would cause me terror are everywhere! They are saying, "Come on, let's publicly denounce him!" All my so-called friends are just watching for something that would lead to my downfall. They say, "Perhaps he can be enticed into slipping up, so we can prevail over him and get our revenge on him.

Let the prophet who has had a dream go ahead and tell his dream. Let the person who has received my message report that message faithfully. What is like straw cannot compare to what is like grain! I, the Lord, affirm it!

I also told them, "If they are really prophets and the Lord is speaking to them, let them pray earnestly to the Lord who rules over all. Let them plead with him not to let the valuable articles that are still left in the Lord's temple, in the royal palace, and in Jerusalem be taken away to Babylon.

"For the Lord God of Israel who rules over all says, 'Do not let the prophets or those among you who claim to be able to predict the future by divination deceive you. And do not pay any attention to the dreams that you are encouraging them to dream.

Yes, a time is coming when watchmen will call out on the mountains of Ephraim, "Come! Let us go to Zion to worship the Lord our God!"'"

I have indeed heard the people of Israel say mournfully, 'We were like a calf untrained to the yoke. You disciplined us and we learned from it. Let us come back to you and we will do so, for you are the Lord our God.

For King Zedekiah had confined Jeremiah there after he had reproved him for prophesying as he did. He had asked Jeremiah, "Why do you keep prophesying these things? Why do you keep saying that the Lord says, 'I will hand this city over to the king of Babylon? I will let him capture it.

But when King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon invaded the land we said, 'Let's get up and go to Jerusalem to get away from the Babylonian and Aramean armies.' That is why we are staying here in Jerusalem."

Then the officials said to Baruch, "You and Jeremiah must go and hide. You must not let anyone know where you are."

So Ebed Melech took the men with him and went to a room under the treasure room in the palace. He got some worn-out clothes and old rags from there and let them down by ropes to Jeremiah in the cistern.

Then Zedekiah told Jeremiah, "Do not let anyone know about the conversation we have had. If you do, you will die.