Go to the ant, thou sluggard; consider her ways, and be wise:

So shall thy poverty come as one that travelleth, and thy want as an armed man.

A worthless person, a man of iniquity, Is he that walketh with a perverse mouth;

Frowardness is in his heart, he deviseth mischief continually; he soweth discord.

Therefore suddenly cometh his calamity, Instantly he is broken -- and no healing.

Eyes that are lofty, a tongue that is false, and hands shedding innocent blood;

a false witness that bringeth up lies, and such one as soweth discord among brethren.

For the commandment is a lamp; and the law is light; and reproofs of instruction are the way of life:

To keep thee from the wicked woman, from the flattery of the tongue of her that is a stranger.

For by means of a whorish woman a man is brought to a piece of bread: and the adulteress will hunt for the precious life.

So is he who hath gone in unto the wife of his neighbour, None who doth touch her is innocent.

Men do not despise a thief, if he steal to satisfy his soul when he is hungry;

But when he is found, he must repay seven times [what he stole];
He must give all the property of his house [if necessary to meet his fine].

But whoso committeth adultery with a woman lacketh understanding: he that doeth it destroyeth his own soul.

A stroke and shame he doth find, And his reproach is not wiped away,

For jealousy is the rage of a man: therefore he will not spare in the day of vengeance.

He will not accept {any compensation}, and he will not be willing, though the bribe is large.

My son, keep my words
And treasure my commandments within you [so they are readily available to guide you].

Keep my commandments, and live; and my law as the apple of thine eye.

Say to [skillful and godly] wisdom, “You are my sister,”
And regard understanding and intelligent insight as your intimate friends;

So that they may keep you from the strange woman, even from her whose words are smooth.

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

And there a woman met him,
Dressed as a prostitute and sly and cunning of heart.

(She is loud and stubborn; her feet abide not in her house:

Now is she without, now in the streets, and lieth in wait at every corner.)

That is why I came out to meet you, to look for you, and I found you!

My bed is covered with cushions of needlework, with coloured cloths of the cotton thread of Egypt;

Come, let us take our fill of love until the morning: let us solace ourselves with loves.

For the goodman is not at home, he is gone a long journey:

He has taken a bag of money with him; he is coming back at the full moon.

He goeth after her straightway, as an ox goeth to the slaughter, or as a fool to the correction of the stocks;

Till a dart strike through his liver; as a bird hasteth to the snare, and knoweth not that it is for his life.

Her house is the way to hell, going down to the chambers of death.

Is not wisdom crying out, and the voice of knowledge sounding?

Where the roads go into the town her cry goes out, at the doorways her voice is loud:

Unto you, O men, I call; and my voice is to the sons of man.

Take heed unto knowledge, O ye ignorant; be wise in heart, O ye fools.

Hearken, for noble things I speak, And the opening of my lips is uprightness.

For my mouth shall speak truth; and wickedness is an abomination to my lips.

All the words of my mouth are in righteousness; there is nothing froward or perverse in them.

They are all true to him whose mind is awake, and straightforward to those who get knowledge.

For wisdom is better than rubies; and all the things that may be desired are not to be compared to it.

I, wisdom, have made wise behaviour my near relation; I am seen to be the special friend of wise purposes.

The fear of the LORD is to hate evil: pride, and arrogancy, and the evil way, and the froward mouth, do I hate.

Counsel is mine, and sound wisdom: I am understanding; I have strength.

It is by me that kings reign
and rulers enact just law;

by me, princes lead,
as do nobles and all righteous judges.

Wealth and honor accompany me, as do enduring wealth and righteousness.

My fruit is better than gold, yea, than fine gold; and my revenue than choice silver.

giving wealth as an inheritance to those who love me,
and filling their treasuries.

The Lord made me as the start of his way, the first of his works in the past.

While as yet he had not made the earth, nor the fields, nor the highest part of the dust of the world.

Then I was by him, as one brought up with him: and I was daily his delight, rejoicing always before him;

As for the round compass of his world, I make it joyful: for my delight is to be among the children of men.

Hear instruction, and be wise, and refuse it not.

Blessed is the man that heareth me, watching daily at my gates, waiting at the posts of my doors.

For whoso findeth me findeth life, and shall obtain favour of the LORD.

And whoso is missing me, is wronging his soul, All hating me have loved death!

She has put her fat beasts to death; her wine is mixed, her table is ready.

Whoso is simple, let him turn in hither: as for him that wanteth understanding, she saith to him,

Come, take of my bread, and of my wine which is mixed.

The instructor of a scorner Is receiving for it -- shame, And a reprover of the wicked -- his blemish.

Reprove not a scorner, lest he hate thee: rebuke a wise man, and he will love thee.

Give instruction to a wise man, and he will be yet wiser: teach a just man, and he will increase in learning.

The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom: and the knowledge of the holy is understanding.

If thou be wise, thou shalt be wise for thyself: but if thou scornest, thou alone shalt bear it.

A foolish woman is clamorous: she is simple, and knoweth nothing.

to call such as go by, and walk straight in their ways.

Whoso is simple, let him turn in hither: and as for him that wanteth understanding, she saith to him,

Stolen waters are sweet, and bread eaten in secret is pleasant.

But they consider not that death is there, and that her guests go down to hell.

The proverbs of Solomon. A wise son maketh a glad father: but a foolish son is the heaviness of his mother.

Wealth which comes from sin is of no profit, but righteousness gives salvation from death.

Poor is he who is working -- a slothful hand, And the hand of the diligent maketh rich.

He that gathereth in summer is a wise son: but he that sleepeth in harvest is a son that causeth shame.

Loving and favorable is the face of the righteous; but the forehead of the ungodly is past shame, and presumptuous.

The memory of the just is blessed: but the name of the wicked shall rot.

The wise in heart will receive commandments: but a prating fool shall fall.

Whoso is walking in integrity walketh confidently, And whoso is perverting his ways is known.

Whoso is winking the eye giveth grief, And a talkative fool kicketh.

The mouth of a righteous man is a well of life: but violence covereth the mouth of the wicked.

Hate is a cause of violent acts, but all errors are covered up by love.

In the lips of him that hath understanding wisdom is found: but a rod is for the back of him that is void of understanding.

Wise men lay up knowledge: but the mouth of the foolish is near destruction.

The rich man's wealth is his strong city: the destruction of the poor is their poverty.

The wage of the righteous is for life, The increase of the wicked for sin.

He is in the way of life that keepeth instruction: but he that refuseth reproof erreth.

He that hideth hatred with lying lips, and he that uttereth a slander, is a fool.

In the multitude of words there wanteth not sin: but he that refraineth his lips is wise.

The tongue of the just is as choice silver: the heart of the wicked is little worth.

It is the blessing of the Lord that makes rich,
And He adds no sorrow to it.

It is as sport to a fool to do mischief: but a man of understanding hath wisdom.

The feared thing of the wicked it meeteth him, And the desire of the righteous is given.

As the whirlwind passeth, so is the wicked no more: but the righteous is an everlasting foundation.

As vinegar to the teeth, and as smoke to the eyes, so is the sluggard to them that send him.

The hope of the righteous is joy; but the expectation of the wicked shall perish.

The way of the LORD is strength to the upright: but destruction shall be to the workers of iniquity.

The righteous to the age is not moved, And the wicked inhabit not the earth.

The mouth of the righteous uttereth wisdom, And the tongue of frowardness is cut out.

The lips of the righteous know what is acceptable: but the mouth of the wicked speaketh frowardness.