Proverbs

1:1 The Proverbs of Solomon son of David, king of Israel: 1:2 To learn wisdom and moral instruction, and to discern wise counsel. 1:3 To receive moral instruction in skillful living, in righteousness, justice, and equity. 1:4 To impart shrewdness to the morally naive, and a discerning plan to the young person. 1:5 (Let the wise also hear and gain instruction, and let the discerning acquire guidance!) 1:6 To discern the meaning of a proverb and a parable, the sayings of the wise and their riddles. Introduction to the Theme of the Book 1:7 Fearing the LORD is the beginning of moral knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and instruction. 1:8 Listen, my child, to the instruction from your father, and do not forsake the teaching from your mother. 1:9 For they will be like an elegant garland on your head, and like

Benefits of Seeking Wisdom 2:1 My child, if you receive my words, and store up my commands within you, 2:2 by making your ear attentive to wisdom, and by turning your heart to understanding, 2:3 indeed, if you call out for discernment – raise your voice for understanding – 2:4 if you seek it like silver, and search for it like hidden treasure, 2:5 then you will understand how to fear the LORD, and you will discover knowledge about God. 2:6 For the LORD gives wisdom, and from his mouth comes knowledge and understanding. 2:7 He stores up effective counsel for the upright, and is like a shield for those who live with integrity, 2:8 to guard the paths of the righteous and to protect the way of his pious ones. 2:9 Then you will understand righteousness and justice and equity – every

Exhortations to Seek Wisdom and Walk with the Lord 3:1 My child, do not forget my teaching, but let your heart keep my commandments, 3:2 for they will provide a long and full life, and they will add well-being to you. 3:3 Do not let truth and mercy leave you; bind them around your neck, write them on the tablet of your heart. 3:4 Then you will find favor and good understanding, in the sight of God and people. 3:5 Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and do not rely on your own understanding. 3:6 Acknowledge him in all your ways, and he will make your paths straight. 3:7 Do not be wise in your own estimation; fear the LORD and turn away from evil. 3:8 This will bring healing to your body, and refreshment to your inner self. 3:9 Honor

Admonition to Follow Righteousness and Avoid Wickedness 4:1 Listen, children, to a father’s instruction, and pay attention so that you may gain discernment. 4:2 Because I give you good instruction, do not forsake my teaching. 4:3 When I was a son to my father, a tender only child before my mother, 4:4 he taught me, and he said to me: “Let your heart lay hold of my words; keep my commands so that you will live. 4:5 Acquire wisdom, acquire understanding; do not forget and do not turn aside from the words I speak. 4:6 Do not forsake wisdom, and she will protect you; love her, and she will guard you. 4:7 Wisdom is supreme – so acquire wisdom, and whatever you acquire, acquire understanding! 4:8 Esteem her highly and she will exalt you; she will honor you if you embrace her. 4:9 She

Admonition to Avoid Seduction to Evil 5:1 My child, be attentive to my wisdom, pay close attention to my understanding, 5:2 in order to safeguard discretion, and that your lips may guard knowledge. 5:3 For the lips of the adulterous woman drip honey, and her seductive words are smoother than olive oil, 5:4 but in the end she is bitter as wormwood, sharp as a two-edged sword. 5:5 Her feet go down to death; her steps lead straight to the grave. 5:6 Lest she should make level the path leading to life, her paths are unstable but she does not know it. 5:7 So now, children, listen to me; do not turn aside from the words I speak. 5:8 Keep yourself far from her, and do not go near the door of her house, 5:9 lest you give your vigor to others and

Admonitions and Warnings against Dangerous and Destructive Acts 6:1 My child, if you have made a pledge for your neighbor, and have become a guarantor for a stranger, 6:2 if you have been ensnared by the words you have uttered, and have been caught by the words you have spoken, 6:3 then, my child, do this in order to deliver yourself, because you have fallen into your neighbor’s power: go, humble yourself, and appeal firmly to your neighbor. 6:4 Permit no sleep to your eyes or slumber to your eyelids. 6:5 Deliver yourself like a gazelle from a snare, and like a bird from the trap of the fowler. 6:6 Go to the ant, you sluggard; observe its ways and be wise! 6:7 It has no commander, overseer, or ruler, 6:8 yet it prepares its food in the summer; it gathers at the

Admonition to Avoid the Wiles of the Adulteress 7:1 My child, keep my words and treasure up my commands in your own keeping. 7:2 Keep my commands so that you may live, and obey my instruction as your most prized possession. 7:3 Bind them on your forearm; write them on the tablet of your heart. 7:4 Say to wisdom, “You are my sister,” and call understanding a close relative, 7:5 so that they may keep you from the adulterous woman, from the loose woman who flatters you with her words. 7:6 For at the window of my house through my window lattice I looked out 7:7 and I saw among the naive – I discerned among the youths – a young man who lacked wisdom. 7:8 He was passing by the street near her corner, making his way along the road to

The Appeal of Wisdom 8:1 Does not wisdom call out? Does not understanding raise her voice? 8:2 At the top of the elevated places along the way, at the intersection of the paths she takes her stand; 8:3 beside the gates opening into the city, at the entrance of the doorways she cries out: 8:4 “To you, O people, I call out, and my voice calls to all mankind. 8:5 You who are naive, discern wisdom! And you fools, understand discernment! 8:6 Listen, for I will speak excellent things, and my lips will utter what is right. 8:7 For my mouth speaks truth, and my lips hate wickedness. 8:8 All the words of my mouth are righteous; there is nothing in them twisted or crooked. 8:9 All of them are clear to the discerning and upright to those who find knowledge. 8:10 Receive my

The Consequences of Accepting Wisdom or Folly 9:1 Wisdom has built her house; she has carved out its seven pillars. 9:2 She has prepared her meat, she has mixed her wine; she also has arranged her table. 9:3 She has sent out her female servants; she calls out on the highest places of the city. 9:4 “Whoever is naive, let him turn in here,” she says to those who lack understanding. 9:5 “Come, eat some of my food, and drink some of the wine I have mixed. 9:6 Abandon your foolish ways so that you may live, and proceed in the way of understanding.” 9:7 Whoever corrects a mocker is asking for insult; whoever reproves a wicked person receives abuse. 9:8 Do not reprove a mocker or he will hate you; reprove a wise person and he will love you. 9:9 Give

The First Collection of Solomonic Proverbs 10:1 The Proverbs of Solomon: A wise child makes a father rejoice, but a foolish child is a grief to his mother. 10:2 Treasures gained by wickedness do not profit, but righteousness delivers from mortal danger. 10:3 The LORD satisfies the appetite of the righteous, but he thwarts the craving of the wicked. 10:4 The one who is lazy becomes poor, but the one who works diligently becomes wealthy. 10:5 The one who gathers crops in the summer is a wise son, but the one who sleeps during the harvest is a son who brings shame to himself. 10:6 Blessings are on the head of the righteous, but the speech of the wicked conceals violence. 10:7 The memory of the righteous is a blessing, but the reputation of the wicked will rot. 10:8 The wise person