gold.
15She is more precious than rubies;
All of your goods cannot equal her.
16In her right hand is length of days,
In her left, riches and honor.
17Her ways are pleasant ways,
And all her paths, peaceful.
18She is a tree of life to those who grasp her,
And whoever holds on to her is happy.
19The LORD founded the earth by wisdom;
He established the heavens by understanding;
20By His knowledge the depths burst apart,
And the skies distilled dew.
21My son, do not lose sight of them;
Hold on to resourcefulness and foresight.
22They will give life to your spirit
And grace to your throat.
23Then you will go your way safely
And not injure your feet.
24When you lie down you will be unafraid;
You will lie down and your sleep will be sweet.
25You will not fear sudden terror
Or the disaster that comes upon the wicked,
26For the LORD will be your trust;
He will keep your feet from being caught.
27Do not withhold good from one who deserves it
When you have the power to do it [for him].
28Do not say to your fellow, “Come back again;
I’ll give it to you tomorrow,” when you have it with you.
29Do not devise harm against your fellow
Who lives trustfully with you.
30Do not quarrel with a man for no cause,
When he has done you no harm.
31Do not envy a lawless man,
Or choose any of his ways;
32For the devious man is an abomination to the LORD,
But He is intimate with the straightforward.
33The curse of the LORD is on the house of the wicked,
But He blesses the abode of the righteous.
34At scoffers He scoffs,
But to the lowly He shows grace.
35The wise shall obtain honor,
But dullards get disgrace as their portion.
4 Sons, heed the discipline of a father;
Listen and learn discernment,
2For I give you good instruction;
Do not forsake my teaching.
3Once I was a son to my father,
The tender darling of my mother.
4He instructed me and said to me,
“Let your mind hold on to my words;
Keep my commandments and you will live.
5Acquire wisdom, acquire discernment;
Do not forget and do not swerve from my words.
6Do not forsake her and she will guard you;
Love her and she will protect you.
7The beginninga of wisdom is—acquire wisdom;
With all your acquisitions, acquire discernment.
8Hug her to you and she will exalt you;
She will bring you honor if you embrace her.
9She will adorn your head with a graceful wreath;
Crown you with a glorious diadem.”
10My son, heed and take in my words,
And you will have many years of life.
11I instruct you in the way of wisdom;
I guide you in straight courses.
12You will walk without breaking stride;
When you run, you will not stumble.
13Hold fast to discipline; do not let go;
Keep it; it is your life.
14Do not enter on the path of the wicked;
Do not walk on the way of evil men.
15Avoid it; do not pass through it;
Turn away from it; pass it by.
16For they cannot sleep unless they have done evil;
Unless they make someone fall they are robbed of sleep.
17They eat the bread of wickedness
And drink the wine of lawlessness.
18The path of the righteous is like radiant sunlight,
Ever brightening until noon.
19The way of the wicked is all darkness;
They do not know what will make them stumble.
20My son, listen to my speech;
Incline your ear to my words.
21Do not lose sight of them;
Keep them in your mind.
22They are life to him who finds them,
Healing for his whole body.
23More than all that you guard, guard your mind,
For it is the source of life.
24Put crooked speech away from you;
Keep devious talk far from you.
25Let your eyes look forward,
Your gaze be straight ahead.
26Survey the course you take,
And all your ways will prosper.
27Do not swerve to the right or the left;
Keep your feet from evil.
5 My son, listen to my wisdom;
Incline your ear to my insight,
2That you may have foresight,
While your lips hold fast to knowledge.
3For the lips of a forbiddena woman drip honey;
Her mouth is smoother than oil;
4But in the end she is as bitter as wormwood,
Sharp as a two-edged sword.
5Her feet go down to Death;
Her steps take hold of Sheol.
6She does not chart a path of life;
Her course meanders for lack of knowledge.
7So now, sons, pay heed to me,
And do not swerve from the words of my mouth.
8Keep yourself far away from her;
Do not come near the doorway of her house
9Lest you give up your vigor to others,
Your years to a ruthless one;
10Lest strangers eat their fill of your strength,
And your toil be for the house of another;
11And in the end you roar,
When your flesh and body are consumed,
12And say,
“O how I hated discipline,
And heartily spurned rebuke.
13I did not pay heed to my teachers,
Or incline my ear to my instructors.
14Soon I was in dire trouble
Amidst the assembled congregation.”
15Drink water from your own cistern,
Running water from your own well.
16Your springs will gush forth
In streams in the public squares.
17They will be yours alone,
Others having no part with you.
18Let your fountain be blessed;
Find joy in the wife of your youth—
19A loving doe, a graceful mountain goat.
Let her breasts satisfy you at all times;
Be infatuated with love of her always.
20Why be infatuated, my son, with a forbiddena woman?
Why clasp the bosom of an alien woman?
21For a man’s ways are before the eyes of God;
He surveys his entire course.
22The wicked man will be trapped in his iniquities;
He will be caught up in the ropes of his sin.
23He will die for lack of discipline,
Infatuated by his great folly.
6 My son, if you have stood surety for your fellow,
Given your hand for another,a
2You have been trapped by the words of your mouth,
Snared by the words of your mouth.
3Do this, then, my son, to extricate yourself,
For you have come into the power of your fellow:
Go grovel—and badger your fellow;
4Give your eyes no sleep,
Your pupils no slumber.
5Save yourself like a deer out of the hand [of a hunter],
Like a bird out of the hand of a fowler.
6Lazybones, go to the ant;
Study its ways and learn.
7Without leaders, officers, or rulers,
8It lays up its stores during the summer,
Gathers in its food at the harvest.
9How long will you lie there, lazybones;
When will you wake from your sleep?
10A bit more sleep, a bit more slumber,
A bit more hugging yourself in bed,
11And poverty will come b-calling upon you,-b
And want, like a man with a shield.
12A scoundrel, an evil man
Lives by crooked speech,
13Winking his eyes,
Shuffling his feet,
Pointing his finger.
14Duplicity is in his heart;
He plots evil all the time;
He incites quarrels.
15Therefore calamity will come upon him without warning;
Suddenly he will be broken beyond repair.
16Six things the LORD hates;
Seven are an abomination to Him:
17A haughty bearing,
A lying tongue,
Hands that shed innocent blood,
18A mind that hatches evil plots,
Feet quick to run to evil,
19A false witness testifying lies,
And one who incites brothers to quarrel.
20My son, keep your father’s commandment;
Do not forsake your mother’s teaching.
21Tie them over your heart always;
Bind them around your throat.
22When you walk it will lead you;
When you lie down it will watch over you;
And when you are awake it will talk with you.
23For the commandment is a lamp,
The teaching is a light,
And the way to life is the rebuke that disciplines.
24It will keep you from an evil woman,
From the smooth tongue of a forbiddenc woman.
25Do not lust for her beauty
Or let her captivate you with her eyes.
26The last loaf of bread will go for a harlot;
A married woman will snare a person of honor.
27Can a man rake embers into his bosom
Without burning his clothes?
28Can a man walk on live coals
Without scorching his feet?
29It is the same with one who sleeps with his fellow’s wife;
None who touches her will go unpunished.
30A thief is not held in contempt
For stealing to appease his hunger;
31Yet if caught he must pay sevenfold;
He must give up all he owns.
32He who commits adultery is devoid of sense;
Only one who would destroy himself does such a thing.
33He will meet with disease and disgrace;
His reproach will never be expunged.
34The fury of the husband will be passionate;
He will show no pity on his day of vengeance.
35He will not have regard for any ransom;
He will refuse your bribe, however great.
7 My son, heed my words;
And store up my commandments with you.
2Keep my commandments and live,
My teaching, as the apple of your eye.
3Bind them on your fingers;
Write them on the tablet of your mind.
4Say to Wisdom, “You are my sister,”
And call Understanding a kinswoman.
5She will guard you from a forbiddena woman;
From an alien woman whose talk is smooth.
6From the window of my house,
Through my lattice, I looked out
7And saw among the simple,
Noticed among the youths,
A lad devoid of sense.
8He was crossing the street near her corner,
Walking toward her house
9In the dusk of evening,
In the dark hours of night.
10A woman comes toward him
b-Dressed like a harlot, with set purpose.-b
11She is bustling and restive;
She is never at home.
12Now in the street, now in the square,
She lurks at every corner.
13She lays hold of him and kisses him;
Brazenly she says to him,
14“I had to make a sacrifice of well-being;
Today I fulfilled my vows.
15Therefore I have come out to you,
Seeking you, and have found you.
16I have decked my couch with covers
Of dyed Egyptian linen;
17I have sprinkled my bed
With myrrh, aloes, and cinnamon.
18Let us drink our fill of love till morning;
Let us delight in amorous embrace.
19For the man of the house is away;
He is off on a distant journey.
20He took his bag of money with him
And will return only at mid-month.”
21She sways him with her eloquence,
Turns him aside with her smooth talk.
22Thoughtlessly he follows her,
Like an ox going to the slaughter,
b-Like a fool to the stocks for punishment-b—
23Until the arrow pierces his liver.
He is like a bird rushing into a trap,
Not knowing his life is at stake.
24Now, sons, listen to me;
Pay attention to my words;
25Let your mind not wander down her ways;
Do not stray onto her paths.
26For many are those she has struck dead,
And numerous are her victims.
27Her house is a highway to Sheol
Leading