Proverbs 3

1 My son, forget not my law; But let thy heart keep my commandments:

2 For length of days, and years of life, And peace, will they add to thee.

3 Let not kindness and truth forsake thee: Bind them about thy neck; Write them upon the tablet of thy heart:

4 So shalt thou find favor and good understanding In the sight of God and man.

5 Trust in Jehovah with all thy heart, And lean not upon thine own understanding:

6 In all thy ways acknowledge him, And he will direct thy paths.

7 Be not wise in thine own eyes; Fear Jehovah, and depart from evil:

8 It will be health to thy navel, And marrow to thy bones.

9 Honor Jehovah with thy substance, And with the first-fruits of all thine increase:

10 So shall thy barns be filled with plenty, And thy vats shall overflow with new wine.

11 My son, despise not the chastening of Jehovah; Neither be weary of his reproof:

12 For whom Jehovah loveth he reproveth; Even as a father the son in whom he delighteth.

13 Happy is the man that findeth wisdom, And the man that getteth understanding.

14 For the gaining of it is better than the gaining of silver, And the profit thereof than fine gold.

15 She is more precious than rubies: And none of the things thou canst desire are to be compared unto her.

16 Length of days is in her right hand; In her left hand are riches and honor.

17 Her ways are ways of pleasantness, And all her paths are peace.

18 She is a tree of life to them that lay hold upon her: And happy is every one that retaineth her.

19 Jehovah by wisdom founded the earth; By understanding he established the heavens.

20 By his knowledge the depths were broken up, And the skies drop down the dew.

21 My son, let them not depart from thine eyes; Keep sound wisdom and discretion:

22 So shall they be life unto thy soul, And grace to thy neck.

23 Then shalt thou walk in thy way securely, And thy foot shall not stumble.

24 When thou liest down, thou shalt not be afraid: Yea, thou shalt lie down, and thy sleep shall be sweet.

25 Be not afraid of sudden fear, Neither of the desolation of the wicked, when it cometh:

26 For Jehovah will be thy confidence, And will keep thy foot from being taken.

27 Withhold not good from them to whom it is due, When it is in the power of thy hand to do it.

28 Say not unto thy neighbor, Go, and come again, And to-morrow I will give; When thou hast it by thee.

29 Devise not evil against thy neighbor, Seeing he dwelleth securely by thee.

30 Strive not with a man without cause, If he have done thee no harm.

31 Envy thou not the man of violence, And choose none of his ways.

32 For the perverse is an abomination to Jehovah; But his friendship is with the upright.

33 The curse of Jehovah is in the house of the wicked; But he blesseth the habitation of the righteous.

34 Surely he scoffeth at the scoffers; But he giveth grace unto the lowly.

35 The wise shall inherit glory; But shame shall be the promotion of fools.

Proverbs 4

1 Hear, my sons, the instruction of a father, And attend to know understanding:

2 For I give you good doctrine; Forsake ye not my law.

3 For I was a son unto my father, Tender and only beloved in the sight of my mother.

4 And he taught me, and said unto me: Let thy heart retain my words; Keep my commandments, and live;

5 Get wisdom, get understanding; Forget not, neither decline from the words of my mouth;

6 Forsake her not, and she will preserve thee; Love her, and she will keep thee.

7 Wisdom is the principal thing; therefore get wisdom; Yea, with all thy getting get understanding.

8 Exalt her, and she will promote thee; She will bring thee to honor, when thou dost embrace her.

9 She will give to thy head a chaplet of grace; A crown of beauty will she deliver to thee.

10 Hear, O my son, and receive my sayings; And the years of thy life shall be many.

11 I have taught thee in the way of wisdom; I have led thee in paths of uprightness.

12 When thou goest, thy steps shall not be straitened; And if thou runnest, thou shalt not stumble.

13 Take fast hold of instruction; let her not go: Keep her; for she is thy life.

14 Enter not into the path of the wicked, And walk not in the way of evil men.

15 Avoid it, pass not by it; Turn from it, and pass on.

16 For they sleep not, except they do evil; And their sleep is taken away, unless they cause some to fall.

17 For they eat the bread of wickedness, And drink the wine of violence.

18 But the path of the righteous is as the dawning light, That shineth more and more unto the perfect day.

19 The way of the wicked is as darkness: They know not at what they stumble.

20 My son, attend to my words; Incline thine ear unto my sayings.

21 Let them not depart from thine eyes; Keep them in the midst of thy heart.

22 For they are life unto those that find them, And health to all their flesh.

23 Keep thy heart with all diligence; For out of it are the issues of life.

24 Put away from thee a wayward mouth, And perverse lips put far from thee.

25 Let thine eyes look right on, And let thine eyelids look straight before thee.

26 Make level the path of thy feet, And let all thy ways be established.

27 Turn not to the right hand nor to the left: Remove thy foot from evil.

Proverbs 5

1 My son, attend unto my wisdom; Incline thine ear to my understanding:

2 That thou mayest preserve discretion, And that thy lips may keep knowledge.

3 For the lips of a strange woman drop honey, And her mouth is smoother than oil:

4 But in the end she is bitter as wormwood, Sharp as a two-edged sword.

5 Her feet go down to death; Her steps take hold on Sheol;

6 So that she findeth not the level path of life: Her ways are unstable, and she knoweth it not.

7 Now therefore, my sons, hearken unto me, And depart not from the words of my mouth.

8 Remove thy way far from her, And come not nigh the door of her house;

9 Lest thou give thine honor unto others, And thy years unto the cruel;

10 Lest strangers be filled with thy strength, And thy labors be in the house of an alien,

11 And thou mourn at thy latter end, When thy flesh and thy body are consumed,

12 And say, How have I hated instruction, And my heart despised reproof;

13 Neither have I obeyed the voice of my teachers, Nor inclined mine ear to them that instructed me!

14 I was well-nigh in all evil In the midst of the assembly and congregation.

15 Drink waters out of thine own cistern, And running waters out of thine own well.

16 Should thy springs be dispersed abroad, And streams of water in the streets?

17 Let them be for thyself alone, And not for strangers with thee.

18 Let thy fountain be blessed; And rejoice in the wife of thy youth.

19  As a loving hind and a pleasant doe, Let her breasts satisfy thee at all times; And be thou ravished always with her love.

20 For why shouldest thou, my son, be ravished with a strange woman, And embrace the bosom of a foreigner?

21 For the ways of man are before the eyes of Jehovah; And he maketh level all his paths.

22 His own iniquities shall take the wicked, And he shall be holden with the cords of his sin.

23 He shall die for lack of instruction; And in the greatness of his folly he shall go astray.