Proverbs 6

1 My son, if thou art become surety for thy neighbor, If thou hast stricken thy hands for a stranger;

2 Thou art snared with the words of thy mouth, Thou art taken with the words of thy mouth.

3 Do this now, my son, and deliver thyself, Seeing thou art come into the hand of thy neighbor: Go, humble thyself, and importune thy neighbor;

4 Give not sleep to thine eyes, Nor slumber to thine eyelids;

5 Deliver thyself as a roe from the hand of the hunter, And as a bird from the hand of the fowler.

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

7 Which having no chief, Overseer, or ruler,

8 Provideth her bread in the summer, And gathereth her food in the harvest.

9 How long wilt thou sleep, O sluggard? When wilt thou arise out of thy sleep?

10  Yet a little sleep, a little slumber, A little folding of the hands to sleep:

11 So shall thy poverty come as a robber, And thy want as an armed man.

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

13 That winketh with his eyes, that speaketh with his feet, That maketh signs with his fingers;

14 In whose heart is perverseness, Who deviseth evil continually, Who soweth discord.

15 Therefore shall his calamity come suddenly; On a sudden shall he be broken, and that without remedy.

16 There are six things which Jehovah hateth; Yea, seven which are an abomination unto him:

17 Haughty eyes, a lying tongue, And hands that shed innocent blood;

18 A heart that deviseth wicked purposes, Feet that are swift in running to mischief,

19 A false witness that uttereth lies, And he that soweth discord among brethren.

20 My son, keep the commandment of thy father, And forsake not the law of thy mother:

21 Bind them continually upon thy heart; Tie them about thy neck.

22 When thou walkest, it shall lead thee; When thou sleepest, it shall watch over thee; And when thou awakest, it shall talk with thee.

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

24 To keep thee from the evil woman, From the flattery of the foreigner’s tongue.

25 Lust not after her beauty in thy heart; Neither let her take thee with her eyelids.

26 For on account of a harlot a man is brought to a piece of bread; And the adulteress hunteth for the precious life.

27 Can a man take fire in his bosom, And his clothes not be burned?

28 Or can one walk upon hot coals, And his feet not be scorched?

29 So he that goeth in to his neighbor’s wife; Whosoever toucheth her shall not be unpunished.

30 Men do not despise a thief, if he steal To satisfy himself when he is hungry:

31 But if he be found, he shall restore sevenfold; He shall give all the substance of his house.

32 He that committeth adultery with a woman is void of understanding: He doeth it who would destroy his own soul.

33 Wounds and dishonor shall he get; And his reproach shall not be wiped away.

34 For jealousy is the rage of a man; And he will not spare in the day of vengeance.

35 He will not regard any ransom; Neither will he rest content, though thou givest many gifts.

Proverbs 7

1 My son, keep my words, And lay up my commandments with thee.

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

3 Bind them upon thy fingers; Write them upon the tablet of thy heart.

4 Say unto wisdom, Thou art my sister; And call understanding thy kinswoman:

5 That they may keep thee from the strange woman, From the foreigner that flattereth with her words.

6 For at the window of my house I looked forth through my lattice;

7 And I beheld among the simple ones, I discerned among the youths, A young man void of understanding,

8 Passing through the street near her corner; And he went the way to her house,

9 In the twilight, in the evening of the day, In the middle of the night and in the darkness.

10 And, behold, there met him a woman With the attire of a harlot, and wily of heart.

11 She is clamorous and wilful; Her feet abide not in her house:

12 Now she is in the streets, now in the broad places, And lieth in wait at every corner.

13 So she caught him, and kissed him, And with an impudent face she said unto him:

14 Sacrifices of peace-offerings are with me; This day have I paid my vows.

15 Therefore came I forth to meet thee, Diligently to seek thy face, and I have found thee.

16 I have spread my couch with carpets of tapestry, With striped cloths of the yarn of Egypt.

17 I have perfumed my bed With myrrh, aloes, and cinnamon.

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

19 For the man is not at home; He is gone a long journey:

20 He hath taken a bag of money with him; He will come home at the full moon.

21 With her much fair speech she causeth him to yield; With the flattering of her lips she forceth him along.

22 He goeth after her straightway, As an ox goeth to the slaughter, Or as one in fetters to the correction of the fool;

23 Till an arrow strike through his liver; As a bird hasteth to the snare, And knoweth not that it is for his life.

24 Now therefore, my sons, hearken unto me, And attend to the words of my mouth.

25 Let not thy heart decline to her ways; Go not astray in her paths.

26 For she hath cast down many wounded: Yea, all her slain are a mighty host.

27 Her house is the way to Sheol, Going down to the chambers of death.

Proverbs 8

1 Doth not wisdom cry, And understanding put forth her voice?

2 On the top of high places by the way, Where the paths meet, she standeth;

3 Beside the gates, at the entry of the city, At the coming in at the doors, she crieth aloud:

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

5 O ye simple, understand prudence; And, ye fools, be of an understanding heart.

6 Hear, for I will speak excellent things; And the opening of my lips shall be right things.

7 For my mouth shall utter truth; And wickedness is an abomination to my lips.

8 All the words of my mouth are in righteousness; There is nothing crooked or perverse in them.

9 They are all plain to him that understandeth, And right to them that find knowledge.

10 Receive my instruction, and not silver; And knowledge rather than choice gold.

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

12 I wisdom have made prudence my dwelling, And find out knowledge and discretion.

13 The fear of Jehovah is to hate evil: Pride, and arrogancy, and the evil way, And the perverse mouth, do I hate.

14 Counsel is mine, and sound knowledge: I am understanding; I have might.

15 By me kings reign, And princes decree justice.

16 By me princes rule, And nobles, even all the judges of the earth.

17 I love them that love me; And those that seek me diligently shall find me.

18 Riches and honor are with me; Yea, durable wealth and righteousness.

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

20 I walk in the way of righteousness, In the midst of the paths of justice;

21 That I may cause those that love me to inherit substance, And that I may fill their treasuries.

22 Jehovah possessed me in the beginning of his way, Before his works of old.

23 I was set up from everlasting, from the beginning, Before the earth was.

24 When there were no depths, I was brought forth, When there were no fountains abounding with water.

25 Before the mountains were settled, Before the hills was I brought forth;

26 While as yet he had not made the earth, nor the fields, Nor the beginning of the dust of the world.

27 When he established the heavens, I was there: When he set a circle upon the face of the deep,

28 When he made firm the skies above, When the fountains of the deep became strong,

29 When he gave to the sea its bound, That the waters should not transgress his commandment, When he marked out the foundations of the earth;

30 Then I was by him, as a master workman; And I was daily his delight, Rejoicing always before him,

31 Rejoicing in his habitable earth; And my delight was with the sons of men.

32 Now therefore, my sons, hearken unto me; For blessed are they that keep my ways.

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

34 Blessed is the man that heareth me, Watching daily at my gates, Waiting at the posts of my doors.

35 For whoso findeth me findeth life, And shall obtain favor of Jehovah.

36 But he that sinneth against me wrongeth his own soul: All they that hate me love death.