Proverbs 3

The Rewards of Wisdom

1 My son, do not forget my teaching,
But let your heart keep my commandments;

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

3 Do not let kindness and truth leave you;
Bind them around your neck,
Write them on the tablet of your heart.

4 So you will find favor and good repute
In the sight of God and man.

5 Trust in the LORD with all your heart
And do not lean on your own understanding.

6 In all your ways acknowledge Him,
And He will make your paths straight.

7 Do not be wise in your own eyes;
Fear the LORD and turn away from evil.

8 It will be healing to your body
And refreshment to your bones.

9 Honor the LORD from your wealth
And from the first of all your produce;

10 So your barns will be filled with plenty
And your vats will overflow with new wine.

11 My son, do not reject the discipline of the LORD
Or loathe His reproof,

12 For whom the LORD loves He reproves,
Even as a father corrects the son in whom he delights.

13 How blessed is the man who finds wisdom
And the man who gains understanding.

14 For her profit is better than the profit of silver
And her gain better than fine gold.

15 She is more precious than jewels;
And nothing you desire compares with her.

16 Long life is in her right hand;
In her left hand are riches and honor.

17 Her ways are pleasant ways
And all her paths are peace.

18 She is a tree of life to those who take hold of her,
And happy are all who hold her fast.

19 The LORD by wisdom founded the earth,
By understanding He established the heavens.

20 By His knowledge the deeps were broken up
And the skies drip with dew.

21 My son, let them not vanish from your sight;
Keep sound wisdom and discretion,

22 So they will be life to your soul
And adornment to your neck.

23 Then you will walk in your way securely
And your foot will not stumble.

24 When you lie down, you will not be afraid;
When you lie down, your sleep will be sweet.

25 Do not be afraid of sudden fear
Nor of the onslaught of the wicked when it comes;

26 For the LORD will be your confidence
And will keep your foot from being caught.

27 Do not withhold good from those to whom it is due,
When it is in your power to do it.

28 Do not say to your neighbor, "Go, and come back,
And tomorrow I will give it, "
When you have it with you.

29 Do not devise harm against your neighbor,
While he lives securely beside you.

30 Do not contend with a man without cause,
If he has done you no harm.

31 Do not envy a man of violence
And do not choose any of his ways.

32 For the devious are an abomination to the LORD;
But He is intimate with the upright.

33 The curse of the LORD is on the house of the wicked,
But He blesses the dwelling of the righteous.

34 Though He scoffs at the scoffers,
Yet He gives grace to the afflicted.

35 The wise will inherit honor,
But fools display dishonor.

Proverbs 4

A Father's Instruction

1 Hear, O sons, the instruction of a father,
And give attention that you may gain understanding,

2 For I give you sound teaching;
Do not abandon my instruction.

3 When I was a son to my father,
Tender and the only son in the sight of my mother,

4 Then he taught me and said to me,
"Let your heart hold fast my words;
Keep my commandments and live;

5 Acquire wisdom! Acquire understanding!
Do not forget nor turn away from the words of my mouth.

6 "Do not forsake her, and she will guard you;
Love her, and she will watch over you.

7 "The beginning of wisdom is: Acquire wisdom;
And with all your acquiring, get understanding.

8 "Prize her, and she will exalt you;
She will honor you if you embrace her.

9 "She will place on your head a garland of grace;
She will present you with a crown of beauty."

10 Hear, my son, and accept my sayings
And the years of your life will be many.

11 I have directed you in the way of wisdom;
I have led you in upright paths.

12 When you walk, your steps will not be impeded;
And if you run, you will not stumble.

13 Take hold of instruction; do not let go.
Guard her, for she is your life.

14 Do not enter the path of the wicked
And do not proceed in the way of evil men.

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

16 For they cannot sleep unless they do evil;
And they are robbed of sleep unless they make someone stumble.

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

18 But the path of the righteous is like the light of dawn,
That shines brighter and brighter until the full day.

19 The way of the wicked is like darkness;
They do not know over what they stumble.

20 My son, give attention to my words;
Incline your ear to my sayings.

21 Do not let them depart from your sight;
Keep them in the midst of your heart.

22 For they are life to those who find them
And health to all their body.

23 Watch over your heart with all diligence,
For from it flow the springs of life.

24 Put away from you a deceitful mouth
And put devious speech far from you.

25 Let your eyes look directly ahead
And let your gaze be fixed straight in front of you.

26 Watch the path of your feet
And all your ways will be established.

27 Do not turn to the right nor to the left;
Turn your foot from evil.

Proverbs 5

Pitfalls of Immorality

1 My son, give attention to my wisdom,
Incline your ear to my understanding;

2 That you may observe discretion
And your lips may reserve knowledge.

3 For the lips of an adulteress drip honey
And smoother than oil is her speech;

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 of Sheol.

6 She does not ponder the path of life;
Her ways are unstable, she does not know it.

7 Now then, my sons, listen to me
And do not depart from the words of my mouth.

8 Keep your way far from her
And do not go near the door of her house,

9 Or you will give your vigor to others
And your years to the cruel one;

10 And strangers will be filled with your strength
And your hard-earned goods will go to the house of an alien;

11 And you groan at your final end,
When your flesh and your body are consumed;

12 And you say, "How I have hated instruction!
And my heart spurned reproof!

13 "I have not listened to the voice of my teachers,
Nor inclined my ear to my instructors!

14 "I was almost in utter ruin
In the midst of the assembly and congregation."

15 Drink water from your own cistern
And fresh water from your own well.

16 Should your springs be dispersed abroad,
Streams of water in the streets?

17 Let them be yours alone
And not for strangers with you.

18 Let your fountain be blessed,
And rejoice in the wife of your youth.

19  As a loving hind and a graceful doe,
Let her breasts satisfy you at all times;
Be exhilarated always with her love.

20 For why should you, my son, be exhilarated with an adulteress
And embrace the bosom of a foreigner?

21 For the ways of a man are before the eyes of the LORD,
And He watches all his paths.

22 His own iniquities will capture the wicked,
And he will be held with the cords of his sin.

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