Proverbs
Chapters 1-10
1:1 | The proverbs of Solomon the son of David, king of Israel; |
1:2 | To know wisdom and instruction; to perceive the words of understanding; |
1:3 | To receive the instruction of wisdom, justice, and judgment, and equity; |
1:4 | To give subtilty to the simple, to the young man knowledge and discretion. |
1:5 | A wise man will hear, and will increase learning; and a man of understanding shall attain unto wise counsels: |
1:6 | To understand a proverb, and the interpretation; the words of the wise, and their dark sayings. |
1:7 | The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge: but fools despise wisdom and instruction. |
1:8 | My son, hear the instruction of thy father, and forsake not the law of thy mother: |
1:9 | For they shall be an ornament of grace unto thy head, and chains about thy neck. |
1:10 | My son, if sinners entice thee, consent thou not. |
1:11 | If they say, Come with us, let us lay wait for blood, let us lurk privily for the innocent without cause: |
1:12 | Let us swallow them up alive as the grave; and whole, as those that go down into the pit: |
1:13 | We shall find all precious substance, we shall fill our houses with spoil: |
1:14 | Cast in thy lot among us; let us all have one purse: |
1:15 | My son, walk not thou in the way with them; refrain thy foot from their path: |
1:16 | For their feet run to evil, and make haste to shed blood. |
1:17 | Surely in vain the net is spread in the sight of any bird. |
1:18 | And they lay wait for their own blood; they lurk privily for their own lives. |
1:19 | So are the ways of every one that is greedy of gain; which taketh away the life of the owners thereof. |
1:20 | Wisdom crieth without; she uttereth her voice in the streets: |
1:21 | She crieth in the chief place of concourse, in the openings of the gates: in the city she uttereth her words, saying, |
1:22 | How long, ye simple ones, will ye love simplicity? and the scorners delight in their scorning, and fools hate knowledge? |
1:23 | Turn you at my reproof: behold, I will pour out my spirit unto you, I will make known my words unto you. |
1:24 | Because I have called, and ye refused; I have stretched out my hand, and no man regarded; |
1:25 | But ye have set at nought all my counsel, and would none of my reproof: |
1:26 | I also will laugh at your calamity; I will mock when your fear cometh; |
1:27 | When your fear cometh as desolation, and your destruction cometh as a whirlwind; when distress and anguish cometh upon you. |
1:28 | Then shall they call upon me, but I will not answer; they shall seek me early, but they shall not find me: |
1:29 | For that they hated knowledge, and did not choose the fear of the LORD: |
1:30 | They would none of my counsel: they despised all my reproof. |
1:31 | Therefore shall they eat of the fruit of their own way, and be filled with their own devices. |
1:32 | For the turning away of the simple shall slay them, and the prosperity of fools shall destroy them. |
1:33 | But whoso hearkeneth unto me shall dwell safely, and shall be quiet from fear of evil. |
2:1 | My son, if thou wilt receive my words, and hide my commandments with thee; |
2:2 | So that thou incline thine ear unto wisdom, and apply thine heart to understanding; |
2:3 | Yea, if thou criest after knowledge, and liftest up thy voice for understanding; |
2:4 | If thou seekest her as silver, and searchest for her as for hid treasures; |
2:5 | Then shalt thou understand the fear of the LORD, and find the knowledge of God. |
2:6 | For the LORD giveth wisdom: out of his mouth cometh knowledge and understanding. |
2:7 | He layeth up sound wisdom for the righteous: he is a buckler to them that walk uprightly. |
2:8 | He keepeth the paths of judgment, and preserveth the way of his saints. |
2:9 | Then shalt thou understand righteousness, and judgment, and equity; yea, every good path. |
2:10 | When wisdom entereth into thine heart, and knowledge is pleasant unto thy soul; |
2:11 | Discretion shall preserve thee, understanding shall keep thee: |
2:12 | To deliver thee from the way of the evil man, from the man that speaketh froward things; |
2:13 | Who leave the paths of uprightness, to walk in the ways of darkness; |
2:14 | Who rejoice to do evil, and delight in the frowardness of the wicked; |
2:15 | Whose ways are crooked, and they froward in their paths: |
2:16 | To deliver thee from the strange woman, even from the stranger which flattereth with her words; |
2:17 | Which forsaketh the guide of her youth, and forgetteth the covenant of her God. |
2:18 | For her house inclineth unto death, and her paths unto the dead. |
2:19 | None that go unto her return again, neither take they hold of the paths of life. |
2:20 | That thou mayest walk in the way of good men, and keep the paths of the righteous. |
2:21 | For the upright shall dwell in the land, and the perfect shall remain in it. |
2:22 | But the wicked shall be cut off from the earth, and the transgressors shall be rooted out of it. |
3:1 | My son, forget not my law; but let thine heart keep my commandments: |
3:2 | For length of days, and long life, and peace, shall they add to thee. |
3:3 | Let not mercy and truth forsake thee: bind them about thy neck; write them upon the table of thine heart: |
3:4 | So shalt thou find favour and good understanding in the sight of God and man. |
3:5 | Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. |
3:6 | In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths. |
3:7 | Be not wise in thine own eyes: fear the LORD, and depart from evil. |
3:8 | It shall be health to thy navel, and marrow to thy bones. |
3:9 | Honour the LORD with thy substance, and with the firstfruits of all thine increase: |
3:10 | So shall thy barns be filled with plenty, and thy presses shall burst out with new wine. |
3:11 | My son, despise not the chastening of the LORD; neither be weary of his correction: |
3:12 | For whom the LORD loveth he correcteth; even as a father the son in whom he delighteth. |
3:13 | Happy is the man that findeth wisdom, and the man that getteth understanding. |
3:14 | For the merchandise of it is better than the merchandise of silver, and the gain thereof than fine gold. |
3:15 | She is more precious than rubies: and all the things thou canst desire are not to be compared unto her. |
3:16 | Length of days is in her right hand; and in her left hand riches and honour. |
3:17 | Her ways are ways of pleasantness, and all her paths are peace. |
3:18 | She is a tree of life to them that lay hold upon her: and happy is every one that retaineth her. |
3:19 | The LORD by wisdom hath founded the earth; by understanding hath he established the heavens. |
3:20 | By his knowledge the depths are broken up, and the clouds drop down the dew. |
3:21 | My son, let not them depart from thine eyes: keep sound wisdom and discretion: |
3:22 | So shall they be life unto thy soul, and grace to thy neck. |
3:23 | Then shalt thou walk in thy way safely, and thy foot shall not stumble. |
3:24 | When thou liest down, thou shalt not be afraid: yea, thou shalt lie down, and thy sleep shall be sweet. |
3:25 | Be not afraid of sudden fear, neither of the desolation of the wicked, when it cometh. |
3:26 | For the LORD shall be thy confidence, and shall keep thy foot from being taken. |
3:27 | Withhold not good from them to whom it is due, when it is in the power of thine hand to do it. |
3:28 | Say not unto thy neighbour, Go, and come again, and to morrow I will give; when thou hast it by thee. |
3:29 | Devise not evil against thy neighbour, seeing he dwelleth securely by thee. |
3:30 | Strive not with a man without cause, if he have done thee no harm. |
3:31 | Envy thou not the oppressor, and choose none of his ways. |
3:32 | For the froward is abomination to the LORD: but his secret is with the righteous. |
3:33 | The curse of the LORD is in the house of the wicked: but he blesseth the habitation of the just. |
3:34 | Surely he scorneth the scorners: but he giveth grace unto the lowly. |
3:35 | The wise shall inherit glory: but shame shall be the promotion of fools. |
4:1 | Hear, ye children, the instruction of a father, and attend to know understanding. |
4:2 | For I give you good doctrine, forsake ye not my law. |
4:3 | For I was my father's son, tender and only beloved in the sight of my mother. |
4:4 | He taught me also, and said unto me, Let thine heart retain my words: keep my commandments, and live. |
4:5 | Get wisdom, get understanding: forget it not; neither decline from the words of my mouth. |
4:6 | Forsake her not, and she shall preserve thee: love her, and she shall keep thee. |
4:7 | Wisdom is the principal thing; therefore get wisdom: and with all thy getting get understanding. |
4:8 | Exalt her, and she shall promote thee: she shall bring thee to honour, when thou dost embrace her. |
4:9 | She shall give to thine head an ornament of grace: a crown of glory shall she deliver to thee. |
4:10 | Hear, O my son, and receive my sayings; and the years of thy life shall be many. |
4:11 | I have taught thee in the way of wisdom; I have led thee in right paths. |
4:12 | When thou goest, thy steps shall not be straitened; and when thou runnest, thou shalt not stumble. |
4:13 | Take fast hold of instruction; let her not go: keep her; for she is thy life. |
4:14 | Enter not into the path of the wicked, and go not in the way of evil men. |
4:15 | Avoid it, pass not by it, turn from it, and pass away. |
4:16 | For they sleep not, except they have done mischief; and their sleep is taken away, unless they cause some to fall. |
4:17 | For they eat the bread of wickedness, and drink the wine of violence. |
4:18 | But the path of the just is as the shining light, that shineth more and more unto the perfect day. |
4:19 | The way of the wicked is as darkness: they know not at what they stumble. |
4:20 | My son, attend to my words; incline thine ear unto my sayings. |
4:21 | Let them not depart from thine eyes; keep them in the midst of thine heart. |
4:22 | For they are life unto those that find them, and health to all their flesh. |
4:23 | Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life. |
4:24 | Put away from thee a froward mouth, and perverse lips put far from thee. |
4:25 | Let thine eyes look right on, and let thine eyelids look straight before thee. |
4:26 | Ponder the path of thy feet, and let all thy ways be established. |
4:27 | Turn not to the right hand nor to the left: remove thy foot from evil. |
5:1 | My son, attend unto my wisdom, and bow thine ear to my understanding: |
5:2 | That thou mayest regard discretion, and that thy lips may keep knowledge. |
5:3 | For the lips of a strange woman drop as an honeycomb, and her mouth is smoother than oil: |
5:4 | But her end is bitter as wormwood, sharp as a two-edged sword. |
5:5 | Her feet go down to death; her steps take hold on hell. |
5:6 | Lest thou shouldest ponder the path of life, her ways are moveable, that thou canst not know them. |
5:7 | Hear me now therefore, O ye children, and depart not from the words of my mouth. |
5:8 | Remove thy way far from her, and come not nigh the door of her house: |
5:9 | Lest thou give thine honour unto others, and thy years unto the cruel: |
5:10 | Lest strangers be filled with thy wealth; and thy labours be in the house of a stranger; |
5:11 | And thou mourn at the last, when thy flesh and thy body are consumed, |
5:12 | And say, How have I hated instruction, and my heart despised reproof; |
5:13 | And have not obeyed the voice of my teachers, nor inclined mine ear to them that instructed me! |
5:14 | I was almost in all evil in the midst of the congregation and assembly. |
5:15 | Drink waters out of thine own cistern, and running waters out of thine own well. |
5:16 | Let thy fountains be dispersed abroad, and rivers of waters in the streets. |
5:17 | Let them be only thine own, and not strangers' with thee. |
5:18 | Let thy fountain be blessed: and rejoice with the wife of thy youth. |
5:19 | Let her be as the loving hind and pleasant roe; let her breasts satisfy thee at all times; and be thou ravished always with her love. |
5:20 | And why wilt thou, my son, be ravished with a strange woman, and embrace the bosom of a stranger? |
5:21 | For the ways of man are before the eyes of the LORD, and he pondereth all his goings. |
5:22 | His own iniquities shall take the wicked himself, and he shall be holden with the cords of his sins. |
5:23 | He shall die without instruction; and in the greatness of his folly he shall go astray. |
6:1 | My son, if thou be surety for thy friend, if thou hast stricken thy hand with a stranger, |
6:2 | Thou art snared with the words of thy mouth, thou art taken with the words of thy mouth. |
6:3 | Do this now, my son, and deliver thyself, when thou art come into the hand of thy friend; go, humble thyself, and make sure thy friend. |
6:4 | Give not sleep to thine eyes, nor slumber to thine eyelids. |
6:5 | Deliver thyself as a roe from the hand of the hunter, and as a bird from the hand of the fowler. |
6:6 | Go to the ant, thou sluggard; consider her ways, and be wise: |
6:7 | Which having no guide, overseer, or ruler, |
6:8 | Provideth her meat in the summer, and gathereth her food in the harvest. |
6:9 | How long wilt thou sleep, O sluggard? when wilt thou arise out of thy sleep? |
6:10 | Yet a little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to sleep: |
6:11 | So shall thy poverty come as one that travelleth, and thy want as an armed man. |
6:12 | A naughty person, a wicked man, walketh with a froward mouth. |
6:13 | He winketh with his eyes, he speaketh with his feet, he teacheth with his fingers; |
6:14 | Frowardness is in his heart, he deviseth mischief continually; he soweth discord. |
6:15 | Therefore shall his calamity come suddenly; suddenly shall he be broken without remedy. |
6:16 | These six things doth the LORD hate: yea, seven are an abomination unto him: |
6:17 | A proud look, a lying tongue, and hands that shed innocent blood, |
6:18 | An heart that deviseth wicked imaginations, feet that be swift in running to mischief, |
6:19 | A false witness that speaketh lies, and he that soweth discord among brethren. |
6:20 | My son, keep thy father's commandment, and forsake not the law of thy mother: |
6:21 | Bind them continually upon thine heart, and tie them about thy neck. |
6:22 | When thou goest, it shall lead thee; when thou sleepest, it shall keep thee; and when thou awakest, it shall talk with thee. |
6:23 | For the commandment is a lamp; and the law is light; and reproofs of instruction are the way of life: |
6:24 | To keep thee from the evil woman, from the flattery of the tongue of a strange woman. |
6:25 | Lust not after her beauty in thine heart; neither let her take thee with her eyelids. |
6:26 | For by means of a whorish woman a man is brought to a piece of bread: and the adulteress will hunt for the precious life. |
6:27 | Can a man take fire in his bosom, and his clothes not be burned? |
6:28 | Can one go upon hot coals, and his feet not be burned? |
6:29 | So he that goeth in to his neighbour's wife; whosoever toucheth her shall not be innocent. |
6:30 | Men do not despise a thief, if he steal to satisfy his soul when he is hungry; |
6:31 | But if he be found, he shall restore sevenfold; he shall give all the substance of his house. |
6:32 | But whoso committeth adultery with a woman lacketh understanding: he that doeth it destroyeth his own soul. |
6:33 | A wound and dishonour shall he get; and his reproach shall not be wiped away. |
6:34 | For jealousy is the rage of a man: therefore he will not spare in the day of vengeance. |
6:35 | He will not regard any ransom; neither will he rest content, though thou givest many gifts. |
7:1 | My son, keep my words, and lay up my commandments with thee. |
7:2 | Keep my commandments, and live; and my law as the apple of thine eye. |
7:3 | Bind them upon thy fingers, write them upon the table of thine heart. |
7:4 | Say unto wisdom, Thou art my sister; and call understanding thy kinswoman: |
7:5 | That they may keep thee from the strange woman, from the stranger which flattereth with her words. |
7:6 | For at the window of my house I looked through my casement, |
7:7 | And beheld among the simple ones, I discerned among the youths, a young man void of understanding, |
7:8 | Passing through the street near her corner; and he went the way to her house, |
7:9 | In the twilight, in the evening, in the black and dark night: |
7:10 | And, behold, there met him a woman with the attire of an harlot, and subtil of heart. |
7:11 | (She is loud and stubborn; her feet abide not in her house: |
7:12 | Now is she without, now in the streets, and lieth in wait at every corner.) |
7:13 | So she caught him, and kissed him, and with an impudent face said unto him, |
7:14 | I have peace offerings with me; this day have I payed my vows. |
7:15 | Therefore came I forth to meet thee, diligently to seek thy face, and I have found thee. |
7:16 | I have decked my bed with coverings of tapestry, with carved works, with fine linen of Egypt. |
7:17 | I have perfumed my bed with myrrh, aloes, and cinnamon. |
7:18 | Come, let us take our fill of love until the morning: let us solace ourselves with loves. |
7:19 | For the goodman is not at home, he is gone a long journey: |
7:20 | He hath taken a bag of money with him, and will come home at the day appointed. |
7:21 | With her much fair speech she caused him to yield, with the flattering of her lips she forced him. |
7:22 | He goeth after her straightway, as an ox goeth to the slaughter, or as a fool to the correction of the stocks; |
7:23 | Till a dart strike through his liver; as a bird hasteth to the snare, and knoweth not that it is for his life. |
7:24 | Hearken unto me now therefore, O ye children, and attend to the words of my mouth. |
7:25 | Let not thine heart decline to her ways, go not astray in her paths. |
7:26 | For she hath cast down many wounded: yea, many strong men have been slain by her. |
7:27 | Her house is the way to hell, going down to the chambers of death. |
8:1 | Doth not wisdom cry? and understanding put forth her voice? |
8:2 | She standeth in the top of high places, by the way in the places of the paths. |
8:3 | She crieth at the gates, at the entry of the city, at the coming in at the doors. |
8:4 | Unto you, O men, I call; and my voice is to the sons of man. |
8:5 | O ye simple, understand wisdom: and, ye fools, be ye of an understanding heart. |
8:6 | Hear; for I will speak of excellent things; and the opening of my lips shall be right things. |
8:7 | For my mouth shall speak truth; and wickedness is an abomination to my lips. |
8:8 | All the words of my mouth are in righteousness; there is nothing froward or perverse in them. |
8:9 | They are all plain to him that understandeth, and right to them that find knowledge. |
8:10 | Receive my instruction, and not silver; and knowledge rather than choice gold. |
8:11 | For wisdom is better than rubies; and all the things that may be desired are not to be compared to it. |
8:12 | I wisdom dwell with prudence, and find out knowledge of witty inventions. |
8:13 | The fear of the LORD is to hate evil: pride, and arrogancy, and the evil way, and the froward mouth, do I hate. |
8:14 | Counsel is mine, and sound wisdom: I am understanding; I have strength. |
8:15 | By me kings reign, and princes decree justice. |
8:16 | By me princes rule, and nobles, even all the judges of the earth. |
8:17 | I love them that love me; and those that seek me early shall find me. |
8:18 | Riches and honour are with me; yea, durable riches and righteousness. |
8:19 | My fruit is better than gold, yea, than fine gold; and my revenue than choice silver. |
8:20 | I lead in the way of righteousness, in the midst of the paths of judgment: |
8:21 | That I may cause those that love me to inherit substance; and I will fill their treasures. |
8:22 | The LORD possessed me in the beginning of his way, before his works of old. |
8:23 | I was set up from everlasting, from the beginning, or ever the earth was. |
8:24 | When there were no depths, I was brought forth; when there were no fountains abounding with water. |
8:25 | Before the mountains were settled, before the hills was I brought forth: |
8:26 | While as yet he had not made the earth, nor the fields, nor the highest part of the dust of the world. |
8:27 | When he prepared the heavens, I was there: when he set a compass upon the face of the depth: |
8:28 | When he established the clouds above: when he strengthened the fountains of the deep: |
8:29 | When he gave to the sea his decree, that the waters should not pass his commandment: when he appointed the foundations of the earth: |
8:30 | Then I was by him, as one brought up with him: and I was daily his delight, rejoicing always before him; |
8:31 | Rejoicing in the habitable part of his earth; and my delights were with the sons of men. |
8:32 | Now therefore hearken unto me, O ye children: for blessed are they that keep my ways. |
8:33 | Hear instruction, and be wise, and refuse it not. |
8:34 | Blessed is the man that heareth me, watching daily at my gates, waiting at the posts of my doors. |
8:35 | For whoso findeth me findeth life, and shall obtain favour of the LORD. |
8:36 | But he that sinneth against me wrongeth his own soul: all they that hate me love death. |
9:1 | Wisdom hath builded her house, she hath hewn out her seven pillars: |
9:2 | She hath killed her beasts; she hath mingled her wine; she hath also furnished her table. |
9:3 | She hath sent forth her maidens: she crieth upon the highest places of the city, |
9:4 | Whoso is simple, let him turn in hither: as for him that wanteth understanding, she saith to him, |
9:5 | Come, eat of my bread, and drink of the wine which I have mingled. |
9:6 | Forsake the foolish, and live; and go in the way of understanding. |
9:7 | He that reproveth a scorner getteth to himself shame: and he that rebuketh a wicked man getteth himself a blot. |
9:8 | Reprove not a scorner, lest he hate thee: rebuke a wise man, and he will love thee. |
9:9 | Give instruction to a wise man, and he will be yet wiser: teach a just man, and he will increase in learning. |
9:10 | The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom: and the knowledge of the holy is understanding. |
9:11 | For by me thy days shall be multiplied, and the years of thy life shall be increased. |
9:12 | If thou be wise, thou shalt be wise for thyself: but if thou scornest, thou alone shalt bear it. |
9:13 | A foolish woman is clamorous: she is simple, and knoweth nothing. |
9:14 | For she sitteth at the door of her house, on a seat in the high places of the city, |
9:15 | To call passengers who go right on their ways: |
9:16 | Whoso is simple, let him turn in hither: and as for him that wanteth understanding, she saith to him, |
9:17 | Stolen waters are sweet, and bread eaten in secret is pleasant. |
9:18 | But he knoweth not that the dead are there; and that her guests are in the depths of hell. |
10:1 | The proverbs of Solomon. A wise son maketh a glad father: but a foolish son is the heaviness of his mother. |
10:2 | Treasures of wickedness profit nothing: but righteousness delivereth from death. |
10:3 | The LORD will not suffer the soul of the righteous to famish: but he casteth away the substance of the wicked. |
10:4 | He becometh poor that dealeth with a slack hand: but the hand of the diligent maketh rich. |
10:5 | He that gathereth in summer is a wise son: but he that sleepeth in harvest is a son that causeth shame. |
10:6 | Blessings are upon the head of the just: but violence covereth the mouth of the wicked. |
10:7 | The memory of the just is blessed: but the name of the wicked shall rot. |
10:8 | The wise in heart will receive commandments: but a prating fool shall fall. |
10:9 | He that walketh uprightly walketh surely: but he that perverteth his ways shall be known. |
10:10 | He that winketh with the eye causeth sorrow: but a prating fool shall fall. |
10:11 | The mouth of a righteous man is a well of life: but violence covereth the mouth of the wicked. |
10:12 | Hatred stirreth up strifes: but love covereth all sins. |
10:13 | In the lips of him that hath understanding wisdom is found: but a rod is for the back of him that is void of understanding. |
10:14 | Wise men lay up knowledge: but the mouth of the foolish is near destruction. |
10:15 | The rich man's wealth is his strong city: the destruction of the poor is their poverty. |
10:16 | The labour of the righteous tendeth to life: the fruit of the wicked to sin. |
10:17 | He is in the way of life that keepeth instruction: but he that refuseth reproof erreth. |
10:18 | He that hideth hatred with lying lips, and he that uttereth a slander, is a fool. |
10:19 | In the multitude of words there wanteth not sin: but he that refraineth his lips is wise. |
10:20 | The tongue of the just is as choice silver: the heart of the wicked is little worth. |
10:21 | The lips of the righteous feed many: but fools die for want of wisdom. |
10:22 | The blessing of the LORD, it maketh rich, and he addeth no sorrow with it. |
10:23 | It is as sport to a fool to do mischief: but a man of understanding hath wisdom. |
10:24 | The fear of the wicked, it shall come upon him: but the desire of the righteous shall be granted. |
10:25 | As the whirlwind passeth, so is the wicked no more: but the righteous is an everlasting foundation. |
10:26 | As vinegar to the teeth, and as smoke to the eyes, so is the sluggard to them that send him. |
10:27 | The fear of the LORD prolongeth days: but the years of the wicked shall be shortened. |
10:28 | The hope of the righteous shall be gladness: but the expectation of the wicked shall perish. |
10:29 | The way of the LORD is strength to the upright: but destruction shall be to the workers of iniquity. |
10:30 | The righteous shall never be removed: but the wicked shall not inhabit the earth. |
10:31 | The mouth of the just bringeth forth wisdom: but the froward tongue shall be cut out. |
10:32 | The lips of the righteous know what is acceptable: but the mouth of the wicked speaketh frowardness. |