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