Proverbs 3-5

New American Standard Bible

The Rewards of Wisdom

3 My son, ^(A)do not forget my ^[a]teaching,
But have your heart ^(B)comply with my commandments;
²For ^(C)length of days and years of life
And peace they will add to you.
³Do not let ^(D)kindness and truth leave you;
^(E)Bind them around your neck,
^(F)Write them on the tablet of your heart.
⁴So you will ^(G)find favor and a ^(H)good ^[b]reputation
In the sight of God and man.
⁵^(I)Trust in the Lord with all your heart
And ^(J)do not lean on your own understanding.
⁶In all your ways ^(K)acknowledge Him,
And He will ^(L)make your paths straight.
⁷^(M)Do not be wise in your own eyes;
^(N)Fear the Lord and turn away from evil.
⁸It will be ^(O)healing to your ^[c]body
And ^(P)refreshment to your bones.
⁹^(Q)Honor the Lord from your wealth,
And from the ^(R)first of all your produce;
¹⁰Then your ^(S)barns will be filled with plenty,
And your ^(T)vats will overflow with new wine.
¹¹^(U)My son, do not reject the ^[d]discipline of the Lord
Or loathe His rebuke,
¹²For ^(V)whom the Lord loves He disciplines,
Just ^(W)as a father disciplines the son in whom he delights.

¹³^(X)Blessed is a person who finds wisdom,
And one who obtains understanding.
¹⁴For ^[e]her ^(Y)profit is better than the profit of silver,
And her produce better than gold.
¹⁵She is ^(Z)more precious than ^[f]jewels,
And nothing you desire compares with her.
¹⁶^[g]^(AA)Long life is in her right hand;
In her left hand are ^(AB)riches and honor.
¹⁷Her ^(AC)ways are pleasant ways,
And all her paths are ^(AD)peace.
¹⁸She is a ^(AE)tree of life to those who take hold of her,
And happy are those who hold on to her.
¹⁹The Lord founded the earth ^(AF)by wisdom,
He ^(AG)established the heavens by understanding.
²⁰By His knowledge the ^(AH)ocean depths were burst open,
And the ^(AI)clouds drip with dew.
²¹My son, see that ^(AJ)they do not escape from your sight;
Comply with sound wisdom and discretion,
²²And they will be ^(AK)life to your soul
And ^(AL)adornment to your neck.
²³Then you will ^(AM)walk in your way securely,
And your foot will not ^(AN)stumble.
²⁴When you ^(AO)lie down, you will not be afraid;
When you lie down, your sleep will be sweet.
²⁵^(AP)Do not be afraid of sudden danger,
Nor of ^(AQ)trouble from the wicked when it comes;
²⁶For the Lord will be ^[h]your confidence,
And will ^(AR)keep your foot from being caught.

²⁷^(AS)Do not withhold good from ^[i]those to whom it is due,
When it is in your power to do it.
²⁸^(AT)Do not say to your neighbor, “Go, and come back,
And tomorrow I will give it to you,”
When you have it with you.
²⁹^(AU)Do not devise harm against your neighbor,
While he lives securely beside you.
³⁰^(AV)Do not contend with a person for no reason,
If he has done you no harm.
³¹^(AW)Do not envy a violent person,
And do not choose any of his ways.
³²For the ^(AX)devious are an abomination to the Lord;
But ^[j]He is ^(AY)intimate with the upright.
³³The ^(AZ)curse of the Lord is on the house of the wicked,
But He ^(BA)blesses the home of the righteous.
³⁴Though ^(BB)He scoffs at the scoffers,
Yet ^(BC)He gives grace to the needy.
³⁵^(BD)The wise will inherit honor,
But fools ^[k]increase dishonor.

A Father’s Instruction

4 Listen, my sons, to the ^(BE)instruction of a father,
And ^(BF)pay attention so that you may ^[l]gain understanding,
²For I give you good ^(BG)teaching;
^(BH)Do not abandon my ^[m]instruction.
³When I was a son to my father,
^(BI)Tender and ^(BJ)the only son in the sight of my mother,
⁴He ^(BK)taught me and said to me,
“Let your heart ^(BL)take hold of my words;
^(BM)Keep my commandments and live;
⁵^(BN)Acquire wisdom! ^(BO)Acquire understanding!
Do not forget nor turn away from the words of my mouth.
⁶Do not abandon her, and she will guard you;
^(BP)Love her, and she will watch over you.
⁷^(BQ)The ^[n]beginning of wisdom is: ^(BR)Acquire wisdom;
And with all your possessions, acquire understanding.
⁸^(BS)Prize her, and she will exalt you;
She will honor you if you embrace her.
⁹She will place ^(BT)on your head a garland of grace;
She will present you with a crown of beauty.”

¹⁰Listen, my son, and ^(BU)accept my sayings,
And the ^(BV)years of your life will be many.
¹¹I have ^(BW)instructed you in the way of wisdom;
I have led you in upright paths.
¹²When you walk, your ^(BX)steps will not be hampered;
And if you run, you ^(BY)will not stumble.
¹³^(BZ)Take hold of instruction; do not let go.
Guard her, for she is your ^(CA)life.
¹⁴^(CB)Do not enter the path of the wicked
And do not proceed in the way of evil people.
¹⁵Avoid it, do not pass by it;
Turn away from it and pass on.
¹⁶For they ^(CC)cannot sleep unless they do evil;
And ^[o]they are robbed of sleep unless they make someone stumble.
¹⁷For they ^(CD)eat the bread of wickedness,
And drink the wine of violence.
¹⁸But the ^(CE)path of the righteous is like the ^(CF)light of dawn
That ^(CG)shines brighter and brighter until the ^(CH)full day.
¹⁹The ^(CI)way of the wicked is like darkness;
They do not know over what they ^[p]^(CJ)stumble.

²⁰My son, ^(CK)pay attention to my words;
^(CL)Incline your ear to my sayings.
²¹^(CM)They are not to escape from your sight;
^(CN)Keep them in the midst of your heart.
²²For they are ^(CO)life to those who find them,
And ^(CP)healing to all ^[q]their body.
²³Watch over your heart with all diligence,
For ^(CQ)from it flow the springs of life.
²⁴Rid yourself of a ^(CR)deceitful mouth
And ^(CS)keep devious ^[r]speech far from you.
²⁵Let your eyes look directly ahead
And let your ^[s]gaze be fixed straight in front of you.
²⁶^(CT)^[t]Watch the path of your feet,
And all your ^(CU)ways will be established.
²⁷^(CV)Do not turn to the right or to the left;
^(CW)Turn your foot from evil.

Pitfalls of Immorality

5 My son, ^(CX)pay attention to my wisdom,
^(CY)Incline your ear to my understanding,
²So that you may ^(CZ)maintain discretion
And your ^(DA)lips may comply with knowledge.
³For the lips of an ^[u]^(DB)adulteress ^(DC)drip honey,
And her ^[v]speech is ^(DD)smoother than oil;
⁴But in the end she is ^(DE)bitter as wormwood,
^(DF)Sharp as a two-edged sword.
⁵Her feet ^(DG)go down to death,
Her steps take hold of Sheol.
⁶^[w]She does not ponder the ^(DH)path of life;
Her ways are ^(DI)unstable, she ^(DJ)does not know it.

⁷^(DK)Now then, my sons, listen to me
And ^(DL)do not turn away from the words of my mouth.
⁸^(DM)Keep your way far from her,
And do not go near the ^(DN)door of her house,
⁹Otherwise you will give your vigor to others,
And your years to the cruel one;
¹⁰And strangers will be filled with your strength,
And your hard-earned possessions will go to the house of a foreigner;
¹¹And you will groan ^[x]in ^[y]the end,
When your flesh and your body are consumed;
¹²And you say, “How I ^(DO)hated instruction!
And my heart ^(DP)disdainfully rejected rebuke!
¹³I did not listen to the voice of my ^(DQ)teachers,
Nor incline my ear to my instructors!
¹⁴I was almost in total ruin
In the midst of the assembly and congregation.”

¹⁵Drink water from your own cistern,
And ^[z]fresh water from your own well.
¹⁶Should your ^(DR)springs overflow into the street,
Streams of water in the public squares?
¹⁷Let them be yours alone,
And not for strangers with you.
¹⁸Let your ^(DS)fountain be blessed,
And ^(DT)rejoice in the ^(DU)wife of your youth.
¹⁹Like a loving ^(DV)doe and a graceful mountain goat,
Let her breasts satisfy you at all times;
Be ^[aa]exhilarated always with her love.
²⁰For why should you, my son, be exhilarated with an ^[ab]^(DW)adulteress,
And embrace the breasts of a ^(DX)foreigner?
²¹For the ^(DY)ways of everyone are before the eyes of the Lord,
And He ^(DZ)observes all his paths.
²²His ^(EA)own wrongdoings will trap the wicked,
And he will be held by the ropes of his sin.
²³He will ^(EB)die for lack of instruction,
And in the greatness of his foolishness he will go astray.