1 The Proverbs of Solomon the son of David, king of Israel:

² to know wisdom and instruction; to perceive the words of understanding;

³ to receive the instruction of wisdom, justice, judgment, and equity;

⁴ to give subtlety to the simple, and to the young man knowledge and discretion.

⁵ A wise man will hear and will increase learning, and a man of understanding shall attain unto wise counsel

⁶ to understand a proverb and the interpretation, the words of the wise and their dark sayings.

⁷ The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and instruction.

⁸ My son, hear the instruction of thy father, and forsake not the law of thy mother;

⁹ for they shall be an ornament of grace unto thy head, and chains about thy neck.

¹⁰ My son, if sinners entice thee, consent thou not.

¹¹ If they say, “Come with us; let us lie in wait for blood, let us lurk privily for the innocent without cause;

¹² let us swallow them up alive as the grave, and whole, as those that go down to the pit;

¹³ we shall find much precious substance, we shall fill our houses with spoil;

¹⁴ cast in thy lot among us, let us all have one purse”

¹⁵ my son, walk not thou in the way with them; restrain thy foot from their path;

¹⁶ for their feet run to evil and make haste to shed blood.

¹⁷ Surely in vain the net is spread in the sight of any bird!

¹⁸ And they lie in wait for their own blood; they lurk privily for their own lives.

¹⁹ So are the ways of every one that is greedy for gain, which taketh away the life of the owners thereof.

²⁰ Wisdom crieth without; she uttereth her voice in the streets.

²¹ She crieth in the chief places of concourse, in the openings of the gates; in the city she uttereth her words, saying,

²² “How long, ye simple ones, will ye love to be simple, and the scorners delight in their scorning, and fools hate knowledge?

²³ Turn you at my reproof: Behold, I will pour out my spirit unto you; I will make known my words unto you.

²⁴ “Because I have called and ye refused, I have stretched out my hand and no man heeded,

²⁵ but ye have set at nought all my counsel and would have none of my reproof,

²⁶ I also will laugh at your calamity; I will mock when your fear cometh,

²⁷ when your fear cometh as desolation, and your destruction cometh as a whirlwind, when distress and anguish cometh upon you.

²⁸ Then shall they call upon me, but I will not answer; they shall seek me early, but they shall not find me,

²⁹ because they hated knowledge, and did not choose the fear of the Lord.

³⁰ They would have none of my counsel, and they despised all my reproof:

³¹ therefore shall they eat of the fruit of their own ways, and be filled with their own devices.

³² For the turning away of the simple shall slay them, and the prosperity of fools shall destroy them;

³³ but whoso hearkeneth unto me shall dwell safely, and shall have quiet from fear of evil.”

2 My son, if thou wilt receive my words and hide my commandments within thee,

² so that thou incline thine ear unto wisdom and apply thine heart to understanding;

³ yea, if thou criest after knowledge, and liftest up thy voice for understanding;

⁴ if thou seekest her as silver and searchest for her as for hidden treasure,

⁵ then shalt thou understand the fear of the Lord, and find the knowledge of God.

⁶ For the Lord giveth wisdom; out of His mouth cometh knowledge and understanding.

⁷ He layeth up sound wisdom for the righteous; He is a buckler to them that walk uprightly.

⁸ He keepeth the paths of judgment, and preserveth the way of His saints.

⁹ Then shalt thou understand righteousness and judgment and equity, yea, every good path.

¹⁰ When wisdom entereth into thine heart, and knowledge is pleasant unto thy soul,

¹¹ discretion shall preserve thee, and understanding shall keep thee,

¹² to deliver thee from the way of the evil man, from men that speaketh froward things,

¹³ who leave the paths of uprightness to walk in the ways of darkness,

¹⁴ who rejoice to do evil and delight in the frowardness of the wicked,

¹⁵ whose ways are crooked and who are froward in their paths.

¹⁶ Wisdom will deliver thee from the strange woman, even from the stranger, who flattereth with her words,

¹⁷ who forsaketh the guide of her youth, and forgetteth the covenant of her God;

¹⁸ for her house inclineth unto death, and her paths unto the dead.

¹⁹ None that go unto her return again, neither take they hold of the paths of life.

²⁰ Thus thou mayest walk in the way of good men, and keep to the paths of the righteous.

²¹ For the upright shall dwell in the land, and the perfect shall remain in it;

²² but the wicked shall be cut off from the earth, and the transgressors shall be rooted out of it.

16 Now concerning the collection for the saints: As I have given orders to the churches of Galatia, even so do ye.

² Upon the first day of the week, let every one of you lay aside in store as God hath prospered him, so that there need be no gatherings when I come.

³ And when I come, whomever ye shall approve by your letters I will send to bring your liberality unto Jerusalem.

⁴ And if it be meet that I go also, they shall go with me.

⁵ Now I will come unto you when I shall pass through Macedonia (for I am passing through Macedonia).

⁶ And it may be that I will abide, yea, and winter with you,that ye may send me on my journey whithersoever I go.

⁷ For I will not see you now on my way, but I trust to tarry a while with you, if the Lord permit.

⁸ But I will tarry at Ephesus until Pentecost.

⁹ For a great door, and effectual, has opened unto me, and there are many adversaries.

¹⁰ Now if Timothy come, see that he may be with you without fear, for he worketh the work of the Lord, as I also do.

¹¹ Let no man therefore despise him, but conduct him forth in peace, that he may come unto me; for I look for him with the brethren.

¹² Now concerning our brother Apollos: I greatly desired that he should come unto you with the brethren, but it was not at all his will to come at this time; but he will come when it shall be convenient.

¹³ Watch ye; stand fast in the faith; acquit yourselves like men; be strong.

¹⁴ Let all your things be done with charity.

¹⁵ I beseech you, brethren (ye know the household of Stephanas and that it is the firstfruits of Achaia, and that they have devoted themselves to the ministry of the saints),

¹⁶ that ye submit yourselves unto such and to everyone that helpeth with us and laboreth.

¹⁷ I am glad about the coming of Stephanas and Fortunatus and Achaicus, for that which was lacking on your part they have supplied.

¹⁸ For they have refreshed my spirit and yours; therefore acknowledge ye those who are such.

¹⁹ The churches of Asia salute you. Aquila and Priscilla salute you much in the Lord, with the church that is in their house.

²⁰ All the brethren greet you. Greet ye one another with a holy kiss.

²¹ The salutation of me, Paul, with mine own hand.

²² If any man love not the Lord Jesus Christ, let him be anathema. Maranatha!

²³ The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you.

²⁴ My love be with you all in Christ Jesus. Amen.