Proverbs 1-7

Jubilee Bible 2000

1 ¶ The proverbs of Solomon, the son of David, king of Israel;

² to know wisdom and chastening; to understand prudent words;

³ to receive the chastening of prudence, justice, judgment, and equity;

⁴ to give prudence to the simple, and to the young men knowledge and council.

⁵ If the wise will hear them, doctrine shall increase, and the man of understanding shall acquire wise counsel:

⁶ To understand a parable and the interpretation; the words of the wise and their enigmas.

⁷ ¶ The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and chastening.

⁸ My son, hearken unto the chastening of thy father, and forsake not the law of thy mother:

⁹ For they shall be an increase of grace unto thy head and protection about thy neck.

¹⁰ ¶ My son, if sinners entice thee, do not consent.

¹¹ If they say, Come with us, let us lay in wait for blood; let us ambush the innocent without cause.

¹² Let us swallow them up alive as Sheol and whole as those that go down into the pit;

¹³ We shall find all kinds of riches, we shall fill our houses with spoil.

¹⁴ Cast in thy lot among us; let us all have one purse:

¹⁵ My son, do not walk in the way with them; refrain thy foot from their path:

¹⁶ For their feet shall 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 lay in wait for their own blood; they ambush their own souls.

¹⁹ So are the ways of every one that is greedy of gain which takes away the life of those who possess it.

²⁰ ¶ Wisdom cries without; she utters her voice in the streets:

²¹ She cries in the chief place of concourse, in the entrance to the gates of the city she utters her words, saying,

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

²³ Return 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 one responded;

²⁵ for because ye have disregarded all my counsel and rejected my reproof:

²⁶ I also will laugh at your calamity; I will mock when your fear comes upon you;

²⁷ when what you have feared comes as destruction, and your calamity comes as a whirlwind; when tribulation and anguish come upon you.

²⁸ Then they shall 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 rejected my counsel: they despised all my reproof.

³¹ Therefore they shall eat of the fruit of their own way, and be filled with their own counsel.

³² For the rest of the ignorant shall slay them, and the prosperity of fools shall destroy them.

³³ But whosoever hearkens unto me shall dwell safely and shall rest from the 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 intelligence,

³ yea, if thou criest for understanding and givest thy voice unto intelligence,

⁴ if thou seekest her as silver and searchest for her as for hid treasures,

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

⁶ For the LORD gives wisdom; out of his mouth comes knowledge and intelligence.

⁷ He keeps the person of the upright; he is a buckler to those that walk perfectly,

⁸ keeping the paths of judgment and the way of his merciful ones.

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

¹⁰ ¶ When wisdom enters into thine heart and knowledge is sweet unto thy soul,

¹¹ discretion shall preserve thee, intelligence shall keep thee

¹² to deliver thee from the evil way, from the man that speaks perversion,

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

¹⁴ who rejoice to do evil and delight in wicked perversion,

¹⁵ whose ways are crooked, and they are crooked in their paths;

¹⁶ to deliver thee from the strange woman, even from the stranger who flatters with her words,

¹⁷ who forsakes the prince of her youth and forgets the covenant of her God.

¹⁸ Therefore her house inclines unto death, and her paths unto the dead.

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

²⁰ That thou may walk in the way of good men and keep 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.

3 ¶ My son, forget not my law, but let thine heart keep my commandments:

² For they shall add length of days and long life and peace unto thee.

³ Let not mercy and truth forsake thee; bind them about thy neck; write them upon the tablet of thine heart:

⁴ So shalt thou find grace and good favour in the sight of God and man.

⁵ Trust in the LORD with all thine heart and lean not unto thine own understanding.

⁶ In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.

⁷ ¶ Be not wise in thine own eyes; fear the LORD and depart from evil.

⁸ It shall be medicine to thy navel and marrow to thy bones.

⁹ Honour the LORD with thy substance and with the firstfruits of all thine increase:

¹⁰ So shall thy barns be filled with plenty, and thy presses shall burst out with new wine.

¹¹ My son, do not despise the chastening of the LORD; neither be weary of his correction:

¹² For the LORD chastens whom he loves and delights in, even as a father to his son.

¹³ ¶ Blessed is the man that has found wisdom and who brings to light intelligence,

¹⁴ for the merchandise of it is better than the merchandise of silver and the fruits thereof more than fine gold.

¹⁵ She is more precious than precious stones, and all the things thou canst desire are not to be compared unto her.

¹⁶ Length of days is in her right hand and in her left hand riches and honour.

¹⁷ Her ways are ways of pleasantness, and all her paths are peace.

¹⁸ She is a tree of life to those that lay hold upon her, and blessed is every one that retains her.

¹⁹ The LORD by wisdom has founded the earth; by intelligence has he established the heavens.

²⁰ By his knowledge the depths are broken up, and the heavens drop down the dew.

²¹ ¶ My son, do not let them depart from thine eyes; keep sound wisdom and discretion,

²² so shall they be life unto thy soul and grace to thy neck.

²³ Then shalt thou walk in thy way safely, and thy foot shall not stumble.

²⁴ When thou liest down, thou shalt not be afraid: yea, thou shalt lie down, and thy sleep shall be sweet.

²⁵ Thou shall not be afraid of sudden fear, neither of the desolation of the wicked when it comes.

²⁶ For the LORD shall be thy confidence and shall keep thy foot from being taken.

²⁷ ¶ Do not withhold good from those to whom it is due, when it is in the power of thine hand to do it.

²⁸ Do not say unto thy neighbour, Go and come again and tomorrow I will give when thou hast it by thee.

²⁹ Do not devise evil against thy neighbour, seeing he dwells securely by thee.

³⁰ Do not sue a man without cause, if he has done thee no harm.

³¹ Envy thou not the oppressor and choose none of his ways.

³² For the perverse is an abomination to the LORD; but his secret is with the righteous.

³³ The curse of the LORD is in the house of the wicked, but he shall bless the habitation of the just.

³⁴ Surely he scorns the scorners; but he gives grace unto the humble.

³⁵ The wise shall inherit glory; but shame shall be the promotion of fools.

4 ¶ Hearken, ye sons, unto the chastening of the father, and pay attention that ye might know understanding.

² For I give you good doctrine; do not forsake my law.

³ For I was my father’s son, tender and unique in the sight of my mother.

⁴ He taught me and said unto me, Sustain thine heart with my words; keep my commandments, and live.

⁵ Get wisdom, get understanding; forget it not; neither decline from the words of my mouth.

⁶ Forsake her not, and she shall preserve thee; love her, and she shall keep thee.

⁷ Wisdom is the principal thing, therefore get wisdom: and with all thy getting get understanding.

⁸ Grow in wisdom, and she shall promote thee; she shall bring thee to honour when thou hast embraced her.

⁹ She shall give to thine head an increase of grace; a crown of glory shall she deliver to thee.

¹⁰ Hear, O my son, and receive my words, and the years of thy life shall be multiplied.

¹¹ I have taught thee in the way of wisdom; I have caused thee to walk in right paths.

¹² When thou goest in these paths, thy steps shall not be hindered; and when thou runnest, thou shalt not stumble.

¹³ Take fast hold of chastening; do not let go; keep this; for it is thy life.

¹⁴ ¶ Enter not into the path of the wicked, and go not in the way of evil men.

¹⁵ Avoid it, pass not by it, turn from it, and pass away.

¹⁶ For they do not sleep, unless they have done evil; and their sleep is taken away, unless they cause someone to fall.

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

¹⁸ But the path of the just is as the light of the morning star, that shines more and more until the day is perfect.

¹⁹ The way of the wicked is as darkness; they do not know in what they stumble.

²⁰ ¶ My son, attend to my words; incline thine ear unto my words.

²¹ Let them not depart from thine eyes; keep them in the midst of thine heart.

²² For they are life unto those that find them and medicine to all their flesh.

²³ Above all else, guard thy heart; for out of it flows the issues of life.

²⁴ Put away from thee the perversion of the mouth, and the deviation of the lips put far from thee.

²⁵ Let thine eyes look upon that which is right, and let thine eyelids straighten thy path before thee.

²⁶ Ponder the path of thy feet, and let all thy ways be established.

²⁷ Turn not to the right hand nor to the left; remove thy foot from evil.

5 ¶ My son, attend unto my wisdom, and bow thine ear to my intelligence;

² that thou may keep council and that thy lips may conserve knowledge.

³ For the lips of the strange woman drop as a honeycomb, and her mouth is smoother than oil,

⁴ But her end is bitter as wormwood, sharp as a two-edged sword.

⁵ Her feet go down to death, her steps uphold Sheol,

⁶ lest thou should ponder the path of life, her ways are unstable; thou shalt not know them.

⁷ Hear me now therefore, O ye sons, and do not depart from the words of my mouth.

⁸ Remove thy way far from her, and do not come near the door of her house,

⁹ lest thou give thine honour unto others and thy years unto the cruel,

¹⁰ lest strangers be filled with thy wealth, and thy labours be in the house of a stranger,

¹¹ and thou mourn at the last when thy flesh and thy body are consumed

¹² and say, How have I hated chastening and my heart despised reproof

¹³ and have not obeyed the voice of those who chastened me, nor inclined my ear to those that instructed me!

¹⁴ I have been in almost every kind of evil, in the midst of society and of the congregation.

¹⁵ ¶ Drink waters out of thine own cistern and running waters out of thine own well.

¹⁶ Let thy fountains be dispersed abroad, and rivers of thy waters in the streets.

¹⁷ Let them be only thine own and not for strangers with thee.

¹⁸ Thy fountain shall be blessed; and rejoice with the wife of thy youth.

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, without eyes for anyone else.

²⁰ And why wilt thou, my son, be ravished with a woman belonging to someone else, and embrace the bosom of a stranger?

²¹ For the ways of man are before the eyes of the LORD, and he weighs all his goings.

²² His own iniquities shall take hold of the wicked, and he shall be imprisoned with the cords of his sins.

²³ He shall die because he did not submit to chastening; and due to the greatness of his folly he shall go astray.

6 ¶ My son, if thou be surety for thy friend, if thou hast stricken thy hand with a stranger,

² thou art snared with the words of thy mouth; thou art taken with the words of thy mouth.

³ Do this now, my son, and deliver thyself, for thou hast fallen into the hand of thy friend; go, humble thyself, and make sure thy friend.

⁴ Give not sleep to thine eyes, nor slumber to thine eyelids.

⁵ Escape as a roe from the hand of the hunter and as a bird from the hand of the fowler.

⁶ ¶ Go to the ant, thou sluggard; consider her ways, and be wise,

⁷ Who having no guide, overseer, or ruler,

⁸ provides her food in the summer and gathers her food in the harvest.

⁹ How long wilt thou sleep, O sluggard? when wilt thou arise out of thy sleep?

¹⁰ Yet a little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to sleep:

¹¹ So shall thy poverty come as one that travels and thy want as an armed man.

¹² ¶ A wicked man of Belial walks with a perverse mouth.

¹³ He winks with his eyes, he speaks with his feet, he teaches with his fingers;

¹⁴ there is perversion in his heart; he devises evil continually; he sows discord.

¹⁵ Therefore his calamity shall come suddenly; suddenly he shall be broken without remedy.

¹⁶ These six things does the LORD hate: yea, seven are an abomination unto him:

¹⁷ A proud look, a lying tongue, and hands that shed innocent blood,

¹⁸ a heart that devises wicked imaginations, feet that are swift in running to evil,

¹⁹ a false witness that speaks lies, and he that sows discord among brethren.

²⁰ ¶ My son, keep thy father’s commandment and forsake not the law of thy mother:

²¹ Bind them continually upon thine heart and tie them about thy neck.

²² When thou goest, it shall lead thee; when thou sleepest, it shall keep thee; and when thou awakest, it shall talk with thee.

²³ For the commandment is fire, and the law is light; and reproofs of chastening are the way of life,

²⁴ to keep thee from the evil woman, from the flattery of the tongue of a strange woman.

²⁵ Lust not after her beauty in thine heart, neither let her take thee with her eyes.

²⁶ For by means of a whorish woman a man is reduced to a piece of bread, and the woman will hunt the precious soul of the man.

²⁷ Can a man take fire in his bosom and his clothes not be burned?

²⁸ Can one go upon hot coals, and his feet not be burned?

²⁹ So is he that goes in to his neighbour’s wife; whosoever touches her shall not be innocent.

³⁰ Men do not take a thief lightly, even if he steals to satisfy his soul when he is hungry;

³¹ and once he is taken, he shall restore sevenfold; he shall give all the substance of his house.

³² But whosoever commits adultery with a woman has a fault in his heart; he that does it corrupts his own soul.

³³ A wound and dishonour shall he get, and his reproach shall never be wiped away.

³⁴ For the jealous rage of a man will not spare in the day of vengeance.

³⁵ He will not regard any ransom; neither will he want to forgive, though thou givest many bribes.

7 ¶ My son, keep my words, and lay up my commandments with thee.

² Keep my commandments, and live; and my law as the apple of thine eye.

³ Bind them upon thy fingers; write them upon the tablet of thine heart.

⁴ Say unto wisdom, Thou art my sister, and call understanding thy kinswoman:

⁵ That they may keep thee from the woman belonging to someone else, from the stranger who flatters with her words.

⁶ ¶ For at the window of my house I looked through my casement

⁷ and beheld among the simple ones, I discerned among the youths, a young man void of understanding,

⁸ passing through the street near her corner; and he went the way to her house,

⁹ in the twilight, in the evening, in the black and dark night;

¹⁰ and, behold, a woman met him with the attire of a harlot, and subtil of heart.

¹¹ (She is loud and stubborn; her feet do not abide in her house:

¹² Now without, now in the streets, she lies in wait at every corner.)

¹³ So she caught him and kissed him and with an impudent face said unto him,

¹⁴ I had promised sacrifices of peace; today I have paid my vows.

¹⁵ Therefore I came forth to meet thee, diligently to seek thy face, and I have found thee.

¹⁶ I have decked my bed with coverings of tapestry, with carved works, with fine linen of Egypt.

¹⁷ I have perfumed my bed with myrrh, aloes, and cinnamon.

¹⁸ Come, let us take our fill of love until the morning; let us solace ourselves with loves.

¹⁹ For the husband is not at home; he is gone a long journey:

²⁰ He has taken a bag of money with him and will come home at the appointed feast day.

²¹ With her much fair speech she caused him to yield; with the flattering of her lips she persuaded him.

²² He went after her straightway, as an ox goes to the slaughter or as a fool to the correction of the stocks,

²³ until the arrow pierces through his liver. He is as a bird struggling in the snare and not knowing that it is against his own life.

²⁴ ¶ Hearken unto me now therefore, O ye sons, and attend to the words of my mouth.

²⁵ Let not thine heart decline to her ways; do not go astray in her paths.

²⁶ For she has caused many to fall down dead; yea, all the strong men have been slain by her.

²⁷ Her house is the way to Sheol, going down to the chambers of death.