Proverbs 2-4

Douay-Rheims 1899 American Edition

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

² That thy ear may hearken to wisdom: Incline thy heart to know prudence:

³ For if thou shalt call for wisdom, and incline thy heart to prudence:

⁴ If thou shalt seek her as money, and shalt dig for her as for a treasure:

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

⁶ Because the Lord giveth wisdom: and out of his mouth cometh prudence and knowledge.

⁷ He will keep the salvation of the righteous, and protect them that walk in simplicity.

⁸ Keeping the paths of justice, and guarding the ways of saints.

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

¹⁰ If wisdom shall enter into thy heart, and knowledge please thy soul:

¹¹ Counsel shall keep thee, and prudence shall preserve thee,

¹² That thou mayst be delivered from the evil way, and from the man that speaketh perverse things:

¹³ Who leave the right way, and walk by dark ways:

¹⁴ Who are glad when they have done evil, and rejoice in most wicked things:

¹⁵ Whose ways are perverse, and their steps infamous.

¹⁶ That thou mayst be delivered from the strange women, and from the stranger, who softeneth her words:

¹⁷ And forsaketh the guide of her youth,

¹⁸ And hath forgotten the covenant of her God: for her house inclineth unto death, and her paths to hell.

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

²⁰ That thou mayst walk in a good way: and mayst keep the paths of the just.

²¹ For they that are upright shall dwell in the earth, and the simple shall continue in it.

²² But the wicked shall be destroyed from the earth: and they that do unjustly shall be taken away from it.

3 My son, forget not my law, and let thy heart keep my commandments.

² For they shall add to thee length of days, and years of life and peace.

³ Let not mercy and truth leave thee, put them about thy neck, and write them in the tables of thy heart:

⁴ And thou shalt find grace and good understanding before God and men.

⁵ Have confidence in the Lord with all thy heart, and lean not upon thy own prudence.

⁶ In all thy ways think on him, and he will direct thy steps.

⁷ Be not wise in thy own conceit: fear God, and depart from evil:

⁸ For it shall be health to thy navel, and moistening to thy bones.

⁹ Honour the Lord with thy substance, and give him of the first of all thy fruits:

¹⁰ And thy barns shall be filled with abundance, and thy presses shall run over with wine.

¹¹ My son, reject not the correction of the Lord: and do not faint when thou art chastised by him:

¹² For whom the Lord loveth, he chastiseth: and as a father in the son he pleaseth himself.

¹³ Blessed is the man that findeth wisdom and is rich in prudence:

¹⁴ The purchasing thereof is better than the merchandise of silver, and her fruit than the chiefest and purest gold:

¹⁵ She is more precious than all riches: and all the things that are desired, are not to be compared with her.

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

¹⁷ Her ways are beautiful ways, and all her paths are peaceable.

¹⁸ She is a tree of life to them that lay hold on her: and he that shall retain her is blessed.

¹⁹ The Lord by wisdom hath founded the earth, hath established the heavens by prudence.

²⁰ By his wisdom the depths have broken out, and the clouds grow thick with dew.

²¹ My son, let not these things depart from thy eyes: keep the law and counsel:

²² And there shall be life to thy soul, and grace to thy mouth.

²³ Then shalt thou walk confidently in thy way, and thy foot shall not stumble:

²⁴ If thou sleep, thou shalt not fear: thou shalt rest, and thy sleep shall be sweet.

²⁵ Be not afraid of sudden fear, nor of the power of the wicked falling upon thee.

²⁶ For the Lord will be at thy side, and will keep thy foot that thou be not taken.

²⁷ Do not withhold him from doing good, who is able: if thou art able, do good thyself also.

²⁸ Say not to thy friend: Go, and come again: and to morrow I will give to thee: when thou canst give at present.

²⁹ Practise not evil against thy friend, when he hath confidence in thee.

³⁰ Strive not against a man without cause, when he hath done thee no evil.

³¹ Envy not the unjust man, and do not follow his ways:

³² For every mocker is an abomination to the Lord, and his communication is with the simple.

³³ Want is from the Lord in the house of the wicked: but the habitations of the just shall be blessed.

³⁴ He shall scorn the scorners, and to the meek he will give grace.

³⁵ The wise shall possess glory: the promotion of fools is disgrace.

4 Hear, ye children, the instruction of a father, and attend that you may know prudence.

² I will give you a good gift, forsake not my law.

³ For I also was my father's son, tender and as an only son in the sight of my mother:

⁴ And he taught me, and said: Let thy heart receive my words, keep my commandments, and thou shalt live.

⁵ Get wisdom, get prudence: forget not, neither decline from the words of my mouth.

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

⁷ The beginning of wisdom, get wisdom, and with all thy possession purchase prudence.

⁸ Take hold on her, and she shall exalt thee: thou shalt be glorified by her, when thou shalt embrace her.

⁹ She shall give to thy head increase of graces, and protect thee with a noble crown.

¹⁰ Hear, O my son, and receive my words, that years of life may be multiplied to thee.

¹¹ I will shew thee the way of wisdom, I will lead thee by the paths of equity:

¹² Which when thou shalt have entered, thy steps shall not be straitened, and when thou runnest thou shalt not meet a stumblingblock.

¹³ Take hold on instruction, leave it not: keep it, because it is thy life.

¹⁴ Be not delighted in the paths of the wicked, neither let the way of evil men please thee.

¹⁵ Flee from it, pass not by it: go aside, and forsake it.

¹⁶ For they sleep not except they have done evil: and their sleep is taken away unless they have made some to fall.

¹⁷ They eat the bread of wickedness, and drink the wine of iniquity.

¹⁸ But the path of the just, as a shining light, goeth forwards and increaseth even to perfect day.

¹⁹ The way of the wicked is darksome: they know not where they fall.

²⁰ My son, hearken to my words, and incline thy ear to my sayings.

²¹ Let them not depart from thy eyes, keep them in the midst of thy heart:

²² For they are life to those that find them, and health to all flesh.

²³ With all watchfulness keep thy heart, because life issueth out from it.

²⁴ Remove from thee a froward mouth, and let detracting lips be far from thee.

²⁵ Let thy eyes look straight on, and let thy eyelids go before thy steps.

²⁶ Make straight the path for thy feet, and all thy ways shall be established.

²⁷ Decline not to the right hand, nor to the left: turn away thy foot from evil. For the Lord knoweth the ways that are on the right hand: but those are perverse which are on the left hand. But he will make thy courses straight, he will bring forward thy ways in peace.