21 The king’s heart is in the hand of Jehovah as the watercourses:
He turneth it whithersoever he will.
² Every way of a man is right in his own eyes;
But Jehovah weigheth the hearts.
³ To do righteousness and justice
Is more acceptable to Jehovah than sacrifice.
⁴ A high look, and a proud heart,
^[a]Even the lamp of the wicked, is sin.
⁵ The thoughts of the diligent tend only to plenteousness;
But every one that is hasty hasteth only to want.
⁶ The getting of treasures by a lying tongue
Is a vapor driven to and fro by them that seek death.
⁷ The violence of the wicked shall sweep them away,
Because they refuse to do justice.
⁸ The way of him that is laden with guilt is exceeding crooked;
But as for the pure, his work is ^[b]right.
⁹ It is better to dwell in the corner of the housetop,
Than with a contentious woman in ^[c]a wide house.
¹⁰ The soul of the wicked desireth evil:
His neighbor findeth no favor in his eyes.
¹¹ When the scoffer is punished, the simple is made wise;
And ^[d]when the wise is instructed, he receiveth knowledge.
^12 [e]The righteous man considereth the house of the wicked,
How the wicked are overthrown to their ruin.
¹³ Whoso stoppeth his ears at the cry of the poor,
He also shall cry, but shall not be heard.
¹⁴ A gift in secret ^[f]pacifieth anger;
And a present in the bosom, strong wrath.
¹⁵ It is joy to the righteous to do justice;
^[g]But it is a destruction to the workers of iniquity.
¹⁶ The man that wandereth out of the way of understanding
Shall rest in the assembly of ^[h]the dead.
¹⁷ He that loveth pleasure shall be a poor man:
He that loveth wine and oil shall not be rich.
¹⁸ The wicked is a ransom for the righteous;
And the treacherous cometh in the stead of the upright.
¹⁹ It is better to dwell in a desert land,
Than with ^[i]a contentious and fretful woman.
²⁰ There is precious treasure and oil in the dwelling of the wise;
But a foolish man swalloweth it up.
²¹ He that followeth after righteousness and kindness
Findeth life, righteousness, and honor.
²² A wise man scaleth the city of the mighty,
And bringeth down the strength of the confidence thereof.
²³ Whoso keepeth his mouth and his tongue
Keepeth his soul from troubles.
²⁴ The proud and haughty man, scoffer is his name;
He worketh in the arrogance of pride.
²⁵ The desire of the sluggard killeth him;
For his hands refuse to labor.
²⁶ There is that coveteth greedily all the day long;
But the righteous giveth and withholdeth not.
²⁷ The sacrifice of the wicked is an abomination;
How much more, when he bringeth it ^[j]with a wicked mind!
²⁸ A false witness shall perish;
But the man that heareth shall speak so as to endure.
²⁹ A wicked man hardeneth his face;
But as for the upright, ^[k]he establisheth his ways.
³⁰ There is no wisdom nor understanding
Nor counsel against Jehovah.
³¹ The horse is prepared against the day of battle;
But ^[l]victory is of Jehovah.

23 When thou sittest to eat with a ruler,
Consider diligently ^[a]him that is before thee;
^2 [b]And put a knife to thy throat,
If thou be a man given to appetite.
³ Be not desirous of his dainties;
Seeing they are deceitful food.
⁴ Weary not thyself to be rich;
Cease ^[c]from thine own wisdom.
^5 [d]Wilt thou set thine eyes upon that which is not?
For riches certainly make themselves wings,
Like an eagle that flieth toward heaven.
⁶ Eat thou not the bread of him that hath an evil eye,
Neither desire thou his dainties:
⁷ For ^[e]as he thinketh within himself, so is he:
Eat and drink, saith he to thee;
But his heart is not with thee.
⁸ The morsel which thou hast eaten shalt thou vomit up,
And lose thy sweet words.
⁹ Speak not in the hearing of a fool;
For he will despise the wisdom of thy words.
¹⁰ Remove not the ancient landmark;
And enter not into the fields of the fatherless:
¹¹ For their Redeemer is strong;
He will plead their cause against thee.
¹² Apply thy heart unto ^[f]instruction,
And thine ears to the words of knowledge.
¹³ Withhold not correction from the child;
For ^[g]if thou beat him with the rod, he will not die.
¹⁴ Thou shalt beat him with the rod,
And shalt deliver his soul from Sheol.
¹⁵ My son, if thy heart be wise,
My heart will be glad, even mine:
¹⁶ Yea, my ^[h]heart will rejoice,
When thy lips speak right things.
¹⁷ Let not thy heart envy sinners;
But be thou in the fear of Jehovah all the day long:
¹⁸ For surely there is a ^[i]reward;
And thy hope shall not be cut off.
¹⁹ Hear thou, my son, and be wise,
And guide thy heart in the way.
²⁰ Be not among winebibbers,
Among gluttonous eaters of flesh:
²¹ For the drunkard and the glutton shall come to poverty;
And drowsiness will clothe a man with rags.
²² Hearken unto thy father that begat thee,
And despise not thy mother when she is old.
²³ Buy the truth, and sell it not;
Yea, wisdom, and instruction, and understanding.
²⁴ The father of the righteous will greatly rejoice;
And he that begetteth a wise child will have joy of him.
²⁵ Let thy father and thy mother be glad,
And let her that bare thee rejoice.
²⁶ My son, give me thy heart;
And let thine eyes ^[j]delight in my ways.
²⁷ For a harlot is a deep ditch;
And a foreign woman is a narrow pit.
²⁸ Yea, she lieth in wait ^[k]as a robber,
And increaseth the treacherous among men.
²⁹ Who hath ^[l]woe? who hath ^[m]sorrow? who hath contentions?
Who hath complaining? who hath wounds without cause?
Who hath ^[n]redness of eyes?
³⁰ They that tarry long at the wine;
They that go to ^[o]seek out mixed wine.
³¹ Look not thou upon the wine when it is red,
When it sparkleth in the cup,
When it ^[p]goeth down smoothly:
³² At the last it biteth like a serpent,
And stingeth like an adder.
³³ Thine eyes shall behold ^[q]strange things,
And thy heart shall utter perverse things.
³⁴ Yea, thou shalt be as he that lieth down in the midst of the sea,
Or as he that lieth upon the top of a mast.
³⁵ They have stricken me, shalt thou say, and I was not hurt;
They have beaten me, and I felt it not:
When shall I awake? I will seek it yet again.