² He who walks in his uprightness fears the Lord,
^(A)But he who is perverse in his ways despises Him.

³ In the mouth of a fool is a rod of pride,
^(B)But the lips of the wise will preserve them.

⁴ Where no oxen are, the ^[a]trough is clean;
But much increase comes by the strength of an ox.

⁵ A ^(C)faithful witness does not lie,
But a false witness will utter ^(D)lies.

⁶ A scoffer seeks wisdom and does not find it,
But ^(E)knowledge is easy to him who understands.
⁷ Go from the presence of a foolish man,
When you do not perceive in him the lips of ^(F)knowledge.
⁸ The wisdom of the prudent is to understand his way,
But the folly of fools is deceit.

^9 (G)Fools mock at ^[b]sin,
But among the upright there is favor.

¹⁰ The heart knows its own bitterness,
And a stranger does not share its joy.

^11 (H)The house of the wicked will be overthrown,
But the tent of the upright will flourish.

^12 (I)There is a way that seems right to a man,
But ^(J)its end is the way of ^(K)death.

¹³ Even in laughter the heart may sorrow,
And ^(L)the end of mirth may be grief.

¹⁴ The backslider in heart will be ^(M)filled with his own ways,
But a good man will be satisfied ^[c]from ^(N)above.

¹⁵ The simple believes every word,
But the prudent considers well his steps.
^16 (O)A wise man fears and departs from evil,
But a fool rages and is self-confident.
¹⁷ A quick-tempered man acts foolishly,
And a man of wicked intentions is hated.
¹⁸ The simple inherit folly,
But the prudent are crowned with knowledge.
¹⁹ The evil will bow before the good,
And the wicked at the gates of the righteous.

^20 (P)The poor man is hated even by his own neighbor,
But ^[d]the rich has many ^(Q)friends.
²¹ He who despises his neighbor sins;
^(R)But he who has mercy on the poor, happy is he.

²² Do they not go astray who devise evil?
But mercy and truth belong to those who devise good.

²³ In all labor there is profit,
But ^[e]idle chatter leads only to poverty.

²⁴ The crown of the wise is their riches,
But the foolishness of fools is folly.

²⁵ A true witness ^[f]delivers ^(S)souls,
But a deceitful witness speaks lies.

²⁶ In the fear of the Lord there is strong confidence,
And His children will have a place of refuge.
^27 (T)The fear of the Lord is a fountain of life,
To turn one away from the snares of death.

²⁸ In a multitude of people is a king’s honor,
But in the lack of people is the downfall of a prince.

^29 (U)He who is slow to wrath has great understanding,
But he who is ^[g]impulsive exalts folly.

³⁰ A sound heart is life to the body,
But ^(V)envy is ^(W)rottenness to the bones.

^31 (X)He who oppresses the poor reproaches ^(Y)his Maker,
But he who honors Him has mercy on the needy.

³² The wicked is banished in his wickedness,
But ^(Z)the righteous has a refuge in his death.

³³ Wisdom rests in the heart of him who has understanding,
But ^(AA)what is in the heart of fools is made known.

³⁴ Righteousness exalts a ^(AB)nation,
But sin is a ^[h]reproach to any people.

^35 (AC)The king’s favor is toward a wise servant,
But his wrath is against him who causes shame.

^2 (A)Surely I am more stupid than any man,
And do not have the understanding of a man.
³ I neither learned wisdom
Nor have ^(B)knowledge of the Holy One.

^4 (C)Who has ascended into heaven, or descended?
^(D)Who has gathered the wind in His fists?
Who has bound the waters in a garment?
Who has established all the ends of the earth?
What is His name, and what is His Son’s name,
If you know?

^5 (E)Every word of God is ^[a]pure;
^(F)He is a shield to those who put their trust in Him.
^6 (G)Do not add to His words,
Lest He rebuke you, and you be found a liar.

⁷ Two things I request of You
(Deprive me not before I die):
⁸ Remove falsehood and lies far from me;
Give me neither poverty nor riches—
^(H)Feed me with the food allotted to me;
^9 (I)Lest I be full and deny You,
And say, “Who is the Lord?”
Or lest I be poor and steal,
And profane the name of my God.

¹⁰ Do not malign a servant to his master,
Lest he curse you, and you be found guilty.

¹¹ There is a generation that curses its ^(J)father,
And does not bless its mother.
¹² There is a generation ^(K)that is pure in its own eyes,
Yet is not washed from its filthiness.
¹³ There is a generation—oh, how ^(L)lofty are their eyes!
And their eyelids are ^[b]lifted up.
^14 (M)There is a generation whose teeth are like swords,
And whose fangs are like knives,
^(N)To devour the poor from off the earth,
And the needy from among men.

¹⁵ The leech has two daughters—
Give and Give!

There are three things that are never satisfied,
Four never say, “Enough!”:
^16 (O)The^[c] grave,
The barren womb,
The earth that is not satisfied with water—
And the fire never says, “Enough!”

^17 (P)The eye that mocks his father,
And scorns obedience to his mother,
The ravens of the valley will pick it out,
And the young eagles will eat it.

¹⁸ There are three things which are too wonderful for me,
Yes, four which I do not understand:
¹⁹ The way of an eagle in the air,
The way of a serpent on a rock,
The way of a ship in the ^[d]midst of the sea,
And the way of a man with a virgin.

²⁰ This is the way of an adulterous woman:
She eats and wipes her mouth,
And says, “I have done no wickedness.”

²¹ For three things the earth is perturbed,
Yes, for four it cannot bear up:
^22 (Q)For a servant when he reigns,
A fool when he is filled with food,
²³ A ^[e]hateful woman when she is married,
And a maidservant who succeeds her mistress.

²⁴ There are four things which are little on the earth,
But they are exceedingly wise:
^25 (R)The ants are a people not strong,
Yet they prepare their food in the summer;
^26 (S)The ^[f]rock badgers are a feeble folk,
Yet they make their homes in the crags;
²⁷ The locusts have no king,
Yet they all advance in ranks;
²⁸ The ^[g]spider skillfully grasps with its hands,
And it is in kings’ palaces.

²⁹ There are three things which are majestic in pace,
Yes, four which are stately in walk:
³⁰ A lion, which is mighty among beasts
And does not turn away from any;
³¹ A ^[h]greyhound,
A male goat also,
And ^[i]a king whose troops are with him.

³² If you have been foolish in exalting yourself,
Or if you have devised evil, ^(T)put your hand on your mouth.
³³ For as the churning of milk produces butter,
And wringing the nose produces blood,
So the forcing of wrath produces strife.