⁶ Oh come, let us worship and bow down;
Let ^(D)us kneel before the Lord our Maker.
⁷ For He is our God,
And ^(E)we are the people of His pasture,
And the sheep ^[b]of His hand.

^(F)Today, if you will hear His voice:
⁸ “Do not harden your hearts, as in the ^[c]rebellion,
^(G)As in the day of ^[d]trial in the wilderness,
⁹ When ^(H)your fathers tested Me;
They tried Me, though they ^(I)saw My work.
¹⁰ For ^(J)forty years I was ^[e]grieved with that generation,
And said, ‘It is a people who go astray in their hearts,
And they do not know My ways.’
¹¹ So ^(K)I swore in My wrath,
‘They shall not enter My rest.’ ”

² The ^[a]wrath of a king is like the roaring of a lion;
Whoever provokes him to anger sins against his own life.

^3 (B)It is honorable for a man to stop striving,
Since any fool can start a quarrel.

^4 (C)The lazy man will not plow because of winter;
^(D)He will beg during harvest and have nothing.

⁵ Counsel in the heart of man is like deep water,
But a man of understanding will draw it out.

⁶ Most men will proclaim each his own ^[b]goodness,
But who can find a faithful man?

^7 (E)The righteous man walks in his integrity;
^(F)His children are blessed after him.

⁸ A king who sits on the throne of judgment
Scatters all evil with his eyes.

^9 (G)Who can say, “I have made my heart clean,
I am pure from my sin”?

^10 (H)Diverse weights and diverse measures,
They are both alike, an abomination to the Lord.

¹¹ Even a child is ^(I)known by his deeds,
Whether what he does is pure and right.

^12 (J)The hearing ear and the seeing eye,
The Lord has made them both.

^13 (K)Do not love sleep, lest you come to poverty;
Open your eyes, and you will be satisfied with bread.

¹⁴ “It is ^[c]good for nothing,” cries the buyer;
But when he has gone his way, then he boasts.

¹⁵ There is gold and a multitude of rubies,
But ^(L)the lips of knowledge are a precious jewel.

^16 (M)Take the garment of one who is surety for a stranger,
And hold it as a pledge when it is for a seductress.

^17 (N)Bread gained by deceit is sweet to a man,
But afterward his mouth will be filled with gravel.

^18 (O)Plans are established by counsel;
^(P)By wise counsel wage war.

^19 (Q)He who goes about as a talebearer reveals secrets;
Therefore do not associate with one ^(R)who flatters with his lips.

^20 (S)Whoever curses his father or his mother,
^(T)His lamp will be put out in deep darkness.

^21 (U)An inheritance gained hastily at the beginning
^(V)Will not be blessed at the end.

^22 (W)Do not say, “I will ^[d]recompense evil”;
^(X)Wait for the Lord, and He will save you.

²³ Diverse weights are an abomination to the Lord,
And dishonest scales are not good.

²⁴ A man’s steps are of the Lord;
How then can a man understand his own way?

²⁵ It is a snare for a man to devote rashly something as holy,
And afterward to reconsider his vows.

^26 (Y)A wise king sifts out the wicked,
And brings the threshing wheel over them.

^27 (Z)The spirit of a man is the lamp of the Lord,
Searching all the ^[e]inner depths of his heart.

^28 (AA)Mercy and truth preserve the king,
And by ^[f]lovingkindness he upholds his throne.

²⁹ The glory of young men is their strength,
And ^(AB)the splendor of old men is their gray head.

³⁰ Blows that hurt cleanse away evil,
As do stripes the ^[g]inner depths of the heart.

^2 (AC)Every way of a man is right in his own eyes,
^(AD)But the Lord weighs the hearts.

^3 (AE)To do righteousness and justice
Is more acceptable to the Lord than sacrifice.

^4 (AF)A haughty look, a proud heart,
And the ^[i]plowing of the wicked are sin.

^5 (AG)The plans of the diligent lead surely to plenty,
But those of everyone who is hasty, surely to poverty.

^6 (AH)Getting treasures by a lying tongue
^[j]Is the fleeting fantasy of those who seek death.

⁷ The violence of the wicked will ^[k]destroy them,
Because they refuse to do justice.

⁸ The way of ^[l]a guilty man is perverse;
But as for the pure, his work is right.

⁹ Better to dwell in a corner of a housetop,
Than in a house shared with ^(AI)a contentious woman.

^10 (AJ)The soul of the wicked desires evil;
His neighbor finds no favor in his eyes.

¹¹ When the scoffer is punished, the simple is made wise;
But when the ^(AK)wise is instructed, he receives knowledge.

¹² The righteous God wisely considers the house of the wicked,
Overthrowing the wicked for their wickedness.

^13 (AL)Whoever shuts his ears to the cry of the poor
Will also cry himself and not be heard.

¹⁴ A gift in secret pacifies anger,
And a bribe ^[m]behind the back, strong wrath.

¹⁵ It is a joy for the just to do justice,
But destruction will come to the workers of iniquity.

¹⁶ A man who wanders from the way of understanding
Will rest in the assembly of the ^(AM)dead.

¹⁷ He who loves pleasure will be a poor man;
He who loves wine and oil will not be rich.

¹⁸ The wicked shall be a ransom for the righteous,
And the unfaithful for the upright.

¹⁹ Better to dwell ^[n]in the wilderness,
Than with a contentious and angry woman.

^20 (AN)There is desirable treasure,
And oil in the dwelling of the wise,
But a foolish man squanders it.

^21 (AO)He who follows righteousness and mercy
Finds life, righteousness, and honor.

²² A ^(AP)wise man ^[o]scales the city of the mighty,
And brings down the trusted stronghold.

^23 (AQ)Whoever guards his mouth and tongue
Keeps his soul from troubles.

²⁴ A proud and haughty man—“Scoffer” is his name;
He acts with arrogant pride.

²⁵ The ^(AR)desire of the lazy man kills him,
For his hands refuse to labor.
²⁶ He covets greedily all day long,
But the righteous ^(AS)gives and does not spare.

^27 (AT)The sacrifice of the wicked is an abomination;
How much more when he brings it with wicked intent!

²⁸ A false witness shall perish,
But the man who hears him will speak endlessly.

²⁹ A wicked man hardens his face,
But as for the upright, he ^[p]establishes his way.

^30 (AU)There is no wisdom or understanding
Or counsel against the Lord.

³¹ The horse is prepared for the day of battle,
But ^(AV)deliverance is of the Lord.

² The ^(AX)rich and the poor have this in common,
The ^(AY)Lord is the maker of them all.

³ A prudent man foresees evil and hides himself,
But the simple pass on and are ^(AZ)punished.

⁴ By humility and the fear of the Lord
Are riches and honor and life.

⁵ Thorns and snares are in the way of the perverse;
He who guards his soul will be far from them.

^6 (BA)Train up a child in the way he should go,
^[q]And when he is old he will not depart from it.

⁷ The ^(BB)rich rules over the poor,
And the borrower is servant to the lender.

⁸ He who sows iniquity will reap ^(BC)sorrow,^[r]
And the rod of his anger will fail.

^9 (BD)He who has a ^[s]generous eye will be ^(BE)blessed,
For he gives of his bread to the poor.

^10 (BF)Cast out the scoffer, and contention will leave;
Yes, strife and reproach will cease.

^11 (BG)He who loves purity of heart
And has grace on his lips,
The king will be his friend.

¹² The eyes of the Lord preserve knowledge,
But He overthrows the words of the faithless.

^13 (BH)The lazy man says, “There is a lion outside!
I shall be slain in the streets!”

^14 (BI)The mouth of an immoral woman is a deep pit;
^(BJ)He who is abhorred by the Lord will fall there.

¹⁵ Foolishness is bound up in the heart of a child;
^(BK)The rod of correction will drive it far from him.

¹⁶ He who oppresses the poor to increase his riches,
And he who gives to the rich, will surely come to poverty.

²² Do not rob the ^(BN)poor because he is poor,
Nor oppress the afflicted at the gate;
^23 (BO)For the Lord will plead their cause,
And plunder the soul of those who plunder them.

²⁴ Make no friendship with an angry man,
And with a ^(BP)furious man do not go,
²⁵ Lest you learn his ways
And set a snare for your soul.

^26 (BQ)Do not be one of those who ^[u]shakes hands in a pledge,
One of those who is ^[v]surety for debts;
²⁷ If you have nothing with which to pay,
Why should he take away your bed from under you?

^28 (BR)Do not remove the ancient ^[w]landmark
Which your fathers have set.

²⁹ Do you see a man who ^[x]excels in his work?
He will stand before kings;
He will not stand before ^[y]unknown men.