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Advice to Young People

My child, listen closely
to my teachings
    and learn common sense.
My advice is useful,
    so don't turn away.
When I was still very young
and my mother's favorite child,
my father     said to me:
“If you follow my teachings
and keep them in mind,
    you will live.
Be wise and learn good sense;
remember my teachings
    and do what I say.

“If you love Wisdom
and don't reject her,
    she will watch over you.
The best thing about Wisdom
    is Wisdom herself;
good sense is more important
    than anything else.
If you value Wisdom
and hold tightly to her,
    great honors will be yours.
It will be like wearing
a glorious crown
    of beautiful flowers.”

The Right Way and the Wrong Way

10 My child, if you listen
and obey my teachings,
    you will live a long time.
11 I have shown you the way
    that makes sense;
I have guided you
    along the right path.
12 Your road won't be blocked,
and you won't stumble
    when you run.
13 Hold firmly to my teaching
and never let go.
    It will mean life for you.
14 Don't follow the bad example
    of cruel and evil people.
15 Turn aside and keep going.
    Stay away from them.
16 They can't sleep or rest
until they do wrong or harm
    some innocent victim.
17 Their food and drink
    are cruelty and wickedness.

18 The lifestyle of good people
    is like sunlight at dawn
that keeps getting brighter
    until broad daylight.
19 The lifestyle of the wicked
    is like total darkness,
and they will never know
    what makes them stumble.

20 My child, listen carefully
    to everything I say.
21 Don't forget a single word,
    but think about it all.
22 Knowing these teachings
will mean true life
    and good health for you.
23 Carefully guard your thoughts
because they are the source
    of true life.
24 Never tell lies or be deceitful
    in what you say.
25 Keep looking straight ahead,
    without turning aside.
26 (A) Know where you are headed,
and you will stay
    on solid ground.
27 Don't make a mistake by turning
    to the right or the left.

Be Faithful to Your Wife

My son, if you listen closely
    to my wisdom and good sense,
you will have sound judgment,
and you will always know
    the right thing to say.
The words of an immoral woman
may be as sweet as honey
    and as smooth as olive oil.
But all that you really get
from being with her
    is bitter poison and pain.
If you follow her,
she will lead you down
    to the world of the dead.
She has missed the path
that leads to life
    and doesn't even know it.

My son, listen to me
    and do everything I say.
Stay away from a bad woman!
Don't even go near the door
    of her house.
You will lose your self-respect
    and end up in debt
to some cruel person
    for the rest of your life.
10 Strangers will get your money
and everything else
    you have worked for.
11 When it's all over,
your body will waste away,
as you groan 12     and shout,
“I hated advice and correction!
13 I paid no attention
    to my teachers,
14 and now I am disgraced
    in front of everyone.”

15 You should be faithful
    to your wife,
just as you take water
    from your own well.[a]
16 And don't be like a stream
from which just any woman
    may take a drink.
17 Save yourself for your wife
and don't have sex
    with other women.
18 Be happy with the wife
you married
    when you were young.
19 She is beautiful and graceful,
    just like a deer;
you should be attracted to her
    and stay deeply in love.

20 Don't go crazy over a woman
who is unfaithful
    to her own husband!
21 The Lord sees everything,
    and he watches us closely.
22 Sinners are trapped and caught
    by their own evil deeds.
23 They get lost and die
because of their foolishness
    and lack of self-control.

Don't Be Foolish

(B) My child, suppose you agree
to pay the debt of someone,
    who cannot repay a loan.
Then you are trapped
    by your own words,
and you are now in the power
    of someone else.
Here is what you should do:
Go and beg for permission
    to call off the agreement.
Do this before you fall asleep
    or even get sleepy.
Save yourself, just as a deer
or a bird tries to escape
    from a hunter.

You lazy people can learn
    by watching an anthill.
Ants don't have leaders,
but they store up food
    during harvest season.
How long will you lie there
    doing nothing at all?
When are you going to get up
    and stop sleeping?
10 (C) Sleep a little. Doze a little.
Fold your hands
    and twiddle your thumbs.
11 Suddenly, everything is gone,
as though it had been taken
    by an armed robber.

12 Worthless liars go around
13 (D) winking and giving signals
    to deceive others.
14 They are always thinking up
something cruel and evil,
    and they stir up trouble.
15 But they will be struck
by sudden disaster
    and left without a hope.

16 There are six or seven
kinds of people
    the Lord doesn't like:
17 Those who are too proud
    or tell lies or murder,
18 those who make evil plans
    or are quick to do wrong,
19 those who tell lies in court
or stir up trouble
    in a family.

20 Obey the teaching
    of your parents—
21 always keep it in mind
    and never forget it.
22 Their teaching will guide you
    when you walk,
protect you when you sleep,
and talk to you
    when you are awake.

23 The Law of the Lord is a lamp,
and its teachings
    shine brightly.
Correction and self-control
    will lead you through life.
24 They will protect you
from the flattering words
    of someone else's wife.[b]
25 Don't let yourself be attracted
by the charm and lovely eyes
    of someone like that.
26 A woman who sells her love
can be bought for as little
    as the price of a meal.
But making love
to another man's wife
    will cost you everything.
27 If you carry burning coals,
    you burn your clothes;
28 if you step on hot coals,
    you burn your feet.
29 And if you go to bed
with another man's wife,
    you pay the price.

30 We don't put up with thieves,
not even[c] with one who steals
    for something to eat.
31 And thieves who get caught
    must pay back
seven times what was stolen
    and lose everything.
32 But if you go to bed
    with another man's wife,
you will destroy yourself
    by your own stupidity.
33 You will be beaten
    and forever disgraced,
34 because a jealous husband
can be furious and merciless
    when he takes revenge.
35 He won't let you pay him off,
    no matter what you offer.

Notas al pie

  1. 5.15 own well: In biblical times water was scarce and wells were carefully guarded.
  2. 6.24 someone else's wife: Or “an evil woman.”
  3. 6.30 not even: Or “except.”

Get Wisdom at Any Cost

Listen, my sons,(A) to a father’s instruction;(B)
    pay attention and gain understanding.(C)
I give you sound learning,
    so do not forsake my teaching.
For I too was a son to my father,
    still tender, and cherished by my mother.
Then he taught me, and he said to me,
    “Take hold(D) of my words with all your heart;
    keep my commands, and you will live.(E)
Get wisdom,(F) get understanding;
    do not forget my words or turn away from them.
Do not forsake wisdom, and she will protect you;(G)
    love her, and she will watch over you.(H)
The beginning of wisdom is this: Get[a] wisdom.
    Though it cost all(I) you have,[b] get understanding.(J)
Cherish her, and she will exalt you;
    embrace her, and she will honor you.(K)
She will give you a garland to grace your head
    and present you with a glorious crown.(L)

10 Listen, my son,(M) accept what I say,
    and the years of your life will be many.(N)
11 I instruct(O) you in the way of wisdom
    and lead you along straight paths.(P)
12 When you walk, your steps will not be hampered;
    when you run, you will not stumble.(Q)
13 Hold on to instruction, do not let it go;
    guard it well, for it is your life.(R)
14 Do not set foot on the path of the wicked
    or walk in the way of evildoers.(S)
15 Avoid it, do not travel on it;
    turn from it and go on your way.
16 For they cannot rest until they do evil;(T)
    they are robbed of sleep till they make someone stumble.
17 They eat the bread of wickedness
    and drink the wine of violence.(U)

18 The path of the righteous(V) is like the morning sun,(W)
    shining ever brighter till the full light of day.(X)
19 But the way of the wicked is like deep darkness;(Y)
    they do not know what makes them stumble.(Z)

20 My son,(AA) pay attention to what I say;
    turn your ear to my words.(AB)
21 Do not let them out of your sight,(AC)
    keep them within your heart;
22 for they are life to those who find them
    and health to one’s whole body.(AD)
23 Above all else, guard(AE) your heart,
    for everything you do flows from it.(AF)
24 Keep your mouth free of perversity;
    keep corrupt talk far from your lips.
25 Let your eyes(AG) look straight ahead;
    fix your gaze directly before you.
26 Give careful thought to the[c] paths for your feet(AH)
    and be steadfast in all your ways.
27 Do not turn to the right or the left;(AI)
    keep your foot from evil.

Warning Against Adultery

My son,(AJ) pay attention to my wisdom,
    turn your ear to my words(AK) of insight,
that you may maintain discretion
    and your lips may preserve knowledge.
For the lips of the adulterous woman drip honey,
    and her speech is smoother than oil;(AL)
but in the end she is bitter as gall,(AM)
    sharp as a double-edged sword.
Her feet go down to death;
    her steps lead straight to the grave.(AN)
She gives no thought to the way of life;
    her paths wander aimlessly, but she does not know it.(AO)

Now then, my sons, listen(AP) to me;
    do not turn aside from what I say.
Keep to a path far from her,(AQ)
    do not go near the door of her house,
lest you lose your honor to others
    and your dignity[d] to one who is cruel,
10 lest strangers feast on your wealth
    and your toil enrich the house of another.(AR)
11 At the end of your life you will groan,
    when your flesh and body are spent.
12 You will say, “How I hated discipline!
    How my heart spurned correction!(AS)
13 I would not obey my teachers
    or turn my ear to my instructors.
14 And I was soon in serious trouble(AT)
    in the assembly of God’s people.”(AU)

15 Drink water from your own cistern,
    running water from your own well.
16 Should your springs overflow in the streets,
    your streams of water in the public squares?
17 Let them be yours alone,
    never to be shared with strangers.
18 May your fountain(AV) be blessed,
    and may you rejoice in the wife of your youth.(AW)
19 A loving doe, a graceful deer(AX)
    may her breasts satisfy you always,
    may you ever be intoxicated with her love.
20 Why, my son, be intoxicated with another man’s wife?
    Why embrace the bosom of a wayward woman?

21 For your ways are in full view(AY) of the Lord,
    and he examines(AZ) all your paths.(BA)
22 The evil deeds of the wicked ensnare them;(BB)
    the cords of their sins hold them fast.(BC)
23 For lack of discipline they will die,(BD)
    led astray by their own great folly.(BE)

Warnings Against Folly

My son,(BF) if you have put up security(BG) for your neighbor,(BH)
    if you have shaken hands in pledge(BI) for a stranger,
you have been trapped by what you said,
    ensnared by the words of your mouth.
So do this, my son, to free yourself,
    since you have fallen into your neighbor’s hands:
Go—to the point of exhaustion—[e]
    and give your neighbor no rest!
Allow no sleep to your eyes,
    no slumber to your eyelids.(BJ)
Free yourself, like a gazelle(BK) from the hand of the hunter,(BL)
    like a bird from the snare of the fowler.(BM)

Go to the ant, you sluggard;(BN)
    consider its ways and be wise!
It has no commander,
    no overseer or ruler,
yet it stores its provisions in summer(BO)
    and gathers its food at harvest.(BP)

How long will you lie there, you sluggard?(BQ)
    When will you get up from your sleep?
10 A little sleep, a little slumber,
    a little folding of the hands to rest(BR)
11 and poverty(BS) will come on you like a thief
    and scarcity like an armed man.

12 A troublemaker and a villain,
    who goes about with a corrupt mouth,
13     who winks maliciously with his eye,(BT)
    signals with his feet
    and motions with his fingers,(BU)
14     who plots evil(BV) with deceit in his heart—
    he always stirs up conflict.(BW)
15 Therefore disaster will overtake him in an instant;(BX)
    he will suddenly(BY) be destroyed—without remedy.(BZ)

16 There are six things the Lord hates,(CA)
    seven that are detestable to him:
17         haughty eyes,(CB)
        a lying tongue,(CC)
        hands that shed innocent blood,(CD)
18         a heart that devises wicked schemes,
        feet that are quick to rush into evil,(CE)
19         a false witness(CF) who pours out lies(CG)
        and a person who stirs up conflict in the community.(CH)

Warning Against Adultery

20 My son,(CI) keep your father’s command
    and do not forsake your mother’s teaching.(CJ)
21 Bind them always on your heart;
    fasten them around your neck.(CK)
22 When you walk, they will guide you;
    when you sleep, they will watch over you;
    when you awake, they will speak to you.
23 For this command is a lamp,
    this teaching is a light,(CL)
and correction and instruction
    are the way to life,(CM)
24 keeping you from your neighbor’s wife,
    from the smooth talk of a wayward woman.(CN)

25 Do not lust in your heart after her beauty
    or let her captivate you with her eyes.

26 For a prostitute can be had for a loaf of bread,
    but another man’s wife preys on your very life.(CO)
27 Can a man scoop fire into his lap
    without his clothes being burned?
28 Can a man walk on hot coals
    without his feet being scorched?
29 So is he who sleeps(CP) with another man’s wife;(CQ)
    no one who touches her will go unpunished.

30 People do not despise a thief if he steals
    to satisfy his hunger when he is starving.
31 Yet if he is caught, he must pay sevenfold,(CR)
    though it costs him all the wealth of his house.
32 But a man who commits adultery(CS) has no sense;(CT)
    whoever does so destroys himself.
33 Blows and disgrace are his lot,
    and his shame will never(CU) be wiped away.

34 For jealousy(CV) arouses a husband’s fury,(CW)
    and he will show no mercy when he takes revenge.
35 He will not accept any compensation;
    he will refuse a bribe, however great it is.(CX)

Notas al pie

  1. Proverbs 4:7 Or Wisdom is supreme; therefore get
  2. Proverbs 4:7 Or wisdom. / Whatever else you get
  3. Proverbs 4:26 Or Make level
  4. Proverbs 5:9 Or years
  5. Proverbs 6:3 Or Go and humble yourself,