Chronological
Admonition to Follow Righteousness and Avoid Wickedness[a]
4 Listen, children,[b] to a father’s instruction,[c]
and pay attention so that you may gain[d] discernment.
2 Because I hereby give[e] you good instruction,
do not forsake my teaching.
3 When I was a son to my father,[f]
a tender, only child[g] before my mother,
4 he taught me, and he said to me:
“Let your heart lay hold of my words;
keep my commands so that[h] you will live.
5 Acquire wisdom, acquire understanding;
do not forget and do not turn aside from the words I speak.[i]
6 Do not forsake wisdom,[j] and she will protect you;
love her, and she will guard you.
7 Wisdom is supreme[k]—so[l] acquire wisdom,
and whatever you acquire,[m] acquire understanding![n]
8 Esteem her highly[o] and she will exalt you;
she will honor you if you embrace her.
9 She will place a fair[p] garland on your head;
she will bestow a beautiful crown[q] on you.”
10 Listen, my child,[r] and accept my words,
so that[s] the years of your life will be many.[t]
11 I hereby guide you[u] in the way of wisdom
and I lead you in upright paths.[v]
12 When you walk, your steps[w] will not be hampered,[x]
and when you run,[y] you will not stumble.
13 Hold on to instruction,[z] do not let it go;
protect it,[aa] because it is your life.
14 Do not enter the path of the wicked
or walk[ab] in the way of those who are evil.
15 Avoid it, do not go on it;
turn away from it, and go on.[ac]
16 For they cannot sleep[ad] unless they cause harm;[ae]
they are robbed of sleep[af] until they make someone stumble.[ag]
17 Indeed they have eaten[ah] bread gained from wickedness[ai]
and drink[aj] wine obtained from violence.[ak]
18 But the path of the righteous is like the bright morning light,[al]
growing brighter and brighter[am] until full day.[an]
19 The way of the wicked is like gloomy darkness;
they do not know what they stumble over.[ao]
20 My child, pay attention to my words;
listen attentively[ap] to my sayings.
21 Do not let them depart[aq] from your sight,
guard[ar] them within your heart;[as]
22 for they are life to those who find them
and healing to one’s entire body.[at]
23 Guard your heart[au] with all vigilance,[av]
for from it are the sources[aw] of life.
24 Remove perverse speech[ax] from your mouth;[ay]
keep devious talk far from your lips.[az]
25 Let your eyes look directly[ba] in front of you
and let your gaze[bb] look straight before you.
26 Make the path for your feet[bc] level,[bd]
so that[be] all your ways may be established.[bf]
27 Do not turn[bg] to the right or to the left;
turn yourself[bh] away from evil.[bi]
Admonition to Avoid Seduction to Evil[bj]
5 My child,[bk] be attentive to my wisdom,
pay close attention[bl] to my understanding,
2 in order to safeguard[bm] discretion,[bn]
and that your lips may guard knowledge.
3 For the lips[bo] of the adulterous woman drip honey,
and her seductive words[bp] are smoother than olive oil,
4 but in the end[bq] she is bitter[br] as wormwood,[bs]
sharp as a two-edged[bt] sword.
5 Her feet go down to death;
her steps lead straight to the grave.[bu]
6 Lest[bv] she should make level[bw] the path leading to life,[bx]
her paths have wandered,[by] but she is not able to discern it.[bz]
7 So now, children,[ca] listen to me;
do not turn aside from the words I speak.[cb]
8 Keep yourself[cc] far[cd] from her,
and do not go near the door of her house,
9 lest you give your vigor[ce] to others
and your years to a cruel person,
10 lest strangers devour[cf] your strength,[cg]
and your labor[ch] benefit[ci] another man’s house.
11 And at the end of your life[cj] you will groan[ck]
when your flesh and your body are wasted away.[cl]
12 And you will say, “How I hated discipline!
My heart spurned reproof!
13 For[cm] I did not obey[cn] my teachers[co]
and I did not heed[cp] my instructors.[cq]
14 I almost[cr] came to complete ruin[cs]
in the midst of the whole congregation!”[ct]
15 Drink water from your own cistern
and running water from your own well.[cu]
16 Should your springs be dispersed[cv] outside,
your streams of water in the wide plazas?[cw]
17 Let them be for yourself[cx] alone,
and not for strangers with you.[cy]
18 May your fountain be blessed,[cz]
and may you rejoice[da] in the wife you married in your youth[db]—
19 a loving doe,[dc] a graceful deer;
may her breasts satisfy you at all times,
may you be captivated[dd] by her love always.
20 But why should you be captivated,[de] my son, by an adulteress,
and embrace the bosom of a different woman?[df]
21 For the ways of a person[dg] are in front of the Lord’s eyes,
and the Lord[dh] weighs[di] all that person’s[dj] paths.
22 The wicked[dk] will be captured by his[dl] own iniquities,[dm]
and he will be held[dn] by the cords of his own sin.[do]
23 He will die because[dp] there was no discipline;
because of the greatness of his folly[dq] he will reel.[dr]
Admonitions and Warnings against Dangerous and Destructive Acts[ds]
6 My child,[dt] if you have made a pledge[du] for your neighbor,[dv]
if[dw] you have become a guarantor[dx] for a stranger,[dy]
2 if[dz] you have been ensnared[ea] by the words you have uttered,[eb]
and have been caught by the words you have spoken,
3 then, my child, do this in order to deliver yourself,[ec]
because you have fallen into your neighbor’s power:[ed]
Go, humble yourself,[ee]
and appeal firmly to[ef] your neighbor.
4 Permit no sleep to your eyes[eg]
or slumber to your eyelids.
5 Deliver yourself like a gazelle from a snare,[eh]
and like a bird from the trap[ei] of the fowler.
6 Go to the ant, you sluggard;[ej]
observe her[ek] ways and be wise!
7 It has no commander,
overseer, or[el] ruler,
8 yet it would prepare[em] its food in the summer;
it gathered at the harvest what it will eat.[en]
9 How long, you sluggard, will you lie there?
When will you rise from your sleep?[eo]
10 A little sleep, a little slumber,
a little folding of the hands to relax,[ep]
11 and your poverty will come like a robber,[eq]
and your need like an armed man.[er]
12 A worthless and wicked person[es]
walks around saying perverse things;[et] [eu]
13 he winks with his eyes,
signals with his feet,
and points with his fingers;[ev]
14 he plots evil with perverse thoughts[ew] in his heart,
he spreads contention[ex] at all times.
15 Therefore, his disaster will come suddenly;
in an instant[ey] he will be broken, and there will be no remedy.
16 There are six things that the Lord hates,
even[ez] seven[fa] things that are an abomination to him:[fb]
17 haughty eyes,[fc] a lying tongue,[fd]
and hands that shed innocent blood,[fe]
18 a heart that devises wicked plans,[ff]
feet that are swift to run[fg] to evil,
19 a false witness who pours out lies,[fh]
and a person who spreads discord[fi] among family members.[fj]
20 My child,[fk] guard the commands of your father
and do not forsake the instruction of your mother.
21 Bind them[fl] on your heart[fm] continually;
fasten them around your neck.
22 When you walk about,[fn] they[fo] will guide you;
when you lie down, they will watch over you;
when you wake up,[fp] they will talk[fq] to you.
23 For the commandments[fr] are like[fs] a lamp,[ft]
instruction is like a light,
and rebukes of discipline are like[fu] the road leading to life,[fv]
24 by keeping[fw] you from the evil woman,[fx]
from the smooth tongue of[fy] the loose woman.[fz]
25 Do not lust[ga] in your heart for her beauty,
and do not let her captivate you with her alluring eyes;[gb]
26 for on account of[gc] a prostitute one is brought down to a loaf of bread,
but the wife of another man[gd] preys on your precious life.[ge]
27 Can a man hold[gf] fire[gg] against his chest[gh]
without[gi] burning his clothes?
28 Can[gj] a man walk on hot coals
without scorching his feet?
29 So it is with[gk] the one who sleeps with[gl] his neighbor’s wife;
no one[gm] who touches[gn] her will escape punishment.[go] [gp]
30 People[gq] do not despise a thief when he steals
to fulfill his need[gr] when he is hungry.
31 Yet[gs] if he is caught[gt] he must repay[gu] seven times over,
he might even have to give[gv] all the wealth of his house.
32 A man who commits adultery with a woman lacks sense,[gw]
whoever does it destroys his own life.[gx]
33 He will be beaten and despised,[gy]
and his reproach will not be wiped away;[gz]
34 for jealousy kindles[ha] a husband’s[hb] rage,
and he will not show mercy[hc] when he takes revenge.
35 He will not consider[hd] any compensation;[he]
he will not be willing, even if you multiply the compensation.[hf]
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