Chronological
A Father’s Wise Instruction
4 Hear, O sons, the (A)discipline of a father,
And (B)pay attention that you may know understanding,
2 For I give you [a]sound (C)learning;
(D)Do not forsake my [b]instruction.
3 When I was a son to my father,
(E)Tender and (F)the only son before my mother,
4 Then he (G)instructed me and said to me,
“Let your heart (H)hold fast my words;
(I)Keep my commandments and live;
5 (J)Acquire wisdom! (K)Acquire understanding!
Do not forget and do not turn away from the sayings of my mouth.
6 Do not forsake her, and she will keep you;
(L)Love her, and she will guard you.
7 [c](M)The beginning of wisdom is: (N)Acquire wisdom;
And with all your acquiring, acquire understanding.
8 (O)Prize her, and she will exalt you;
She will honor you if you embrace her.
9 She will give (P)for your head a garland of grace;
She will present you with a crown of beauty.”
10 Hear, my son, and (Q)receive my sayings
And the (R)years of your life will be many.
11 I have (S)instructed you in the way of wisdom;
I have led you in upright tracks.
12 When you walk, your (T)steps will not be impeded;
And if you run, you (U)will not stumble.
13 (V)Seize discipline; do not let go.
Guard her, for she is your (W)life.
14 (X)Do not enter the path of wicked men
And do not step into the way of evil men.
15 Avoid it, do not pass by it;
(Y)Stray from it and pass on.
16 For they (Z)do not sleep unless they do evil;
And [d]they are robbed of sleep unless they make someone stumble.
17 For they (AA)eat the bread of wickedness
And drink the wine of violence.
18 But the (AB)path of the righteous is like the (AC)light of dawn,
That (AD)shines brighter and brighter until the (AE)fullness of day.
19 The (AF)way of the wicked is like thick darkness;
They do not know over what they [e](AG)stumble.
20 My son, (AH)pay attention to my words;
(AI)Incline your ear to my sayings.
21 (AJ)Do not let them deviate from your eyes;
(AK)Keep them in the midst of your heart.
22 For they are (AL)life to those who find them
And (AM)healing to all his flesh.
23 Guard your heart with all diligence,
For (AN)from it flow the springs of life.
24 Put away from you a (AO)perverse mouth
And (AP)put devious lips far from you.
25 Let your eyes look directly ahead
And even let your eyelids be fixed straight in front of you.
26 (AQ)Watch the track of your feet
And all your (AR)ways will be established.
27 (AS)Do not turn to the right nor to the left;
(AT)Turn your foot from evil.
Warning Against Adultery
5 My son, (AU)pay attention to my wisdom,
(AV)Incline your ear to my discernment;
2 That you may (AW)keep discretion
And that your (AX)lips may guard knowledge.
3 For the lips of a (AY)strange woman (AZ)drip honey
And (BA)smoother than oil is her [f]speech;
4 But her end is (BB)bitter as wormwood,
(BC)Sharp as a two-edged sword.
5 Her feet (BD)go down to death,
Her steps take hold of Sheol,
6 Lest she watch the (BE)path of life;
Her tracks are (BF)unstable, she (BG)does not know it.
7 (BH)So now, my sons, listen to me
And (BI)do not turn away from the words of my mouth.
8 (BJ)Keep your way far from her
And do not go near the (BK)door of her house,
9 Lest you give your splendor to others
And your years to the cruel one;
10 Lest strangers be satisfied by your strength
And by your painful labor, those in the house of a foreigner;
11 And you groan at your [g]end,
When your flesh and your body are consumed;
12 And you say, “How I have (BL)hated discipline!
And my heart (BM)spurned reproof!
13 I have not listened to the voice of my (BN)instructors,
And I have not inclined my ear to my teachers!
14 I was almost in utter ruin
In the midst of the assembly and congregation.”
15 Drink water from your own cistern
And [h]fresh water from your own well.
16 Should your (BO)springs be dispersed abroad,
Streams of water in the streets?
17 Let them be for you alone,
And not for strangers with you.
18 Let your (BP)fountain be blessed,
And (BQ)be glad in the (BR)wife of your youth.
19 As a loving (BS)hind and a graceful doe,
Let her breasts satisfy you at all times;
Be [i]intoxicated always with her love.
20 So why should you, my son, be intoxicated with a (BT)strange woman
And embrace the bosom of a (BU)foreign woman?
21 For the (BV)ways of a man are before the eyes of Yahweh,
And He (BW)watches all his tracks.
22 His (BX)own iniquities will capture him who is the wicked one,
And with the cords of his sin he will be held fast.
23 He will (BY)die for lack of discipline,
And in the abundance of his [j]folly he will [k]stumble in intoxication.
Practical Warnings
6 My son, if you have become a (BZ)guarantor for your neighbor,
Have struck your [l]hands in pledge for a stranger,
2 If you have been snared with the words of your mouth,
Have been caught with the words of your mouth,
3 Do this then, my son, and deliver yourself;
Since you have come into the [m]hand of your neighbor,
Go, humble yourself, and badger your neighbor.
4 Give no (CA)sleep to your eyes,
Nor slumber to your eyelids;
5 Deliver yourself like a gazelle from the hunter’s hand
And like a (CB)bird from the hand of the fowler.
6 Go to the (CC)ant, O (CD)sluggard,
Observe her ways and be wise,
7 Which, having (CE)no chief,
Officer or ruler,
8 Prepares her food (CF)in the summer
And gathers her provision in the harvest.
9 How long will you lie down, O sluggard?
When will you arise from your sleep?
10 “(CG)A little sleep, a little slumber,
A little folding of the hands to [n]rest”—
11 (CH)Your poverty will come in like [o]a vagabond
And your want like [p]an armed man.
12 A (CI)vile person, a wicked man,
Is the one who walks with a (CJ)perverse mouth,
13 Who (CK)winks with his eyes, who [q]signals with his feet,
Who [r]points with his fingers;
14 Who with (CL)perversity in his heart continually (CM)devises evil,
Who [s](CN)spreads contentions.
15 Therefore (CO)his disaster will come suddenly;
(CP)Instantly he will be broken and there will be (CQ)no healing.
16 There are six things which Yahweh hates,
Even seven which are an abomination [t]to Him:
17 (CR)Haughty eyes, a (CS)lying tongue,
And hands that (CT)shed innocent blood,
18 A heart that devises (CU)wicked thoughts,
(CV)Feet that hasten to run to evil,
19 A (CW)false witness who breathes out lies,
And one who [u](CX)spreads strife among brothers.
Warning Against Adultery
20 (CY)My son, observe the commandment of your father
And do not abandon the [v]law of your mother;
21 (CZ)Bind them continually on your heart;
Tie them around your neck.
22 When you (DA)walk about, [w]they will lead you;
When you sleep, [x]they will keep watch over you;
And when you awake, [y]they will speak to you.
23 For (DB)the commandment is a lamp and the [z]law is light;
And reproofs for discipline are the way of life
24 To (DC)keep you from the evil woman,
From the smooth tongue of the foreign woman.
25 (DD)Do not desire her beauty in your heart,
Nor let her capture you with her (DE)eyelids.
26 For (DF)on account of [aa]a harlot one is reduced to a loaf of bread,
And [ab]an adulteress (DG)hunts for the precious [ac]life.
27 Can a man [ad]take fire in his bosom
And his clothes not be burned?
28 Or can a man walk on hot coals
And his feet not be scorched?
29 So is the one who (DH)goes in to his neighbor’s wife;
Whoever touches her (DI)will not [ae]go unpunished.
30 [af]Men do not despise a thief if he steals
To (DJ)fill [ag]himself when he is hungry;
31 But when he is found, he must (DK)repay sevenfold;
He must give all the [ah]substance of his house.
32 The one who commits adultery with a woman is (DL)lacking a heart of wisdom;
He who would (DM)destroy his soul does it.
33 Wounds and disgrace he will find,
And his reproach will not be blotted out.
34 For (DN)jealousy [ai]enrages a man,
And he will not spare in the (DO)day of vengeance.
35 He will not [aj]accept any ransom,
He will not be willing though you give many bribes.
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