1  ^hMy son, ⁱdo not forget my teaching,

but let your heart keep my commandments,

2  for ^jlength of days and years of life

and peace they will add to you.

3  Let not ^ksteadfast love and faithfulness forsake you;

^lbind them around your neck;

write them on the tablet of your heart.

4  So you will find favor and ^mgood success¹

in the sight of God and man.

5  ⁿTrust in the Lord with all your heart,

and do not lean on your own understanding.

6  In all your ways acknowledge him,

and he will ^omake straight your paths.

7  Be not ^pwise in your own eyes;

^qfear the Lord, and turn away from evil.

8  It will be ^rhealing to your flesh²

and refreshment³ to your bones.

9  Honor the Lord with your wealth

and with the firstfruits of all your produce;

10  then your ^sbarns will be filled with plenty,

and your vats will be bursting with wine.

11  ^tMy son, do not ^udespise the Lord’s ^vdiscipline

or be weary of his reproof,

12  for the Lord reproves him whom he loves,

^was a father the son in whom he delights.

13  ^xBlessed is the one who finds wisdom,

and the one who gets understanding,

14  for the gain from her is ^ybetter than gain from ^zsilver

and her profit better than gold.

15  She is more precious than jewels,

and ^anothing you desire can compare with her.

16  Long life is in her right hand;

in her left hand are riches and honor.

17  Her ways are ways of pleasantness,

and all her paths are peace.

18  She is a ^btree of life to those who ^clay hold of her;

those who hold her fast are called blessed.

19  The Lord ^dby wisdom founded the earth;

by understanding he established the heavens;

20  by his knowledge ^ethe deeps broke open,

and the clouds drop down the dew.

21  My son, ^fdo not lose sight of these—

keep sound wisdom and discretion,

22  and they will be ^glife for your soul

and adornment ^hfor your neck.

23  Then you will ⁱwalk on your way securely,

and your foot will not stumble.

24  ^jIf you lie down, you will not be afraid;

when you lie down, your sleep will be sweet.

25  Do not be afraid of sudden terror

or of the ruin⁴ of the wicked, ^kwhen it comes,

26  for the Lord will be your confidence

and will keep your foot from being caught.

27  ^lDo not withhold good from those to whom it is due,⁵

when it is in your power to do it.

28  ^mDo not say to your neighbor, “Go, and come again,

tomorrow I will give it”—when you have it with you.

29  Do not ⁿplan evil against your neighbor,

who dwells trustingly beside you.

30  Do not contend with a man for no reason,

when he has done you no harm.

31  Do not ^oenvy a man of violence

and do not choose any of his ways,

32  for the devious person is an abomination to the Lord,

but the upright are in his confidence.

33  The Lord’s curse is on the house of the wicked,

but he blesses the dwelling of the righteous.

34  ^pToward the scorners he is scornful,

but to the humble he gives favor.⁶

35  The wise will inherit honor,

but fools get^{7 q}disgrace.

1  Hear, O sons, a father’s ^rinstruction,

and be attentive, that you may gain⁸ insight,

2  for I give you good precepts;

^sdo not forsake my teaching.

3  When I was a son with my father,

tender, the only one in the sight of my mother,

4  he taught me and said to me,

“Let your ^theart hold fast my words;

^ukeep my commandments, ^vand live.

5  ^wGet wisdom; get insight;

^xdo not forget, and do not turn away from the words of my mouth.

6  Do not forsake her, and she will keep you;

love her, and she will ^yguard you.

7  The ^zbeginning of wisdom is this: Get wisdom,

and whatever you get, get insight.

8  Prize her highly, and she will exalt you;

she will honor you if you embrace her.

9  She will place on your head a ^agraceful garland;

she will bestow on you a beautiful crown.”

10  Hear, my son, and ^baccept my words,

that the years of your life may be ^cmany.

11  I have taught you the way of wisdom;

I have led you in the ^dpaths of uprightness.

12  When you walk, your step will not be hampered,

and if you run, you will not stumble.

13  ^eKeep hold of ^finstruction; do not let go;

guard her, for she is your ^glife.

14  Do not enter the ^hpath of the wicked,

and do not walk in the way of the evil.

15  Avoid it; do not go on it;

turn away from it and pass on.

16  For ⁱthey cannot sleep unless they have done wrong;

they are robbed of sleep unless they have made someone stumble.

17  For they eat the bread of wickedness

and drink the wine of violence.

18  But the path of the righteous is ^jlike the light of dawn,

which shines brighter and brighter until ^kfull day.

19  The way of the wicked is like deep darkness;

they do not know over what they stumble.

20  My son, be ^lattentive to my words;

incline your ear to my sayings.

21  ^mLet them not escape from your sight;

keep them within your heart.

22  For they are life to those who find them,

and ⁿhealing to all their⁹ flesh.

23  Keep your heart with all vigilance,

^ofor from it flow the springs of life.

24  Put away from you ^pcrooked speech,

and put devious talk far from you.

25  ^qLet your eyes look directly forward,

and your gaze be straight before you.

26  ^rPonder¹⁰ the path of your feet;

then all your ways will be sure.

27  Do not swerve ^sto the right or to the left;

turn your foot away from evil.

1  My son, be ^tattentive to my wisdom;

incline your ear to my understanding,

2  that you may keep discretion,

and ^uyour lips may guard knowledge.

3  ^vFor the lips of a forbidden¹¹ woman drip honey,

and ^wher speech¹² is smoother than oil,

4  but in the end she is bitter as wormwood,

sharp as a two-edged sword.

5  ^xHer feet go down to death;

her steps follow the path to¹³ Sheol;

6  she does not ponder the path of life;

her ways wander, and she does not know it.

7  And now, O sons, listen to me,

and do not depart from the words of my mouth.

8  ^yKeep your way far from her,

and do not go near the door of her house,

9  lest you give your honor to others

and your years to the merciless,

10  lest strangers take their fill of your strength,

and your labors go to the house of a foreigner,

11  and at the end of your life you groan,

when your flesh and body are consumed,

12  and you say, “How I ^zhated ^adiscipline,

and my heart ^bdespised reproof!

13  I did not listen to the voice of my teachers

or incline my ear to my instructors.

14  I am at the brink of utter ruin

in the assembled congregation.”

15  Drink water from your own cistern,

flowing water from your own well.

16  Should your ^csprings be scattered abroad,

streams of water in the streets?

17  Let them be for yourself alone,

and not for strangers with you.

18  Let your fountain be blessed,

and rejoice in the wife of your youth,

19  a lovely deer, a graceful doe.

Let her breasts fill you at all times with delight;

be intoxicated¹⁴ always in her love.

20  Why should you be intoxicated, my son, with a forbidden woman

and embrace the bosom of an adulteress?¹⁵

21  For ^da man’s ways are before the eyes of the Lord,

and he ^eponders¹⁶ all his paths.

22  The iniquities of the wicked ensnare him,

and he is held fast in the cords of his sin.

23  He dies for lack of discipline,

and because of his great folly he is led astray.