He does not delight in the strength of the horse; He does not take pleasure in the legs of a man.
The LORD favors those who fear Him, Those who wait for His lovingkindness.
Praise the LORD, O Jerusalem! Praise your God, O Zion!
For He has strengthened the bars of your gates; He has blessed your sons within you.
He makes peace in your borders; He satisfies you with the finest of the wheat.
He sends forth His command to the earth; His word runs very swiftly.
He gives snow like wool; He scatters the frost like ashes.
He sends forth His word and melts them; He causes His wind to blow and the waters to flow.
He has not dealt thus with any nation; And as for His ordinances, they have not known them. Praise the LORD!
Praise the LORD! Praise the LORD from the heavens; Praise Him in the heights!
Praise Him, highest heavens, And the waters that are above the heavens!
Let them praise the name of the LORD, For He commanded and they were created.
Praise the LORD from the earth, Sea monsters and all deeps;
Kings of the earth and all peoples; Princes and all judges of the earth;
Let them praise the name of the LORD, For His name alone is exalted; His glory is above earth and heaven.
And He has lifted up a horn for His people, Praise for all His godly ones; Even for the sons of Israel, a people near to Him. Praise the LORD!
Praise the LORD! Sing to the LORD a new song, And His praise in the congregation of the godly ones.
Let Israel be glad in his Maker; Let the sons of Zion rejoice in their King.
For the LORD takes pleasure in His people; He will beautify the afflicted ones with salvation.
Let the godly ones exult in glory; Let them sing for joy on their beds.
Let the high praises of God be in their mouth, And a two-edged sword in their hand,
To execute vengeance on the nations And punishment on the peoples,
To execute on them the judgment written; This is an honor for all His godly ones. Praise the LORD!
Praise the LORD! Praise God in His sanctuary; Praise Him in His mighty expanse.
Let everything that has breath praise the LORD. Praise the LORD!
The proverbs of Solomon the son of David, king of Israel:
To know wisdom and instruction, To discern the sayings of understanding,
To give prudence to the naive, To the youth knowledge and discretion,
To understand a proverb and a figure, The words of the wise and their riddles.
The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge; Fools despise wisdom and instruction.
If they say, “Come with us, Let us lie in wait for blood, Let us ambush the innocent without cause;
Let us swallow them alive like Sheol, Even whole, as those who go down to the pit;
My son, do not walk in the way with them. Keep your feet from their path,
Indeed, it is useless to spread the baited net In the sight of any bird;
So are the ways of everyone who gains by violence; It takes away the life of its possessors.
Wisdom shouts in the street, She lifts her voice in the square;
At the head of the noisy streets she cries out; At the entrance of the gates in the city she utters her sayings:
Because they hated knowledge And did not choose the fear of the LORD.
“So they shall eat of the fruit of their own way And be satiated with their own devices.
“For the waywardness of the naive will kill them, And the complacency of fools will destroy them.
“But he who listens to me shall live securely And will be at ease from the dread of evil.”
Then you will discern the fear of the LORD And discover the knowledge of God.
For the LORD gives wisdom; From His mouth come knowledge and understanding.
He stores up sound wisdom for the upright; He is a shield to those who walk in integrity,
Guarding the paths of justice, And He preserves the way of His godly ones.
To deliver you from the way of evil, From the man who speaks perverse things;
From those who leave the paths of uprightness To walk in the ways of darkness;
Who delight in doing evil And rejoice in the perversity of evil;
To deliver you from the strange woman, From the adulteress who flatters with her words;
That leaves the companion of her youth And forgets the covenant of her God;
New American Standard Bible Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995
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