For her house sinks down to death And her tracks lead to the dead;
None who go to her return again, Nor do they reach the paths of life.
So you will walk in the way of good men And keep to the paths of the righteous.
For the upright will live in the land And the blameless will remain in it;
But the wicked will be cut off from the land And the treacherous will be uprooted from it.
Do not let kindness and truth leave you; Bind them around your neck, Write them on the tablet of your heart.
So you will find favor and good repute In the sight of God and man.
Trust in the LORD with all your heart And do not lean on your own understanding.
Do not be wise in your own eyes; Fear the LORD and turn away from evil.
Honor the LORD from your wealth And from the first of all your produce;
My son, do not reject the discipline of the LORD Or loathe His reproof,
For whom the LORD loves He reproves, Even as a father corrects the son in whom he delights.
How blessed is the man who finds wisdom And the man who gains understanding.
For her profit is better than the profit of silver And her gain better than fine gold.
The LORD by wisdom founded the earth, By understanding He established the heavens.
By His knowledge the deeps were broken up And the skies drip with dew.
Do not be afraid of sudden fear Nor of the onslaught of the wicked when it comes;
For the LORD will be your confidence And will keep your foot from being caught.
For the devious are an abomination to the LORD; But He is intimate with the upright.
The curse of the LORD is on the house of the wicked, But He blesses the dwelling of the righteous.
Though He scoffs at the scoffers, Yet He gives grace to the afflicted.
The wise will inherit honor, But fools display dishonor.
Hear, O sons, the instruction of a father, And give attention that you may gain understanding,
When I was a son to my father, Tender and the only son in the sight of my mother,
Acquire wisdom! Acquire understanding! Do not forget nor turn away from the words of my mouth.
“The beginning of wisdom is: Acquire wisdom; And with all your acquiring, get understanding.
Hear, my son, and accept my sayings And the years of your life will be many.
I have directed you in the way of wisdom; I have led you in upright paths.
Do not enter the path of the wicked And do not proceed in the way of evil men.
For they eat the bread of wickedness And drink the wine of violence.
But the path of the righteous is like the light of dawn, That shines brighter and brighter until the full day.
The way of the wicked is like darkness; They do not know over what they stumble.
Do not let them depart from your sight; Keep them in the midst of your heart.
Watch over your heart with all diligence, For from it flow the springs of life.
Watch the path of your feet And all your ways will be established.
Do not turn to the right nor to the left; Turn your foot from evil.
For the lips of an adulteress drip honey And smoother than oil is her speech;
But in the end she is bitter as wormwood, Sharp as a two-edged sword.
She does not ponder the path of life; Her ways are unstable, she does not know it.
Now then, my sons, listen to me And do not depart from the words of my mouth.
Keep your way far from her And do not go near the door of her house,
Or you will give your vigor to others And your years to the cruel one;
And strangers will be filled with your strength And your hard-earned goods will go to the house of an alien;
“I have not listened to the voice of my teachers, Nor inclined my ear to my instructors!
“I was almost in utter ruin In the midst of the assembly and congregation.”
Should your springs be dispersed abroad, Streams of water in the streets?
Let your fountain be blessed, And rejoice in the wife of your youth.
For why should you, my son, be exhilarated with an adulteress And embrace the bosom of a foreigner?
For the ways of a man are before the eyes of the LORD, And He watches all his paths.
His own iniquities will capture the wicked, And he will be held with the cords of his sin.
New American Standard Bible Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995
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