Trust in the LORD with All Your Heart

¹My son, do not forget my teaching,but let your heart keep my commandments;

²for they will add length to your days,years and peace to your life.

³Never let loving devotionor faithfulness leave you;bind them around your neck,write them on the tablet of your heart.

⁴Then you will find favor and high regardin the sight of God and man.

⁵Trust in the LORD with all your heart,and lean not on your own understanding;

⁶in all your ways acknowledge Him,and He will make your paths straight.

⁷Be not wise in your own eyes;fear the LORD and turn away from evil.

⁸This will bring healing to your bodyand refreshmentto your bones.

⁹Honor the LORD with your wealthand with the firstfruits of all your crops;

¹⁰then your barns will be filled with plenty,and your vats will overflow with new wine.

¹¹My son, do not reject the discipline of the LORD,and do not loathe His rebuke;

¹²for the LORD disciplines the one He loves,as does a father the son in whom he delights.

The Blessings of Wisdom

¹³Blessed is the man who finds wisdom,the man who acquires understanding,

¹⁴for she is more profitable than silver,and her gain is better than fine gold.

¹⁵She is more precious than rubies;nothing you desire compares with her.

¹⁶Long life is in her right hand;in her left hand are riches and honor.

¹⁷All her ways are pleasant,and all her paths are peaceful.

¹⁸She is a tree of life to those who embrace her,and those who lay hold of her are blessed.

¹⁹The LORD founded the earth by wisdomand established the heavens by understanding.

²⁰By His knowledge the watery depths were broken open,and the clouds dripped with dew.

²¹My son, do not lose sight of this:Preserve sound judgment and discernment.

²²They will be life to your souland adornment to your neck.

²³Then you will go on your way in safety,and your foot will not stumble.

²⁴When you lie down, you will not be afraid;when you rest, your sleep will be sweet.

²⁵Do not fear sudden dangeror the ruin that overtakes the wicked,

²⁶for the LORD will be your confidenceand will keep your foot from the snare.

²⁷Do not withhold good from the deservingwhen it is within your power to act.

²⁸Do not tell your neighbor,“Come back tomorrow and I will provide”—when you already have the means.

²⁹Do not devise evil against your neighbor,for he trustfully dwells beside you.

³⁰Do not accuse a man without cause,when he has done you no harm.

³¹Do not envy a violent manor choose any of his ways;

³²for the LORD detests the perverse,but He is a friend to the upright.

³³The curse of the LORD is on the house of the wicked,but He blesses the home of the righteous.

³⁴He mocks the mockers,but gives grace to the humble.

³⁵The wise will inherit honor,but fools are held up to shame.

The Beginning of Knowledge

¹These are the proverbs of Solomon son of David,king of Israel,

²for gaining wisdom and discipline,for comprehending words of insight,

³and for receiving instruction in wise livingand in righteousness, justice, and equity.

⁴To impart prudence to the simpleand knowledge and discretion to the young,

⁵let the wise listen and gain instruction,and the discerning acquire wise counsel

⁶by understanding the proverbs and parables,the sayings and riddles of the wise.

⁷The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge,but foolsdespise wisdom and discipline.

The Enticement of Sin

⁸Listen, my son, to your father’s instruction,and do not forsake the teaching of your mother.

⁹For they are a garland of grace on your headand a pendant around your neck.

¹⁰My son, if sinners entice you,do not yield to them.

¹¹If they say, “Come along, let us lie in wait for blood,let us ambush the innocent without cause,

¹²let us swallow them alive like Sheol,and whole like those descending into the Pit.

¹³We will find all manner of precious goods;we will fill our houses with plunder.

¹⁴Throw in your lot with us;let us all share one purse”—

¹⁵my son, do not walk the road with themor set foot upon their path.

¹⁶For their feet run to evil,and they are swift to shed blood.

¹⁷How futile it is to spread the netwhere any bird can see it!

¹⁸But they lie in wait for their own blood;they ambush their own lives.

¹⁹Such is the fate of all who are greedy,whose unjust gain takes the lives of its possessors.

Wisdom Calls Aloud

²⁰Wisdom calls out in the street,she lifts her voice in the square;

²¹in the main concourseshe cries aloud,at the city gates she makes her speech:

²²“How long, O simple ones, will you love your simple ways?How long will scoffers delight in their scornand fools hate knowledge?

²³If you had repented at my rebuke,then surely I would have poured out my spirit on you;I would have made my words known to you.

²⁴Because you refused my call,and no one took my outstretched hand,

²⁵because you neglected all my counsel,and wanted none of my correction,

²⁶in turn I will mock your calamity;I will sneer when terror strikes you,

²⁷when your dread comes like a storm,and your destruction like a whirlwind,when distress and anguish overwhelm you.

²⁸Then they will call on me, but I will not answer;they will earnestly seek me, but will not find me.

²⁹For they hated knowledgeand chose not to fear the LORD.

³⁰They accepted none of my counsel;they despised all my reproof.

³¹So they will eat the fruit of their own way,and be filled with their own devices.

³²For the waywardness of the simple will slay them,and the complacency of fools will destroy them.

³³But whoever listens to me will dwell in safety,secure from the fear of evil.”

The Way of Wisdom

¹Wisdom has built her house;she has carved outher seven pillars.

²She has prepared her meat and mixed her wine;she has also set her table.

³She has sent out her maidservants;she calls out from the heights of the city.

⁴“Whoever is simple, let him turn in here!”she says to him who lacks judgment.

⁵“Come, eat my breadand drink the wine I have mixed.

⁶Leave your folly behind, and you will live;walk in the way of understanding.”

⁷He who corrects a mocker brings shame on himself;he who rebukes a wicked man taints himself.

⁸Do not rebuke a mocker, or he will hate you;rebuke a wise man, and he will love you.

⁹Instruct a wise man, and he will be wiser still;teach a righteous man, and he will increase his learning.

¹⁰The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom,and knowledge of the Holy One is understanding.

¹¹For through wisdomyour days will be multiplied,and years will be added to your life.

¹²If you are wise, you are wise to your own advantage;but if you scoff, you alone will bear the consequences.

The Way of Folly

¹³The woman named Folly is loud;she is naive and knows nothing.

¹⁴She sits at the door of her house,on a seat in the heights of the city,

¹⁵calling out to those who pass by,who make their paths straight.

¹⁶“Whoever is simple, let him turn in here!”she says to him who lacks judgment.

¹⁷“Stolen water is sweet,and bread eaten in secret is tasty!”

¹⁸But they do not know that the deadare there,that her guests are in the depths of Sheol.

Majestic Is His Work

¹Hallelujah!I will give thanks to the LORD with all my heartin the council of the upright and in the assembly.

²Great are the works of the LORD;they are pondered by all who delight in them.

³Splendid and majestic is His work;His righteousness endures forever.

⁴He has caused His wonders to be remembered;the LORD is gracious and compassionate.

⁵He provides food for those who fear Him;He remembers His covenant forever.

⁶He has shown His people the power of His worksby giving them the inheritance of the nations.

⁷The works of His hands are truth and justice;all His precepts are trustworthy.

⁸They are upheld forever and ever,enacted in truth and uprightness.

⁹He has sent redemption to His people;He has ordained His covenant forever;holy and awesome is His name.

¹⁰The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom;all who follow His precepts gain rich understanding.His praise endures forever!