Proverbs 3–4

My son, forget not my law;

^aBut let thine heart keep my commandments:

²For ^blength of days, and long life,

And ^cpeace, shall they add to thee.

³Let not ^dmercy and truth forsake thee:

^eBind them about thy ^fneck;

^ffWrite them upon the table of thine heart:

^4gSo shalt thou find ^hfavour and good understanding

^gIn the sight of God and man.

⁵ⁱTrust in the Lord with all thine heart;

And ^jlean not unto thine own understanding.

⁶In all thy ways ^kacknowledge him,

And ^lhe shall direct thy paths.

^7mBe not wise in thine own eyes:

ⁿFear the Lord, and ^nodepart from evil.

⁸It shall be health to thy navel,

And ^pmarrow to thy bones.

⁹Honour the Lord with thy substance,

And with ^qthe firstfruits of all thine increase:

¹⁰So shall thy ^rbarns be filled with plenty,

And thy presses shall burst out with new wine.

^11sMy son, despise not the chastening of the Lord;

Neither be weary of his correction:

¹²For whom the Lord loveth he correcteth;

Even ^tas a father the son in whom he delighteth.

^13uHappy is the man that findeth wisdom,

And the man that getteth understanding.

¹⁴For ^xthe merchandise of it is better than the merchandise of silver,

And the gain thereof than ^yfine gold.

¹⁵She is more precious than ^zrubies:

And ^aall the things thou canst desire are not to be compared unto her.

^16bLength of days is in her right hand;

And in her left hand ^criches and honour.

^17dHer ways are ways of pleasantness,

And all her paths are peace.

¹⁸She is ^ea tree of life to them that ^eelay hold upon her:

And happy is every one that retaineth her.

^19fThe Lord ^gby wisdom hath founded the earth;

^gBy understanding hath he established the heavens.

²⁰By his knowledge ^hthe depths are broken up,

And ⁱthe clouds drop down ^jthe dew.

²¹My son, ^klet not them depart from thine eyes:

Keep ^lsound wisdom and ^mdiscretion:

²²So shall they be ⁿlife unto thy soul,

And grace to thy ^oneck.

^23pThen shalt thou walk in thy way safely,

And ^qthy foot shall not stumble.

^24rWhen thou liest down, thou shalt not be afraid:

Yea, thou shalt lie down, and thy sleep shall be sweet.

^25sBe not afraid of sudden fear,

^ssNeither of the desolation of the wicked, when it cometh.

²⁶For the Lord shall be thy confidence,

And shall ^tkeep thy foot from being taken.

^27uWithhold not good from them to whom it is due,

When it is ^xin the power of thine hand to do it.

^28ySay not unto thy neighbour,

Go, and come again, and to morrow I will give;

When thou hast it by thee.

²⁹Devise not evil against thy neighbour,

Seeing he dwelleth securely by thee.

^30zStrive not with a man without cause,

If he have done thee no harm.

^31aEnvy thou not the oppressor,

And choose none of his ways.

³²For the ^bfroward is abomination to the Lord:

But ^chis secret is with the righteous.

^33dThe curse of the Lord is in the house of the wicked:

But ^ddhe blesseth the habitation of the just.

³⁴Surely ^ehe scorneth the ^fscorners:

But he giveth grace unto the lowly.

^35gThe wise shall inherit glory:

But shame shall be the promotion of fools.

IV.^aHear, ye children, the instruction of a father,

And attend to know ^bunderstanding.

²For I give you good ^cdoctrine,

Forsake you not my law.

³For I was my father’s son,

^dTender and ^eonly beloved in the sight of my mother.

^4fHe taught me also, and said unto me,

Let thine heart retain my words:

^gKeep my commandments, and live.

^5hiGet wisdom, ⁱget ^bunderstanding:

Forget it not; neither decline from the words of my mouth.

⁶Forsake her not, and she shall preserve thee:

^jLove her, and she shall keep thee.

⁷Wisdom is ^kthe principal thing; therefore ⁱget wisdom:

And with all thy getting ⁱget ^bunderstanding.

⁸Exalt her, and she shall promote thee:

She shall ^lbring thee to honour, when thou dost ^membrace her.

⁹She shall give to thine head ⁿan ornament of grace:

A crown of glory shall she deliver to thee.

¹⁰Hear, O my son, and receive my sayings;

And ^othe years of thy life shall be many.

^11pI have taught thee in the way of wisdom;

I have led thee in right paths.

¹²When thou goest ^qthy steps shall not be straitened;

And ^rwhen thou runnest, thou shalt not stumble.

^13sTake fast hold of instruction; ^slet her not go:

Keep her; for she is thy life.

^14tEnter not into the path of the wicked,

And ^ugo not in the way of evil men.

^15xAvoid it, pass not by it,

^yTurn from it, and pass away.

^16zFor they sleep not, except they have done mischief;

And their sleep is taken away, unless they cause some to fall.

¹⁷For they eat the bread of wickedness,

And drink the wine of violence.

^18aBut the path of the just is ^bas the shining light,

That shineth ^cmore and more unto the perfect day.

^19dThe way of the wicked is as darkness:

They know not ^eat what they stumble.

^20eeMy son, attend to my words;

Incline thine ear unto my sayings.

^21fLet them not depart from thine eyes;

^gKeep them in the midst of thine heart.

²²For they are ^hlife unto those that find them,

And health to all their flesh.

²³Keep thy heart with all diligence;

ⁱFor out of it are ^kthe issues of life.

²⁴Put away from thee a ^lfroward mouth,

And ^mperverse lips put far from thee.

²⁵Let thine eyes look right on,

And let thine eyelids look straight before thee.

²⁶ⁿPonder the path of thy feet,

And let all thy ways be established.

^27oTurn not to the right hand nor to the left:

^pRemove thy foot from evil.

V.