Proverbs 3

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.