The king’s heart is in the hand of the Lord, as athe rivers of water:

He bturneth it whithersoever he will.

2  cEvery way of a man is right in his own eyes:

But dthe Lord cpondereth the hearts.

3  eTo do justice and judgment

Is more acceptable to the Lord than sacrifice.

4  f†An high look, and ga proud heart,

And ||the hplowing of the wicked, is sin.

5  The thoughts of ithe diligent tend only to plenteousness;

But of every one that is khasty lonly to want.

6  mThe getting of treasures by a lying tongue

Is na vanity otossed to and fro of them pthat seek death.

7  The robbery of the wicked shall †sdestroy them;

Because they refuse to do judgment.

8  The way of man is froward and strange:

But as for the pure, his work is right.

9  tIt is better to dwell in a ucorner of the housetop,

tThan with †a brawling woman in †a wide house.

10  yThe soul of the wicked desireth evil:

His neighbour †findeth no favour in his eyes.

11  zWhen the scorner is apunished, the simple is made wise:

And when the wise bis instructed, he receiveth knowledge.

12  The righteous man bcwisely considereth the house of the wicked:

But dGod overthroweth the wicked for their wickedness.

13  eWhoso stoppeth his ears at the cry of the poor,

He also shall cry himself, but shall not be heard.

14  fA gift in secret pacifieth anger:

And a reward in gthe bosom strong wrath.

15  It is joy to the just to do judgment:

hBut destruction shall be to ithe workers of iniquity.

16  The man that wandereth out of the way of understanding

jShall remain in the congregation of kthe dead.

17  He that loveth ||pleasure shall be a poor man:

He that loveth wine and loil shall not be rich.

18  mThe wicked shall be a nransom for the righteous,

And the transgressor for the upright.

19  oIt is better to dwell †in the wilderness,

Than with a contentious and an angry woman.

20  pThere is treasure to be desired and lqoil in the dwelling of the wise;

But a foolish man rspendeth it up.

21  sHe that followeth after righteousness and mercy

tFindeth life, righteousness, and honour.

22  uA wise man scaleth the city of the mighty,

And casteth down the strength of the confidence thereof.

23  wWhoso keepeth his mouth and his tongue

xKeepeth his soul yfrom troubles.

24  Proud and zhaughty scorner is his name,

Who dealeth †in proud wrath.

25  aThe desire of the slothful killeth him;

For his hands refuse to labour.

26  He bcoveteth greedily all the day long:

But cthe righteous giveth and spareth not.

27  dThe sacrifice of the wicked is abomination:

How much more, when he bringeth it †with a wicked mind?

28  †A false witness shall perish:

But the man that heareth speaketh econstantly.

29  A wicked man fhardeneth his face:

But as for the upright, he ||gdirecteth his way.

30  hThere is no wisdom nor understanding

Nor counsel against the Lord.

31  iThe horse is prepared against the day of battle:

But ||ksafety is of the Lord.

22 A agood name is rather bto be chosen than great riches,

And ||loving favour rather than silver and gold.

2  The rich and poor cmeet together:

dThe Lord is ethe maker of them all.

3  fA prudent man foreseeth the evil, and hideth himself:

fBut the simple pass on, and gare punished.

4  ||By humility and the fear of the Lord

Are iriches, and honour, and life.

5  kThorns and snares are in the way of the froward:

He that doth lkeep his soul shall be far from them.

6  m||Train up a child †in the way he should go:

And when he is old, he will not depart from it.

7  The rich ruleth over the poor,

And the borrower is servant †to the lender.

8  He that osoweth piniquity shall preap vanity:

||And the qrod of his anger shall fail.

9  s†He that hath a bountiful eye shall be blessed;

For the giveth of his bread to the poor.

10  uCast out the scorner, and contention shall go out;

Yea, wstrife and reproach shall cease.

11  xHe that loveth pureness of heart,

||For the grace of his lips ythe king shall be his friend.

12  The eyes of the Lord preserve knowledge,

And he zoverthroweth ||the words of the transgressor.

13  aThe slothful man saith, There is a lion without,

I shall be slain in the streets.

14  The mouth of bstrange women is ca deep pit:

dHe that is abhorred of the Lord shall fall therein.

15  Foolishness is bound in the heart of a child;

But ethe rod of correction shall drive it far from him.

16  He that oppresseth the poor to increase his riches,

And he that giveth to the rich, shall fsurely come to want.

17  gBow down thine ear, and hear ithe words of the wise,

And happly thine heart unto my knowledge.

18  For it is a pleasant thing if thou keep ithem †within thee;

They shall withal be fitted in thy lips.

19  That thy trust may be in the Lord,

I have made known to thee this day, ||jeven to thee.

20  Have not I written to thee kexcellent things

In counsels and knowledge,

21  That I might make thee know lthe certainty of the words of truth;

That thou mightest answer the words of truth ||to them that send unto thee?

22  mRob not the poor, because he is poor:

Neither noppress the afflicted oin the gate:

23  For pthe Lord will plead their cause,

And qspoil the soul of those that spoiled them.

24  Make no friendship with ran angry man;

And with a furious man rrthou shalt not go:

25  Lest thou learn his ways,

And get a snare to thy soul.

26  Be not thou one of sthem that strike hands,

Or of sthem that are sureties for tdebts.

27  If thou hast nothing to pay,

Why should he utake away thy bed from under thee?

28  vRemove not the wancient ||landmark,

Which thy fathers have set.

29  xSeest thou a man ydiligent in his business?

He shall zstand before kings;

He shall not stand before †mean men.

23 When thou sittest to eat with a ruler,

Consider diligently what is before thee:

2  And put a knife to thy throat,

If thou be a man agiven to bappetite.

3  cBe not desirous of his cddainties:

For they are deceitful meat.

4  eLabour not to be rich:

Cease from thine own fwisdom.

5  †Wilt thou set thine eyes upon that which is not?

For griches certainly make themselves wings;

They fly away as an eagle toward heaven.

6  hEat thou not the bread of him that hath ian evil eye,

cNeither desire thou his cddainty meats:

7  For as he thinketh in his bheart, so is he:

Eat and drink, saith he to thee;

jBut his heart is not with thee.

8  The morsel which thou hast eaten shalt thou kvomit up,

And llose thy sweet words.

9  lSpeak not in the ears of a fool:

For he will despise the wisdom of thy words.

10  mRemove not the old ||landmark;

And enter not into the fields of the fatherless:

11  For their nredeemer is mighty;

He oshall plead their cause with thee.

12  Apply thine heart unto pinstruction,

And thine ears to the words of knowledge.

13  Withhold not pcorrection from the qchild:

For if thou beatest him with the rod, rhe shall not die.

14  Thou shalt beat him with the rod,

And shalt sdeliver his soul from hell.

15  tMy son, if thine heart be wise,

My heart shall rejoice, ||ueven mine.

16  Yea, xmy reins shall rejoice,

When thy lips speak yright things.

17  Let not thine heart zenvy sinners:

But be thou in athe fear of the Lord all the day long.

18  For surely bthere is an ||cend;

bAnd thine dexpectation shall not be cut off.

19  Hear thou, my son, and ebe wise,

And fguide thine gheart in the way.

20  Be not among hiwinebibbers;

Among ijriotous eaters †of flesh:

21  For the idrunkard and the ijglutton shall come to poverty:

And kdrowsiness shall clothe a man with rags.

22  lHearken unto thy father that begat thee,

And despise not thy mother when she is old.

23  mBuy the truth, and sell it not;

Also wisdom, and instruction, and understanding.

24  nThe father of the righteous shall greatly rejoice:

And he that begetteth a wise child shall have joy of him.

25  Thy father and thy mother shall be glad,

And oshe that bare thee shall rejoice.

26  My son, give me thine heart,

And let thine eyes observe my ways.

27  For a whore is pa deep ditch;

And qa strange woman is a narrow rpit.

28  sShe also lieth in wait ||as for a prey,

And increaseth the transgressors among men.

29  tWho hath woe? who hath sorrow?

Who hath contentions? who hath babbling?

Who hath uwounds without cause?

Who hath vredness of eyes?

30  tThey that wtarry long at the wine;

They that go to seek xmixed wine.

31  Look not thou upon the wine when it is red,

When it giveth his colour in the cup,

When it ymoveth itself yzaright.

32  aAt the last it bbiteth like a serpent,

And stingeth like ||an cadder.

33  Thine eyes shall behold dstrange women,

And thine heart shall utter eperverse things.

34  Yea, thou shalt be as he that lieth down †fin the midst of the sea,

Or as he that lieth upon the top of a mast.

35  They have gstricken me, hshalt thou say, and I gwas not sick;

They have beaten me, and †iI felt it not:

When shall I awake?

kI will seek it yet again.