Proverbs 8–21
And bunderstanding aput forth her voice?
2 She standeth in the top of chigh places, by the way
In the places of the paths.
3 She acrieth at the dgates, at the entry of cethe city,
At the coming in at the doors.
And my voice is to the sons of man.
5 O ye fsimple, understand fwisdom:
And, ye fools, be ye of an understanding heart.
6 Hear; for I will speak of gexcellent things;
And the opening of my lips shall be hright things.
7 For my imouth shall kspeak truth;
And wickedness is †an abomination to my lips.
8 All the words of my mouth are in righteousness;
There is nothing †lfroward or lperverse in them.
9 They are all mplain to him that understandeth,
And right to them that find knowledge.
10 Receive my instruction, and not silver;
And knowledge rather than nchoice gold.
11 oFor wisdom is better than prubies;
And qall the things that may be desired are not to be compared to it.
12 I rwisdom dwell with ||prudence,
And find out knowledge of switty inventions.
13 tThe fear of the Lord is to uhate evil:
xPride, and arrogancy, and the evil way,
And ythe froward mouth, do I hate.
14 zCounsel is mine, and asound wisdom:
I am understanding; bI have strength.
15 cBy me kings reign,
And dprinces decree justice.
And nobles, even all the judges of the earth.
17 eI love them that love me;
And fthose that gseek me early shall find me.
18 hiRiches and honour are with me;
Yea, durable iriches and irighteousness.
19 My fruit is jbetter than kgold, yea, than lfine gold;
And jmy revenue than kchoice silver.
20 I ||lead in the way of righteousness,
In the midst of the paths of judgment:
21 That I may cause those that love me to inherit substance;
And I will fill their treasures.
22 mThe Lord npossessed me oin pthe beginning of his way,
Before his works qof old.
23 I was rset up from everlasting, from the beginning,
sOr ever the earth was.
24 When there were no tdepths, I was ubrought forth;
When there were no fountains abounding with water.
25 Before the mountains vwere settled,
wBefore the hills was I ubrought forth:
26 While as yet he had not made the earth, nor the ||fields,
Nor ||the xhighest part of the dust of the world.
27 When he yprepared the heavens, I was there:
When he zset ||a compass upon the face of the tdepth:
28 When he established the clouds above:
When he strengthened the fountains of the tdeep:
29 aWhen he gave to the sea bhis decree,
That the waters should not pass his commandment:
When he zappointed cthe foundations of the earth:
30 dThen I was by him, as eone brought up with him:
And I was daily his fdelight,
gRejoicing always before him;
31 gRejoicing in hthe habitable part of his earth;
And my fdelights were iwith the sons of men.
32 jNow therefore hearken unto me, O ye children:
For kblessed are they that keep my ways.
33 lHear instruction, and be wise,
And mrefuse it not.
34 nBlessed is the man othat heareth me,
Watching daily at my gates,
Waiting at the posts of my doors.
35 For whoso nfindeth me oofindeth life,
And shall †obtain favour of the Lord.
36 But he that psinneth against me qwrongeth his own soul:
All they that rhate me slove death.
9 aWisdom hath builded her house,
She hath hewn out her bseven cpillars:
2 dShe hath killed †her beasts; she hath emingled her wine;
She hath also ffurnished her table.
3 She hath sent forth gher maidens:
hShe crieth upon ithe highest places of the city,
4 jWhoso is simple, let him turn in hither:
As for jkhim that wanteth understanding, she saith to him,
5 lCome, eat of my bread,
And drink of ethe wine which I have mingled.
6 Forsake mthe foolish, and slive;
And ngo in the way of understanding.
7 He that reproveth a scorner getteth to himself shame:
And he that rebuketh a wicked man getteth himself a blot.
8 oReprove not a scorner, lest he hate thee:
pRebuke a wise man, and he will love thee.
9 Give instruction to a wise man, and he will be yet wiser:
Teach a just man, and qhe will increase in learning.
10 rThe fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom:
And rrthe knowledge of the holy is understanding.
11 sFor by me thy days shall be multiplied,
And sthe years of thy life shall be increased.
12 tIf thou be wise, thou shalt be wise ufor thyself:
But if thou scornest, wthou alone shalt bear it.
13 xA foolish woman is yclamorous:
She is simple, and zknoweth nothing.
14 For she sitteth at the door of her house,
On a seat in athe high places of the city,
Who bgo right on their ways:
16 cWhoso is simple, let him turn in hither:
And as for chim that wanteth understanding, she saith to him,
17 dStolen waters are sweet,
And bread †eaten in secret is pleasant.
18 But he knoweth not ethat fthe dead are there;
And that her guests are in the depths of hell.
10 aThe proverbs of Solomon.
bA wise son maketh a glad father:
bBut a foolish son is the cheaviness of his mother.
2 Treasures of wickedness dprofit nothing:
dBut erighteousness delivereth from death.
3 fThe Lord will not suffer the ffsoul of the righteous to famish:
But he casteth away ||the gsubstance of the wicked.
4 hHe becometh poor that dealeth with a islack hand:
But ithe hand of the diligent maketh rich.
5 He that kgathereth in summer is a wise son:
But he that lsleepeth in harvest is a mson that causeth shame.
6 Blessings are upon the head of the just:
nBut violence ocovereth the mouth of the wicked.
7 pThe memory of the just is blessed:
But qthe name of the wicked shall rot.
8 The wise in heart will receive commandments:
rBut †a prating fool ||shall fall.
9 sHe that walketh uprightly twalketh surely:
But he that perverteth his ways ushall be known.
10 He that xwinketh with the eye causeth sorrow:
rBut a prating fool ||shall fall.
11 yThe mouth of a righteous man is za well of life:
nBut violence covereth the mouth of the wicked.
12 Hatred stirreth up strifes:
But alove covereth all sins.
13 In the lips of him that hath understanding wisdom is found:
But ba rod is for the back of him that is void of †understanding.
14 Wise men clay up knowledge:
But the mouth of the foolish is near ddestruction.
15 eThe rich man’s wealth is his strong city:
The ddestruction of the poor is their poverty.
16 The labour of the righteous tendeth eeto life:
The fruit of the wicked to sin.
17 fHe is in the way of life that keepeth instruction:
But he that refuseth reproof ||erreth.
18 He that hideth hatred with lying lips,
And ghe that uttereth a slander, is a fool.
19 hIn the multitude of words there wanteth not sin:
But ihe that refraineth his lips is wise.
20 The tongue of the just is as jchoice silver:
The heart of the wicked is little worth.
21 The lips of the righteous feed many:
kBut fools die for want †of wisdom.
22 lThe blessing of the Lord, it maketh rich,
And he addeth no msorrow with it.
23 nIt is as sport to a fool to do nnmischief:
But a man of understanding hath wisdom.
24 oThe fear of the wicked, it shall come upon him:
But pthe desire of the righteous shall be granted.
25 qAs the whirlwind passeth, so is rthe wicked no more:
But sthe righteous is an everlasting foundation.
26 As vinegar to the teeth, and as smoke to the eyes,
So is the sluggard to them that send him.
27 tThe fear of the Lord †prolongeth days:
But uthe years of the wicked shall be shortened.
28 The hope of the righteous shall be gladness:
But xthe expectation of the wicked shall perish.
29 yThe way of the Lord is strength to the upright:
yBut dzdestruction shall be to athe workers of iniquity.
30 bThe righteous shall never be removed:
But cthe wicked shall not inhabit the earth.
31 dThe mouth of the just ebringeth forth wisdom:
But the froward tongue shall be cut out.
32 The lips of the righteous know fwhat is acceptable:
But the mouth of the wicked speaketh †frowardness.
11 aA †false balance is abomination to the Lord:
But †a just weight is his delight.
2 bWhen pride cometh, then cometh shame:
But with the clowly is wisdom.
3 dThe integrity of the upright shall guide them:
But dthe perverseness of transgressors shall destroy them.
4 eRiches profit not fin the day of wrath:
eBut righteousness delivereth from death.
5 The righteousness of the perfect shall †direct his way:
But the wicked shall fall by his own wickedness.
6 The righteousness of the upright gshall deliver them:
But transgressors hshall be taken in their own naughtiness.
7 When a wicked man dieth, ihis expectation shall perish:
And jthe hope of unjust men perisheth.
8 kThe righteous is delivered out of trouble,
And the wicked cometh in his stead.
9 An jhypocrite with his mouth destroyeth his neighbour:
lBut through knowledge shall the just be delivered.
10 mWhen it goeth well with the righteous, the city rejoiceth:
And when the wicked perish, there is shouting.
11 nBy the blessing of the upright othe city is exalted:
But it is oooverthrown by the mouth of the wicked.
12 He that is †void of wisdom pdespiseth his neighbour:
But a man of understanding holdeth his peace.
13 †A talebearer revealeth secrets:
But he that is of a faithful spirit concealeth the matter.
14 ppWhere no qcounsel is, the people fall:
pBut in the multitude of counsellers there is safety.
15 rHe that is surety for a stranger †shall smart for it:
And he that hateth †suretiship is sure.
16 sA gracious woman retaineth honour:
And tstrong men retain riches.
17 uThe merciful man doeth good to his own soul:
But he that is wcruel troubleth his own flesh.
18 The wicked worketh a deceitful work:
But to xhim that soweth righteousness shall be a sure reward.
19 As righteousness tendeth yto life:
So zhe that pursueth evil pursueth it to his own death.
20 They that are aof a froward heart are abomination to the Lord:
But such as are bupright in their way are chis delight.
21 dThough hand join in hand, the wicked shall not be unpunished:
But ethe seed of the righteous shall be delivered.
22 As fa jewel of gold in a swine’s snout,
So is a fair woman which †is without ffdiscretion.
23 The desire of the righteous is only good:
But the expectation of the wicked is gwrath.
24 ggThere is that hscattereth, and yet increaseth;
And there is that withholdeth more than is meet, ibut it tendeth to poverty.
25 j†The liberal soul kshall be made fat:
And kkhe that watereth shall …