Revised Version 1885 (RV1885)

1 The proverbs of Solomon the son of David, king of Israel:

2 To know wisdom and instruction; to discern the words of understanding;

3 To receive instruction in wise dealing, in righteousness and judgment and equity;

4 To give subtilty to the simple, to the young man knowledge and discretion:

5 That the wise man may hear, and increase in learning; and that the man of understanding may attain unto sound counsels:

6 To understand a proverb, and a figure; the words of the wise, and their dark sayings.

7 The fear of theLordis the beginning of knowledge:butthe foolish despise wisdom and instruction.

8 My son, hear the instruction of thy father, and forsake not the law of thy mother:

9 For they shall be a chaplet of grace unto thy head, and chains about thy neck.

10 My son, if sinners entice thee, consent thou not.

11 If they say, Come with us, let us lay wait for blood, let us lurk privily for the innocent without cause;

12 Let us swallow them up alive as Sheol, and whole, as those that go down into the pit;

13 We shall find all precious substance, we shall fill our houses with spoil;

14 Thou shalt cast thy lot among us; we will all have one purse:

15 My son, walk not thou in the way with them; refrain thy foot from their path:

16 For their feet run to evil, and they make haste to shed blood.

17 For in vain is the net spread, in the eyes of any bird:

18 And these lay wait for their own blood, they lurk privily for their own lives.

19 So are the ways of every one that is greedy of gain; it taketh away the life of the owners thereof.

20 Wisdom crieth aloud in the street; she uttereth her voice in the broad places;

21 She crieth in the chief place of concourse; at the entering in of the gates, in the city, she uttereth her words:

22 How long, ye simple ones, will ye love simplicity? and scorners delight them in scorning, and fools hate knowledge?

23 Turn you at my reproof: behold, I will pour out my spirit unto you, I will make known my words unto you.

24 Because I have called, and ye refused; I have stretched out my hand, and no man regarded;

25 But ye have set at nought all my counsel, and would none of my reproof:

26 I also will laugh inthe day ofyour calamity; I will mock when your fear cometh;

27 When your fear cometh as a storm, and your calamity cometh on as a whirlwind; when distress and anguish come upon you.

28 Then shall they call upon me, but I will not answer; they shall seek me diligently, but they shall not find me:

29 For that they hated knowledge, and did not choose the fear of theLord:

30 They would none of my counsel; they despised all my reproof:

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

32 For the backsliding of the simple shall slay them, and the prosperity of fools shall destroy them.

33 But whoso hearkeneth unto me shall dwell securely, and shall be quiet without fear of evil.

1 My son, if thou wilt receive my words, and lay up my commandments with thee;

2 So that thou incline thine ear unto wisdom, and apply thine heart to understanding;

3 Yea, if thou cry after discernment, and lift up thy voice for understanding;

4 If thou seek her as silver, and search for her as for hid treasures;

5 Then shalt thou understand the fear of theLord, and find the knowledge of God.

6 For theLordgiveth wisdom; out of his mouthcomethknowledge and understanding:

7 He layeth up sound wisdom for the upright,he isa shield to them that walk in integrity;

8 That he may guard the paths of judgment, and preserve the way of his saints.

9 Then shalt thou understand righteousness and judgment, and equity,yea, every good path.

10 For wisdom shall enter into thine heart, and knowledge shall be pleasant unto thy soul;

11 Discretion shall watch over thee, understanding shall keep thee:

12 To deliver thee from the way of evil, from the men that speak froward things;

13 Who forsake the paths of uprightness, to walk in the ways of darkness;

14 Who rejoice to do evil, and delight in the frowardness of evil;

15 Who are crooked in their ways, and perverse in their paths:

16 To deliver thee from the strange woman, even from the stranger which flattereth with her words;

17 Which forsaketh the friend of her youth, and forgetteth the covenant of her God:

18 For her house inclineth unto death, and her paths unto the dead:

19 None that go unto her return again, neither do they attain unto the paths of life:

20 That thou mayest walk in the way of good men, and keep the paths of the righteous.

21 For the upright shall dwell in the land, and the perfect shall remain in it.

22 But the wicked shall be cut off from the land, and they that deal treacherously shall be rooted out of it.

1 My son, forget not my law; but let thine heart keep my commandments:

2 For length of days, and years of life, and peace, shall they add to thee.

3 Let not mercy and truth forsake thee: bind them about thy neck; write them upon the table of thine heart:

4 So shalt thou find favour and good understanding in the sight of God and man.

5 Trust in theLordwith all thine heart, and lean not upon thine own understanding:

6 In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.

7 Be not wise in thine own eyes; fear theLord, and depart from evil:

8 It shall be health to thy navel, and marrow to thy bones.

9 Honour theLordwith thy substance, and with the firstfruits of all thine increase:

10 So shall thy barns be filled with plenty, and thy vats shall overflow with new wine.

11 My son, despise not the chastening of theLord; neither be weary of his reproof:

12 For whom theLordloveth he reproveth; even as a father the son in whom he delighteth.

13 Happy is the man that findeth wisdom, and the man that getteth understanding.

14 For the merchandise of it is better than the merchandise of silver, and the gain thereof than fine gold.

15 She is more precious than rubies: and none of the things thou canst desire are to be compared unto her.

16 Length of days is in her right had; in her left hand are riches and honour.

17 Her ways are ways of pleasantness, and all her paths are peace.

18 She is a tree of life to them that lay hold upon her: and happy is every one that retaineth her.

19 TheLordby wisdom founded the earth; by understanding he established the heavens.

20 By his knowledge the depths were broken up, and the skies drop down the dew.

21 My son, let not them depart from thine eyes; keep sound wisdom and discretion;

22 So shall they be life unto thy soul, and grace to thy neck.

23 Then shalt thou walk in thy way securely, and thy foot shall not stumble.

24 When thou liest down, thou shalt not be afraid: yea, thou shalt lie down, and thy sleep shall be sweet.

25 Be not afraid of sudden fear, neither of the desolation of the wicked, when it cometh:

26 For theLordshall be thy confidence, and shall keep thy foot from being taken.

27 Withhold not good from them to whom it is due, when it is in the power of thine hand to do it.

28 Say not unto thy neighbour, Go, and come again, and tomorrow I will give; when thou hast it by thee.

29 Devise not evil against thy neighbour, seeing he dwelleth securely by thee.

30 Strive not with a man without cause, if he have done thee no harm.

31 Envy thou not the man of violence, and choose none of his ways.

32 For the perverse is an abomination to theLord: but his secret is with the upright.

33 The curse of theLordis in the house of the wicked; but he blesseth the habitation of the righteous.

34 Surely he scorneth the scorners, but he giveth grace unto the lowly.

35 The wise shall inherit glory; but shame shall be the promotion of fools.

1 Hear,mysons, the instruction of a father, and attend to know understanding:

2 For I give you good doctrine; forsake ye not my law.

3 For I was a son unto my father, tender and only beloved in the sight of my mother.

4 And he taught me, and said unto me, Let thine heart retain my words; keep my commandments, and live:

5 Get wisdom, get understanding; forgetitnot, neither decline from the words of my mouth:

6 Forsake her not, and she shall preserve thee; love her, and she shall keep thee.

7 Wisdomisthe principal thing;thereforeget wisdom: yea, with all thou hast gotten get understanding.

8 Exalt her, and she shall promote thee: she shall bring thee to honour, when thou dost embrace her.

9 She shall give to thine head a chaplet of grace: a crown of beauty shall she deliver to thee.

10 Hear, O my son, and receive my sayings; and the years of thy life shall be many.

11 I have taught thee in the way of wisdom; I have led thee in paths of uprightness.

12 When thou goest, thy steps shall not be straitened; and if thou runnest, thou shalt not stumble.

13 Take fast hold of instruction; let her not go: keep her; for she is thy life.

14 Enter not into the path of the wicked, and walk not in the way of evil men.

15 Avoid it, pass not by it; turn from it, and pass on.

16 For they sleep not, except they have done mischief; and their sleep is taken away, unless they cause some to fall.

17 For they eat the bread of wickedness, and drink the wine of violence.

18 But the path of the righteous is as the shining light, that shineth more and more unto the perfect day.

19 The way of the wicked is as darkness: they know not at what they stumble.

20 My son, attend to my words; incline thine ear unto my sayings.

21 Let them not depart from thine eyes; keep them in the midst of thine heart.

22 For they are life unto those that find them, and health to all their flesh.

23 Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life.

24 Put away from thee a froward mouth, and perverse lips put far from thee.

25 Let thine eyes look right on, and let thine eyelids look straight before thee.

26 Make level the path of thy feet, and let all thy ways be established.

27 Turn not to the right hand nor to the left: remove thy foot from evil.

1 My son, attend unto my wisdom; incline thine ear to my understanding:

2 That thou mayest preserve discretion, and that thy lips may keep knowledge.

3 For the lips of a strange woman drop honey, and her mouth is smoother than oil:

4 But her latter end is bitter as wormwood, sharp as a two-edged sword.

5 Her feet go down to death; her steps take hold on Sheol;

6 So that she findeth not the level path of life: her ways are unstableandshe knowethitnot.

7 Now therefore,mysons, hearken unto me, and depart not from the words of my mouth.

8 Remove thy way far from her, and come not nigh the door of her house:

9 Lest thou give thine honour unto others, and thy years unto the cruel:

10 Lest strangers be filled with thy strength; and thy laboursbein the house of an alien;

11 And thou mourn at thy latter end, when thy flesh and thy body are consumed,

12 And say, How have I hated instruction, and my heart despised reproof;

13 Neither have I obeyed the voice of my teachers, nor inclined mine ear to them that instructed me!

14 I was well nigh in all evil in the midst of the congregation and assembly.

15 Drink waters out of thine own cistern, and running waters out of thine own well.

16 Should thy springs be dispersed abroad, and rivers of water in the streets?

17 Let them be for thyself alone, and not for strangers with thee.

18 Let thy fountain be blessed; and rejoice in the wife of thy youth.

19 Asa loving hind and a pleasant doe, let her breasts satisfy thee at all times; and be thou ravished always with her love.

20 For why shouldest thou, my son, be ravished with a strange woman, and embrace the bosom of a stranger?

21 For the ways of man are before the eyes of theLord, and he maketh level all his paths.

22 His own iniquities shall take the wicked, and he shall be holden with the cords of his sin.

23 He shall die for lack of instruction; and in the greatness of his folly he shall go astray.

1 My son, if thou art become surety for thy neighbour, if thou hast stricken thy hands for a stranger,

2 Thou art snared with the words of thy mouth, thou art taken with the words of thy mouth.

3 Do this now, my son, and deliver thyself, seeing thou art come into the hand of thy neighbour; go, humble thyself, and importune thy neighbour.

4 Give not sleep to thine eyes, nor slumber to thine eyelids.

5 Deliver thyself as a roe from the handof the hunter, and as a bird from the hand of the fowler.

6 Go to the ant, thou sluggard; consider her ways, and be wise:

7 Which having no chief, overseer, or ruler,

8 Provideth her meat in the summer, and gathereth her food in the harvest.

9 How long wilt thou sleep, O sluggard? when wilt thou arise out of thy sleep?

10 Yeta little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to sleep:

11 So shall thy poverty come as a robber, and thy want as an armed man.

12 A worthless person, a man of iniquity; he walketh with a froward mouth;

13 He winketh with his eyes, he speaketh with his feet, he maketh signs with his fingers;

14 Frowardness is in his heart, he deviseth evil continually; he soweth discord.

15 Therefore shall his calamity come suddenly; on a sudden shall he be broken and that without remedy.

16 There be six things which theLordhateth; yea, seven which are an abomination unto him:

17 Haughty eyes, a lying tongue, and hands that shed innocent blood;

18 An heart that deviseth wicked imaginations, feet that be swift in running to mischief;

19 A false witness that uttereth lies, and he that soweth discord among brethren.

20 My son, keep the commandment of thy father, and forsake not the law of thy mother:

21 Bind them continually upon thine heart, tie them about thy neck.

22 When thou walkest, it shall lead thee; when thou sleepest, it shall watch over thee; and when thou awakest, it shall talk with thee.

23 For the commandment is a lamp; and the law is light; and reproofs of instruction are the way of life:

24 To keep thee from the evil woman, from the flattery of the stranger’s tongue.

25 Lust not after her beauty in thine heart; neither let her take thee with her eyelids.

26 For on account of a whorish womana man is broughtto a piece of bread: and the adulteress hunteth for the precious life.

27 Can a man take fire in his bosom, and his clothes not be burned?

28 Or can one walk upon hot coals, and his feet not be scorched?

29 So he that goeth in to his nieghbour’s wife; whosoever toucheth her shall not be unpunished.

30 Men do not despise a thief, if he steal to satisfy his soul when he is hungry:

31 But if he be found, he shall restore sevenfold; he shall give all the substance of his house.

32 He that committeth adultery with a woman is void of understanding: he doeth it that would destroy his own soul.

33 Wounds and dishonour shall he get; and his reproach shall not be wiped away.

34 For jealousy is the rage of a man; and he will not spare in the day of vengeance.

35 He will not regard any ransom; neither will he rest content, though thou givest many gifts.

1 My son, keep my words, and lay up my commandments with thee.

2 Keep my commandments and live; and my law as the apple of thine eye.

3 Bind them upon thy fingers; write them upon the table of thine heart.

4 Say unto wisdom, Thou art my sister; and call understandingthykinswoman:

5 That they may keep thee from the strange woman, from the stranger which flattereth with her words.

6 For at the window of my house I looked forth through my lattice;

7 And I beheld among the simple ones, I discerned among the youths, a young man void of understanding,

8 Passing through the street near her corner, and he went the way to her house;

9 In the twilight, in the evening of the day, in the blackness of night and the darkness.

10 And, behold, there met him a woman with the attire of an harlot, and wily of heart.

11 She is clamorous, and wilful; her feet abide not in her house:

12 Now she is in the streets, now in the broad places, and lieth in wait at every corner.

13 So she caught him, and kissed him,andwith an impudent face she said unto him:

14 Sacrifices of peace offerings are with me; this day have I paid my vows.

15 Therefore came I forth to meet thee, diligently to seek thy face, and I have found thee.

16 I have spread my couch with carpets of tapestry, with striped cloths of the yarn of Egypt.

17 I have perfumed my bed with myrrh, aloes, and cinnamon.

18 Come, let us take our fill of love until the morning; let us solace ourselves with loves.

19 For the goodman is not at home, he is gone a long journey:

20 He hath taken a bag of money with him; he will come home at the full moon.

21 With her much fair speech she causeth him to yield, with the flattering of her lips she forceth him away.

22 He goeth after her straightway, as an ox goeth to the slaughter, or as fetters to the correction of the fool;

23 Till an arrow strike through his liver; as a bird hasteth to the snare, and knoweth not that it is for his life.

24 Now therefore,mysons, hearken unto me, and attend to the words of my mouth.

25 Let not thine heart decline to her ways, go not astray in her paths.

26 For she hath cast down many wounded: yea, all her slain are a mighty host.

27 Her house is the way to Sheol, going down to the chambers of death.

1 Doth not wisdom cry, and understanding put forth her voice?

2 In the top of high places by the way, where the paths meet, she standeth;

3 Beside the gates, at the entry of the city, at the coming in at the doors, she crieth aloud:

4 Unto you, O men, I call; and my voice is to the sons of men.

5 O ye simple, understand subtilty; and, ye fools, be ye of an understanding heart.

6 Hear, for I will speak excellent things; and the opening of my lips shall be right things.

7 For my mouth shall utter truth; and wickedness is an abomination to my lips.

8 All the words of my mouth are in righteousness; there is nothing crooked or perverse in them.

9 They are all plain to him that understandeth, and right to them that find knowledge.

10 Receive my instruction, and not silver; and knowledge rather than choice gold.

11 For wisdom is better than rubies; and all the things that may be desired are not to be compared unto her.

12 I wisdom have made subtilty my dwelling, and find out knowledgeanddiscretion.

13 The fear of theLordis to hate evil: pride, and arrogancy, and the evil way, and the froward mouth, do I hate.

14 Counsel is mine, and sound knowledge: I am understanding; I have might.

15 By me kings reign, and princes decree justice.

16 By me princes rule, and nobles,evenall the judges of the earth.

17 I love them that love me; and those that seek me diligently shall find me.

18 Riches and honour are with me;yea, durable riches and righteousness.

19 My fruit is better than gold, yea, than fine gold; and my revenue than choice silver.

20 I walk 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 that I may fill their treasuries.

22 TheLordpossessed me in the beginning of his way, before his works of old.

23 I was set up from everlasting, from the beginning, or ever the earth was.

24 When there were no depths, I was brought forth; when there were no fountains abounding with water.

25 Before the mountains were settled, before the hills was I brought forth:

26 While as yet he had not made the earth, nor the fields, nor the beginning of the dust of the world.

27 When he established the heavens, I was there: when he set a circle upon the face of the deep:

28 When he made firm the sides above: when the fountains of the deep became strong:

29 When he gave to the sea its bound, that the waters should not transgress his commandment: when he marked out the foundations of the earth:

30 Then I was by him,asa master workman: and I was dailyhisdelight, rejoicing always before him;

31 Rejoicing in his habitable earth; and my delight was with the sons of men.

32 Now therefore,mysons, hearken unto me: for blessed are they that keep my ways.

33 Hear instruction, and be wise, and refuse it not.

34 Blessed is the man that heareth me, watching daily at my gates, waiting at the posts of my doors.

35 For whoso findeth me findeth life, and shall obtain favour of theLord.

36 But he that sinneth against me wrongeth his own soul: all they that hate me love death.

1 Wisdom hath builded her house, she hath hewn out her seven pillars:

2 She hath killed her beasts; she hath mingled her wine; she hath also furnished her table.

3 She hath sent forth her maidens, she crieth upon the highest places of the city,

4 Whoso is simple, let him turn in hither: as for him that is void of understanding, she saith to him,

5 Come, eat ye of my bread, and drink of the wine which I have mingled.

6 Leave off, ye simple ones, and live; and walk in the way of understanding.

7 He that correcteth a scorner getteth to himself shame: and he that reproveth a wicked mangettethhimself a blot.

8 Reprove not a scorner, lest he hate thee: reprove a wise man, and he will love thee.

9 Giveinstructionto a wise man, and he will be yet wiser: teach a righteous man, and he will increase in learning.

10 The fear of theLordis the beginning of wisdom: and the knowledge of the Holy One is understanding.

11 For by me thy days shall be multiplied, and the years of thy life shall be increased.

12 If thou art wise, thou art wise for thyself: and if thou scornest, thou alone shalt bear it.

13 The foolish woman is clamorous;she issimple, and knoweth nothing.

14 And she sitteth at the door of her house, on a seat in the high places of the city,

15 To call to them that pass by, who go right on their ways,

16 Whoso is simple, let him turn in hither: and as for him that is void of understanding, she saith to him,

17 Stolen waters are sweet, and breadeatenin secret is pleasant.

18 But he knoweth not that the dead are there; that her guests are in the depths of Sheol.

1 The proverbs of Solomon. A wise son maketh a glad father: but a foolish son is the heaviness of his mother.

2 Treasures of wickedness profit nothing: but righteousness delivereth from death.

3 TheLordwill not suffer the soul of the righteous to famish: but he thrusteth away the desire of the wicked.

4 He becometh poor that dealeth with a slack hand: but the hand of the diligent maketh rich.

5 He that gathereth in summer is a wise son:buthe that sleepeth in harvest is a son that causeth shame.

6 Blessings are upon the head of the righteous: but violence covereth the mouth of the wicked.

7 The memory of the just is blessed: but the name of the wicked shall rot.

8 The wise in heart will receive commandments: but a prating fool shall fall.

9 He that walketh uprightly walketh surely: but he that perverteth his ways shall be known.

10 He that winketh with the eye causeth sorrow: but a prating fool shall fall.

11 The mouth of the righteous is a fountain of life: but violence covereth the mouth of the wicked.

12 Hatred stirreth up strifes: but love covereth all transgressions.

13 In the lips of him that hath discernment wisdom is found: but a rod is for the back of him that is void of understanding.

14 Wise men lay up knowledge: but the mouth of the foolish is a present destruction.

15 The rich man’s wealth is his strong city: the destruction of the poor is their poverty.

16 The labour of the righteoustendethto life; the increase of the wicked to sin.

17 He is in the way of life that heedeth correction: but he that forsaketh reproof erreth.

18 He that hideth hatred is of lying lips; and he that uttereth a slander is a fool.

19 In the multitude of words there wanteth not transgression: but he that refraineth his lips doeth wisely.

20 The tongue of the righteous is as choice silver: the heart of the wicked is little worth.

21 The lips of the righteous feed many: but the foolish die for lack of understanding.

22 The blessing of theLord, it maketh rich, and he addeth no sorrow therewith.

23 It is as sport to a fool to do wickedness: andso iswisdom to a man of understanding.

24 The fear of the wicked, it shall come upon him: and the desire of the righteous shall be granted.

25 When the whirlwind passeth, the wicked is no more: but the 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 The fear of theLordprolongeth days: but the years of the wicked shall be shortened.

28 The hope of the righteousshallbe gladness: but the expectation of the wicked shall perish.

29 The way of theLordis a strong hold to the upright; but it is a destruction to the workers of iniquity.

30 The righteous shall never be removed: but the wicked shall not dwell in the land.

31 The mouth of the righteous bringeth forth wisdom: but the froward tongue shall be cut off.

32 The lips of the righteous know what is acceptable: but the mouth of the wickedspeakethfrowardness.