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New Testament
Proverbs 1-9
The Superscription
11The proverbs of Solomon, son of David, king of Israel.
The Purpose of Studying Proverbs
2To learn wisdom and discipline,
3to acquire discipline to act sensibly,
to acquire righteousness, justice, and fairness,
to give a young man knowledge and foresight.
5A wise person should listen, and he will increase learning.
A person with understanding should obtain guidance
and the thought-provoking words of the wise.
but stubborn fools despise wisdom and discipline.
Solomon's Speeches About Wisdom
(Chapters 1–9)
First Address to a Son: Avoid the Company of Sinners
8Listen, my son, to your father's discipline,
and do not forsake your mother's teaching,
9because they are a garland of grace for your head.
They are jewelry for your neck.
10My son, if sinners lure you, do not go along with them.
11If they say,
“Come with us. Let's lie in wait to shed blood.
Let's hide and ambush an innocent person for no reason.
12We will swallow them alive like the grave.
We will swallow them whole like those who go down to the pit.
13We will find all kinds of wealth and treasure.
We will fill our houses with loot.
14Cast your lot with us.
We will all share one bag of money.”
15My son, do not walk along the road with them.
Do not set foot on their path,
16because their feet run to do evil,
and they hurry to shed blood.
17How useless to spread a net in the sight of any bird!
18Yet they set up an ambush for their own blood.
They hide in ambush to take their own lives.
19This is where the path leads for everyone
who is greedy for stolen property:
It takes away the life of those who possess it.
First Poem About Wisdom:
Wisdom Calls but Many Refuse
20Wisdom calls out loudly in the street.
In the public squares she raises her voice.
21At the noisy street corners she calls out.
At the entrances to the city gates she speaks her words:
How long will scoffers delight in their scoffing?
How long will fools hate knowledge?
23If you respond to my warning,
I will pour out my spirit for you.
I will make my words known to you.
24Because I called, but you refused to listen,
because I stretched out my hand, but no one paid attention,
25because you ignored all my advice,
and you did not accept my warning,
26therefore I will laugh at your calamity.
I will jeer when terror strikes you,
27when terror strikes you like a violent storm,
when calamity strikes you like a windstorm,
when trouble and distress come upon you.
28Then they will call to me, but I will not answer.
They will look for me, but they will not find me,
29because they hated knowledge,
and they did not choose the fear of the Lord.
30They would not accept my advice,
and they despised all my warnings.
31So they will eat the fruit of their own way,
and they will be stuffed with their own schemes.
and the complacency of fools destroys them.
33But whoever listens to me will live in safety.
He will be secure, without fear of evil.”
Second Address to a Son:
Wisdom Provides Protection
21My son, if you accept my words,
if you store up my commands within you,
by reaching out for understanding with your heart,
3if indeed you call out for intelligence,
if you raise your voice for understanding,
4if you search for it like silver,
if you hunt for it like hidden treasure,
5then you will understand the fear of the Lord,
then you will find the knowledge of God,
6because the Lord gives wisdom.
Knowledge and understanding come from his mouth.
7He stores up sound judgment for upright people.
He is a shield for those who walk in integrity.
8He protects those who walk on paths of justice.
9Then you will understand righteousness, justice,
and fairness—every good path,
10because wisdom will come into your heart,
and knowledge will be pleasant for your soul.
11Foresight will stand guard over you.
Understanding will protect you.
12It will save you from the evil way,
from the man who speaks perverse things,
13from those who abandon upright paths
in order to walk in the ways of darkness.
14It will save you from those who enjoy doing evil,
from those who celebrate the twisted ways of evil,
15from those whose paths are crooked,
and from those whose ways are devious.
Wisdom Protects You From the Adulterous Woman
17who abandons the husband of her youth
and forgets the covenant of her God.
Her way of life leads down to the spirits of the dead.
19All who enter her house never return.
They never reach the paths of life.
Admonition to Live Righteously
20This is how to walk in the way of good people,
how to stay on the paths of the righteous.
21Yes, the upright will live in the land,
and people with integrity will remain in it,
22but wicked people will be cut off from the land,
and treacherous people will be torn out of it.
Third Address to a Son:
Wisdom Leads to the Lord's Blessing
31My son, do not forget my teaching.
Let your heart keep my commands,
2because they will add long days and many years to your life,
3Do not allow mercy and truth to leave you.
Fasten them around your neck.
Write them on the tablet of your heart.
in the eyes of God and man.
5Trust in the Lord with all your heart,
and do not rely on your own understanding.
6In all your ways acknowledge him,
and he will make your paths straight.
7Do not consider yourself wise.
Fear the Lord, and turn away from evil.
and your bones will be refreshed.
9Honor the Lord with your wealth,
with the firstfruits from your entire harvest.
10Then your barns will be filled to capacity,
and your wine vats will overflow with fresh wine.
11Do not reject the Lord's discipline, my son,
and do not despise his warning,
as a father warns a son with whom he is pleased.
the person who acquires understanding,
14because the profit it gives is better than the profit from silver,
and its yield is better than gold!
and nothing you desire can equal it.
16In its right hand are the days of a long life.
In its left hand are riches and honor.
17Its ways are pleasant ways,
and all its paths are peace.
18It is a tree of life for those who hold on to it.
Those who cling to it are blessed.
19The Lord founded the earth by wisdom.
He established the heavens by understanding.
20By his knowledge the deep waters were divided,
and the clouds drip dew.
21My son, do not take your eyes off these things.
Guard sound judgment and insight.
22They will be life for your soul
and grace to adorn your neck.
23Then you will walk safely on your way,
and your foot will not stumble.
24When you lie down, you will not be afraid.
When you lie down, your sleep will be pleasant.
25Do not be afraid of sudden terror,
nor of the destruction of the wicked when it comes,
26because the Lord will be your confidence.
He will keep your foot from being caught.
Fourth Address to a Son:
Practice Wisdom Toward Your Neighbor
27Do not withhold good from those to whom it is due
when it is within your power to give it.
28Do not say to your neighbor,
“Go away! Come back some other time.
I will give something to you tomorrow,”
when in fact it is already with you right now.
29Do not plan harm against your neighbor
when he is living with you peacefully.
30Do not quarrel with a person for no good reason
when he has done nothing to harm you.
31Do not envy a violent person.
Do not choose any of his ways,
33The Lord's curse rests on the house of the wicked,
but he blesses the home of the righteous.
34Although he scorns the scornful,
he gives grace to the humble.
35Wise people inherit honor,
but proud fools receive disgrace.
An Address to Sons:
Your Parents Teach You Wisdom
41Listen, you sons, to a father's discipline.
Pay attention so that you will gain discernment,
2because I have given you good instruction.
Do not abandon my teaching.
3When I was a son living with my father,
a tender and only child with my mother,
4he used to instruct me and say to me,
“Cling to my words with all your heart.
Obey my commands so that you may live.
5Acquire wisdom. Acquire understanding.
Do not forget,
and do not turn away from the words of my mouth.
6Do not abandon it, and it will watch over you.
Love it and it will guard you.”
7The beginning of wisdom is to obtain Wisdom.
Give up everything you have, in order to gain Understanding.
8Cherish her, and she will exalt you.
She will honor you when you embrace her.
9She will set a garland of grace on your head.
She will present you with a beautiful crown.
Fifth Address to a Son:
The Difference Between the Wicked and the Righteous
10Listen, my son, and accept my words,
so that the years of your life will be many.
11I have instructed you in the way of wisdom.
12When you walk, your stride will not be hindered.
Even if you run, you will not stumble.
13Hold on to discipline. Do not let go.
Guard it, because it is your life.
14Do not travel on the path of the wicked.
Do not walk in the way of evil people.
15Avoid it! Do not travel on it!
Turn away from it. Pass it by.
16For they cannot sleep
unless they have been doing wrong,
and they are robbed of sleep
unless they are making someone stumble,
17because wickedness is the food they eat,
and violence is the wine they drink.
18But the path of the righteous is like the light of dawn,
shining brighter and brighter until it is day.
19The way of the wicked is like gloomy darkness.
They never know where they will stumble.
Sixth Address to a Son:
Advice for a Righteous Life
20My son, pay attention to my words.
Open your ears to what I say.
21Do not let them escape from your sight.
Keep them deep in your heart,
22because they are life for those who find them
23Above all else, guard your heart carefully,
because your life flows from it.
24Turn your mouth away from perverted speech,
and keep devious lips far away from you.
25Let your eyes look straight ahead.
26Make a level pathway for your feet,
and all your ways will be secure.
27Do not swerve to the right or the left.
Turn your feet away from evil.
Chapters 5 to 9
Two Women Compete for Our Love
Seventh Address to a Son:
Wisdom Teaches You to Avoid Adultery
51My son, pay attention to my wisdom.
Open your ears to my understanding,
2so that you may hold on to insight,
so your lips may guard knowledge,
3because the lips of an immoral woman drip with honey,
and as sharp as a double-edged sword.
5Her feet go down to death.
Her ways wander, but she doesn't realize it.
7Now, you sons, listen to me.
Do not turn away from the words of my mouth.
8Keep your way far from her.
Do not go near the doorway of her house.
9If you do, you will give your wealth to others
and your years to a cruel person.
10If you do, your work will satisfy strangers,
and the results of your labor will end up in another man's house.
11You will groan when your end comes,
when your body and flesh are consumed.
12Then you will say, “Oh, how I hated discipline,
and my heart despised warnings!
13I did not listen to my teachers' voices,
and I did not open my ears to hear my instructors.
in the midst of the assembly of the community.”
Encouragement to Faithfulness in Marriage
15Drink water from your own cistern.
Drink running water from your own well.
16Why should the water from your springs flow out into the street,
your streams of water into the public squares?
17They should be yours, yours alone.
They are not for strangers to share with you.
18Let your fountain be blessed.
Obtain your joy from the wife you married in your youth,
19who is a loving doe and a graceful deer.
Let her breasts satisfy you at all times.
Always be intoxicated with her love.
20Why should you be led astray, my son, by an immoral woman?
Why embrace a woman who is not your wife?
21For the ways of a man are in front of the eyes of the Lord,
and he weighs all of his paths.
22The evil deeds of the wicked man will capture him,
and he will be bound by the ropes of his sin.
23He will die for lack of discipline,
and he will go astray because of his great stupidity.
Eighth Address to a Son:
Wisdom Avoids Entanglements
61My son, if you have guaranteed your neighbor's debts,
if you have shaken hands for a stranger,
2you are trapped by the promises from your mouth;
you are captured by the promises from your mouth.
3Because you have fallen into your neighbor's hands,
go, humble yourself, and plead with your neighbor.
4Do not allow your eyes to sleep,
or your eyelids to slumber.
5Save yourself like a gazelle from the hand of a hunter,
or like a bird from the hand of a trapper.
Wisdom Warns Against Laziness
Observe its ways and become wise.
7Although it has no overseer, officer, or ruler,
8it stores its food in summer.
It gathers its provisions at harvest time.
9How long will you lie there, you slacker?
When will you get up from your sleep?
10A little sleep, a little slumber,
a little folding of your hands to rest,
11and poverty will come on you like a prowler,
and scarcity will come on you like a warrior.
Dishonesty Leads to Disaster
12A worthless, wicked scoundrel,
who goes around with a corrupt mouth,
13who winks with his eye, signals with his foot,
and gestures with his fingers,
14who plots evil with a deceitful heart—
he always spreads conflict.
15Therefore his disaster will come upon him suddenly.
All at once he will be broken, and there will be no remedy.
Things That Are Disgusting to the Lord
16These are six things the Lord hates,
seven things that really disgust him:
17arrogant eyes, a lying tongue,
hands that shed innocent blood,
18a heart that devises wicked plans,
feet that run quickly to do evil,
19a false witness who breathes lies,
and a person who spreads conflict between brothers.
Ninth Address to a Son:
Avoid Sexual Immorality
20My son, keep your father's commands,
and do not forsake your mother's teachings.
21Fasten them permanently to your heart,
and tie them around your neck.
22When you walk around, they will lead you.
When you lie down, they will stand guard over you.
When you wake up, they will converse with you,
23because a command is a lamp, teaching is a light,
and the warnings given by discipline are a road to life.
24They guard you from an evil woman,
from the smooth tongue of a woman who is not your wife.
25Do not desire her beauty in your heart.
Do not let her captivate you with her eyes.
26A prostitute costs you a loaf of bread,
but a married woman stalks your precious life.
27Can a man place fire on his lap without burning his clothes?
28Can a man walk on hot coals without scorching his feet?
29So it is with the man who goes to his neighbor's wife.
No one who touches her will be forgiven.
30No one despises a thief when he steals
to satisfy his hunger when he is starving,
31but when he is caught, he will have to repay seven times as much.
He will have to give up all the wealth of his house.
32Whoever commits adultery with a woman lacks sense.
He who does it destroys himself.
33He will find disease and dishonor,
and his disgrace will never be wiped out,
34because jealousy ignites a husband's anger,
and he will show no mercy when he takes revenge.
35He will not accept any amount as a payment.
He will not relent, even if you increase your offer.
Tenth Address to a Son:
Wisdom Protects You
From Adultery and Death
71My son, guard what I say.
Keep my commands with you.
2Obey my commands so that you may live.
Protect my teachings like the pupil of your eye.
3Tie them to your fingers.
Write them on the tablet of your heart.
4Say to Wisdom, “You are my sister,”
5She will keep you safe from an immoral woman,
from an unfaithful woman and her seductive words.
Lady Wisdom's Warning
6At a window of my house, I looked out through the lattice.
Among the young men I noticed a youth without sense.
8He was crossing the street near her corner,
strolling along the road to her house,
9in the twilight, in the evening of the day,
10Suddenly a woman meets him.
She is dressed like a prostitute with a scheming heart!
11She is loud and rebellious.
Her feet will not stay home.
12One moment she is in the street.
The next moment she is in the public square.
She is on the prowl near every corner.
13She grabs him and kisses him.
With a brazen face she says,
14“I have food from fellowship offerings.
Today I fulfilled my vows.
15That is why I came out to meet you.
I came eagerly to seek you,
and now I have found you!
16I have covered my couch with a bedspread,
with colored cloth made of Egyptian yarn.
17I have perfumed my bed
with myrrh, aloes, and cinnamon.
Let's enjoy making love.
19Look, my husband isn't home.
He has gone on a long trip.
20He took a bag of silver with him.
He will not come home till the next full moon.”
21She deceives him with enticing words.
With smooth lips she seduces him.
22He follows right after her,
like a steer going to slaughter,
23until an arrow pierces its liver,
like a bird darting into a trap.
He does not realize this will cost him his life.
24Now, you sons, listen to me.
Pay attention to the words from my mouth.
25Do not let your heart turn in her direction.
Do not wander on her pathways,
26because she has brought down many victims.
Those she has killed are countless.
It goes down to the chambers of death.
Wisdom's Invitation
81Do you hear Wisdom calling out?
Do you hear Understanding raising her voice?
2On the hills above the roads,
she takes her stand at the crossroads.
3Beside the gates leading into the city,
at the entrance to the doorways, she cries out:
4I call to you men,
and I raise my voice to the people.
You fools, take this to heart.
6Listen, because I am speaking noble thoughts.
I open my lips to speak upright things,
7for my mouth declares truth,
8All the words from my mouth are righteous.
There is nothing twisted or crooked in them.
9All of them are clear to those who have understanding,
and they are upright to those who find knowledge.
10Accept my discipline instead of silver.
Accept knowledge rather than fine gold,
and anything you may desire cannot equal her.
Wisdom's Benefit
I discover knowledge and foresight.
13The fear of the Lord is to hate evil.
I hate haughtiness, arrogance, an evil way, and a perverse mouth.
14Good advice and sound judgment are mine.
I, Understanding, have strength.
15By me kings reign,
and rulers administer justice.
16By me officials govern,
as well as nobles and all just judges.
17I certainly love those who love me,
and those who eagerly look for me find me.
18Riches and honor are with me,
as well as enduring wealth and righteousness.
19My fruit is better than gold, better than pure gold,
and what I produce is better than fine silver.
20I walk on the path of righteousness,
down the middle of the pathways of justice,
21so I can provide a rich inheritance to those who love me,
and I can fill their treasuries.
Wisdom Is the Craftsman of Creation
before his works of long ago.
23From eternity I was appointed,
from the beginning, from before the origin of the earth.
when there were no springs filled with water.
25Before the mountains were settled in place,
before the hills, I was brought forth,
26when he had not yet made land or fields
or the first dust of the world.
27When he established the heavens, I was there.
When he drew the horizon around the surface of the deep,
28when he placed the clouds in the sky above,
when the fountains of the deep gushed out,
29when he established his decree for the sea,
so that the waters could not go beyond the limit set by his command,
when he marked out the foundations of the earth,
30I was beside him as a master craftsman.
I was his joy day after day.
I rejoiced in his presence at all times.
31I rejoiced in his inhabited world.
Wisdom Is the Giver of Life
32So now, you children, listen to me,
because those who keep my ways are blessed.
33Listen to discipline and become wise.
Do not neglect it.
34How blessed is the person who listens to me,
so that he can watch at my doors day after day,
so that he can stand guard beside my front door,
35because whoever finds me finds life,
and he obtains favor from the Lord,
36but whoever sins against me harms himself.
All who hate me love death.
Lady Wisdom's Banquet
91Wisdom has built her house.
She has carved out her seven pillars.
2She has prepared her meat.
She has mixed her wine.
She has already set her table.
3She has sent out her servant girls.
She calls from the highest point in the city,
To someone who lacks sense she says,
5“Come, eat my food,
and drink the wine that I have mixed.
6Abandon your naïve ways and live.
Travel the road to understanding.”
Lady Wisdom's Proverbs
7Whoever corrects a mocker invites insults,
and whoever warns a wicked person invites abuse.
8Do not warn a mocker, or he will hate you.
Warn a wise person, and he will love you.
9Give advice to a wise person, and he will become even wiser.
Teach a righteous person, and he will add to his learning.
and the knowledge of the Holy One is understanding,
11because through me your days will be multiplied,
and years will be added to your life.
12If you are wise, you are wise to your own advantage.
But if you scoff, you alone will bear the consequences.
Lady Folly's Banquet
13The woman Folly is boisterous.
She is deluded. She knows nothing.
14She sits at the doorway of her house,
on a throne on the heights of the city,
15in order to call to those who pass by on the street,
those who are simply going along on their way,
16“Whoever is gullible, let him turn in here.”
To someone who lacks sense she says,
17“Stolen waters are sweet,
and food eaten in secret is delicious.”
18But he does not know that the souls of the dead are there,
The Collected Proverbs of Solomon
(Chapters 10–22)
Footnotes
- 1:2 Or axioms
- 1:2 Or discernment
- 1:4 Or prudence
- 1:6 Or enigmas
- 1:7 Or prerequisite for or most important part of
- 1:22 Or naïve
- 1:32 Or apostasy
- 2:2 Or so you can pay attention
- 2:8 Or those who are merciful or those who have received his mercy
- 2:16 Literally from the strange woman, that is, one who is married to another man
- 2:16 Literally from the foreign woman, that is, one who is married to another man
- 2:18 The line is difficult and the translation is uncertain.
- 3:2 The Hebrew word shalom here contains both meanings.
- 3:4 Literally good understanding
- 3:8 Literally navel
- 3:12 Or disciplines
- 3:13 Or Wisdom. An issue throughout Proverbs 1–9 is when wisdom should be capitalized as the personal name of Lady Wisdom and when it is the common noun. Most translations do not capitalize wisdom in verses like verse 13 because of the parallelism with understanding. This decision also determines whether the English pronouns should be she or it. In Hebrew the noun for wisdom is feminine, so the pronouns in Hebrew are always feminine.
- 3:15 The meaning of this word is uncertain. It may refer to a specific gemstone, such as rubies or red coral.
- 3:32 Or is disgusting or is repulsive
- 3:32 Or intimate counsel guides
- 4:11 Or on the right track
- 4:22 Literally all of his flesh
- 4:25 Literally your eyelids
- 5:3 Literally her palate is
- 5:4 Wormwood is a toxic, bitter-tasting drink (absinthe).
- 5:5 Or the grave. The Hebrew word is sheol.
- 5:6 Or she does not make the paths of life level
- 5:14 Or almost
- 6:6 Or you loafer or you lazybones
- 7:4 Or close friend
- 7:7 Or naïve
- 7:9 Literally in the pupil of the night and darkness
- 7:18 The Hebrew word refers to physical expressions of love.
- 7:22 The ancient versions support the translation. The Hebrew text reads like an anklet to the discipline of a fool. Reading the word for fool as the very similar word for deer leads to the translation above. The context seems to require the trapping of an animal.
- 7:27 Or on the highway to hell. The Hebrew word is sheol.
- 8:5 Or prudence
- 8:7 Or repulsive or an abomination
- 8:11 Perhaps rubies or red coral
- 8:12 Or prudence
- 8:22 Or created
- 8:24 Or was born. Also in verse 25.
- 8:31 Or human race
- 9:4 Or inexperienced or gullible
- 9:10 Or prerequisite or most important part
- 9:18 Or the grave