Proverbs:1-3

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* The proverbs of Solomon the son of David , king of Israel ; * To know wisdom and instruction ; to perceive the words of understanding ; * To receive the instruction of wisdom , justice , and judgment , and equity ; * To give subtilty to the simple , to the young man knowledge and discretion . * A wise man will hear , and will increase learning ; and a man of understanding shall attain unto wise counsels : * To understand a proverb , and the interpretation ; the words of the wise , and their dark sayings . * The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge : but fools despise wisdom and instruction . * My son , hear the instruction of thy father , and forsake not the law of thy mother : * For they shall be an ornament of grace unto thy head , and chains about thy neck . * My son , if sinners entice thee , consent thou not . * If they say , Come with us , let us lay wait for blood , let us lurk privily for the innocent without cause : * Let us swallow them up alive as the grave ; and whole , as those that go down into the pit : * We shall find all precious substance , we shall fill our houses with spoil : * Cast in thy lot among us ; let us all have one purse : * My son , walk not thou in the way with them ; refrain thy foot from their path : * For their feet run to evil , and make haste to shed blood . * Surely in vain the net is spread in the sight of any bird . * And they lay wait for their own blood ; they lurk privily for their own lives . * So are the ways of every one that is greedy of gain ; which taketh away the life of the owners thereof . * Wisdom crieth without ; she uttereth her voice in the streets : * She crieth in the chief place of concourse , in the openings of the gates : in the city she uttereth her words , saying , * How long , ye simple ones , will ye love simplicity ? and the scorners delight in their scorning , and fools hate knowledge ? * Turn you at my reproof : behold , I will pour out my spirit unto you , I will make known my words unto you . * Because I have called , and ye refused ; I have stretched out my hand , and no man regarded ; * But ye have set at nought all my counsel , and would none of my reproof : * I also will laugh at your calamity ; I will mock when your fear cometh ; * When your fear cometh as desolation , and your destruction cometh as a whirlwind ; when distress and anguish cometh upon you . * Then shall they call upon me , but I will not answer ; they shall seek me early , but they shall not find me : * For that they hated knowledge , and did not choose the fear of the LORD : * They would none of my counsel : they despised all my reproof . * Therefore shall they eat of the fruit of their own way , and be filled with their own devices . * For the turning away of the simple shall slay them , and the prosperity of fools shall destroy them . * But whoso hearkeneth unto me shall dwell safely , and shall be quiet from fear of evil . * My son , if thou wilt receive my words , and hide my commandments with thee ; * So that thou incline thine ear unto wisdom , and apply thine heart to understanding ; * Yea , if thou criest after knowledge , and liftest up thy voice for understanding ; * If thou seekest her as silver , and searchest for her as for hid treasures ; * Then shalt thou understand the fear of the LORD , and find the knowledge of God . * For the LORD giveth wisdom : out of his mouth cometh knowledge and understanding . * He layeth up sound wisdom for the righteous : he is a buckler to them that walk uprightly . * He keepeth the paths of judgment , and preserveth the way of his saints . * Then shalt thou understand righteousness , and judgment , and equity ; yea , every good path . * When wisdom entereth into thine heart , and knowledge is pleasant unto thy soul ; * Discretion shall preserve thee , understanding shall keep thee : * To deliver thee from the way of the evil man , from the man that speaketh froward things ; * Who leave the paths of uprightness , to walk in the ways of darkness ; * Who rejoice to do evil , and delight in the frowardness of the wicked ; * Whose ways are crooked , and they froward in their paths : * To deliver thee from the strange woman , even from the stranger which flattereth with her words ; * Which forsaketh the guide of her youth , and forgetteth the covenant of her God . * For her house inclineth unto death , and her paths unto the dead . * None that go unto her return again , neither take they hold of the paths of life . * That thou mayest walk in the way of good men , and keep the paths of the righteous . * For the upright shall dwell in the land , and the perfect shall remain in it . * But the wicked shall be cut off from the earth , and the transgressors shall be rooted out of it . * My son , forget not my law ; but let thine heart keep my commandments : * For length of days , and long life , and peace , shall they add to thee . * Let not mercy and truth forsake thee : bind them about thy neck ; write them upon the table of thine heart : * So shalt thou find favour and good understanding in the sight of God and man . * Trust in the LORD with all thine heart ; and lean not unto thine own understanding . * In all thy ways acknowledge him , and he shall direct thy paths . * Be not wise in thine own eyes : fear the LORD , and depart from evil . * It shall be health to thy navel , and marrow to thy bones . * Honour the LORD with thy substance , and with the firstfruits of all thine increase : * So shall thy barns be filled with plenty , and thy presses shall burst out with new wine . * My son , despise not the chastening of the LORD ; neither be weary of his correction : * For whom the LORD loveth he correcteth ; even as a father the son in whom he delighteth . * Happy is the man that findeth wisdom , and the man that getteth understanding . * For the merchandise of it is better than the merchandise of silver , and the gain thereof than fine gold . * She is more precious than rubies : and all the things thou canst desire are not to be compared unto her . * Length of days is in her right hand ; and in her left hand riches and honour . * Her ways are ways of pleasantness , and all her paths are peace . * She is a tree of life to them that lay hold upon her : and happy is every one that retaineth her . * The LORD by wisdom hath founded the earth ; by understanding hath he established the heavens . * By his knowledge the depths are broken up , and the clouds drop down the dew . * My son , let not them depart from thine eyes : keep sound wisdom and discretion : * So shall they be life unto thy soul , and grace to thy neck . * Then shalt thou walk in thy way safely , and thy foot shall not stumble . * When thou liest down , thou shalt not be afraid : yea , thou shalt lie down , and thy sleep shall be sweet . * Be not afraid of sudden fear , neither of the desolation of the wicked , when it cometh . * For the LORD shall be thy confidence , and shall keep thy foot from being taken . * Withhold not good from them to whom it is due , when it is in the power of thine hand to do it . * Say not unto thy neighbour , Go , and come again , and to morrow I will give ; when thou hast it by thee . * Devise not evil against thy neighbour , seeing he dwelleth securely by thee . * Strive not with a man without cause , if he have done thee no harm . * Envy thou not the oppressor , and choose none of his ways . * For the froward is abomination to the LORD : but his secret is with the righteous . * The curse of the LORD is in the house of the wicked : but he blesseth the habitation of the just . * Surely he scorneth the scorners : but he giveth grace unto the lowly . * The wise shall inherit glory : but shame shall be the promotion of fools . * Hear , ye children , the instruction of a father , and attend to know understanding .

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