Proverbs 3
1 My son,
forget not my laws; but let thine heart keep my words:
2 for length of existence, and years
of life, and peace, shall they add to thee.
3 Let not mercy and truth forsake
thee; but bind them about thy neck:
4 so shalt thou find favour:
aAlex. + 'and write them on the table of thine heart.'and do thou
bSee Rom. 12. 17.provide things honest in the sight of the Lord, and of men.
5 Trust in God with all thine heart;
and be not exalted in thine own wisdom.
6 In all thy ways acquaint thyself
with her, that she may rightly
cGr. divide. See 2 Tim 2. 13.direct thy paths. 7 Be not wise in
thine own conceit; but fear God, and depart from all evil.
8 Then shall there be health to thy
body, and good keeping to thy bones.
9 Honour the Lord with thy just
labours, and give him the first of thy fruits of righteousness:
10 that thy storehouses may be
completely filled with corn, and that thy presses may burst forth with wine.
11 dHeb. 12. 5,6.My son, despise not the chastening of the Lord; nor
faint when thou art rebuked of him:
12 for whom the Lord loves, he
rebukes, and scourges every son whom he receives.
13 Blessed is the man who has found
wisdom, and the mortal who knows prudence.
14 For it is better to traffic for
her, than for treasures of gold and silver.
15 And she is more valuable than
precious stones: no evil thing shall resist her: she is well known to all that
approach her, and no precious thing is equal to her in value.
16 For length of existence and years
of life are in her right hand; and in her left hand are wealth and glory:
16a out of her mouth proceeds
righteousness, and she carries law and mercy upon her tongue.
17 Her ways are good ways, and all
her paths are peaceful. 18 She is a
tree of life to all that lay hold upon her; and she is
a secure help to all that
stay themselves on her, as on the Lord.
19 God by wisdom founded the earth,
and by prudence he prepared the heavens.
20 By understanding were the depths
broken up, and the clouds dropped water.
21 My son,
let them not
eSee Heb. 2. 1.pass from thee, but keep my counsel and
understanding: 22 that thy soul may
live, and that there may be grace round thy neck;
22a and it shall be health to thy
flesh, and safety to thy bones:
23 that thou mayest go confidently in
peace in all thy ways, and that thy foot may not stumble.
24 For if thou
fGr. sit down.rest, thou shalt be undismayed; and if thou sleep, thou shalt slumber
sweetly. 25 And thou shalt not be
afraid of alarm coming upon thee, neither of approaching attacks of ungodly
men. 26 For the Lord shall be over
all thy ways, and shall establish thy foot that thou be not moved.
27 Forbear not to do good to the
poor, whensoever thy hand may have power to help
him. 28 Say
not, Come back another time, to-morrow I will give; while thou art able to do
him good: for thou knowest not what the next day will
bring forth. 29 Devise not evil
against thy friend, living near thee and trusting in thee.
30 Be not ready to quarrel with a man
without a cause, lest he do thee some harm.
31 Procure not the reproaches of bad
men, neither do thou covet their ways.
32 For every transgressor is unclean
before the Lord; neither does he sit among the righteous.
33 The curse of God is in the houses
of the ungodly; but the habitations of the just are blessed.
34 gSee 1 Pet. 5. 5.The Lord resists the proud; but he gives grace to the humble.
35 The wise shall inherit glory; but
the ungodly have exalted their own dishonour.