Bible in 90 Days

135 Halleluyah!

⁽¹⁾ Give praise to the name of Adonai!
Servants of Adonai, give praise!
² You who stand in the house of Adonai,
in the courtyards of the house of our God,
³ praise Yah, for Adonai is good;
sing to his name, because it is pleasant.

⁴ For Yah chose Ya‘akov for himself,
Isra’el as his own unique treasure.
⁵ I know that Adonai is great,
that our Lord is above all gods.
⁶ Adonai does whatever pleases him,
in heaven, on earth, in the seas, in all the depths.
⁷ He raises clouds from the ends of the earth,
he makes the lightning flash in the rain
and brings the wind out from his storehouses.

⁸ He struck down Egypt’s firstborn,
humans and animals alike.
⁹ He sent signs and wonders among you, Egypt,
against Pharaoh and all his subjects.
¹⁰ He struck many nations,
and slaughtered mighty kings —
¹¹ Sichon king of the Emori,
‘Og king of Bashan,
and all the kingdoms of Kena‘an.
¹² Then he gave their land as a heritage,
to be possessed by Isra’el his people.

¹³ Adonai, your name continues forever,
your renown, Adonai, through all generations.
¹⁴ For Adonai will vindicate his people,
he will take pity on his servants.

¹⁵ The idols of the nations are mere silver and gold,
made by human hands.
¹⁶ They have mouths, but they can’t speak;
they have eyes, but they can’t see;
¹⁷ they have ears, but they can’t listen;
and they have no breath in their mouths;
¹⁸ The people who make them will become like them,
along with everyone who trusts in them.

¹⁹ House of Isra’el, bless Adonai!
House of Aharon, bless Adonai!
²⁰ House of Levi, bless Adonai!
You who fear Adonai, bless Adonai!
²¹ Blessed be Adonai out of Tziyon,
he who dwells in Yerushalayim!

Halleluyah!

136 Give thanks to Adonai, for he is good,
for his grace continues forever.
² Give thanks to the God of gods,
for his grace continues forever.
³ Give thanks to the Lord of lords,
for his grace continues forever;

⁴ to him who alone has done great wonders,
for his grace continues forever;
⁵ to him who skillfully made the heavens,
for his grace continues forever;
⁶ to him who spread out the earth on the water,
for his grace continues forever;
⁷ to him who made the great lights,
for his grace continues forever;
⁸ the sun to rule the day,
for his grace continues forever;
⁹ the moon and stars to rule the night,
for his grace continues forever;

¹⁰ to him who struck down Egypt’s firstborn,
for his grace continues forever;
¹¹ and brought Isra’el out from among them,
for his grace continues forever;
¹² with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm,
for his grace continues forever;

¹³ to him who split apart the Sea of Suf,
for his grace continues forever;
¹⁴ and made Isra’el cross right through it,
for his grace continues forever;
¹⁵ but swept Pharaoh and his army into the Sea of Suf,
for his grace continues forever;

¹⁶ to him who led his people through the desert,
for his grace continues forever;
¹⁷ to him who struck down great kings,
for his grace continues forever;
¹⁸ yes, he slaughtered powerful kings,
for his grace continues forever;
¹⁹ Sichon king of the Emori,
for his grace continues forever;
²⁰ and ‘Og king of Bashan,
for his grace continues forever;

²¹ then he gave their land as a heritage,
for his grace continues forever;
²² to be possessed by Isra’el his servant,
for his grace continues forever;

²³ who remembers us whenever we are brought low,
for his grace continues forever;
²⁴ and rescues us from our enemies,
for his grace continues forever;

²⁵ who provides food for every living creature,
for his grace continues forever.

²⁶ Give thanks to the God of heaven,
for his grace continues forever.
137 By the rivers of Bavel we sat down and wept
as we remembered Tziyon.
² We had hung up our lyres
on the willows that were there,
³ when those who had taken us captive
asked us to sing them a song;
our tormentors demanded joy from us —
“Sing us one of the songs from Tziyon!”

⁴ How can we sing a song about Adonai
here on foreign soil?
⁵ If I forget you, Yerushalayim,
may my right hand wither away!
⁶ May my tongue stick to the roof of my mouth
if I fail to remember you,
if I fail to count Yerushalayim
the greatest of all my joys.

⁷ Remember, Adonai, against the people of Edom
the day of Yerushalayim’s fall,
how they cried, “Tear it down! Tear it down!
Raze it to the ground!”

⁸ Daughter of Bavel, you will be destroyed!
A blessing on anyone who pays you back
for the way you treated us!
⁹ A blessing on anyone who seizes your babies
and smashes them against a rock!

138 ⁽⁰⁾ By David:

⁽¹⁾ I give you thanks with all my heart.
Not to idols, but to you I sing praise.
² I bow down toward your holy temple
and give thanks to your name for your grace and truth;
    for you have made your word [even] greater
    than the whole of your reputation.
³ When I called, you answered me,
you made me bold and strong.

⁴ All the kings of the earth will thank you, Adonai,
when they hear the words you have spoken.
⁵ They will sing about Adonai’s ways,
“Great is the glory of Adonai!”
⁶ For though Adonai is high, he cares for the lowly;
while the proud he perceives from afar.

⁷ You keep me alive when surrounded by danger;
you put out your hand when my enemies rage;
with your right hand you save me.
⁸ Adonai will fulfill his purpose for me.
Your grace, Adonai, continues forever.
Don’t abandon the work of your hands!

139 ⁽⁰⁾ For the leader. A psalm of David:

⁽¹⁾ Adonai, you have probed me, and you know me.
² You know when I sit and when I stand up,
you discern my inclinations from afar,
³ you scrutinize my daily activities.
You are so familiar with all my ways
⁴ that before I speak even a word, Adonai,
you know all about it already.
⁵ You have hemmed me in both behind and in front
and laid your hand on me.
⁶ Such wonderful knowledge is beyond me,
far too high for me to reach.

⁷ Where can I go to escape your Spirit?
Where can I flee from your presence?
⁸ If I climb up to heaven, you are there;
if I lie down in Sh’ol, you are there.
⁹ If I fly away with the wings of the dawn
and land beyond the sea,
¹⁰ even there your hand would lead me,
your right hand would hold me fast.
¹¹ If I say, “Let darkness surround me,
let the light around me be night,”
¹² even darkness like this
is not too dark for you;
rather, night is as clear as day,
darkness and light are the same.

¹³ For you fashioned my inmost being,
you knit me together in my mother’s womb.
¹⁴ I thank you because I am awesomely made,
wonderfully; your works are wonders —
I know this very well.
¹⁵ My bones were not hidden from you
when I was being made in secret,
intricately woven in the depths of the earth.
¹⁶ Your eyes could see me as an embryo,
but in your book all my days were already written;
my days had been shaped
before any of them existed.
¹⁷ God, how I prize your thoughts!
How many of them there are!
¹⁸ If I count them, there are more than grains of sand;
if I finish the count, I am still with you.

¹⁹ God, if only you would kill off the wicked!
Men of blood, get away from me!
²⁰ They invoke your name for their crafty schemes;
yes, your enemies misuse it.
²¹ Adonai, how I hate those who hate you!
I feel such disgust with those who defy you!
²² I hate them with unlimited hatred!
They have become my enemies too.

²³ Examine me, God, and know my heart;
test me, and know my thoughts.
²⁴ See if there is in me any hurtful way,
and lead me along the eternal way.

140 ⁽⁰⁾ For the leader. A psalm of David:

^2 (1) Rescue me, Adonai, from evil people,
protect me from violent people.
^3 (2) They plan evil things in their hearts —
they continually stir up bitter strife.
^4 (3) They have made their tongues as sharp as a snake’s;
viper’s venom is under their lips. (Selah)

^5 (4) Keep me, Adonai, from the hands of the wicked,
protect me from violent people
who are trying to trip me up.
^6 (5) The arrogant hide snares for me;
they spread nets by the side of the road,
hoping to trap me there. (Selah)

^7 (6) I said to Adonai, “You are my God;
listen, Adonai, to my plea for mercy.”
^8 (7) Adonai, Adonai, my saving strength,
my helmet shielding my head in battle,
^9 (8) Adonai, don’t grant the wicked their wishes;
make their plot fail, so they won’t grow proud. (Selah)
^10 (9) May the heads of those who surround me
be engulfed in the evil they spoke of, themselves.
^11 (10) May burning coals rain down on them,
may they be flung into the fire,
flung into deep pits,
never to rise again.
^12 (11) Let slanderers find no place in the land;
let the violent and evil be hunted relentlessly.

^13 (12) I know that Adonai gives justice to the poor
and maintains the rights of the needy.
^14 (13) The righteous will surely give thanks to your name;
the upright will live in your presence.

141 ⁽⁰⁾ A psalm of David:

⁽¹⁾ Adonai, I have called you; come to me quickly!
Listen to my plea when I call to you.
² Let my prayer be like incense set before you,
my uplifted hands like an evening sacrifice.

³ Set a guard, Adonai, over my mouth;
keep watch at the door of my lips.
⁴ Don’t let my heart turn to anything evil
or allow me to act wickedly
with men who are evildoers;
keep me from eating their delicacies.

⁵ Let the righteous strike me, let him correct me;
it will be an act of love.
Let my head not refuse such choice oil,
for I will keep on praying about their wickedness.
⁶ When their rulers are thrown down from the cliff,
[the wicked] will hear that my words were fitting.
⁷ As when one plows and breaks the ground into clods,
our bones are strewn at the mouth of Sh’ol.

⁸ For my eyes, Adonai, Adonai, are on you;
in you I take refuge; don’t pour out my life.
⁹ Keep me from the trap they have set for me,
from the snares of evildoers.
¹⁰ Let the wicked fall into their own nets,
while I pass by in safety.

142 ⁽⁰⁾ A maskil of David, when he was in the cave. A prayer:

^2 (1) With my voice I cry to Adonai,
with my voice I plead to Adonai for mercy.
^3 (2) Before him I pour out my complaint,
before him I tell my trouble.
^4 (3) When my spirit faints within me,
you watch over my path.
By the road that I am walking
they have hidden a snare for me.
^5 (4) Look to my right, and see
that no one recognizes me.
I have no way of escape;
nobody cares for me.

^6 (5) I cried out to you, Adonai;
I said, “You are my refuge,
my portion in the land of the living.”
^7 (6) Listen to my cry,
for I have been brought very low.

Rescue me from my persecutors,
for they are too strong for me.
^8 (7) Lead me out of prison,
so that I can give thanks to your name;
in me the righteous will be crowning themselves,
because you will have treated me generously.

143 ⁽⁰⁾ A psalm of David:

⁽¹⁾ Adonai, hear my prayer;
listen to my pleas for mercy.
In your faithfulness, answer me,
and in your righteousness.
² Don’t bring your servant to trial,
since in your sight no one alive
would be considered righteous.

³ For an enemy is pursuing me;
he has crushed my life into the ground
and left me to live in darkness,
like those who have been long dead.
⁴ My spirit faints within me;
my heart is appalled within me.

⁵ I remember the days of old,
reflecting on all your deeds,
thinking about the work of your hands.
⁶ I spread out my hands to you,
I long for you like a thirsty land. (Selah)

⁷ Answer me quickly, Adonai,
because my spirit is fainting.
Don’t hide your face from me,
or I’ll be like those who drop down into a pit.
⁸ Make me hear of your love in the morning,
because I rely on you.
Make me know the way I should walk,
because I entrust myself to you.
⁹ Adonai, rescue me from my enemies;
I have hidden myself with you.
¹⁰ Teach me to do your will,
because you are my God;
Let your good Spirit guide me
on ground that is level.
¹¹ For your name’s sake, Adonai, preserve my life;
in your righteousness, bring me out of distress.
¹² In your grace, cut off my enemies;
destroy all those harassing me;
because I am your servant.

144 ⁽⁰⁾ By David:

⁽¹⁾ Blessed be Adonai, my rock,
who trains my hands for war
and my fingers for battle.
² He shows me grace; and he is my fortress,
my stronghold, in whom I find shelter,
my shield, in whom I take refuge,
who subdues my people under me.

³ Adonai, what are mere mortals,
that you notice them at all;
humans, that you think about them?
⁴ Man is like a puff of wind,
his days like a fleeting shadow.

⁵ Adonai, lower the heavens, and come down;
touch the mountains, make them pour out smoke.
⁶ Shoot out lightning, and scatter them;
send out your arrows, and rout them.
⁷ Reach out your hands from on high;
rescue me; save me out of deep water,
out of the power of strangers,
⁸ whose mouths speak worthless words
and whose right hands swear false oaths.

⁹ God, I will sing a new song to you;
sing praises to you with a ten-stringed harp.
¹⁰ You give kings their victories;
you save your servant David from the cruel sword.
¹¹ Rescue me, save me from the power of strangers,
whose mouths speak worthless words
and whose right hands swear false oaths.

¹² Our sons in their youth will be
like full-grown saplings,
our daughters will be like sculptured pillars
fit for the corner of a palace.
¹³ Our barns are full with crops of every kind;
the sheep in our fields number thousands, tens of thousands.
¹⁴ our oxen are well-fed,
our city walls have no breach,
our people are not taken captive,
and there are no cries of protest in our cities’ open places.
¹⁵ How happy the people who live in such conditions!
How happy the people whose God is Adonai!

145 ⁽⁰⁾ Praise. By David:

⁽¹⁾ I will praise you to the heights, my God, the king;
I will bless your name forever and ever.
² Every day I will bless you;
I will praise your name forever and ever.
³ Great is Adonai and greatly to be praised;
his greatness is beyond all searching out.
⁴ Each generation will praise your works to the next
and proclaim your mighty acts.
⁵ I will meditate on the glorious splendor
of your majesty and on the story of your wonders.
⁶ People will speak of your awesome power,
and I will tell of your great deeds.
⁷ They will gush forth the fame of your abounding goodness,
and they will sing of your righteousness.
⁸ Adonai is merciful and compassionate,
slow to anger and great in grace.
⁹ Adonai is good to all;
his compassion rests on all his creatures.
¹⁰ All your creatures will thank you, Adonai,
and your faithful servants will bless you.
¹¹ They will speak of the glory of your kingship,
and they will tell about your might;
¹² to let everyone know of your mighty acts
and the glorious majesty of your kingship.
¹³ Your kingship is an everlasting kingship,
your reign continues through all generations.
¹⁴ Adonai supports all who fall
and lifts up all who are bent over.
¹⁵ The eyes of all are looking to you;
you give them their food at the right time.
¹⁶ You open your hand
and satisfy the desire of every living thing.
¹⁷ Adonai is righteous in all his ways,
full of grace in all he does.
¹⁸ Adonai is close to all who call on him,
to all who sincerely call on him.
¹⁹ He fulfills the desire of those who fear him;
he hears their cry and saves them.
²⁰ Adonai protects all who love him,
but all the wicked he destroys.
²¹ My mouth will proclaim the praise of Adonai;
all people will bless his holy name forever and ever.

146 Halleluyah!

Praise Adonai, my soul!
² I will praise Adonai as long as I live.
I will sing praise to my God all my life.

³ Don’t put your trust in princes
or in mortals, who cannot help.
⁴ When they breathe their last, they return to dust;
on that very day all their plans are gone.

⁵ Happy is he whose help is Ya‘akov’s God,
whose hope is in Adonai his God.
⁶ He made heaven and earth,
the sea and everything in them;
he keeps faith forever.

⁷ He secures justice for the oppressed,
he gives food to the hungry.
Adonai sets prisoners free,
⁸ Adonai opens the eyes of the blind,
Adonai lifts up those who are bent over.
Adonai loves the righteous.
⁹ Adonai watches over strangers,
he sustains the fatherless and widows;
but the way of the wicked he twists.

¹⁰ Adonai will reign forever,
your God, Tziyon, through all generations.

Halleluyah!
147 Halleluyah!

How good it is to sing praises to our God!
How sweet, how fitting to praise him!
² Adonai is rebuilding Yerushalayim,
gathering the dispersed of Isra’el.
³ He heals the brokenhearted
and binds up their wounds.
⁴ He determines how many stars there are
and calls them all by name.

⁵ Our Lord is great, his power is vast,
his wisdom beyond all telling.
⁶ Adonai sustains the humble
but brings the wicked down to the ground.

⁷ Sing to Adonai with thanks,
sing praises on the lyre to our God.
⁸ He veils the sky with clouds;
he provides the earth with rain;
he makes grass grow on the hills;
⁹ he gives food to the animals,
even to the young ravens when they cry.

¹⁰ He takes no delight in the strength of a horse,
no pleasure in a runner’s speed.
¹¹ Adonai takes pleasure in those who fear him,
in those who wait for his grace.

¹² Glorify Adonai, Yerushalayim!
Praise your God, Tziyon!
¹³ For he strengthens the bars of your gates,
he blesses your children within you,
¹⁴ he brings peace within your borders,
he gives you your fill of the finest wheat.

¹⁵ He sends his word out over the earth,
his command runs swiftly.
¹⁶ Thus he gives snow like wool,
scatters hoarfrost like ashes,
¹⁷ sends crystals of ice like crumbs of bread —
who can withstand such cold?
¹⁸ Then he sends his word out and melts them;
he makes the winds blow, and the water flows.

¹⁹ He reveals his words to Ya‘akov,
his laws and rulings to Isra’el.
²⁰ He has not done this for other nations;
they do not know his rulings.

Halleluyah!

148 Halleluyah!

Praise Adonai from the heavens!
Praise him in the heights!
² Praise him, all his angels!
Praise him, all his armies!

³ Praise him, sun and moon!
Praise him, all shining stars!
⁴ Praise him, highest heaven,
and waters above the heavens!

⁵ Let them praise the name of Adonai;
for he commanded, and they were created.
⁶ He established them forever and ever;
he has given a law to which they must conform.

⁷ Praise Adonai from the earth,
sea monsters and watery depths,
⁸ fire and hail, snow and mist,
storm-winds that obey his word,
⁹ mountains and every hill,
fruit trees and all cedars,
¹⁰ wild animals and all livestock,
creeping reptiles, flying birds,
¹¹ kings of the earth and all peoples,
princes and all rulers on earth,
¹² young men and women alike,
old men and children.

¹³ Let them praise the name of Adonai,
for his name alone is exalted;
his glory is above both earth and heaven.

¹⁴ He has increased the power of his people,
granted praise to all his faithful,
to the descendants of Isra’el,
a people close to him.

Halleluyah!
149 Halleluyah!

Sing to Adonai a new song,
his praise in the assembly of the faithful.
² Let Isra’el rejoice in their maker,
let Tziyon’s children take joy in their king.
³ Let them praise his name with dancing,
make melody to him with tambourine and lyre;
⁴ for Adonai takes delight in his people,
he crowns the humble with salvation.
⁵ Let the faithful exult gloriously,
let them sing for joy on their beds.

⁶ Let the high praises of God be in their throats,
but a two-edged sword in their hands
⁷ to carry out vengeance on the nations
and punishment on the peoples,
⁸ to bind their kings with chains
and put their nobles in irons,
⁹ to execute the judgments decreed for them;
for this will glorify all his faithful.

Halleluyah!

150 Halleluyah!

Praise God in his holy place!
Praise him in the heavenly dome of his power!
² Praise him for his mighty deeds!
Praise him for his surpassing greatness!

³ Praise him with a blast on the shofar!
Praise him with lute and lyre!
⁴ Praise him with tambourines and dancing!
Praise him with flutes and strings!
⁵ Praise him with clanging cymbals!
Praise him with loud crashing cymbals!
⁶ Let everything that has breath praise Adonai!

Halleluyah!

⁷ The fear of Adonai is the beginning of knowledge,
but fools despise wisdom and discipline.

⁸ My son, heed the discipline of your father,
and do not abandon the teaching of your mother;
⁹ they will be a garland to grace your head,
a medal of honor for your neck.

¹⁰ My son, if sinners entice you,
don’t go along with them.
¹¹ Suppose they say, “Come with us:
we’ll ambush somebody and kill him,
we’ll waylay some harmless soul, just for fun;
¹² we’ll swallow him alive, like Sh’ol,
whole, like those who descend to the pit;
¹³ we’ll find everything he has of value,
we’ll fill our homes with loot!
¹⁴ Throw in your lot with us;
we’ll share a common purse” —
¹⁵ my son, don’t go along with them,
don’t set foot on their path;
¹⁶ Their feet run to evil,
they rush to shed blood.
¹⁷ For in vain is the net baited
if any bird can see it;
¹⁸ rather, they are ambushing themselves
to shed their own blood, waylaying themselves.
¹⁹ So are the ways of all greedy for gain —
it takes the lives of those who get it.

²⁰ Wisdom calls aloud in the open air
and raises her voice in the public places;
²¹ she calls out at streetcorners
and speaks out at entrances to city gates:
²² “How long, you whose lives have no purpose,
will you love thoughtless living?
How long will scorners find pleasure in mocking?
How long will fools hate knowledge?
²³ Repent when I reprove —
I will pour out my spirit to you,
I will make my words known to you.
²⁴ Because you refused when I called,
and no one paid attention when I put out my hand,
²⁵ but instead you neglected my counsel
and would not accept my reproof;
²⁶ I, in turn, will laugh at your distress,
and mock when terror comes over you —
²⁷ yes, when terror overtakes you like a storm
and your disaster approaches like a whirlwind,
when distress and trouble assail you.
²⁸ Then they will call me, but I won’t answer;
they will seek me earnestly, but they won’t find me.
²⁹ Because they hated knowledge
and did not choose the fear of Adonai,
³⁰ they refused my counsel
and despised my reproof.
³¹ So they will bear the consequences of their own way
and be overfilled with their own schemes.
³² For the aimless wandering of the thoughtless will kill them,
and the smug overconfidence of fools will destroy them;
³³ but those who pay attention to me will live securely,
untroubled by fear of misfortune.”

2 My son, if you will receive my words
and store my commands inside you,
² paying attention to wisdom
inclining your mind toward understanding —
³ yes, if you will call for insight
and raise your voice for discernment,
⁴ if you seek it as you would silver
and search for it as for hidden treasure —
⁵ then you will understand the fear of Adonai
and find knowledge of God.

⁶ For Adonai gives wisdom;
from his mouth comes knowledge and understanding.
⁷ He stores up common sense for the upright,
is a shield to those whose conduct is blameless,
⁸ in order to guard the courses of justice
and preserve the way of those faithful to him.
⁹ Then you will understand righteousness, justice,
fairness and every good path.
¹⁰ For wisdom will enter your heart,
knowledge will be enjoyable for you,
¹¹ discretion will watch over you,
and discernment will guard you.

¹² They will save you from the way of evil
and from those who speak deceitfully,
¹³ who leave the paths of honesty
to walk the ways of darkness,
¹⁴ who delight in doing evil
and take joy in being stubbornly deceitful,
¹⁵ from those whose tracks are twisted
and whose paths are perverse.

¹⁶ They will save you from a woman who is a stranger,
from a loose woman with smooth talk,
¹⁷ who abandons the ruler she had in her youth
and forgets the covenant of her God.
¹⁸ Her house is sinking toward death,
her paths lead to the dead.
¹⁹ None who go to her return;
they never regain the path to life.
²⁰ Thus you will walk on the way of good people
and keep to the paths of the righteous.
²¹ For the upright will live in the land,
the pure-hearted will remain there;
²² but the wicked will be cut off from the land,
the unfaithful rooted out of it.

3 My son, don’t forget my teaching,
keep my commands in your heart;
² for they will add to you many days,
years of life and peace.

³ Do not let grace and truth leave you —
bind them around your neck;
write them on the tablet of your heart.
⁴ Then you will win favor and esteem
in the sight of God and of people.

⁵ Trust in Adonai with all your heart;
do not rely on your own understanding.
⁶ In all your ways acknowledge him;
then he will level your paths.

⁷ Don’t be conceited about your own wisdom;
but fear Adonai, and turn from evil.
⁸ This will bring health to your body
and give strength to your bones.

⁹ Honor Adonai with your wealth
and with the firstfruits of all your income.
¹⁰ Then your granaries will be filled
and your vats overflow with new wine.

¹¹ My son, don’t despise Adonai’s discipline
or resent his reproof;
¹² for Adonai corrects those he loves
like a father who delights in his son.

¹³ Happy the person who finds wisdom,
the person who acquires understanding;
¹⁴ for her profit exceeds that of silver,
gaining her is better than gold,
¹⁵ she is more precious than pearls —
nothing you want can compare with her.
¹⁶ Long life is in her right hand,
riches and honor in her left.
¹⁷ Her ways are pleasant ways,
and all her paths are peace.
¹⁸ She is a tree of life to those who grasp her;
whoever holds fast to her will be made happy.

¹⁹ Adonai by wisdom founded the earth,
by understanding he established the heavens,
²⁰ by his knowledge the deep [springs] burst open
and the dew condenses from the sky.
²¹ My son, don’t let these slip from your sight;
preserve common sense and discretion;
²² they will be life for your being
and grace for your neck.
²³ Then you will walk your way securely,
without hurting your foot.
²⁴ When you lie down, you will not be afraid;
when you lie down, your sleep will be sweet.

²⁵ Don’t be afraid of sudden terror or destruction
caused by the wicked, when it comes;
²⁶ for you can rely on Adonai;
he will keep your foot from being caught in a trap.

²⁷ Don’t withhold good from someone entitled to it
when you have in hand the power to do it.
²⁸ Don’t tell your neighbor, “Go away! Come another time;
I’ll give it to you tomorrow,” when you have it now.
²⁹ Don’t plan harm against your neighbor
who lives beside you trustingly.
³⁰ Don’t quarrel with someone for no reason,
if he has done you no harm.
³¹ Don’t envy a man of violence,
don’t choose any of his ways;
³² for the perverse is an abomination to Adonai,
but he shares his secret counsel with the upright.
³³ Adonai’s curse is in the house of the wicked,
but he blesses the home of the righteous.
³⁴ The scornful he scorns,
but gives grace to the humble.
³⁵ The wise win honor,
but fools win shame.

4 Listen, children, to a father’s instruction;
pay attention, in order to gain insight;
² for I am giving you good advice;
so don’t abandon my teaching.
³ For I too was once a child to my father;
and my mother, too, thought of me as her special darling.
⁴ He too taught me; he said to me,
“Let your heart treasure my words;
keep my commands, and live;
⁵ gain wisdom, gain insight;
don’t forget or turn from the words I am saying.
⁶ Don’t abandon [wisdom]; then she will preserve you;
love her, and she will protect you.
⁷ The beginning of wisdom is: get wisdom!
And along with all your getting, get insight!
⁸ Cherish her, and she will exalt you;
embrace her, and she will bring you honor;
⁹ she will give your head a garland of grace,
bestow on you a crown of glory.”

¹⁰ Listen, my son, receive what I say,
and the years of your life will be many.
¹¹ I’m directing you on the way of wisdom,
guiding you in paths of uprightness;
¹² when you walk, your step won’t be hindered;
and if you run, you won’t stumble.
¹³ Hold fast to discipline, don’t let it go;
guard it, for it is your life.

¹⁴ Don’t follow the path of the wicked
or walk on the way of evildoers.
¹⁵ Avoid it, don’t go on it,
turn away from it, and pass on.
¹⁶ For they can’t sleep if they haven’t done evil,
they are robbed of sleep unless they make someone fall.
¹⁷ For they eat the bread of wickedness
and drink the wine of violence.
¹⁸ But the path of the righteous is like the light of dawn,
shining ever brighter until full daylight.
¹⁹ The way of the wicked is like darkness;
they don’t even know what makes them stumble.

²⁰ My son, pay attention to what I am saying;
incline your ear to my words.
²¹ Don’t let them out of your sight,
keep them deep in your heart;
²² for they are life to those who find them
and health to their whole being.

²³ Above everything else, guard your heart;
for it is the source of life’s consequences.
²⁴ Keep crooked speech out of your mouth,
banish deceit from your lips.
²⁵ Let your eyes look straight ahead,
fix your gaze on what lies in front of you.
²⁶ Level the path for your feet,
let all your ways be properly prepared;
²⁷ then deviate neither right nor left;
and keep your foot far from evil.
5 My son, pay attention to my wisdom;
incline your ear to my understanding;
² so that you will preserve discretion
and your lips keep watch over knowledge.

³ For the lips of a woman who is a stranger drop honey,
her mouth is smoother than oil;
⁴ but in the end she is as bitter as wormwood,
sharp as a double-edged sword.
⁵ Her feet go down to death,
her steps lead straight to Sh’ol;
⁶ she doesn’t walk the level path of life —
her course wanders all over, but she doesn’t know it.
⁷ So now, children, listen to me;
don’t turn away from what I am saying:
⁸ distance your way from her,
stay far from the door of her house;
⁹ so that you won’t give your vigor to others
and your years to someone who is cruel,
¹⁰ so strangers won’t be filled with your strength
and what you worked for go to a foreign house.
¹¹ Then, when your flesh and bones have shrunk,
at the end of your life, you would moan,
¹² “How I hated discipline!
My whole being despised reproof,
¹³ I ignored what my teachers said,
I didn’t listen to my instructors.
¹⁴ I took part in almost every kind of evil,
and the whole community knew it.”

¹⁵ Drink the water from your own cistern,
fresh water from your own well.
¹⁶ Let what your springs produce be dispersed outside,
streams of water flowing in the streets;
¹⁷ but let them be for you alone
and not for strangers with you.
¹⁸ Let your fountain, the wife of your youth,
be blessed; find joy in her —
¹⁹ a lovely deer, a graceful fawn;
let her breasts satisfy you at all times,
always be infatuated with her love.
²⁰ My son, why be infatuated with an unknown woman?
Why embrace the body of a loose woman?
²¹ For Adonai is watching a man’s ways;
he surveys all his paths.
²² A wicked person’s own crimes will trap him,
he will be held fast by the ropes of his sin.
²³ He will die from lack of discipline;
the magnitude of his folly will make him totter and fall.

6 My son, if you have put up security for your friend,
if you committed yourself on behalf of another;
² you have been snared by the words of your mouth,
caught by the words of your own mouth.
³ Do this now, my son, and extricate yourself,
since you put yourself in your friend’s power:
go, humble yourself, and pester your friend;
⁴ give your eyes no sleep,
give your eyelids no rest;
⁵ break free, like a gazelle from the [hunter’s] trap,
like a bird from the grip of the fowler.

⁶ Go to the ant, you lazybones!
Consider its ways, and be wise.
⁷ It has no chief, overseer or ruler;
⁸ yet it provides its food in summer
and gathers its supplies at harvest-time.
⁹ Lazybones! How long will you lie there in bed?
When will you get up from your sleep?
¹⁰ “I’ll just lie here a bit, rest a little longer,
just fold my hands for a little more sleep” —
¹¹ and poverty comes marching in on you,
scarcity hits you like an invading soldier.

¹² A scoundrel, a vicious man,
lives by crooked speech,
¹³ winking his eyes, shuffling his feet,
pointing with his fingers.
¹⁴ With deceit in his heart,
he is always plotting evil and sowing discord.
¹⁵ Therefore disaster suddenly overcomes him;
unexpectedly, he is broken beyond repair.

¹⁶ There are six things Adonai hates,
seven which he detests:
¹⁷ a haughty look, a lying tongue,
hands that shed innocent blood,
¹⁸ a heart that plots wicked schemes,
feet swift in running to do evil,
¹⁹ a false witness who lies with every breath,
and him who sows strife among brothers.

²⁰ My son, obey your father’s command,
and don’t abandon your mother’s teaching.
²¹ Bind them always on your heart,
tie them around your neck.
²² When you walk, they will lead you;
when you lie down, they will watch over you;
and when you wake up, they will talk with you.
²³ For the mitzvah is a lamp, Torah is light,
and reproofs that discipline are the way to life.

²⁴ They keep you from an evil woman,
from a loose woman’s seductive tongue.
²⁵ Don’t let your heart lust after her beauty
or allow her glance to captivate you.
²⁶ The price of a whore is a loaf of bread,
but the adulteress is hunting for a precious life.
²⁷ Can a man carry fire inside his shirt
without burning his clothes?
²⁸ Can a man walk [barefoot] on hot coals
without scorching his feet?
²⁹ So is he who has sex with his neighbor’s wife;
anyone touching her will be punished.
³⁰ A thief is not despised if he steals
only to satisfy his appetite when hungry;
³¹ but even he, if caught, must pay back sevenfold;
he may have to give up all the wealth that he owns.
³² He who commits adultery lacks sense;
he who does it destroys himself.
³³ He will get nothing but blows and contempt,
and his disgrace will not be wiped away.
³⁴ For jealousy drives a man into a rage;
he will show no mercy when he takes revenge;
³⁵ he will not accept compensation;
he’ll refuse every bribe, no matter how large.