Bible in 90 Days
135 Praise the Name of the LORD, you servants of the LORD! Praise,
2 you who stand in the House of the LORD and in the courts of the House of our God!
3 Praise the LORD; for the LORD is good! Sing praises to His Name; for it is a sweet thing.
4 For the LORD has chosen Jacob for Himself and Israel for His chief treasure.
5 For I know that the LORD is great and that our LORD is above all gods.
6 Whatever pleased the LORD, He did in Heaven and on Earth, in the sea and in all the depths.
7 He brings up the clouds from the ends of the Earth and makes the lightning with the rain. He draws forth the wind out of His treasures.
8 He struck the firstborn of Egypt (of both man and beast).
9 He has sent signs and wonders into the midst of You, O Egypt, upon Pharaoh and upon all his servants.
10 He struck many nations and slew mighty Kings—
11 Sihon, King of the Amorites and Og, King of Bashan, and all the kingdoms of Canaan—
12 and gave their land for an inheritance, an inheritance to Israel, His people.
13 Your Name, O LORD, endures forever! O LORD, Your remembrance is from generation to generation.
14 For the LORD will judge His people and be pacified toward His servants.
15 The idols of the heathen are silver and gold, the work of men’s hands.
16 They have a mouth and do not speak. They have eyes and do not see.
17 They have ears and do not hear, nor is there any breath in their mouth.
18 Those who make them are like them, all who trust in them.
19 Praise the LORD, you House of Israel! Praise the LORD, you House of Aaron!
20 Praise the LORD, you House of Levi! You who fear the LORD, praise the LORD!
21 Praise the LORD out of Zion, Who dwells in Jerusalem! Praise the LORD!
136 Praise the LORD, because He is good; for His mercy endures forever!
2 Praise the God of gods; for His mercy endures forever!
3 Praise the Lord of lords; for His mercy endures forever!
4 Who only does great wonders; for His mercy endures forever.
5 Who, by His wisdom, made the heavens; for His mercy endures forever.
6 Who has stretched out the Earth upon the waters; for His mercy endures forever.
7 Who made great lights; for His mercy endures forever
8 (such as the Sun to rule the day, for His mercy endures forever,
9 the Moon and the stars to govern the night, for His mercy endures forever).
10 Who struck Egypt with their firstborn, for His mercy endures forever,
11 and brought out Israel from among them, for His mercy endures forever,
12 with a mighty hand and outstretched arm; for His mercy endures forever.
13 Who divides the sea into two parts, for His mercy endures forever,
14 and made Israel pass through the midst of it, for His mercy endures forever,
15 and overthrew Pharaoh and his army in the Red Sea; for His mercy endures forever.
16 Who led His people through the wilderness; for His mercy endures forever:
17 Who struck great kings, for His mercy endures forever,
18 and slew mighty kings, for His mercy endures forever
19 (Sihon, king of the Amorites, for His mercy endures forever,
20 Og, the king of Bashan, for His mercy endures forever),
21 and gave their land for a heritage, for His mercy endures forever
22 (a heritage to Israel his servant; for his mercy endures forever).
23 Who remembered us in our low estate, for His mercy endures forever,
24 and has rescued us from our oppressors; for His mercy endures forever.
25 Who gives food to all flesh; for His mercy endures forever.
26 Praise the God of Heaven; for His mercy endures forever!
137 We sat by the rivers of Babel; and there we wept when we remembered Zion.
2 We hung our harps upon the willows, in the midst thereof.
3 Those who led us into captivity required songs and glee from us when we had hung up our harps, saying, “Sing us the songs of Zion!”
4 How shall we sing a song of the LORD in a strange land?
5 If I forget you, O Jerusalem, let my right hand forget,
6 if I do not remember you. Let my tongue cling to the roof of my mouth if I do not prefer Jerusalem to my chief joy.
7 Remember the children of Edom, O LORD, on the day of Jerusalem, who said, “Raze it! Raze it to the foundation thereof!”
8 O Daughter of Babel, worthy to be destroyed. Blessed is he who rewards you as you have served us.
9 Blessed is he who takes and dashes your children against the stones. A Psalm of David
138 I will praise You with my whole heart; before the gods I will praise You.
2 I will worship toward Your Holy Temple, and praise Your Name, because of Your lovingkindness and for Your Truth; for You have magnified Your Name by Your Word above all things.
3 When I called, then You heard me and increased strength in my soul.
4 All the kings of the Earth shall praise You, O LORD; for they have heard the words of Your mouth.
5 And they shall sing of the ways of the LORD, because the Glory of the LORD is great.
6 For the LORD is high, yet He beholds the lowly; but He knows the proud afar off.
7 Though I walk in the midst of trouble, You will revive me. You will stretch forth Your hand upon the wrath of my enemies; and Your right hand shall save me.
8 The LORD will perform toward me. O LORD, Your mercy endures forever! Do not forsake the works of Your hands. To him who excels: A Psalm of David
139 O LORD, You have searched me and known.
2 You know my sitting and my rising. You understand my thoughts afar off.
3 You winnow my paths, and my lying down, and are acquainted with all my ways.
4 For there is not a word on my tongue but that You know it wholly, O LORD.
5 You fortify me behind and before and lay Your hand upon me.
6 Your knowledge is too wonderful for me. It is so high that I cannot attain to it.
7 Where shall I go from Your Spirit; or where shall I flee from Your presence?
8 If I ascend into Heaven, You are there. If I lie down in Hell, You are there.
9 Let me take the wings of the morning and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea.
10 Even there shall Your hand lead me, and Your right hand hold me.
11 If I say, “Surely the darkness shall hide me,” even the night shall be light around me.
12 Indeed, the darkness shall not hide from You, but the night shines as the day. The darkness and light are both alike.
13 For You have possessed my core. You have covered me in my mother’s womb.
14 I will praise You, for I am fearfully and wondrously made. Marvelous are Your works; and my soul knows it well!
15 My bones are not hidden from You; though I was made in secret, fashioned beneath, in the Earth.
16 Your eyes saw me when I was without form; for in Your Book were all things written, days fashioned at a time when there were still none of them.
17 How dear, therefore, are Your thoughts to me, O God! How great is the sum of them!
18 If I should count them, they are more than the sand. When I awake, I am still with You.
19 Oh that You would slay, O God, the wicked and bloody men. Depart from me
20 those who speak wickedly of You! Your enemies are lifted up in vain.
21 Do I not hate those who hate You, O LORD? And do I not earnestly contend with those who rise up against You?
22 I hate them with an unfeigned hatred, as if they were my enemies.
23 Try me, O God, and know my heart. Test me and know my thoughts
24 and consider if there is any way of wickedness in me. And lead me in the Way, forever. To him who excels: A Psalm of David
140 Deliver me, O LORD, from the evil man. Preserve me from the cruel man.
2 Who imagine evil things in their heart and make war continually.
3 They have sharpened their tongues like a serpent. Adders’ poison is under their lips. Selah.
4 Keep me, O LORD, from the hands of the wicked. Preserve me from the cruel man, who intends to cause my steps to slide.
5 The proud have laid a snare for me, and spread a net with cords in my pathway, and set traps for me. Selah.
6 I said to the LORD, “You are my God. Hear, O LORD, the voice of my prayers.
7 “O LORD God, the strength of my salvation, You have covered my head on the day of battle.
8 “Do not let the wicked have his desire, O LORD. Do not perform his wicked thought, lest they be proud. Selah.
9 “The chief of those who surround me, let the mischief of their own lips come upon them.
10 “Let coals fall upon them. Let him cast them into the fire, into the deep pits, so that they do not rise.
11 “The backbiter shall not be established upon the Earth. Evil shall hunt the cruel man to destruction.”
12 I know that the LORD will avenge the afflicted and judge the poor.
13 Surely, the righteous shall praise Your Name; and the just shall dwell in Your presence. A Psalm of David
141 O LORD, I call upon You! Hurry to me! Hear my voice when I cry to You!
2 Let my prayer be directed in Your sight as incense, the lifting up of my hands as an evening sacrifice.
3 Set a watch, O LORD, before my mouth; keep the door of my lips.
4 Do not incline my heart to evil, so that I would commit wicked works with those who work iniquity; and do not let me eat of their delicacies.
5 Let the righteous strike me; for that is a benefit. And let him reprove me; it shall be as a precious oil that shall not break my head. For after a while, I shall even pray in their miseries.
6 When their judges are cast down in stony places, they shall hear my words; for they are sweet.
7 Our bones lie scattered at the grave’s mouth, as he who hews or digs in the earth.
8 But my eyes look to You, O LORD God. In You is my trust. Do not leave my soul destitute.
9 Keep me from the snare which they have laid for me, and from the traps of the workers of iniquity.
10 Let the wicked fall into their own nets, while I escape. A Psalm of David, to give instruction; and a prayer when he was in the cave
142 I cried to the LORD with my voice! With my voice I prayed to the LORD.
2 I poured out my meditation before Him, declared my affection in His presence.
3 Though my spirit was overwhelmed in me, You still knew my path. They have secretly laid a snare for me in the way wherein I walk.
4 I looked on my right hand and beheld, but there was no one who knew me. All refuge failed me. No one cared for my soul.
5 I cried to You, O LORD, and said, “You are my Hope, my portion in the land of the living.
6 “Listen to my cry, for I am brought very low. Deliver me from my persecutors, for they are too strong for me.
7 “Bring my soul out of prison, so that I may praise Your Name. The righteous shall surround me when You are beneficial to me.” A Psalm of David
143 Hear my prayer, O LORD! Listen to my supplication. Answer me in Your truth and in Your righteousness.
2 (And do not enter into judgment with Your servant; for in Your sight shall no one who lives be justified.)
3 For the enemy has persecuted my soul. He has stricken my life down to the Earth. He has laid me in the darkness, as those who have long been dead.
4 And my spirit was desolate in me; my heart within me was amazed.
5 I remember the time past. I meditate on all Your works. I meditate on the works of Your hands.
6 I stretch forth my hands to You. My soul desires You, as a thirsty land. Selah.
7 Hear me speedily, O LORD! My spirit fails. Do not hide Your face from me; or else I shall be like those who go down into the pit.
8 Let me hear Your lovingkindness in the morning; for in You is my trust. Show me the way that I should walk in, for I lift up my soul to You.
9 Deliver me, O LORD, from my enemies. I have hidden myself with You.
10 Teach me to do Your will; for You are my God. Let Your good Spirit lead me to the Land of Righteousness.
11 Quicken me, O LORD, for Your Name’s sake. Bring my soul out of trouble because of Your righteousness,
12 and slay my enemies because of Your mercy and destroy all those who oppress my soul; for I am Your servant. A Psalm of David
144 Blessed be the LORD, my strength; Who teaches my hands to fight and my fingers to battle,
2 my goodness and my fortress, my tower and my deliverer, my shield. I trust in Him Who subdues my people under me.
3 LORD, what is man that You regard him, the son of man that You think upon him?
4 Man is like vanity, his days like a shadow that vanishes.
5 Bow Your heavens, O LORD, and come down. Touch the mountains and they shall smoke.
6 Cast forth the lightning and scatter them. Shoot out Your arrows and consume them.
7 Send Your hand from above. Deliver me, and take me out of the great waters, and from the hand of strangers,
8 whose mouth talks vanity. And their right hand is a right hand of falsehood.
9 I will sing a new song to You, O God—sing to You upon a viol, an instrument of ten strings—
10 Who gives deliverance to kings, rescues David, His servant, from the hurtful sword.
11 Rescue me and deliver me from the hand of strangers, whose mouth talks vanity; and their right hand is a right hand of falsehood,
12 so that our sons may be as the plants (growing up in their youth) and our daughters as the cornerstones (sculpted in the likeness of a palace);
13 so that our corners may be full—abounding with diverse sorts — and that our sheep may bring forth thousands and ten thousand in our streets;
14 so that our oxen may be strong to labor; so that there is no invasion nor going out nor crying in our streets.
15 Blessed are the people who are so. Blessed are the people whose God is the LORD. A Psalm of David, of praise
145 O my God and King, I will extol You, and will bless Your Name forever and ever.
2 I will bless You daily and praise Your Name forever and ever.
3 Great is the LORD, and most worthy to be praised. His greatness is incomprehensible.
4 Generation to generation shall praise Your works and declare Your power.
5 I will meditate on the beauty of Your glorious majesty and Your wonderful works.
6 And they shall speak of the power of Your awesome acts, and I will declare Your greatness.
7 They shall break out into the mention of Your great goodness and shall sing aloud of Your righteousness.
8 The LORD is gracious and full of compassion, slow to anger, and of great mercy.
9 The LORD is good to all, and His mercies are over all His works.
10 All Your works praise You, O LORD, and Your Saints bless You.
11 They show the glory of Your Kingdom, and speak of Your power,
12 to cause His power and the glorious renown of His Kingdom to be known to the sons of men.
13 Your Kingdom is an everlasting Kingdom, and Your dominion endures throughout all ages.
14 The LORD upholds all who fall and lifts up all who are ready to fall.
15 The eyes of all wait upon You, and You give them their food in due season.
16 You open Your hand and fulfill the desire of all living things.
17 The LORD is righteous in all His ways, and Holy in all His works.
18 The LORD is near to all who call upon Him, to all who call upon Him in truth.
19 He will fulfill the desire of those who fear Him; He will also hear their cry and will save them.
20 The LORD preserves all those who love Him; but He will destroy the wicked.
21 My mouth shall speak the praise of the LORD; and all flesh shall bless His Holy Name forever and ever. Praise the LORD.
146 Praise the LORD, O my soul!
2 I will praise the LORD during my life. As long as I have any being, I will sing to my God.
3 Do not put your trust in princes, nor in the son of man, for there is no help in him.
4 His breath departs. He returns to his earth. Then, his thoughts perish.
5 Blessed is he who has the God of Jacob for his help; whose hope is in the LORD his God,
6 Who made Heaven and Earth, the sea, and all that therein is. Who keeps his fidelity forever.
7 Who executes justice for the oppressed, Who gives bread to the hungry. The LORD frees the prisoners.
8 The LORD gives sight to the blind. The LORD raises up the crooked. The LORD loves the righteous.
9 The LORD keeps the strangers. He relieves the fatherless and widow; but He overthrows the way of the wicked.
10 The LORD shall reign forever! O Zion, your God endures from generation to generation. Praise the LORD!
147 Praise the LORD, for it is good to sing to our God; for it is a pleasant thing and praise is comely.
2 The LORD builds up Jerusalem and gathers together the dispersed of Israel.
3 He heals the brokenhearted, and binds up their sores.
4 He counts the number of the stars and calls them all by their names.
5 Great is our LORD, and great is his power. His wisdom is infinite.
6 The LORD relieves the meek and abases the wicked to the ground.
7 Sing to the LORD with praise! Sing upon the harp to our God,
8 Who covers the heavens with clouds and prepares rain for the Earth and makes the grass grow upon the mountains;
9 Who gives food to beasts and to the young ravens that cry.
10 He has no pleasure in the strength of a horse, nor does He delight in the legs of man.
11 The LORD delights in those who fear Him and expectantly await His mercy.
12 Praise the LORD, O Jerusalem! Praise your God, O Zion!
13 For He has made the bars of the gates strong and has blessed your children within you.
14 He sets peace on your borders and satisfies you with the flour of wheat.
15 He sends forth His Commandment upon Earth; and His Word runs very swiftly.
16 He gives snow like wool and scatters the hoary frost like ashes.
17 He casts forth His ice like morsels. Who can abide the cold thereof?
18 He sends His Word and melts them. He causes His wind to blow and the waters to flow.
19 He shows His Word to Jacob, His statutes and His judgments to Israel.
20 He has not dealt so with every nation; nor have they known His judgments. Praise the LORD! Praise the LORD
148 Praise the LORD from the heavens! Praise Him in the high places!
2 Praise Him, all His angels! Praise Him, all His army!
3 Praise Him, Sun and Moon! Praise Him, all bright stars!
4 Praise Him, you heavens of heavens, and waters above the heavens!
5 Let them praise the Name of the LORD; for He commanded, and they were created.
6 And He has established them forever and ever. He has made an ordinance which shall not pass.
7 Praise the LORD from the Earth, you dragons and all depths:
8 fire and hail, snow and vapors, stormy wind — which execute His Word —
9 mountains and all hills, fruitful trees, and all cedars,10 beasts and all cattle, creeping things and feathered birds,
11 kings of the Earth and all people, princes and all judges of the world,
12 young men and maidens, also old men and children.
13 Let them praise the Name of the LORD; for only His Name is to be exalted. His praise is above the Earth and the heavens.
14 For He has exalted the horn of His people — a praise for all His saints, for the children of Israel — a people that is near to Him. Praise the LORD! Praise the LORD.
149 Sing to the LORD a new song! Let His praise be heard in the congregation of saints.
2 Let Israel rejoice in Him Who made him; and let the children of Zion rejoice in their King.
3 Let them praise His Name with the flute. Let them sing praises to Him with the timbrel and harp.
4 For the LORD has pleasure in His people. He will make the meek glorious by deliverance.
5 Let the saints be joyful with glory! Let them sing loud upon their beds.
6 Let the high acts of God be in their mouth, and a two-edged sword in their hands —
7 to execute vengeance upon the heathen and corrections among the people,
8 to bind their kings in chains and their nobles with fetters of iron —
9 so that they may execute upon them the judgment that is written. This honor shall be to all His saints. Praise the LORD! Praise the LORD.
150 Praise God in His Sanctuary! Praise Him in the firmament of His power.
2 Praise Him in His mighty acts! Praise Him according to His excellent greatness.
3 Praise Him in the sound of the trumpet! Praise Him upon the viol and the harp.
4 Praise Him with timbrel and flute! Praise Him with virginals and organs.
5 Praise Him with sounding cymbals! Praise Him with high sounding cymbals.
6 Let everything that has breath praise the LORD! Praise the LORD!
1 The Proverbs of Solomon, the son of David, King of Israel:
2 to know wisdom and instruction; to understand the words of knowledge;
3 to receive instruction; to do wisely by justice and judgment and equity;
4 to give sharpness of wit to the simple, and knowledge and discretion to the child.
5 And a wise man shall hear and increase in learning. And a man of understanding shall attain to wise counsels;
6 to understand a parable and the interpretation, the words of the wise and their dark sayings.
7 The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge. But fools despise wisdom and instruction.
8 My son, hear your father’s instruction, and do not forsake your mother’s teaching.
9 For they shall be a comely ornament for your head, and as chains for your neck.
10 My son, if the wicked entice you, do not consent.
11 If they say, “Come with us. We will lay in wait for blood, and lie secretly for the innocent, without a cause.
12 “We will swallow them up alive like a grave, even whole, as those who go down into the pit.
13 “We shall find all precious riches. And fill our houses with spoil:
14 “Cast in your lot among us. And we will all have one purse.”
15 My son, do not walk in the way with them. Keep your foot from their path.
16 For their feet run to evil and hurry to shed blood.
17 Certainly, as without cause, the net is spread before the eyes of all who have wing.
18 So they lay in wait for blood and lie secretly for their lives.
19 Such are the ways of everyone who is greedy for gain. He would take away the life of the owners thereof.
20 Wisdom cries outside. She utters her voice in the streets.
21 She calls in the high street, among the praise in the enterings of the gates, and utters her words in the city, saying,
22 “O you foolish! How long will you love foolishness, and the scornful take their pleasure in scorning, and the fools hate knowledge?
23 “Turn at my correction! Lo, I will pour out my mind to you, and make you understand my words!
24 “Because I have called, and you refused. I have stretched out my hand, and none would regard.
25 “But you have despised all my counsel. And would have none of my correction.
26 “I will also laugh at your destruction, and mock when your fear comes,
27 “when your fear comes like sudden desolation. And your destruction shall come like a whirlwind when affliction and anguish shall come upon you.
28 “Then shall they call upon me. But I will not answer. They shall seek me early, but they shall not find me.
29 “Because they hated knowledge and did not choose the fear of the LORD.
30 “They would have none of my counsel; but despised all my correction.
31 “Therefore shall they eat of the fruit of their own way; and be filled with their own devices.
32 “For ease slays the foolish, and the prosperity of fools destroys them.
33 But he who obeys me, shall dwell safely, and be quiet from fear of evil.
2 My son, if you will receive my words, and hide my commandments within you,
2 and cause your ears to listen to wisdom, and incline your heart to understanding,
3 (for if you call after knowledge, and cry for understanding;
4 if you seek her as silver and search for her as for treasures,
5 then you shall understand the fear of the LORD and find the knowledge of God.
6 For the LORD gives wisdom. Out of His mouth comes knowledge and understanding.
7 He preserves the state of the righteous. He is a shield to those who walk uprightly,
8 that they may keep the ways of judgment. And He preserves the way of His saints)
9 then you shall understand righteousness and judgment, and equity, and every good path.
10 When wisdom enters into your heart, and knowledge delights your soul,
11 then shall counsel preserve you. And understanding shall keep you,
12 and deliver you from the evil way; and from the man who speaks crooked things;
13 and from those who leave the ways of righteousness to walk in the ways of darkness;
14 who rejoice in doing evil and delight in the perversity of the wicked;
15 whose ways are crooked. And they are lewd in their paths.
16 And it shall deliver you from the strange woman; from the stranger who flatters with her words;
17 who forsakes the guide of her youth and forgets the covenant of her God.
18 Surely her house tends to death, and her paths to the dead.
19 All those who go to her, do not return again. Nor do they take hold of the ways of life.
20 Therefore, walk in the way of the good. And keep the ways of the righteous.
21 For the just shall dwell in the land. And the upright shall remain in it.
22 But the wicked shall be cut off from the Earth. And the transgressor shall be rooted out of it.
3 My son, do not forget my Law. But let your heart keep my commandments.
2 For they shall increase the length of your days and the years of life, and your peace.
3 Let not mercy and truth forsake you. Bind them on your neck and write them upon the tablet of your heart.
4 So shall you find favor and good understanding in the sight of God and man.
5 Trust in the LORD with all your heart. And lean not to your own wisdom.
6 In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your ways.
7 Do not be wise in your own eyes. But fear the LORD and depart from evil.
8 So, health shall be to your core, and marrow to your bones.
9 Honor the LORD with your riches, and with the firstfruits of all your increase.
10 So shall your barns be filled with abundance. And your presses shall burst with new wine.
11 My son, do not refuse the chastening of the LORD, nor be grieved with His correction.
12 For the LORD corrects him whom He loves, even as the father does the child in whom he delights.
13 Blessed is the one who finds wisdom, and the one who gets understanding.
14 For the merchandise thereof is better than the merchandise of silver. And the gain thereof is better than gold.
15 It is more precious than pearls. And all things that you can desire are not to be compared to her.
16 Length of days is in her right hand; and in her right hand, riches and glory.
17 Her ways are ways of pleasure; and all her paths, peace.
18 She is a tree of life to those who lay hold of her. And blessed is he who retains her.
19 The LORD, by wisdom, has laid the foundation of the Earth, and has established the heavens through understanding.
20 By His knowledge the depths are broken up, and the clouds drop down the dew.
21 My son, do not let these things depart from your eyes, but observe wisdom and counsel.
22 So they shall be life to your soul, and grace to your neck.
23 Then shall you walk safely by the way. And your foot shall not stumble.
24 If you sleep, you shall not be afraid. And when you sleep, your sleep shall be sweet.
25 You shall not fear for any sudden fear, nor for destruction by the wicked, when it comes.
26 For the LORD shall be for your assurance and shall keep your foot from capture.
27 Do not withhold the good from the owners thereof, though there be power in your hand to do it.
28 Do not say to your neighbor, “Go and come again, and tomorrow I will give you,” if you have it now.
29 Intend no hurt against your neighbor, seeing he dwells by you without fear.
30 Do not strive with someone without cause (when he has done you no harm).
31 Do not be envious of the wicked man, nor choose any of his ways.
32 For the crooked is abomination to the LORD. But His secret is with the righteous.
33 The curse of the LORD is in the house of the wicked. But He blesses the habitation of the righteous.
34 With the scornful He scorns. But He gives grace to the humble.
35 The wise shall inherit glory; but fools, dishonor (though they be exalted).
4 Hear, O children, the instruction of a father. And give ear to learn understanding.
2 For I do give you a good doctrine. Therefore, do not forsake my law.
3 For I was my father’s son, tender and dear in the sight of my mother,
4 when he taught me, and said to me, “Let your heart hold fast my words. Keep my commandments, and you shall live.
5 “Get wisdom. Get understanding. Neither forget nor decline from the words of my mouth.
6 “Do not forsake her, and she shall keep you. Love her and she shall preserve you.
7 “Wisdom is the beginning. Therefore, get wisdom. And above all your possessions, get understanding.
8 “Exalt her, and she shall exalt you. She shall bring you to honor, if you embrace her.
9 “She shall give a comely ornament to your head. Indeed, she shall give you a crown of glory.
10 “Hear, my son, and receive my words. And the years of your life shall be many.
11 “I have taught you in the way of wisdom and led you in the paths of righteousness.
12 “When you go, your gait shall not be distressed. And when you run, you shall not fall.
13 “Take hold of instruction, and do not let go. Keep her, for she is your life.
14 “Do not enter into the way of the wicked. And do not walk in the way of evil.
15 “Avoid it. Do not go by it. Turn from it, and pass by.
16 “For they cannot sleep unless they have done evil. And their sleep departs unless they cause some to fall.
17 “For they eat the bread of wickedness and drink the wine of violence.
18 “But the way of the righteous shines, as the light that shines more and more until the perfect Day.
19 “The way of the wicked is as the darkness. They do not know wherein they shall fall.
20 “My son, listen to my words. Incline your ear to my sayings.
21 “Do not let them depart from your eyes. But keep them in the midst of your heart.
22 “For they are life to those who find them, and health to all their flesh.
23 “Keep your heart with all diligence. For out of it comes life.
24 “Put away from you a perverse mouth. And put wicked lips far from you.
25 “Let your eyes behold the right. And let your eyelids direct your way before you.
26 “Ponder the path of your feet. And let all your ways be ordered aright.
27 “Do not turn to the right hand or to the left. Remove your foot from evil.”
5 My son, hearken to my wisdom. Incline your ear to my knowledge,
2 that you may regard counsel and your lips observe knowledge.
3 For the lips of a strange woman drop as a honeycomb. And her mouth is more soft than oil.
4 But the end of her is bitter as wormwood, sharp as a two-edged sword.
5 Her feet go down to death and her steps take hold on Hell.
6 She does not weigh the way of life. Her paths are moveable. You cannot know them.
7 Hear me now, therefore, O children, and do not depart from the words of my mouth.
8 Keep your way far from her and do not come near the door of her house,
9 lest you give your honor to others, and your years to the cruel;
10 lest the stranger should be filled with your strength and your labors be in the house of a stranger.
11 And you mourn at your end (when you have consumed your flesh and your body)
12 and say, “How I have hated instruction, and my heart despised correction;
13 “and have not obeyed the voice of those who taught me, nor inclined my ear to those who instructed me?!
14 “I was almost brought into all evil in the midst of the Congregation and assembly.”
15 Drink the water of your cistern, and of the rivers out of the midst of your own well.
16 Let your fountains flow forth, and the rivers of waters in the streets.
17 But let them be yours—and yours only—and not the strangers with you.
18 Let your fountain be blessed. And rejoice with the wife of your youth.
19 Let her be as the loving deer and pleasant roe. Let her breasts satisfy you at all times. Delight in her love continually.
20 For why should you delight, my son, in a strange woman; or embrace the bosom of a stranger?
21 For the ways of man are before the eyes of the LORD. And He ponders all his paths.
22 His own iniquities shall take the wicked, himself, and he shall be seized with the cords of his own sin.
23 He shall die for lack of instruction, and shall go astray through his great folly.
6 My son, if you are a guarantor for your neighbor, and have shaken hands with the stranger,
2 you are snared with the words of your mouth. You are taken with the words of your own mouth.
3 Do this now, my Son, and deliver yourself. Seeing you have come into the hand of your neighbor, go and humble yourself and solicit your friends.
4 Give no sleep to your eyes, nor slumber to your eyelids.
5 Deliver yourself as a doe from the hand of the hunter, and as a bird from the hand of the fowler.
6 Go to the ant, O sluggard! Consider her ways, and be wise.
7 For she, having no guide, governor, or ruler,
8 prepares her food in the summer and gathers her food in harvest.
9 How long will you sleep, O sluggard? When will you arise out of the sleep?
10 A little sleep. A little slumber. A little folding of the hands to sleep.
11 Therefore, your poverty comes as one who travels by the way; and your need like an armed man.
12 The unthrifty and the wicked walk with a crooked mouth.
13 He makes a sign with his eyes. He signifies with his feet. He instructs with his fingers.
14 Lewd things are in his heart. He imagines evil at all times and raises up contentions.
15 Therefore, his destruction shall come speedily. He shall be destroyed suddenly, without recovery.
16 These six things the LORD hates — indeed, his soul abhors seven —
17 the haughty eyes, a lying tongue, the hands that shed innocent blood,
18 a heart that imagines wicked enterprises, feet that are swift in running to mischief,
19 a false witness that speaks lies, and he who raises up contentions among brothers.
20 My son, keep your father’s commandment, and do not forsake your mother’s instruction.
21 Bind them always upon your heart. Tie them around your neck.
22 It shall lead you when you walk. It shall watch for you when you sleep. When you wake, it shall talk with you.
23 For the commandment is a lantern; and instruction a light. And corrections for instruction are the way of life
24 to keep you from the wicked woman and from the flattery of the tongue of a strange woman.
25 Do not desire her beauty in your heart, nor let her take you with her eye lids.
26 For because of the whorish woman, a man is brought to a morsel of bread. And a woman will hunt for the precious life of a man.
27 Can a man take fire in his bosom, and his clothes not be burnt?
28 Or can one go upon coals, and his feet not be burnt?
29 So he who goes into his neighbor’s wife, shall not be innocent, whoever touches her.
30 A thief is not despised when he steals to satisfy his soul because he is hungry.
31 But if he is found, he shall restore sevenfold. Or he shall give all the substance of his house.
32 But whoever commits adultery with a woman is destitute of understanding. He who does so destroys his own soul.
33 He shall find a wound and dishonor. And his reproach shall never be put away.
34 For jealousy is the rage of a man. Therefore, he will not spare on the day of vengeance.
35 He cannot bear the sight of any ransom, nor will he consent, though you augment the gifts.
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