My son, forget not my teaching,{HR}But let thy heart keep my commandments:
For length of days and years of life{HR}And peace shall they add to thee.
Let not mercy and truth forsake thee:{HR}Bind them about thy neck;{HR}Write them upon the tablet of thy heart;
And thou shalt find favour{HR}And good understanding in the sight of God and man.
Trust in Jehovah with all thy heart,{HR}And lean not unto thine own discernment;
In all thy ways acknowledge him,{HR}And he shall make straight thy paths.
Be not wise in thine own eyes;{HR}Fear Jehovah, and depart from evil;
It shall be health for thy navel,{HR}And moisture for thy bones.
Honour Jehovah with thy substance,{HR}And with the first-fruits of all thine increase;
So shall thy barns be filled with plenty,{HR}And thy vats shall overflow with new wine.
My son, despise not the instruction of Jehovah,{HR}Neither be weary of his chastisement;
For whom Jehovah loveth he chasteneth,{HR}Even as a father the son in whom he delighteth.
Blessed [is] the man [that] findeth wisdom,{HR}And the man [that] getteth understanding.
For the gain thereof [is] better than the gain of silver,{HR}And her revenue than fine gold.
She [is] more precious than rubies,{HR}And all the things thou canst desire are not equal to her.
Length of days [is] in her right hand,{HR}In her left hand riches and honour.
Her ways [are] ways of pleasantness,{HR}And all her paths [are] peace.
She [is] a tree of life to them that lay hold on her;{HR}And blessed [is] he that retaineth her.
Jehovah by wisdom founded the earth;{HR}By understanding he established the heavens.
By his knowledge the depths were broken up,{HR}And the skies drop down the dew.
My son, let them not depart from thine eyes;{HR}Keep true counsel and discretion:
So shall they be life to thy soul,{HR}And grace to thy neck.
Then shalt thou walk in thy way securely,{HR}And thy foot shall not stumble.
When thou liest down, thou shalt not be afraid,{HR}But thou shalt lie down, and thy sleep shall be sweet.
Be not afraid of sudden fear,{HR}Nor of the desolation of the wicked when it cometh;
For Jehovah shall be thy confidence,{HR}And shall keep thy foot from being taken.
Withhold not good from those to whom it is due,{HR}When it is in the power of thy hand to do it.
Say not unto thy neighbour, Go and come again,{HR}And tomorrow I will give, when thou hast it by thee.
Devise not evil against thy neighbour,{HR}Seeing he dwelleth securely by thee.
Strive not with a man without cause,{HR}If he have done thee no harm.
Envy not the man of violence,{HR}And choose none of his ways.
For the perverse [is] an abomination to Jehovah;{HR}But his secret [is] with the upright.
The curse of Jehovah [is] in the house of the wicked;{HR}But he blesseth the habitation of the righteous.
He indeed scorneth the scorners;{HR}But he giveth grace to the lowly.
The wise shall inherit glory;{HR}But shame shall be the promotion of fools.