1My son, forget not my teaching;

But let thy heart keep my commandments;

2For length of days, and years of life,

And peace, will they add to thee.

3Let not kindness and truth forsake thee;

Bind them about thy neck, write them upon the table of thy heart;

4So shalt thou find grace and good favour

In the sight of God and man.

5Trust in the Lord with all thy heart,

And lean not upon thine own understanding.

6In all thy ways acknowledge Him,

And He will direct thy paths.

7Be not wise in thine own eyes;

Fear the Lord, and depart from evil;

8It shall be health to thy navel,

And marrow to thy bones.

9Honour the Lord with thy substance,

And with the first-fruits of all thine increase;

10So shall thy barns be filled with plenty,

And thy vats shall overflow with new wine.

11My son, despise not the chastening of the Lord,

Neither spurn thou His correction;

12For whom the Lord loveth He correcteth,

Even as a father the son in whom he delighteth.

13Happy is the man that findeth wisdom,

And the man that obtaineth understanding.

14For the merchandise of it is better than the merchandise of silver,

And the gain thereof than fine gold.

15She is more precious than rubies;

And all the things thou canst desire are not to be compared unto her.

16Length of days is in her right hand;

In her left hand are riches and honour.

17Her ways are ways of pleasantness,

And all her paths are peace.

18She is a tree of life to them that lay hold upon her,

And happy is every one that holdest her fast.

19The Lord by wisdom founded the earth;

By understanding He established the heavens.

20By His knowledge the depths were broken up,

And the skies drop down the dew.

21My son, let not them depart from thine eyes;

Keep sound wisdom and discretion;

22So shall they be life unto thy soul,

And grace to thy neck.

23Then shalt thou walk in thy way securely,

And thou shalt not dash thy foot.

24When thou liest down, thou shalt not be afraid;

Yea, thou shalt lie down, and thy sleep shall be sweet.

25Be not afraid of sudden terror,

Neither of the destruction of the wicked, when it cometh;

26For the Lord will be thy confidence,

And will keep thy foot from being caught.

27Withhold not good from him to whom it is due,

When it is in the power of thy hand to do it.

28Say not unto thy neighbour: ‘Go, and come again,

And to-morrow I will give’; when thou hast it by thee.

29Devise not evil against thy neighbour,

Seeing he dwelleth securely by thee.

30Strive not with a man without cause,

If he have done thee no harm.

31Envy thou not the man of violence,

And choose none of his ways.

32For the perverse is an abomination to the Lord;

But His counsel is with the upright.

33The curse of the Lord is in the house of the wicked;

But He blesseth the habitation of the righteous.

34If it concerneth the scorners, He scorneth them,

But unto the humble He giveth grace.

35The wise shall inherit honour;

But as for the fools, they carry away shame.