21 As the divisions of waters, so the heart of the king is in the hand of the Lord: whithersoever he will he shall turn it.

2 Every way of a man seemeth right to himself: but the Lord weigheth the hearts.

3 To do mercy and judgment, pleaseth the Lord more than victims.

4 Haughtiness of the eyes is the enlarging of the heart: the lamp of the wicked is sin.

5 The thoughts of the industrious always bring forth abundance: but every sluggard is always in want.

6 He that gathereth treasures by a lying tongue, is vain and foolish, and shall stumble upon the snares of death.

7 The robberies of the wicked shall be their downfall, because they would not do judgment.

8 The perverse way of a man is strange: but as for him that is pure, his work is right.

9 It is better to sit in a corner of the housetop, than with a brawling women, and in a common house.

10 The soul of the wicked desireth evil, he will not have pity on his neighbour.

11 When a pestilent man is punished, the little one will be wiser: and if he follow the wise, he will receive knowledge.

12 The just considereth seriously the house of the wicked, that he may withdraw the wicked from evil.

13 He that stoppeth his ear against the cry of the poor, shall also cry himself and shall not be heard.

14 A secret present quencheth anger: and a gift in the bosom the greatest wrath.

15 It is joy to the just to do judgment: and dread to them that work iniquity.

16 A man that shall wander out of the way of doctrine, shall abide in the company of the giants.

17 He that loveth good cheer, shall be in want: he that loveth wine, and fat things, shall not be rich.

18 The wicked is delivered up for the just: and the unjust for the righteous.

19 It is better to dwell in a wilderness, than with a quarrelsome and passionate woman.

20 There is a treasure to be desired, and oil in the dwelling of the just: and the foolish man shall spend it.

21 He that followeth justice and mercy, shall find life, justice, and glory.

22 The wise man hath scaled the city of the strong, and hath cast down the strength of the confidence thereof.

23 He that keepeth his mouth and his tongue, keepeth his soul from distress.

24 The proud and the arrogant is called ignorant, who in anger worketh pride.

25 Desires kill the slothful: for his hands have refused to work at all.

26 He longeth and desireth all the day: but he that is just, will give, and will not cease.

27 The sacrifices of the wicked are abominable, because they are offered of wickedness.

28 A lying witness shall perish: an obedient man shall speak of victory.

29 The wicked man impudently hardeneth his face: but he that is righteous, correcteth his way.

30 There is no wisdom, there is no prudence, there is no counsel against the Lord.

31 The horse is prepared for the day of battle: but the Lord giveth safety.

22 A good name is better than great riches: and good favour is above silver and gold.

2 The rich and poor have met one another: the Lord is the maker of them both.

3 The prudent man saw the evil, and hid himself: the simple passed on, and suffered loss.

4 The fruit of humility is the fear of the Lord, riches and glory and life.

5 Arms and swords are in the way of the perverse: but he that keepeth his own soul departeth far from them.

6 It is a proverb: A young man according to his way, even when he is old he will not depart from it.

7 The rich ruleth over the poor: and the borrower is servant to him that lendeth.

8 He that soweth iniquity shall reap evils, and with the rod of his anger he shall be consumed.

9 He that is inclined to mercy shall be blessed: for of his bread he hath given to the poor. He that maketh presents shall purchase victory and honour: but he carrieth away the souls of the receivers.

10 Cast out the scoffer, and contention shall go out with him, and quarrels and reproaches shall cease.

11 He that loveth cleanness of heart, for the grace of his lips shall have the king for his friend.

12 The eyes of the Lord preserve knowledge: and the words of the unjust are overthrown.

13 The slothful man saith: There is a lion without, I shall be slain in the midst of the streets.

14 The mouth of a strange woman is a deep pit: he whom the Lord is angry with, shall fall into it.

15 Folly is bound up in the heart of a child, and the rod of correction shall drive it away.

16 He that oppresseth the poor, to increase his own riches, shall himself give to one that is richer, and shall be in need.

17 Incline thy ear, and hear the words of the wise: and apply thy heart to my doctrine:

18 Which shall be beautiful for thee, if thou keep it in thy bowels, and it shall flow in thy lips:

19 That thy trust may be in the Lord, wherefore I have also shewn it to thee this day.

20 Behold I have described it to thee three manner of ways, in thoughts and knowledge:

21 That I might shew thee the certainty, and the words of truth, to answer out of these to them that sent thee.

22 Do no violence to the poor, because he is poor: and do not oppress the needy in the gate:

23 Because the Lord will judge his cause, and will afflict them that have afflicted his soul.

24 Be not a friend to an angry man, and do not walk with a furious man:

25 Lest perhaps thou learn his ways, and take scandal to thy soul.

26 Be not with them that fasten down their hands, and that offer themselves sureties for debts:

27 For if thou have not wherewith to restore, what cause is there, that he should take the covering from thy bed?

28 Pass not beyond the ancient bounds which thy fathers have set.

29 Hast thou seen a man swift in his work? he shall stand before kings, and shall not be before those that are obscure.

23 When thou shalt sit to eat with a prince, consider diligently what is set before thy face.

2 And put a knife to thy throat, if it be so that thou have thy soul in thy own power.

3 Be not desirous of his meats, in which is the bread of deceit.

4 Labour not to be rich: but set bounds to thy prudence.

5 Lift not up thy eyes to riches which thou canst not have: because they shall make themselves wings like those of an eagle, and shall fly towards heaven.

6 Eat not with an envious man, and desire not his meats:

7 Because like a soothsayer, and diviner, he thinketh that which he knoweth not. Eat and drink, will he say to thee: and his mind is not with thee.

8 The meats which thou hadst eaten, thou shalt vomit up: and shalt loose thy beautiful words.

9 Speak not in the ears of fools: because they will despise the instruction of thy speech.

10 Touch not the bounds of little ones: and enter not into the field of the fatherless:

11 For their near kinsman is strong: and he will judge their cause against thee.

12 Let thy heart apply itself to instruction: and thy ears to words of knowledge.

13 Withhold not correction from a child: for if thou strike him with the rod, he shall not die.

14 Thou shalt beat him with the rod, and deliver his soul from hell.

15 My son, if thy mind be wise, my heart shall rejoice with thee:

16 And my reins shall rejoice, when thy lips shall speak what is right.

17 Let not thy heart envy sinners: but be thou in the fear of the Lord all the day long:

18 Because thou shalt have hope in the latter end, and thy expectation shall not be taken away.

19 Hear thou, my son, and be wise: and guide thy mind in the way.

20 Be not in the feasts of great drinkers, nor in their revellings, who contribute flesh to eat:

21 Because they that give themselves to drinking, and that club together shall be consumed; and drowsiness shall be clothed with rags.

22 Hearken to thy father, that beget thee: and despise not thy mother when she is old.

23 Buy truth, and do not sell wisdom, and instruction, and understanding.

24 The father of the just rejoiceth greatly: he that hath begotten a wise son, shall have joy in him.

25 Let thy father, and thy mother be joyful, and let her rejoice that bore thee.

26 My son, give me thy heart: and let thy eyes keep my ways.

27 For a harlot is a deep ditch: and a strange woman is a narrow pit.

28 She lieth in wait in the way as a robber, and him whom she shall see unwary, she will kill.

29 Who hath woe? whose father hath woe? who hath contentions? who falls into pits? who hath wounds without cause? who hath redness of eyes?

30 Surely they that pass their time in wine, and study to drink of their cups.

31 Look not upon the wine when it is yellow, when the colour thereof shineth in the glass: it goeth in pleasantly,

32 But in the end, it will bite like a snake, and will spread abroad poison like a basilisk.

33 Thy eyes shall behold strange women, and thy heart shall utter perverse things.

34 And thou shalt be as one sleeping in the midst of the sea, and as a pilot fast asleep, when the stern is lost.

35 And thou shalt say: They have beaten me, but I was not sensible of pain: they drew me, and I felt not: when shall I awake, and find wine again?

24 Seek not to be like evil men, neither desire to be with them:

2 Because their mind studieth robberies, and their lips speak deceits.

3 By wisdom the house shall be built, and by prudence it shall be strengthened.

4 By instruction the storerooms shall be filled with all precious and most beautiful wealth.

5 A wise man is strong: and a knowing man, stout and valiant.

6 Because war is managed by due ordering: and there shall be safety where there are many counsels.

7 Wisdom is too high for a fool, in the gate he shall not open his mouth.

8 He that deviseth to do evils, shall be called a fool.

9 The thought of a fool is sin: and the detracter is the abomination of men.

10 If thou lose hope being weary in the day of distress, thy strength shall be diminished.

11 Deliver them that are led to death: and those that are drawn to death forbear not to deliver.

12 If thou say: I have not strength enough: he that seeth into the heart, he understandeth, and nothing deceiveth the keeper of thy soul, and he shall render to a man according to his works.

13 Fat honey, my son, because it is good, and the honeycomb most sweet to thy throat:

14 So also is the doctrine of wisdom to thy soul: which when thou hast found, thou shalt have hope in the end, and thy hope shall not perish.

15 Lie not in wait, nor seek after wickedness in the house of the just, nor spoil his rest.

16 For a just man shall fall seven times and shall rise again: but the wicked shall fall down into evil.

17 When thy enemy shall fall, be not glad, and in his ruin let not thy heart rejoice:

18 Lest the Lord see, and it displease him, and he turn away his wrath from him.

19 Contend not with the wicked, nor seek to be like the ungodly:

20 For evil men have no hope of things to come, and the lamp of the wicked shall be put out.

21 My son, fear the Lord and the king: and have nothing to do with detracters.

22 For their destruction shall rise suddenly: and who knoweth the ruin of both?

23 These things also to the wise: It is not good to have respect to persons in judgment.

24 They that say to the wicked man: Thou art just: shall be cursed by the people, and the tribes shall abhor them.

25 They that rebuke him, shall be praised: and a blessing shall come upon them.

26 He shall kiss the lips, who answereth right words.

27 Prepare thy work without, and diligently till thy ground: that afterward thou mayst build thy house.

28 Be not witness without cause against thy neighbour: and deceive not any man with thy lips.

29 Say not: I will do to him as he hath done to me: I will render to every one according to his work.

30 I passed by the field of the slothful man, and by the vineyard of the foolish man:

31 And behold it was all filled with nettles, and thorns had covered the face thereof, and the stone wall was broken down.

32 Which when I had seen, I laid it up in my heart, and by the example I received instruction.

33 Thou wilt sleep a little, said I, thou wilt slumber a little, thou wilt fold thy hands a little to rest:

34 And poverty shall come to thee as a runner, and beggary as an armed man.

25 These are also parables of Solomon, which the men of Ezechias king of Juda copied out.

2 It is the glory of God to conceal the word, and the glory of kings to search out the speech.

3 The heaven above, and the earth beneath, and the heart of kings is unsearchable.

4 Take away the rust from silver, and there shall come forth a most pure vessel:

5 Take away wickedness from the face of the king, and his throne shall be established with justice.

6 Appear not glorious before the king, and stand not in the place of great men.

7 For it is better that it should be said to thee: Come up hither; than that thou shouldst be humbled before the prince.

8 The things which thy eyes have seen, utter not hastily in a quarrel: lest afterward thou mayst not be able to make amends, when thou hast dishonoured thy friend.

9 Treat thy cause with thy friend, and discover not the secret to a stranger:

10 Lest he insult over thee, when he hath heard it, and cease not to upbraid thee. Grace and friendship deliver a man: keep these for thyself, lest thou fall under reproach.

11 To speak a word in due time, is like apples of gold on beds of silver.

12 As an earring of gold and a bright pearl, so is he that reproveth the wise, and the obedient ear.

13 As the cold of snow in the time of harvest, so is a faithful messenger to him that sent him, for he refresheth his soul.

14 As clouds, and wind, when no rain followeth, so is the man that boasteth, and doth not fulfill his promises.

15 By patience a prince shall be appeased, and a soft tongue shall break hardness.

16 Thou hast found honey, eat what is sufficient for thee, lest being glutted therewith thou vomit it up.

17 Withdraw thy foot from the house of thy neighbour, lest having his fill he hate thee.

18 A man that beareth false witness against his neighbour, is like a dart and a sword and a sharp arrow.

19 To trust to an unfaithful man in the time of trouble, is like a rotten tooth, and weary foot,

20 And one that looseth his garment in cold weather. As vinegar upon nitre, so is he that singeth songs to a very evil heart. As a moth doth by a garment, and a worm by the wood: so the sadness of a man consumeth the heart.

21 If thy enemy be hungry, give him to eat: if he thirst, give him water to drink:

22 For thou shalt heap hot coals upon his head, and the Lord will reward thee.

23 The north wind driveth away rain, as doth a sad countenance a backbiting tongue.

24 It is better to sit in a corner of the housetop, than with a brawling woman, and in a common house.

25 As cold water to a thirsty soul, so is good tidings from a far country.

26 A just man falling down before the wicked, is as a fountain troubled with the foot, and a corrupted spring.

27 As it is not good for a man to eat much honey, so he that is a searcher of majesty, shall be overwhelmed by glory.

28 As a city that lieth open and is not compassed with walls, so is a man that cannot refrain his own spirit in speaking.