Jul 12 - Proverbs 3-5
Proverbs
1My son, do not forget my teaching, but keep my commands in your heart,2for they will prolong your life many years and bring you prosperity.3Let love and faithfulness never leave you; bind them around your neck, write them on the tablet of your heart.4Then you will win favor and a good name in the sight of God and man.5Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding;6in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight.7Do not be wise in your own eyes; fear the LORD and shun evil.8This will bring health to your body and nourishment to your bones.9Honor the LORD with your wealth, with the firstfruits of all your crops;10then your barns will be filled to overflowing, and your vats will brim over with new wine.11My son, do not despise the LORD's discipline and do not resent his rebuke,12because the LORD disciplines those he loves, as a father the son he delights in.13Blessed is the man who finds wisdom, the man who gains understanding,14for she is more profitable than silver and yields better returns than gold.15She is more precious than rubies; nothing you desire can compare with her.16Long life is in her right hand; in her left hand are riches and honor.17Her ways are pleasant ways, and all her paths are peace.18She is a tree of life to those who embrace her; those who lay hold of her will be blessed.19By wisdom the LORD laid the earth's foundations, by understanding he set the heavens in place;20by his knowledge the deeps were divided, and the clouds let drop the dew.21My son, preserve sound judgment and discernment, do not let them out of your sight;22they will be life for you, an ornament to grace your neck.23Then you will go on your way in safety, and your foot will not stumble;24when you lie down, you will not be afraid; when you lie down, your sleep will be sweet.25Have no fear of sudden disaster or of the ruin that overtakes the wicked,26for the LORD will be your confidence and will keep your foot from being snared.27Do not withhold good from those who deserve it, when it is in your power to act.28Do not say to your neighbor, "Come back later; I'll give it tomorrow"- when you now have it with you.29Do not plot harm against your neighbor, who lives trustfully near you.30Do not accuse a man for no reason- when he has done you no harm.31Do not envy a violent man or choose any of his ways,32for the LORD detests a perverse man but takes the upright into his confidence.33The LORD's curse is on the house of the wicked, but he blesses the home of the righteous.34He mocks proud mockers but gives grace to the humble.35The wise inherit honor, but fools he holds up to shame.
1Listen, my sons, to a father's instruction; pay attention and gain understanding.2I give you sound learning, so do not forsake my teaching.3When I was a boy in my father's house, still tender, and an only child of my mother,4he taught me and said, "Lay hold of my words with all your heart; keep my commands and you will live.5Get wisdom, get understanding; do not forget my words or swerve from them.6Do not forsake wisdom, and she will protect you; love her, and she will watch over you.7Wisdom is supreme; therefore get wisdom. Though it cost all you have, get understanding.8Esteem her, and she will exalt you; embrace her, and she will honor you.9She will set a garland of grace on your head and present you with a crown of splendor."10Listen, my son, accept what I say, and the years of your life will be many.11I guide you in the way of wisdom and lead you along straight paths.12When you walk, your steps will not be hampered; when you run, you will not stumble.13Hold on to instruction, do not let it go; guard it well, for it is your life.14Do not set foot on the path of the wicked or walk in the way of evil men.15Avoid it, do not travel on it; turn from it and go on your way.16For they cannot sleep till they do evil; they are robbed of slumber till they make someone fall.17They eat the bread of wickedness and drink the wine of violence.18The path of the righteous is like the first gleam of dawn, shining ever brighter till the full light of day.19But the way of the wicked is like deep darkness; they do not know what makes them stumble.20My son, pay attention to what I say; listen closely to my words.21Do not let them out of your sight, keep them within your heart;22for they are life to those who find them and health to a man's whole body.23Above all else, guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life.24Put away perversity from your mouth; keep corrupt talk far from your lips.25Let your eyes look straight ahead, fix your gaze directly before you.26Make level paths for your feet and take only ways that are firm.27Do not swerve to the right or the left; keep your foot from evil.
1My son, pay attention to my wisdom, listen well to my words of insight,2that you may maintain discretion and your lips may preserve knowledge.3For the lips of an adulteress drip honey, and her speech is smoother than oil;4but in the end she is bitter as gall, sharp as a double-edged sword.5Her feet go down to death; her steps lead straight to the grave.6She gives no thought to the way of life; her paths are crooked, but she knows it not.7Now then, my sons, listen to me; do not turn aside from what I say.8Keep to a path far from her, do not go near the door of her house,9lest you give your best strength to others and your years to one who is cruel,10lest strangers feast on your wealth and your toil enrich another man's house.11At the end of your life you will groan, when your flesh and body are spent.12You will say, "How I hated discipline! How my heart spurned correction!13I would not obey my teachers or listen to my instructors.14I have come to the brink of utter ruin in the midst of the whole assembly."15Drink water from your own cistern, running water from your own well.16Should your springs overflow in the streets, your streams of water in the public squares?17Let them be yours alone, never to be shared with strangers.18May your fountain be blessed, and may you rejoice in the wife of your youth.19A loving doe, a graceful deer- may her breasts satisfy you always, may you ever be captivated by her love.20Why be captivated, my son, by an adulteress? Why embrace the bosom of another man's wife?21For a man's ways are in full view of the LORD, and he examines all his paths.22The evil deeds of a wicked man ensnare him; the cords of his sin hold him fast.23He will die for lack of discipline, led astray by his own great folly.