Proverbs 7-9

Proverbs 7

¹My son, keep my sayings, and let my rules be stored up with you.

²Keep my rules and you will have life; let my teaching be to you as the light of your eyes;

³Let them be fixed to your fingers, and recorded in your heart.

⁴Say to wisdom, You are my sister; let knowledge be named your special friend:

⁵So that they may keep you from the strange woman, even from her whose words are smooth.

⁶Looking out from my house, and watching through the window,

⁷I saw among the young men one without sense,

⁸Walking in the street near the turn of her road, going on the way to her house,

⁹At nightfall, in the evening of the day, in the black dark of the night.

¹⁰And the woman came out to him, in the dress of a loose woman, with a designing heart;

¹¹She is full of noise and uncontrolled; her feet keep not in her house.

¹²Now she is in the street, now in the open spaces, waiting at every turning of the road.

¹³So she took him by his hand, kissing him, and without a sign of shame she said to him:

¹⁴I have a feast of peace-offerings, for today my oaths have been effected.

¹⁵So I came out in the hope of meeting you, looking for you with care, and now I have you.

¹⁶My bed is covered with cushions of needlework, with coloured cloths of the cotton thread of Egypt;

¹⁷I have made my bed sweet with perfumes and spices.

¹⁸Come, let us take our pleasure in love till the morning, having joy in love's delights.

¹⁹For the master of the house is away on a long journey:

²⁰He has taken a bag of money with him; he is coming back at the full moon.

²¹With her fair words she overcame him, forcing him with her smooth lips.

²²The simple man goes after her, like an ox going to its death, like a roe pulled by a cord;

²³Like a bird falling into a net; with no thought that his life is in danger, till an arrow goes into his side.

²⁴So now, my sons, give ear to me; give attention to the sayings of my mouth;

²⁵Let not your heart be turned to her ways, do not go wandering in her footsteps.

²⁶For those wounded and made low by her are great in number; and all those who have come to their death through her are a great army.

²⁷Her house is the way to the underworld, going down to the rooms of death.

Proverbs 8

¹Is not wisdom crying out, and the voice of knowledge sounding?

²At the top of the highways, at the meeting of the roads, she takes her place;

³Where the roads go into the town her cry goes out, at the doorways her voice is loud:

⁴I am crying out to you, O men; my voice comes to the sons of men.

⁵Become expert in reason, O you simple ones; you foolish ones, take training to heart.

⁶Give ear, for my words are true, and my lips are open to give out what is upright.

⁷For good faith goes out of my mouth, and false lips are disgusting to me.

⁸All the words of my mouth are righteousness; there is nothing false or twisted in them.

⁹They are all true to him whose mind is awake, and straightforward to those who get knowledge.

¹⁰Take my teaching, and not silver; get knowledge in place of the best gold.

¹¹For wisdom is better than jewels, and all things which may be desired are nothing in comparison with her.

¹²I, wisdom, have made wise behaviour my near relation; I am seen to be the special friend of wise purposes.

¹³The fear of the Lord is seen in hating evil: pride, a high opinion of oneself, the evil way, and the false tongue, are unpleasing to me.

¹⁴Wise design and good sense are mine; reason and strength are mine.

¹⁵Through me kings have their power, and rulers give right decisions.

¹⁶Through me chiefs have authority, and the noble ones are judging in righteousness.

¹⁷Those who have given me their love are loved by me, and those who make search for me with care will get me.

¹⁸Wealth and honour are in my hands, even wealth without equal and righteousness.

¹⁹My fruit is better than gold, even than the best gold; and my increase is more to be desired than silver.

²⁰I go in the road of righteousness, in the way of right judging:

²¹So that I may give my lovers wealth for their heritage, making their store-houses full.

²²The Lord made me as the start of his way, the first of his works in the past.

²³From eternal days I was given my place, from the birth of time, before the earth was.

²⁴When there was no deep I was given birth, when there were no fountains flowing with water.

²⁵Before the mountains were put in their places, before the hills was my birth:

²⁶When he had not made the earth or the fields or the dust of the world.

²⁷When he made ready the heavens I was there: when he put an arch over the face of the deep:

²⁸When he made strong the skies overhead: when the fountains of the deep were fixed:

²⁹When he put a limit to the sea, so that the waters might not go against his word: when he put in position the bases of the earth:

³⁰Then I was by his side, as a master workman: and I was his delight from day to day, playing before him at all times;

³¹Playing in his earth; and my delight was with the sons of men.

³²Give ear to me then, my sons: for happy are those who keep my ways.

³³Take my teaching and be wise; do not let it go.

³⁴Happy is the man who gives ear to me, watching at my doors day by day, keeping his place by the pillars of my house.

³⁵For whoever gets me gets life, and grace from the Lord will come to him.

³⁶But he who does evil to me, does wrong to his soul: all my haters are in love with death.

Proverbs 9

¹Wisdom has made her house, putting up her seven pillars.

²She has put her fat beasts to death; her wine is mixed, her table is ready.

³She has sent out her women-servants; her voice goes out to the highest places of the town, saying,

⁴Whoever is simple, let him come in here; and to him who has no sense, she says:

⁵Come, take of my bread, and of my wine which is mixed.

⁶Give up the simple ones and have life, and go in the way of knowledge.

⁷He who gives teaching to a man of pride gets shame for himself; he who says sharp words to a sinner gets a bad name.

⁸Do not say sharp words to a man of pride, or he will have hate for you; make them clear to a wise man, and you will be dear to him.

⁹Give teaching to a wise man, and he will become wiser; give training to an upright man, and his learning will be increased.

¹⁰The fear of the Lord is the start of wisdom, and the knowledge of the Holy One gives a wise mind

¹¹For by me your days will be increased, and the years of your life will be long.

¹²If you are wise, you are wise for yourself; if your heart is full of pride, you only will have the pain of it.

¹³The foolish woman is full of noise; she has no sense at all.

¹⁴Seated at the door of her house, in the high places of the town,

¹⁵Crying out to those who go by, going straight on their way, she says:

¹⁶Whoever is simple, let him come in here: and to him who is without sense, she says:

¹⁷Drink taken without right is sweet, and food in secret is pleasing.

¹⁸But he does not see that the dead are there, that her guests are in the deep places of the underworld.