Study Desk

^(C1)My son, comply with the commandment of your father, And do not ignore the ^(F1)teaching of your mother;

^(C1)Bind them continually on your heart; Tie them around your neck.

When you ^(C1)walk, ^(F1)they will guide you; When you sleep, ^(F1)they will watch over you; And when you awake, ^(F1)they will talk to you.

For ^(C1)the commandment is a lamp and the ^(F1)teaching is light; And rebukes for discipline are the way of life

To ^(C1)keep you from the evil woman, From the smooth tongue of the foreign woman.

^(C1)Do not desire her beauty in your heart, Nor let her capture you with her ^(C2)eyelids.

For ^(C1)the price of a prostitute reduces one to a loaf of bread, And ^(F1)an adulteress ^(C2)hunts for a precious life.

Can anyone take fire in his lap And his clothes not be burned?

Or can a person walk on hot coals And his feet not be scorched?

So is the one who ^(C1)goes in to his neighbor's wife; Whoever touches her ^(C2)will not ^(F1)go unpunished.

People do not despise a thief if he steals To ^(C1)satisfy ^(F1)himself when he is hungry;

But when he is found, he must ^(C1)repay seven times as much; He must give up all the property of his house.

One who commits adultery with a woman is ^(C1)lacking ^(F1)sense; He who would ^(C2)destroy ^(F2)himself commits it.

He will find wounds and disgrace, And his shame will not be removed.

For ^(C1)jealousy ^(F1)enrages a man, And he will not have compassion on the ^(C2)day of vengeance.

He will not ^(F1)accept any settlement, Nor will he be ^(F2)satisfied though you make it a large gift.

My son, ^(C1)keep my words And treasure my commandments within you.

^(C1)Keep my commandments and live, And my ^(F1)teaching ^(C2)as the ^(F2)apple of your eye.

^(C1)Bind them on your fingers; ^(C2)Write them on the tablet of your heart.

Say to wisdom, "You are my sister," And call understanding your intimate friend,

So that they may keep you from an ^(F1)adulteress, From the foreigner who flatters with her words.

For ^(C1)at the window of my house I looked out ^(C2)through my lattice,

And I saw among the ^(C1)naive, And discerned among the ^(F1)youths A young man ^(C2)lacking ^(F2)sense,

Passing through the street near ^(C1)her corner; And he walks along the way to ^(C2)her house,

In the ^(C1)twilight, in the ^(F1)evening, In the ^(F2)middle of the night and the darkness.

And behold, a woman comes to meet him, ^(C1)Dressed as a prostitute and cunning of heart.

She is ^(C1)boisterous and rebellious, Her ^(C2)feet do not remain at home;

She is now in the streets, now ^(C1)in the public squares, And ^(C2)lurks by every corner.

So she seizes him and kisses him, ^(F1)And with a ^(C1)brazen face she says to him:

"^(F1)I was due to offer ^(C1)peace offerings; Today I have ^(C2)paid my vows.

-"Therefore I have come out to meet you, To seek your presence diligently, and I have found you.

-"I have spread my couch with ^(C1)coverings, With colored ^(C2)linens of Egypt.

-"I have sprinkled my bed With ^(C1)myrrh, aloes, and ^(C2)cinnamon.

-"Come, let's drink our fill of love until morning; Let's delight ourselves with caresses.

-"For ^(F1)my husband is not at home; He has gone on a long journey.

-"He has taken a ^(C1)bag of money ^(F1)with him. At the full moon he will come home."

With her many persuasions she entices him; With her ^(F1)(C1)flattering lips she seduces him.

Suddenly he follows her As an ox goes to the slaughter, Or as ^(F1)one walks in ankle bracelets to the discipline of a fool,

Until an arrow pierces through his liver; As a ^(C1)bird hurries to the snare, So he does not know that it will cost him his life.

Now therefore, my sons, ^(C1)listen to me, And pay attention to the words of my mouth.

Do not let your heart ^(C1)turn aside to her ways, Do not stray into her paths.

For many are the ^(F1)victims she has brought to ruin, And ^(C1)numerous are all those slaughtered by her.

Her ^(C1)house is the way to Sheol, Descending to the chambers of death.

Does not ^(C1)wisdom call, And understanding ^(F1)raise her voice?

On top of ^(C1)the heights beside the way, Where the paths meet, she takes her stand;

Beside the ^(C1)gates, at the opening to the city, At the entrance of the doors, she cries out:

"To you, people, I call, And my voice is to ^(F1)mankind.

-"You ^(C1)naive ones, understand prudence; And, you ^(C2)fools, understand ^(F1)wisdom!

-"Listen, for I will speak ^(C1)noble things; And the opening of my lips will reveal ^(C2)right things.

-"For my ^(C1)mouth will proclaim truth; And wickedness is an abomination to my lips.

-"All the words of my mouth are in righteousness; There is nothing ^(C1)crooked or perverted in them.

-"They are all ^(C1)straightforward to him who understands, And right to those who ^(C2)find knowledge.

-"Accept my ^(C1)instruction and not silver, And knowledge rather than choice gold.

-"For wisdom is ^(C1)better than ^(F1)jewels; And ^(C2)all desirable things cannot compare with her.

"I, wisdom, ^(C1)dwell with prudence, And I find ^(C2)knowledge and discretion.

-"The ^(C1)fear of the LORD is to hate evil; ^(C2)Pride, arrogance, ^(C3)the evil way, And the ^(C4)perverted mouth, I hate.

-"^(C1)Advice is mine and ^(C2)sound wisdom; I am understanding, ^(C3)power is mine.

-"By me ^(C1)kings reign, And rulers decree justice.

-"By me princes rule, and nobles, All who judge rightly.

-"I ^(C1)love those who love me; And ^(C2)those who diligently seek me will find me.

-"^(C1)Riches and honor are with me, Enduring ^(C2)wealth and righteousness.

-"My fruit is ^(C1)better than gold, even pure gold; And my yield better than ^(C2)choice silver.

-"I walk in the way of righteousness, In the midst of the paths of justice,

To endow those who love me with wealth, That I may ^(C1)fill their treasuries.

"The LORD ^(F1)created me ^(C1)at the beginning of His way, Before His works ^(F2)of old.

-"From eternity I was ^(F1)(C1)established, From the beginning, ^(C2)from the earliest times of the earth.

-"When there were no ^(C1)ocean depths, I was born, When there were no springs abounding with water.

-"^(C1)Before the mountains were settled, Before the hills, I was born;

While He had not yet made the earth and the ^(F1)fields, Nor the first dust of the world.

-"When He ^(C1)established the heavens, I was there; When ^(C2)He inscribed a circle on the face of the deep,

When He made firm the skies above, When the springs of the deep became ^(F1)fixed,

When ^(C1)He set a boundary for the sea So that the water would not violate His ^(F1)command, When He marked out ^(C2)the foundations of the earth;

Then ^(C1)I was beside Him, as a master workman; And I was His delight daily, ^(F1)Rejoicing always before Him,

^(F1)Rejoicing in the world, His earth, And having ^(C1)my delight in the sons of mankind.

"Now then, sons, ^(C1)listen to me, For ^(C2)blessed are those who keep my ways.

-"^(C1)Listen to instruction and be wise, And do not neglect it.

-"^(C1)Blessed is the person who listens to me, Watching daily at my gates, Waiting at my doorposts.

-"For ^(C1)one who finds me finds life, And ^(C2)obtains favor from the LORD.

-"But one who ^(F1)sins against me ^(C1)injures himself; All those who ^(C2)hate me ^(C3)love death."

Wisdom has ^(C1)built her house, She has carved out her seven pillars;

She has ^(F1)(C1)prepared her food, she has ^(C2)mixed her wine; She has also ^(C3)set her table;

She has ^(C1)sent out her attendants, she ^(C2)calls out From the ^(C3)tops of the heights of the city:

"^(C1)Whoever is naive, let him turn in here!" To him who ^(C2)lacks ^(F1)understanding she says,

"Come, ^(C1)eat of my food And drink of the wine I have mixed.

-"^(F1)Abandon your foolishness and ^(C1)live, And ^(C2)proceed in the way of understanding."

One who ^(C1)corrects a scoffer gets dishonor for himself, And one who rebukes a wicked person gets ^(F1)insults for himself.

^(C1)Do not rebuke a scoffer, or he will hate you; ^(C2)Rebuke a wise person and he will love you.

Give instruction to a wise person and he will become still wiser; Teach a righteous person and he will ^(C1)increase his insight.

The ^(C1)fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom, And the knowledge of the Holy One is understanding.

For ^(C1)by me your days will be multiplied, And years of life will be added to you.

If you are wise, you are wise ^(C1)for yourself, And if you ^(C2)scoff, you alone will ^(F1)suffer from it.

^(F1)A woman of foolishness is ^(C1)boisterous, She has a lack of understanding and ^(C2)knows nothing.

She sits at the doorway of her house, On a seat by ^(C1)the high places of the city,

Calling to those who pass by, Who are going straight on their paths:

"^(C1)Whoever is naive, let him turn in here," And to him who lacks ^(F1)understanding she says,

"Stolen water is sweet; And ^(C1)bread eaten in secret is pleasant."

But he does not know that the ^(F1)dead are there, That her guests are in the ^(C1)depths of Sheol.