Study Desk

Listen, my sons, to the ^(C1)instruction of a father, And ^(C2)pay attention so that you may ^(F1)gain understanding,

For I give you good ^(C1)teaching; ^(C2)Do not abandon my ^(F1)instruction.

When I was a son to my father, ^(C1)Tender and ^(C2)the only son in the sight of my mother,

He ^(C1)taught me and said to me, "Let your heart ^(C2)take hold of my words; ^(C3)Keep my commandments and live;

^(C1)Acquire wisdom! ^(C2)Acquire understanding! Do not forget nor turn away from the words of my mouth.

-"Do not abandon her, and she will guard you; ^(C1)Love her, and she will watch over you.

-"^(C1)The ^(F1)beginning of wisdom is: ^(C2)Acquire wisdom; And with all your possessions, acquire understanding.

-"^(C1)Prize her, and she will exalt you; She will honor you if you embrace her.

-"She will place ^(C1)on your head a garland of grace; She will present you with a crown of beauty."

Listen, my son, and ^(C1)accept my sayings, And the ^(C2)years of your life will be many.

I have ^(C1)instructed you in the way of wisdom; I have led you in upright paths.

When you walk, your ^(C1)steps will not be hampered; And if you run, you ^(C2)will not stumble.

^(C1)Take hold of instruction; do not let go. Guard her, for she is your ^(C2)life.

^(C1)Do not enter the path of the wicked And do not proceed in the way of evil people.

Avoid it, do not pass by it; Turn away from it and pass on.

For they ^(C1)cannot sleep unless they do evil; And ^(F1)they are robbed of sleep unless they make someone stumble.

For they ^(C1)eat the bread of wickedness, And drink the wine of violence.

But the ^(C1)path of the righteous is like the ^(C2)light of dawn That ^(C3)shines brighter and brighter until the ^(C4)full day.

The ^(C1)way of the wicked is like darkness; They do not know over what they ^(F1)(C2)stumble.

My son, ^(C1)pay attention to my words; ^(C2)Incline your ear to my sayings.

^(C1)They are not to escape from your sight; ^(C2)Keep them in the midst of your heart.

For they are ^(C1)life to those who find them, And ^(C2)healing to all ^(F1)their body.

Watch over your heart with all diligence, For ^(C1)from it flow the springs of life.

Rid yourself of a ^(C1)deceitful mouth And ^(C2)keep devious ^(F1)speech far from you.

Let your eyes look directly ahead And let your ^(F1)gaze be fixed straight in front of you.

^(F1)(C1)Watch the path of your feet, And all your ^(C2)ways will be established.

^(C1)Do not turn to the right or to the left; ^(C2)Turn your foot from evil.

My son, ^(C1)pay attention to my wisdom, ^(C2)Incline your ear to my understanding,

So that you may ^(C1)maintain discretion And your ^(C2)lips may comply with knowledge.

For the lips of an ^(F1)(C1)adulteress ^(C2)drip honey, And her ^(F2)speech is ^(C3)smoother than oil;

But in the end she is ^(C1)bitter as wormwood, ^(C2)Sharp as a two-edged sword.

Her feet ^(C1)go down to death, Her steps take hold of Sheol.

^(F1)She does not ponder the ^(C1)path of life; Her ways are ^(C2)unstable, she ^(C3)does not know it.

^(C1)Now then, my sons, listen to me And ^(C2)do not turn away from the words of my mouth.

^(C1)Keep your way far from her, And do not go near the ^(C2)door of her house,

Otherwise you will give your vigor to others, And your years to the cruel one;

And strangers will be filled with your strength, And your hard-earned possessions will go to the house of a foreigner;

And you will groan ^(F1)in ^(F2)the end, When your flesh and your body are consumed;

And you say, "How I ^(C1)hated instruction! And my heart ^(C2)disdainfully rejected rebuke!

-"I did not listen to the voice of my ^(C1)teachers, Nor incline my ear to my instructors!

-"I was almost in total ruin In the midst of the assembly and congregation."

Drink water from your own cistern, And ^(F1)fresh water from your own well.

Should your ^(C1)springs overflow into the street, Streams of water in the public squares?

Let them be yours alone, And not for strangers with you.

Let your ^(C1)fountain be blessed, And ^(C2)rejoice in the ^(C3)wife of your youth.

Like a loving ^(C1)doe and a graceful mountain goat, Let her breasts satisfy you at all times; Be ^(F1)exhilarated always with her love.

For why should you, my son, be exhilarated with an ^(F1)(C1)adulteress, And embrace the breasts of a ^(C2)foreigner?

For the ^(C1)ways of everyone are before the eyes of the LORD, And He ^(C2)observes all his paths.

His ^(C1)own wrongdoings will trap the wicked, And he will be held by the ropes of his sin.

He will ^(C1)die for lack of instruction, And in the greatness of his foolishness he will go astray.

My son, if you have become a ^(C1)guarantor for your neighbor, Or have given a handshake for a stranger,

If you have been ensnared by the words of your mouth, Or caught by the words of your mouth,

Then do this, my son, and save yourself: Since you have come into the ^(F1)hand of your neighbor, Go, humble yourself, and be urgent with your neighbor to free yourself.

Give no ^(C1)sleep to your eyes, Nor slumber to your eyelids;

Save yourself like a gazelle from the hunter's hand, And like a ^(C1)bird from the hand of the fowler.

Go to the ^(C1)ant, you ^(F1)(C2)lazy one, Observe its ways and be wise,

Which, having ^(C1)no chief, Officer, or ruler,

Prepares its food ^(C1)in the summer And gathers its provision in the harvest.

How long will you lie down, you ^(F1)lazy one? When will you arise from your sleep?

"^(C1)A little sleep, a little slumber, A little folding of the hands to ^(F1)rest,"

^(C1)Then your poverty will come in like a ^(F1)drifter, And your need like ^(F2)an armed man.

A ^(C1)worthless person, a wicked man, Is one who walks with a ^(C2)perverse mouth,

Who ^(C1)winks with his eyes, who ^(F1)signals with his feet, Who ^(F2)points with his fingers;

Who, with ^(C1)perversion in his heart, continually ^(C2)devises evil, Who ^(F1)(C3)spreads strife.

Therefore ^(C1)his disaster will come suddenly; ^(C2)Instantly he will be broken and there will be ^(C3)no healing.

There are six things that the LORD hates, Seven that are an abomination ^(F1)to Him:

^(C1)Haughty eyes, a ^(C2)lying tongue, And hands that ^(C3)shed innocent blood,

A heart that devises ^(C1)wicked plans, ^(C2)Feet that run rapidly to evil,

A ^(C1)false witness who declares lies, And one who ^(F1)(C2)spreads strife among brothers.

^(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.