Study Desk

"So they shall eat of the fruit of their own way, And be filled with their own schemes.

So you will walk in the way of good people And keep to the paths of the righteous.

So you will find favor and a good reputation In the sight of God and man.

Listen, my sons, to the instruction of a father, And pay attention so that you may gain understanding,

So that you may maintain discretion And your lips may comply with knowledge.

So is the one who goes in to his neighbor's wife; Whoever touches her will not go unpunished.

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

So she seizes him and kisses him, And with a brazen face she says to him:

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

When He set a boundary for the sea So that the water would not violate His command, When He marked out the foundations of the earth;

Doing wickedness is like sport to a fool, And so is wisdom to a person of understanding.

Like vinegar to the teeth and smoke to the eyes, So is the lazy one to those who send him.

As a ring of gold in a pig's snout So is a beautiful woman who lacks discretion.

The lips of the wise spread knowledge, But the hearts of fools are not so.

The path of life leads upward for the wise, So that he may keep away from Sheol below.

He who winks his eyes does so to devise perverse things; He who compresses his lips brings evil to pass.

A rebellious person seeks only evil, So a cruel messenger will be sent against him.

The beginning of strife is like letting out water, So abandon the quarrel before it breaks out.

He who fathers a fool does so to his sorrow, And the father of a fool has no joy.

Listen to advice and accept discipline, So that you may be wise the rest of your days.