Study Desk

For a man's ways are before the eyes of the Lord , and he ponders all his paths.

The iniquities of the wicked ensnare him, and he is held fast in the cords of his sin.

He dies for lack of discipline, and because of his great folly he is led astray.

winks with his eyes, signals with his feet, points with his finger,

Can a man carry fire next to his chest and his clothes not be burned?

Or can one walk on hot coals and his feet not be scorched?

So is he who goes in to his neighbor's wife; none who touches her will go unpunished.

People do not despise a thief if he steals to satisfy his appetite when he is hungry,

but if he is caught, he will pay sevenfold; he will give all the goods of his house.

He will get wounds and dishonor, and his disgrace will not be wiped away.

till an arrow pierces its liver; as a bird rushes into a snare; he does not know that it will cost him his life.

"The Lord possessed me at the beginning of his work, the first of his acts of old.

when he assigned to the sea its limit, so that the waters might not transgress his command, when he marked out the foundations of the earth,

then I was beside him, like a master workman, and I was daily his delight, rejoicing before him always,

rejoicing in his inhabited world and delighting in the children of man.

The proverbs of Solomon. A wise son makes a glad father, but a foolish son is a sorrow to his mother.

Whoever walks in integrity walks securely, but he who makes his ways crooked will be found out.

A rich man's wealth is his strong city; the poverty of the poor is their ruin.

When words are many, transgression is not lacking, but whoever restrains his lips is prudent.

A false balance is an abomination to the Lord , but a just weight is his delight.