Catholic Public Domain Version (CPDV)

1 My son, do not forget my law, but let your heart guard my precepts.

2 For they shall set before you length of days, and years of life, and peace.

3 Let not mercy and truth abandon you: encircle them around your throat, and inscribe them on the tablets of your heart.

4 And so shall you discover grace and good discipline, in the sight of God and men.

5 Have confidence in the Lord with all your heart, and do not depend upon your own prudence.

6 In all your ways, consider him, and he himself will direct your steps.

7 Do not seem wise to yourself. Fear God, and withdraw from evil.

8 Certainly, it shall be health to your navel, and refreshment to your bones.

9 Honor the Lord with your substance, and give to him from the first of all your fruits,

10 and then your storehouses will be filled with abundance, and your presses shall overflow with wine.

11 My son, do not discard the discipline of the Lord, and do not fall away when you are corrected by him.

12 For whomever the Lord loves, he corrects, and just as a father does with a son, he wins him over.

13 Blessed is the man who finds wisdom and who advances to prudence.

14 Her acquisition is better than trading in silver, and her fruit is better than the first and purest gold.

15 She is more precious than all riches, and all that can be desired cannot prevail in comparison to her.

16 Length of days is at her right hand, and at her left hand is wealth and glory.

17 Her ways are beautiful ways, and all her paths are peaceful.

18 She is a tree of life to those who overtake her, and he who shall take hold of her is blessed.

19 The Lord founded the earth on wisdom. He secured the heavens with prudence.

20 By his wisdom, the abyss erupted and the clouds increased with dew.

21 My son, let not these things move away from your eyes. Preserve law as well as counsel.

22 And so shall there be life in your soul and grace in your voice.

23 Then you shall walk confidently in your way, and your feet will not stumble.

24 When you slumber, you shall not fear. When you rest, your sleep also will be sweet.

25 Do not fear unexpected terror, nor the power of the impious falling upon you.

26 For the Lord will be at your side, and he will guard your feet, so that you may not be seized.

27 Do not prevent him who is able from doing good. When you are able, do good yourself too.

28 Do not say to your friend: “Go away, and then return. Tomorrow I will give to you.” When you are able to do so, give in the present.

29 Do not undertake evil against your friend, even though he has trust in you.

30 Do not contend against a man without cause, even though he has done no evil to you.

31 Do not rival an unjust man, and do not imitate his ways.

32 For everyone who ridicules is an abomination to the Lord, and his communication is for the simple.

33 Destitution in the house of the impious is from the Lord. But the habitations of the just shall be blessed.

34 He will ridicule those who ridicule, but he will bestow grace upon the mild.

35 The wise will possess glory. The exaltation of the foolish is disgraceful.

1 Listen, sons, to the discipline of a father, and pay attention, so that you may know prudence.

2 I will bestow upon you a good gift. Do not relinquish my law.

3 For I, too, was the son of my father, tender and an only son in the sight of my mother.

4 And he taught me, and he also said: “Let your heart accept my words. Keep my precepts, and you shall live.

5 Obtain wisdom, obtain prudence. May you neither forget, nor turn away from, the words of my mouth.

6 Do not send her away, and she will guard you. Love her, and she will preserve you.

7 The beginning of wisdom is to obtain wisdom, and, with all that you possess, to acquire prudence.

8 Grasp her, and she will exalt you. You will be glorified by her, when you have embraced her.

9 She will bestow upon your head an increase in graces, and she will protect you with a noble crown.

10 Listen, my son, and accept my words, so that years of life may be multiplied for you.

11 I will demonstrate to you the way of wisdom. I will lead you along the paths of equity.

12 When you have entered by these, your steps will not be constrained, and when running, you will have no obstacle.

13 Take hold of discipline. Do not dismiss it. Guard it, for it is your life.

14 Do not delight in the paths of the impious, nor permit the way of evil-doers to please you.

15 Take flight from it. Do not pass close to it. Turn away and abandon it.

16 For they do not sleep, unless they have done evil. And their sleep is quickly taken away from them, unless they have overthrown.

17 They eat the bread of impiety, and they drink the wine of iniquity.

18 But the path of the just is like a shining light: it advances and increases, even to the day of completion.

19 The way of the impious is darkened. They do not know where they may fall.

20 My son, pay attention to my sermons, and incline your ear to my eloquent words.

21 Let them not recede from your eyes. Keep them in the midst of your heart.

22 For they are life to those who find them and health to all that is flesh.

23 Preserve your heart with all watchfulness, for life proceeds from this.

24 Remove from yourself a corrupt mouth, and let detracting lips be far from you.

25 Let your eyes look straight ahead, and let your eyelids precede your steps.

26 Direct the path of your feet, and all your ways shall be secure.

27 Turn aside, neither to the right, nor to the left; yet turn your foot away from evil. For the Lord knows the ways that are on the right, and truly, those that are on the left are perverse. But he himself will make your courses straight. Then your journey will advance in peace.

1 My son, pay attention to my wisdom, and incline your ear to my prudence,

2 so that you may guard your thinking, and so that your lips may preserve discipline. Do not pay attention to the deceit of a woman.

3 For the lips of a loose woman are like a dripping honeycomb, and her voice is smoother than oil.

4 But in the end, she is as bitter as wormwood, and as sharp as a two-edged sword.

5 Her feet descend into death, and her steps reach even to Hell.

6 They do not walk along the path of life; her steps are wandering and untraceable.

7 Therefore, my son, listen to me now, and do not withdraw from the words of my mouth.

8 Make your way at a distance from her, and do not approach the doors of her house.

9 Do not give your honor to foreigners, and your years to the cruel.

10 Otherwise, outsiders may be filled with your strength, and your labors may be in a foreign house,

11 and you may mourn in the end, when you will have consumed your flesh and your body. And so you may say:

12 “Why have I detested discipline, and why has my heart not been quieted by correction?

13 And why have I not listened to the voice of those who guided me? And why has my ear not inclined to my teachers?

14 I have almost been with all evil in the midst of the church and of the assembly.”

15 Drink water from your own cistern and from the springs of your own well.

16 Let your fountains be diverted far and wide, and divide your waters in the streets.

17 Hold them for yourself alone, and do not let strangers be partakers with you.

18 Let your spring be blessed, and rejoice with the wife of your youth:

19 a beloved doe and most pleasing fawn. Let her breasts inebriate you at all times. Be delighted continually by her love.

20 Why are you seduced, my son, by a strange woman, and why are you kept warm by the bosom of another?

21 The Lord beholds the ways of man, and he considers all his steps.

22 His own iniquities take hold of the impious, and he is bound by the cords of his own sins.

23 He shall die, for he has not held to discipline. And by the multitude of his foolishness, he shall be deceived.

1 My son, if you have taken a pledge on behalf of your friend, then you have bound your hand to an outsider,

2 then you are ensnared by the words of your own mouth, and taken captive by your own words.

3 Therefore, my son, do what I say, and free yourself, for you have fallen into the hand of your neighbor. Run, hurry, awaken your friend.

4 Do not grant sleep to your eyes, nor let your eyelids slumber.

5 Rescue yourself like a gazelle from the hand, and like a bird from the hand of the fowler.

6 Go to the ant, you lazy one, and consider her ways, and so learn wisdom.

7 For though she has no ruler, nor instructor, nor leader,

8 she provides meals for herself in the summer, and she gathers at the harvest what she may eat.

9 How long will you slumber, you lazy one? When will you rise up from your sleep?

10 You will sleep a little, you will slumber a little, you will fold your hands a little to sleep,

11 and then destitution will meet with you, like a traveler, and poverty, like an armed man. Yet truly, if you would be diligent, then your harvest will arrive like a fountain, and destitution will flee far from you.

12 An apostate man, a harmful man, walks with a perverse mouth;

13 he winks with the eyes, touches with the foot, speaks with the finger.

14 With a depraved heart he devises evil, and at all times he sows conflict.

15 To this one, his perdition will arrive promptly, and he shall be crushed suddenly: he will no longer have any remedy.

16 Six things there are that the Lord hates, and the seventh, his soul detests:

17 haughty eyes, a lying tongue, hands that shed innocent blood,

18 a heart that devises the most wicked thoughts, feet running swiftly unto evil,

19 a deceitful witness bringing forth lies, and he who sows discord among brothers.

20 My son, preserve the precepts of your father, and do not dismiss the law of your mother.

21 Bind them to your heart unceasingly, and encircle them around your throat.

22 When you walk, let them keep step with you. When you sleep, let them guard you. And when you keep watch, speak with them.

23 For commandment is a lamp, and law is a light, and the reproofs of discipline are the way of life.

24 So may they guard you from an evil woman, and from the flattering tongue of the outsider.

25 Let not your heart desire her beauty; do not be captivated by her winks.

26 For the price of a prostitute is only one loaf. Yet the woman seizes the precious soul of a man.

27 Would a man be able to conceal fire in his bosom, so that his garments would not burn?

28 Or could he walk over burning coals, so that his feet would not be burned?

29 So also, he who enters to the wife of his neighbor shall not be clean when he touches her.

30 Not so great is the fault when someone has stolen. For he steals so as to satisfy a hungry soul.

31 Also, if he is apprehended, he shall repay sevenfold and hand over all the substance of his house.

32 But whoever is an adulterer, because of the emptiness of his heart, will destroy his own soul.

33 He gathers shame and dishonor to himself, and his disgrace will not be wiped away.

34 For the jealousy and fury of the husband will not spare him on the day of vindication,

35 nor will he agree to the pleadings of anyone, nor will he accept, as repayment, a multitude of gifts.

1 My son, guard my words and conceal my precepts within you.

2 Son, preserve my commandments, and you shall live. And keep my law as the pupil of your eye.

3 Bind it with your fingers; write it on the tablets of your heart.

4 Say to wisdom, “You are my sister,” and call prudence your friend.

5 So may she guard you from the woman who is an outsider, and from the stranger who sweetens her words.

6 For I gaze from the window of my house, through the lattice,

7 and I see little ones. I consider a frenzied youth,

8 who crosses the street at the corner and close to the way of that house.

9 He steps into shadows, as day becomes evening, into the darkness and gloom of the night.

10 And behold, a woman meets him, dressed like a harlot, prepared to captivate souls: chattering and rambling,

11 unwilling to bear silence, unable to keep her feet at home,

12 now outside, now in the streets, now lying in ambush near the corners.

13 And overtaking the youth, she kisses him, and with a provocative face, she flatters him, saying:

14 “I vowed sacrifices for well-being. Today I have repaid my vows.

15 Because of this, I have gone out to meet you, desiring to see you, and I have found you.

16 I have woven my bed with cords. I have strewn it with embroidered tapestries from Egypt.

17 I have sprinkled my bed with myrrh, aloe, and cinnamon.

18 Come, let us be inebriated in abundance, and let us delight in the embraces of desire, until the day begins to dawn.

19 For my husband is not in his house. He has gone away on a very long journey.

20 He took with him a bag of money. He will return to his house on the day of the full moon.”

21 She enmeshed him with many words, and she drew him forward with the flattery of her lips.

22 Immediately, he follows her, like an ox being led to the sacrifice, and like a lamb acting lasciviously, and not knowing that he is being drawn foolishly into chains,

23 until the arrow pierces his liver. It is just as if a bird were to hurry into the snare. And he does not know that his actions endanger his own soul.

24 Therefore, my son, hear me now, and attend to the words of my mouth.

25 Do not let your mind be pulled into her ways. And do not be deceived by her paths.

26 For she has tossed aside many wounded, and some of those who were very strong have been slain by her.

27 Her household is the way to Hell, reaching even to the inner places of death.

1 Does not wisdom call out, and prudence bestow her voice?

2 At the summits and the tops of exalted places, standing above the ways, in the midst of the paths,

3 beside the gates of the city, at the very doors, she speaks, saying:

4 “O men, to you I call out, and my voice is to the sons of men.

5 O little ones, understand discernment. And you who are unwise, turn your souls.

6 Listen, for I will speak about great things, and my lips will be opened, so as to foretell what is right.

7 My throat shall practice truth, and my lips shall detest the impious.

8 All my words are just. There is no depravity in them, and no perversity.

9 They are upright to those who understand, and equitable to those who discover knowledge.

10 Accept my discipline, and not money. Choose the doctrine that is greater than gold.

11 For wisdom is better than all that is most precious, and everything that is desirable cannot compare to her.

12 I, wisdom, dwell in counsel, and I am inside learned thoughts.

13 The fear of the Lord hates evil. I detest arrogance, and pride, and every wicked way, and a mouth with a double tongue.

14 Counsel is mine, and equity. Prudence is mine. Strength is mine.

15 Through me, kings reign and legislators decree just conditions.

16 Through me, princes rule and the powerful decree justice.

17 I love those who love me. And those who stand watch for me until morning shall discover me.

18 With me, are wealth and glory, superb riches and justice.

19 For my fruit is better than gold and precious stones, and my progeny better than choice silver.

20 I walk in the way of justice, in the midst of the paths of judgment,

21 so that I may enrich those who love me, and thus complete their treasures.

22 The Lord possessed me in the beginning of his ways, before he made anything, from the beginning.

23 I was ordained from eternity, and out of antiquity, before the earth was formed.

24 The abyss did not yet exist, and I was already conceived; neither had the fountains of waters yet erupted.

25 The mountains, with their great mass, had not yet been established. Before the hills, I was brought forth.

26 Still he had not made the earth, and the rivers, and the poles of the globe of the earth.

27 I was already present: when he prepared the heavens; when, with a certain law and a circuit, he fortified the abyss;

28 when he made firm the sky above, and set free the fountains of waters;

29 when he encompassed the sea within its limits, and laid down a law for the waters, lest they transgress their limits; when he weighed the foundations of the earth.

30 I was with him in composing all things. And I was delighted, throughout every day, by playing in his sight at all times,

31 playing in globe of the earth. And my delight was to be with the sons of men.

32 Therefore, sons, hear me now. Blessed are those who preserve my ways.

33 Listen to discipline, and become wise, and do not be willing to cast it aside.

34 Blessed is the man who listens to me, and who stands watch at my gates everyday, and who observes at the posts of my doors.

35 He who finds me, finds life, and he will draw salvation from the Lord.

36 But he who sins against me will wound his own soul. All who hate me love death.”

1 Wisdom has built a house for herself. She has hewn seven columns.

2 She has immolated her victims. She has mixed her wine and set forth her table.

3 She has sent her maids to call out to the tower and to the fortified walls of the city,

4 “If anyone is little, let him come to me.” And to the unwise, she has said:

5 “Approach. Eat my bread, and drink the wine that I have mixed for you.

6 Leave behind childishness. And live and walk by the ways of prudence.”

7 Whoever teaches a mocker causes injury to himself. And whoever argues with the impious produces a blemish on himself.

8 Do not be willing to argue with a mocker, lest he hate you. Dispute with the wise, and he will love you.

9 Present an opportunity to the wise, and wisdom shall be added to him. Teach the just, and he will hurry to receive it.

10 The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and knowledge of holiness is prudence.

11 For by me, your days will be multiplied and years of life will be added to you.

12 If you would be wise, you will be so for yourself. But if you would be one who ridicules, you alone shall carry the evil.

13 A foolish and loud woman, who is full of enticements and who knows nothing at all,

14 sat at the entrance of her house on a seat, in a high place of the city,

15 so as to call to those who were passing by the way and continuing on their journey:

16 “Whoever is little, let him turn aside to me.” And to the frenzied, she said,

17 “Stolen waters are more soothing, and secret bread is more pleasant.”

18 And he did not know that giants are there, and that her companions are in the depths of Hell.

1 A wise son gladdens the father. Yet truly, a foolish son is the grief of his mother.

2 Treasures of impiety will profit nothing. Truly, justice shall liberate from death.

3 The Lord will not afflict with famine the soul of the just, and he will overthrow the treacheries of the impious.

4 The neglectful hand has wrought destitution. But the hand of the steadfast prepares riches. He who advances by lies, this one feeds on the wind. For he is the same as one who runs after flying birds.

5 He who gathers the harvest is a wise son. But he who snores in warm weather is a son of confusion.

6 The blessing of the Lord is on the head of the just. But iniquity covers the mouth of the impious.

7 The remembrance of the just is with praises. And the name of the impious shall decay.

8 The wise of heart accept precepts. The foolish are cut down by the lips.

9 He who walks in simplicity walks in confidence. But he who corrupts his ways shall be discovered.

10 He who winks with the eye gives sorrow. And the foolish in lips shall be beaten.

11 The mouth of the just is a vein of life. And the mouth of the impious covers iniquity.

12 Hatred rises up from disputes. And charity covers all offenses.

13 In the lips of the wise, wisdom is discovered. And a rod is for the back of one who lacks heart.

14 The wise store away knowledge. But the mouth of the foolish is a neighbor to confusion.

15 The substance of the rich is the city of his strength. The fear of the poor is their destitution.

16 The work of the just is unto life. But the fruit of the impious is unto sin.

17 The way of life is for those who observe discipline. But whoever abandons correction wanders astray.

18 Lying lips conceal hatred; whoever brings forth contempt is unwise.

19 In a multitude of speaking, sin will not be lacking. But whoever tempers his lips is most prudent.

20 The tongue of the just is choice silver. But the heart of the impious is exchanged for nothing.

21 The lips of the just instruct many. But those who are unlearned shall die in destitution of heart.

22 The blessing of the Lord causes riches. Affliction will not be a companion to them.

23 The foolish work wickedness as if in jest. But wisdom is prudence to a man.

24 What the impious fear will overwhelm them. The just shall be given their desire.

25 Like a passing tempest, so the impious one will be no more. But the just one is like an everlasting foundation.

26 Like vinegar to the teeth, and smoke to the eyes, so is a lazy one to those who sent him.

27 The fear of the Lord adds days. And the years of the impious will be shortened.

28 The expectation of the just is rejoicing. But the hope of the impious will perish.

29 The strength of the simple is the way of the Lord, and it is fear to those who work evil.

30 The just in eternity shall not be moved. But the impious will not live upon the earth.

31 The mouth of the just shall bring forth wisdom. The tongue of the depraved will perish.

32 The lips of the just consider what is acceptable. And the mouth of the impious considers perversities.

1 A deceitful scale is an abomination with the Lord, and a fair weighing is his will.

2 Wherever arrogance may be, there too is insult. But wherever humility is, there too is wisdom.

3 The simplicity of the just shall direct them, and the rebellion of the perverse will devastate them.

4 Wealth will not profit in the day of vengeance. But justice shall liberate from death.

5 The justice of the simple shall direct his way. And the impious will fall in his impiety.

6 The justice of the upright shall free them. And the iniquitous will be seized by their own treachery.

7 When the impious man is dead, there will no longer be any hope. And the expectation of the anxious will perish.

8 The just one is freed from anguish. And the impious one will be handed over instead of him.

9 The pretender deceives his friend by mouth. But the just shall be freed by knowledge.

10 In the good of the just, the city shall exult. And in the perdition of the impious, there shall be praise.

11 By the blessing of the just, the city shall be exalted. And by the mouth of the impious, it will be subverted.

12 Whoever despises his friend is destitute in heart. But the prudent man will remain silent.

13 Whoever walks dishonestly reveals secrets. But whoever is of a faithful soul conceals what is confided by a friend.

14 Where there is no governor, the people shall fall. But where there is much counsel, well-being shall be.

15 He will be afflicted with evil, who provides a guarantee for an outsider. But whoever is wary of traps shall be secure.

16 A gracious woman shall discover glory. And the robust will have wealth.

17 A merciful man benefits his own soul. But whoever is cruel casts out even his close relatives.

18 The impious does work with inconstancy. But for the sower of justice, there is the reward of faithfulness.

19 Clemency prepares life. And the pursuit of evils prepares death.

20 A depraved heart is abominable to the Lord. And his will is with those who walk in simplicity.

21 Hand in hand, the evil shall not be innocent. But the offspring of the just shall be saved.

22 A beautiful and senseless woman is like a gold ring in the snout of a swine.

23 The desire of the just is entirely good. The anticipation of the impious is fury.

24 Some distribute their own goods, and they become wealthier. Others seize what is not their own, and they are always in need.

25 The soul that blesses shall be made fat. And whoever inebriates will likewise be inebriated himself.

26 Whoever hides away grain shall be cursed among the people. But a blessing is upon the head of those who sell it.

27 He does well to rise early, who seeks what is good. But whoever is a seeker of evils shall be oppressed by them.

28 Whoever trusts in his riches will fall. But the just shall spring up like a green leaf.

29 Whoever troubles his own house will possess the winds. And whoever is foolish will serve the wise.

30 The fruit of the just one is the tree of life. And whoever receives souls is wise.

31 If the just are repaid upon the earth, how much more the impious and the sinner!

1 Whoever loves discipline loves knowledge. But whoever hates correction is unwise.

2 Whoever is good shall draw grace from the Lord. But whoever trusts in his own thoughts acts impiously.

3 Man will not be made strong from impiety. And the root of the just shall not be moved.

4 A diligent woman is a crown to her husband. And she who acts with confusion as to which things are worthy is decay to his bones.

5 The thoughts of the just are judgments. And the counsels of the impious are dishonest.

6 The words of the impious lie in wait for blood. The mouth of the just shall free them.

7 Turn from the impious, and they will not be. But the house of the just shall stand firm.

8 A man will be known by his doctrine. But whoever is vain and heartless will suffer contempt.

9 Better is a pauper who has what he needs, than someone glorious and in need of bread.

10 The just one knows the lives of his beasts. But the inner most parts of the impious are cruel.

11 Whoever works his land shall be satisfied with bread. But whoever continually pursues leisure is most foolish. Whoever is soothed by lingering over wine leaves behind contempt in his strongholds.

12 The desire of the impious is the fortification of what is most wicked. But the root of the just shall prosper.

13 For the sins of the lips draw ruin to the evil. But the just shall escape from distress.

14 By the fruit of his own mouth, each one shall be filled with good things, and according to the works of his own hands, it will be distributed to him.

15 The way of the foolish is right in his own eyes. But whoever is wise listens to counsels.

16 The senseless immediately reveals his anger. But whoever ignores injuries is clever.

17 He is a sign of justice, who speaks what he knows. But whoever deceives is a dishonest witness.

18 He who makes promises is also jabbed, as if with a sword, in conscience. But the tongue of the wise is reasonable.

19 The lips of truth shall be steadfast forever. But a hasty witness readies a lying tongue.

20 Deceit is in the heart of those who devise evils. But gladness follows those who take up counsels of peace.

21 Whatever may befall the just, it will not discourage him. But the impious will be filled with disasters.

22 Lying lips are an abomination to the Lord. But whoever acts faithfully pleases him.

23 A resourceful man conceals knowledge. And the heart of the unwise provokes foolishness.

24 The hand of the strong will rule. But anyone who is neglectful will pay tribute.

25 Grief in the heart of a man humbles him. And with a good word he shall be made glad.

26 He who ignores a loss for the sake of a friend is just. But the way of the impious will deceive them.

27 The dishonest will not discover gain. But the substance of a man will be like precious gold.

28 In the path of justice, there is life. But the devious way leads to death.