In the judgement of the Lord are his works from the beginning; And from the making of them he disposed the parts thereof.
Counsel, and tongue, and eyes, Ears, and heart, gave he them to understand withal.
He filled them with the knowledge of wisdom, And showed them good and evil.
He set his eye upon their hearts, To show them the majesty of his works.
He added to them knowledge, And gave them a law of life for a heritage.
To none has he given power to declare his works: And who will trace out his mighty deeds?
As for the wondrous works of the Lord, it is not possible to take from them nor add to them, Neither is it possible to track them out.
When a man has finished, then he is but at the beginning; And when he ceaseth, then will he be in perplexity.
Shall not the dew assuage the scorching heat? So is a word better than a gift.
Behold, is not a word better than a gift? And both are with a gracious man.
A fool will upbrade ungraciously; And the gift of an envious man consumes the eyes.
Learn before you speak; And have a care of your health or ever you be sick.
Before you make a vow, prepare yourself; And be not as a man that tempts the Lord.
A wise man will fear in everything; And in days of sinning he will beware of offence.
Every man of understanding knows wisdom; And he will give thanks to him that found her.
They that were of understanding in sayings became also wise themselves, And poured forth apt proverbs.
He that is hasty to trust is light-minded; And he that sins will offend against his own soul.
Never repeat what is told you, And you will fare never the worse.
Hast you heard a word? let it die with you: Be of good courage, it will not burst you.
A fool will travail in pain with a word, As a woman in labor with a child.
As an arrow that sticks in the flesh of the thigh, So is a word in a fool’s belly.
All wisdom is the fear of the Lord; And in all wisdom is the doing of the law.
And the knowledge of wickedness is not wisdom; And the prudence of sinners is not counsel.
There is a wickedness, and the same is abomination; And there is a fool lacking in wisdom.
Better is one that has small understanding, and fears, Than one that has much prudence, and transgresses the law.
A man will be known by his look, And one that has understanding will be known by his face, when you meet him.
There is a reproof that is not comely; And there is a man that keeps silence, and he is wise.
There is one that keeps silence, and is found wise; And there is one that is hated for his much talk.
There is one that keeps silence, for he has no answer to make; And there is that keeps silence, as knowing his time.
A wise man will be silent till his time come; But the braggart and fool will overpass his time.
There is a prosperity that a man finds in misfortunes; And there is a gain that turns to loss.
He that is wise in words will make himself beloved; But the pleasantries of fools will be wasted.
The gift of a fool will not profit you; For his eyes are many instead of one.
A man without grace is as a tale out of season: It will be continually in the mouth of the ignorant.
A wise sentence from a fool’s mouth will be rejected; For he will not speak it in its season.
There is that destroys his soul through bashfulness; And by a foolish countenance he will destroy it.
He that is wise in words will advance himself; And one that is prudent will please great men.
Presents and gifts blind the eyes of the wise, And as a muzzle on the mouth, turn away reproofs.
Wisdom that is hid, and treasure that is out of sight, What profit is in them both?
Better is a man that hides his folly Than a man that hides his wisdom.
He that is mighty in tongue is known afar off: But the man of understanding knows when he slips.
He that keeps the law becomes master of the intent thereof; And the end of the fear of the Lord is wisdom.
He that is not clever will not be instructed; And there is a cleverness which makes bitterness to abound.
The knowledge of a wise man will be made to abound as a flood; And his counsel as a fountain of life.
The inward parts of a fool are like a broken vessel; And he will hold no knowledge.
If a man of knowledge hear a wise word, He will commend it, and add to it: The dissolute man hears it, and it displeases him, And he puts it away behind his back.
The discourse of a fool is like a burden in the way; But grace will be found on the lips of the wise.
The mouth of the prudent man will be sought for in the congregation; And they will ponder his words in their heart.
As a house that is destroyed, so is wisdom to a fool; And the knowledge of an unwise man is as talk without sense.
Instruction is as fetters on the feet of an unwise man, And as manacles on the right hand.
A fool lifts up his voice with laughter; But a clever man will scarce smile quietly.
Instruction is to a prudent man as an ornament of gold, And as a bracelet upon his right arm.
The foot of a fool is soon in another man’s house; But a man of experience will be ashamed of entering.
A foolish man peepeth in from the door of another man’s house; But a man that is instructed will stand without.
It is a lack of instruction in a man to listen at the door; But the prudent man will be grieved with the disgrace.
The lips of strangers will be grieved at these things; But the words of prudent men will be weighed in the balance.
The heart of fools is in their mouth; But the mouth of wise men is their heart.
A father has shame in having begotten an uninstructed son; And a foolish daughter is born to his loss.
Unseasonable discourse is as music in mourning; But stripes and correction are wisdom at every season.
He that teaches a fool is as one that glues a potsherd together; Even as one that wakes a sleeper out of a deep sleep.
He that discourseth to a fool is as one discoursing to a man that slumbereth; And at the end he will say, What is it?
Talk not much with a foolish man, And go not to one that has no understanding: Beware of him, lest you have trouble; And so you shall not be defiled in his onslaught: Turn away from him, and you will find rest; And so you shall not be wearied in his madness.
What shall be heavier than lead? And what is the name thereof, but a fool?
Sand, and salt, and a mass of iron, is easier to bear, Than a man without understanding.
Timber girded and bound into a building will not be loosed with shaking: So a heart established in due season on well advised counsel will not be afraid.
A heart settled upon a thoughtful understanding Is as an ornament of plaister on a polished wall.
Before fire is the vapor and smoke of a furnace; So revilings before bloodshed.
Who shall set a watch over my mouth, And a seal of shrewdness upon my lips, That I fall not from it, and that my tongue destroy me not?
Who will set scourges over my thought, And a discipline of wisdom over my heart? That they spare me not for my ignorances, And my heart pass not by their sins:
Hear you⌃, my children, the discipline of the mouth; And he that keeps it will not be taken.
Remember your father and your mother, For you sit in the midst of great men; That you be not forgetful before them, And become a fool by your custom; So will you wish that you had not been born, And curse the day of your nativity.
All things were known to him or ever they were created; And in like manner also after they were perfected.
And those who are left behind will know that there is nothing better than the fear of the Lord, And nothing sweeter than to take heed to the commandments of the Lord.
Wisdom will praise herself, And will glory in the midst of her people.
I came forth from the mouth of the Most High, And covered the earth as a mist.
I lived in high places, And my throne is in the pillar of the cloud.
Alone I compassed the circuit of heaven, And walked in the depth of the abyss.
Then the Creator of all things gave me a commandment; And he that created me made my tabernacle to rest, And said, Let your tabernacle be in Jacob, And your inheritance in Israel.
He created me from the beginning before the world; And to the end I will not fail.
I was exalted like a cedar in Libanus, And as a cypress tree on the mountains of Hermon.
As the terebinth I stretched out my branches; And my branches are branches of glory and grace.
Come to me, you⌃ that are desirous of me, And be you⌃ filled with my produce.
For my memorial is sweeter than honey, And my inheritance than the honeycomb.
They that eat me will yet be hungry; And those who drink me will yet be thirsty.
It is he that makes wisdom abundant, as Pishon, And as Tigris in the days of new fruits;
That makes understanding full as Euphrates, And as Jordan in the days of harvest;
That makes instruction to shine forth as the light, As Gihon in the days of vintage.
The first man knew her not perfectly; And in like manner the last has not traced her out.
For her thoughts are filled from the sea, And her counsels from the great deep.
I will yet bring instruction to light as the morning, And will make these things to shine forth afar off.
I will yet pour out doctrine as prophecy, And leave it to generations of ages.
Behold that I have not laboured for myself only, But for all those who diligently seek her.
In your youth you have not gathered, And how should you find in your old age?
How beautiful a thing is judgement for gray hairs, And for elders to know counsel!
How beautiful is the wisdom of old men, And thought and counsel to men that are in honor!
Much experience is the crown of old men; And their glorying is the fear of the Lord.
Happy is he that dwells with a wife of understanding; And he that has not slipped with his tongue; And he that has not served a man that is unworthy of him:
Happy is he that has found prudence; And he that discourseth in the ears of those who listen.
How great is he that has found wisdom! Yet is there none above him that fears the Lord.
The fear of the Lord passes all things: He that holds it, to whom shall he be likened?












