Proverbs 4:1–13

¹THEREFORE we ought to give the more earnest heed to the things which we have heard, lest at any time we should let them slip.

¹¹Come, ye children, hearken unto me: I will teach you the fear of the Lord.

⁸My son, hear the instruction of thy father, and forsake not the law of thy mother:

¹MY son, if thou wilt receive my words, and hide my commandments with thee;

²So that thou incline thine ear unto wisdom, and apply thine heart to understanding;

³Yea, if thou criest after knowledge, and liftest up thy voice for understanding;

⁴If thou seekest her as silver, and searchest for her as for hid treasures;

⁵Then shalt thou understand the fear of the Lord, and find the knowledge of God.

¹¹As ye know how we exhorted and comforted and charged every one of you, as a father doth his children,

¹²That ye would walk worthy of God, who hath called you unto his kingdom and glory.

¹MY son, attend unto my wisdom, and bow thine ear to my understanding:

²⁰Hear counsel, and receive instruction, that thou mayest be wise in thy latter end.

¹⁷Bow down thine ear, and hear the words of the wise, and apply thine heart unto my knowledge.

⁴Say unto wisdom, Thou art my sister; and call understanding thy kinswoman:

²⁰¶ My son, keep thy father’s commandment, and forsake not the law of thy mother:

²¹Bind them continually upon thine heart, and tie them about thy neck.

²²When thou goest, it shall lead thee; when thou sleepest, it shall keep thee; and when thou awakest, it shall talk with thee.

²³For the commandment is a lamp; and the law is light; and reproofs of instruction are the way of life:

³²Now therefore hearken unto me, O ye children: for blessed are they that keep my ways.

³³Hear instruction, and be wise, and refuse it not.

³⁴Blessed is the man that heareth me, watching daily at my gates, waiting at the posts of my doors.

³⁵For whoso findeth me findeth life, and shall obtain favour of the Lord.

³⁶But he that sinneth against me wrongeth his own soul: all they that hate me love death.

⁶If thou put the brethren in remembrance of these things, thou shalt be a good minister of Jesus Christ, nourished up in the words of faith and of good doctrine, whereunto thou hast attained.

²My doctrine shall drop as the rain, my speech shall distil as the dew, as the small rain upon the tender herb, and as the showers upon the grass:

⁹Holding fast the faithful word as he hath been taught, that he may be able by sound doctrine both to exhort and to convince the gainsayers.

³My words shall be of the uprightness of my heart: and my lips shall utter knowledge clearly.

⁶Hear; for I will speak of excellent things; and the opening of my lips shall be right things.

⁷For my mouth shall speak truth; and wickedness is an abomination to my lips.

⁸All the words of my mouth are in righteousness; there is nothing froward or perverse in them.

⁹They are all plain to him that understandeth, and right to them that find knowledge.

³⁰If his children forsake my law, and walk not in my judgments;

³¹If they break my statutes, and keep not my commandments;

³²Then will I visit their transgression with the rod, and their iniquity with stripes.

¹⁶Jesus answered them, and said, My doctrine is not mine, but his that sent me.

¹⁷If any man will do his will, he shall know of the doctrine, whether it be of God, or whether I speak of myself.

⁹¶ And thou, Solomon my son, know thou the God of thy father, and serve him with a perfect heart and with a willing mind: for the Lord searcheth all hearts, and understandeth all the imaginations of the thoughts: if thou seek him, he will be found of thee; but if thou forsake him, he will cast thee off for ever.

¹⁹But if ye turn away, and forsake my statutes and my commandments, which I have set before you, and shall go and serve other gods, and worship them;

⁴For thou hast said, My doctrine is pure, and I am clean in thine eyes.

²⁰Have not I written to thee excellent things in counsels and knowledge,

²¹That I might make thee know the certainty of the words of truth; that thou mightest answer the words of truth to them that send unto thee?

¹HEAR this, all ye people; give ear, all ye inhabitants of the world:

²Both low and high, rich and poor, together.

³My mouth shall speak of wisdom; and the meditation of my heart shall be of understanding.

⁵And David said, Solomon my son is young and tender, and the house that is to be builded for the Lord must be exceeding magnifical, of fame and of glory throughout all countries: I will therefore now make preparation for it. So David prepared abundantly before his death.

¹FURTHERMORE David the king said unto all the congregation, Solomon my son, whom alone God hath chosen, is yet young and tender, and the work is great: for the palace is not for man, but for the Lord God.

¹⁶Be of the same mind one toward another. Mind not high things, but condescend to men of low estate. Be not wise in your own conceits.

⁵And these were born unto him in Jerusalem; Shimea, and Shobab, and Nathan, and Solomon, four, of Bath-shua the daughter of Ammiel:

¹³Go and get thee in unto king David, and say unto him, Didst not thou, my lord, O king, swear unto thine handmaid, saying, Assuredly Solomon thy son shall reign after me, and he shall sit upon my throne? why then doth Adonijah reign?

¹⁴Behold, while thou yet talkest there with the king, I also will come in after thee, and confirm thy words.

¹⁵¶ And Bath-sheba went in unto the king into the chamber: and the king was very old; and Abishag the Shunammite ministered unto the king.

¹⁶And Bath-sheba bowed, and did obeisance unto the king. And the king said, What wouldest thou?

¹⁷And she said unto him, My lord, thou swarest by the Lord thy God unto thine handmaid, saying, Assuredly Solomon thy son shall reign after me, and he shall sit upon my throne.

²⁴¶ And David comforted Bath-sheba his wife, and went in unto her, and lay with her: and she bare a son, and he called his name Solomon: and the Lord loved him.

²⁵And he sent by the hand of Nathan the prophet; and he called his name Jedidiah, because of the Lord.

²³¶ O Lord, I know that the way of man is not in himself: it is not in man that walketh to direct his steps.

¹⁰And I will pour upon the house of David, and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the spirit of grace and of supplications: and they shall look upon me whom they have pierced, and they shall mourn for him, as one mourneth for his only son, and shall be in bitterness for him, as one that is in bitterness for his firstborn.

¹MY son, forget not my law; but let thine heart keep my commandments:

⁴And, ye fathers, provoke not your children to wrath: but bring them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord.

⁵⁰And I know that his commandment is life everlasting: whatsoever I speak therefore, even as the Father said unto me, so I speak.

⁹¶ And thou, Solomon my son, know thou the God of thy father, and serve him with a perfect heart and with a willing mind: for the Lord searcheth all hearts, and understandeth all the imaginations of the thoughts: if thou seek him, he will be found of thee; but if thou forsake him, he will cast thee off for ever.

²Keep my commandments, and live; and my law as the apple of thine eye.

¹⁵And that from a child thou hast known the holy scriptures, which are able to make thee wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus.

⁶And these words, which I command thee this day, shall be in thine heart:

³Incline your ear, and come unto me: hear, and your soul shall live; and I will make an everlasting covenant with you, even the sure mercies of David.

⁵When I call to remembrance the unfeigned faith that is in thee, which dwelt first in thy grandmother Lois, and thy mother Eunice; and I am persuaded that in thee also.

⁹Only take heed to thyself, and keep thy soul diligently, lest thou forget the things which thine eyes have seen, and lest they depart from thy heart all the days of thy life: but teach them thy sons, and thy sons’ sons;

¹⁹For I know him, that he will command his children and his household after him, and they shall keep the way of the Lord, to do justice and judgment; that the Lord may bring upon Abraham that which he hath spoken of him.

⁹And being made perfect, he became the author of eternal salvation unto all them that obey him;

³After the doings of the land of Egypt, wherein ye dwelt, shall ye not do: and after the doings of the land of Canaan, whither I bring you, shall ye not do: neither shall ye walk in their ordinances.

⁴Ye shall do my judgments, and keep mine ordinances, to walk therein: I am the Lord your God.

⁵Ye shall therefore keep my statutes, and my judgments: which if a man do, he shall live in them: I am the Lord.

⁶Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it.

¹¹Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against thee.

¹¹Now, my son, the Lord be with thee; and prosper thou, and build the house of the Lord thy God, as he hath said of thee.

¹²Only the Lord give thee wisdom and understanding, and give thee charge concerning Israel, that thou mayest keep the law of the Lord thy God.

¹³Then shalt thou prosper, if thou takest heed to fulfil the statutes and judgments which the Lord charged Moses with concerning Israel: be strong, and of good courage; dread not, nor be dismayed.

¹⁴Now, behold, in my trouble I have prepared for the house of the Lord an hundred thousand talents of gold, and a thousand thousand talents of silver; and of brass and iron without weight; for it is in abundance: timber also and stone have I prepared; and thou mayest add thereto.

¹⁵Moreover there are workmen with thee in abundance, hewers and workers of stone and timber, and all manner of cunning men for every manner of work.

¹⁶Of the gold, the silver, and the brass, and the iron, there is no number. Arise therefore, and be doing, and the Lord be with thee.

⁵If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him.

¹³¶ Happy is the man that findeth wisdom, and the man that getteth understanding.

¹⁴For the merchandise of it is better than the merchandise of silver, and the gain thereof than fine gold.

¹⁵She is more precious than rubies: and all the things thou canst desire are not to be compared unto her.

¹⁶Length of days is in her right hand; and in her left hand riches and honour.

¹⁷Her ways are ways of pleasantness, and all her paths are peace.

¹⁸She is a tree of life to them that lay hold upon her: and happy is every one that retaineth her.

²And he did that which was right in the sight of the Lord, and walked in the ways of David his father, and declined neither to the right hand, nor to the left.

²²How long, ye simple ones, will ye love simplicity? and the scorners delight in their scorning, and fools hate knowledge?

²³Turn you at my reproof: behold, I will pour out my spirit unto you, I will make known my words unto you.

¹⁸Our heart is not turned back, neither have our steps declined from thy way;

¹¹My foot hath held his steps, his way have I kept, and not declined.

¹⁶Wherefore is there a price in the hand of a fool to get wisdom, seeing he hath no heart to it?

⁵O ye simple, understand wisdom: and, ye fools, be ye of an understanding heart.

⁸He that getteth wisdom loveth his own soul: he that keepeth understanding shall find good.

¹⁶How much better is it to get wisdom than gold! and to get understanding rather to be chosen than silver!

¹THROUGH desire a man, having separated himself, seeketh and intermeddleth with all wisdom.

²So that thou incline thine ear unto wisdom, and apply thine heart to understanding;

³Yea, if thou criest after knowledge, and liftest up thy voice for understanding;

⁴If thou seekest her as silver, and searchest for her as for hid treasures;

¹⁵⁷Many are my persecutors and mine enemies; yet do I not decline from thy testimonies.

⁵¹The proud have had me greatly in derision: yet have I not declined from thy law.

²³Buy the truth, and sell it not; also wisdom, and instruction, and understanding.

¹⁰And with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish; because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved.

²¹Let them not depart from thine eyes; keep them in the midst of thine heart.

²²For they are life unto those that find them, and health to all their flesh.

¹⁷That Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith; that ye, being rooted and grounded in love,

¹⁰¶ When wisdom entereth into thine heart, and knowledge is pleasant unto thy soul;

¹¹Discretion shall preserve thee, understanding shall keep thee:

¹²To deliver thee from the way of the evil man, from the man that speaketh froward things;

¹²For wisdom is a defence, and money is a defence: but the excellency of knowledge is, that wisdom giveth life to them that have it.

¹⁶Then said I, Wisdom is better than strength: nevertheless the poor man’s wisdom is despised, and his words are not heard.

¹⁷The words of wise men are heard in quiet more than the cry of him that ruleth among fools.

¹⁸Wisdom is better than weapons of war: but one sinner destroyeth much good.

²³Buy the truth, and sell it not; also wisdom, and instruction, and understanding.

¹⁶How much better is it to get wisdom than gold! and to get understanding rather to be chosen than silver!

⁸Yea doubtless, and I count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord: for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and do count them but dung, that I may win Christ,

³⁶For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?

³⁷Or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?

⁴⁴¶ Again, the kingdom of heaven is like unto treasure hid in a field; the which when a man hath found, he hideth, and for joy thereof goeth and selleth all that he hath, and buyeth that field.

⁴⁵¶ Again, the kingdom of heaven is like unto a merchant man, seeking goodly pearls:

⁴⁶Who, when he had found one pearl of great price, went and sold all that he had, and bought it.

¹⁰⁴Through thy precepts I get understanding: therefore I hate every false way.

²⁰But God said unto him, Thou fool, this night thy soul shall be required of thee: then whose shall those things be, which thou hast provided?

⁶The getting of treasures by a lying tongue is a vanity tossed to and fro of them that seek death.

¹⁶Be not thou afraid when one is made rich, when the glory of his house is increased;

¹⁷For when he dieth he shall carry nothing away: his glory shall not descend after him.

¹⁸Though while he lived he blessed his soul: and men will praise thee, when thou doest well to thyself.

¹⁹He shall go to the generation of his fathers; they shall never see light.

²⁰Man that is in honour, and understandeth not, is like the beasts that perish.

⁴I made me great works; I builded me houses; I planted me vineyards:

⁵I made me gardens and orchards, and I planted trees in them of all kind of fruits:

⁶I made me pools of water, to water therewith the wood that bringeth forth trees:

⁷I got me servants and maidens, and had servants born in my house; also I had great possessions of great and small cattle above all that were in Jerusalem before me:

⁸I gathered me also silver and gold, and the peculiar treasure of kings and of the provinces: I gat me men singers and women singers, and the delights of the sons of men, as musical instruments, and that of all sorts.

⁹So I was great, and increased more than all that were before me in Jerusalem: also my wisdom remained with me.

⁴²But one thing is needful: and Mary hath chosen that good part, which shall not be taken away from her.

⁸There is one alone, and there is not a second; yea, he hath neither child nor brother: yet is there no end of all his labour; neither is his eye satisfied with riches; neither saith he, For whom do I labour, and bereave my soul of good? This is also vanity, yea, it is a sore travail.

³And they that be wise shall shine as the brightness of the firmament; and they that turn many to righteousness as the stars for ever and ever.

³⁰Wherefore the Lord God of Israel saith, I said indeed that thy house, and the house of thy father, should walk before me for ever: but now the Lord saith, Be it far from me; for them that honour me I will honour, and they that despise me shall be lightly esteemed.

³⁵The wise shall inherit glory: but shame shall be the promotion of fools.

⁵¶ In Gibeon the Lord appeared to Solomon in a dream by night: and God said, Ask what I shall give thee.

⁶And Solomon said, Thou hast shewed unto thy servant David my father great mercy, according as he walked before thee in truth, and in righteousness, and in uprightness of heart with thee; and thou hast kept for him this great kindness, that thou hast given him a son to sit on his throne, as it is this day.

⁷And now, O Lord my God, thou hast made thy servant king instead of David my father: and I am but a little child: I know not how to go out or come in.

⁸And thy servant is in the midst of thy people which thou hast chosen, a great people, that cannot be numbered nor counted for multitude.

⁹Give therefore thy servant an understanding heart to judge thy people, that I may discern between good and bad: for who is able to judge this thy so great a people?

¹⁰And the speech pleased the Lord, that Solomon had asked this thing.

¹¹And God said unto him, Because thou hast asked this thing, and hast not asked for thyself long life; neither hast asked riches for thyself, nor hast asked the life of thine enemies; but hast asked for thyself understanding to discern judgment;

¹²Behold, I have done according to thy words: lo, I have given thee a wise and an understanding heart; so that there was none like thee before thee, neither after thee shall any arise like unto thee.

¹³And I have also given thee that which thou hast not asked, both riches, and honour: so that there shall not be any among the kings like unto thee all thy days.

⁴By humility and the fear of the Lord are riches, and honour, and life.

⁹For they shall be an ornament of grace unto thy head, and chains about thy neck.

⁴And when the chief Shepherd shall appear, ye shall receive a crown of glory that fadeth not away.

⁷Thou madest him a little lower than the angels; thou crownedst him with glory and honour, and didst set him over the works of thy hands:

⁸Thou hast put all things in subjection under his feet. For in that he put all in subjection under him, he left nothing that is not put under him. But now we see not yet all things put under him.

⁹But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels for the suffering of death, crowned with glory and honour; that he by the grace of God should taste death for every man.

⁵¶ In that day shall the Lord of hosts be for a crown of glory, and for a diadem of beauty, unto the residue of his people,

³¹The hoary head is a crown of glory, if it be found in the way of righteousness.

²¹To him that overcometh will I grant to sit with me in my throne, even as I also overcame, and am set down with my Father in his throne.

⁴But let it be the hidden man of the heart, in that which is not corruptible, even the ornament of a meek and quiet spirit, which is in the sight of God of great price.

⁹In like manner also, that women adorn themselves in modest apparel, with shamefacedness and sobriety; not with broided hair, or gold, or pearls, or costly array;

¹⁰But (which becometh women professing godliness) with good works.

²²So shall they be life unto thy soul, and grace to thy neck.

¹³For this cause also thank we God without ceasing, because, when ye received the word of God which ye heard of us, ye received it not as the word of men, but as it is in truth, the word of God, which effectually worketh also in you that believe.

²For length of days, and long life, and peace, shall they add to thee.

²That thou mightest fear the Lord thy God, to keep all his statutes and his commandments, which I command thee, thou, and thy son, and thy son’s son, all the days of thy life; and that thy days may be prolonged.

²⁰Yet hear the word of the Lord, O ye women, and let your ear receive the word of his mouth, and teach your daughters wailing, and every one her neighbour lamentation.

¹⁶Length of days is in her right hand; and in her left hand riches and honour.

¹⁵This is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners; of whom I am chief.

³²And what he hath seen and heard, that he testifieth; and no man receiveth his testimony.

³³He that hath received his testimony hath set to his seal that God is true.

¹⁰Receive my instruction, and not silver; and knowledge rather than choice gold.

²²Receive, I pray thee, the law from his mouth, and lay up his words in thine heart.

²⁰Hear counsel, and receive instruction, that thou mayest be wise in thy latter end.

¹MY son, if thou wilt receive my words, and hide my commandments with thee;

¹⁶¶ Honour thy father and thy mother, as the Lord thy God hath commanded thee; that thy days may be prolonged, and that it may go well with thee, in the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee.

⁴Shew me thy ways, O Lord; teach me thy paths.

⁵Lead me in thy truth, and teach me: for thou art the God of my salvation; on thee do I wait all the day.

⁹And moreover, because the preacher was wise, he still taught the people knowledge; yea, he gave good heed, and sought out, and set in order many proverbs.

⁹They are all plain to him that understandeth, and right to them that find knowledge.

²³Moreover as for me, God forbid that I should sin against the Lord in ceasing to pray for you: but I will teach you the good and the right way:

²⁴Only fear the Lord, and serve him in truth with all your heart: for consider how great things he hath done for you.

⁶Hear; for I will speak of excellent things; and the opening of my lips shall be right things.

³He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name’s sake.

⁵Behold, I have taught you statutes and judgments, even as the Lord my God commanded me, that ye should do so in the land whither ye go to possess it.

⁴He taught me also, and said unto me, Let thine heart retain my words: keep my commandments, and live.

¹⁰And said, O full of all subtilty and all mischief, thou child of the devil, thou enemy of all righteousness, wilt thou not cease to pervert the right ways of the Lord?

²⁰I lead in the way of righteousness, in the midst of the paths of judgment:

²³Then shalt thou walk in thy way safely, and thy foot shall not stumble.

³⁶Thou hast enlarged my steps under me, that my feet did not slip.

⁸And a stone of stumbling, and a rock of offence, even to them which stumble at the word, being disobedient: whereunto also they were appointed.

³⁷Thou hast enlarged my steps under me; so that my feet did not slip.

⁹Jesus answered, Are there not twelve hours in the day? If any man walk in the day, he stumbleth not, because he seeth the light of this world.

¹⁰But if a man walk in the night, he stumbleth, because there is no light in him.

¹⁰He that loveth his brother abideth in the light, and there is none occasion of stumbling in him.

¹¹But he that hateth his brother is in darkness, and walketh in darkness, and knoweth not whither he goeth, because that darkness hath blinded his eyes.

¹⁹The way of the wicked is as darkness: they know not at what they stumble.

¹⁶⁵Great peace have they which love thy law: and nothing shall offend them.

¹¹For he shall give his angels charge over thee, to keep thee in all thy ways.

¹²They shall bear thee up in their hands, lest thou dash thy foot against a stone.

⁹They shall come with weeping, and with supplications will I lead them: I will cause them to walk by the rivers of waters in a straight way, wherein they shall not stumble: for I am a father to Israel, and Ephraim is my firstborn.

⁷The steps of his strength shall be straitened, and his own counsel shall cast him down.

⁸For he is cast into a net by his own feet, and he walketh upon a snare.

²²When thou goest, it shall lead thee; when thou sleepest, it shall keep thee; and when thou awakest, it shall talk with thee.

³²Wherefore? Because they sought it not by faith, but as it were by the works of the law. For they stumbled at that stumblingstone;

³³As it is written, Behold, I lay in Sion a stumblingstone and rock of offence: and whosoever believeth on him shall not be ashamed.

¹THEREFORE we ought to give the more earnest heed to the things which we have heard, lest at any time we should let them slip.

²³Buy the truth, and sell it not; also wisdom, and instruction, and understanding.

¹⁸She is a tree of life to them that lay hold upon her: and happy is every one that retaineth her.

²¹Prove all things; hold fast that which is good.

⁴⁷For it is not a vain thing for you; because it is your life: and through this thing ye shall prolong your days in the land, whither ye go over Jordan to possess it.

²³Who, when he came, and had seen the grace of God, was glad, and exhorted them all, that with purpose of heart they would cleave unto the Lord.

⁴²And they continued stedfastly in the apostles’ doctrine and fellowship, and in breaking of bread, and in prayers.

⁶⁸Then Simon Peter answered him, Lord, to whom shall we go? thou hast the words of eternal life.

¹²For wisdom is a defence, and money is a defence: but the excellency of knowledge is, that wisdom giveth life to them that have it.

¹¹And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony; and they loved not their lives unto the death.

¹³I know thy works, and where thou dwellest, even where Satan’s seat is: and thou holdest fast my name, and hast not denied my faith, even in those days wherein Antipas was my faithful martyr, who was slain among you, where Satan dwelleth.

⁴It was but a little that I passed from them, but I found him whom my soul loveth: I held him, and would not let him go, until I had brought him into my mother’s house, and into the chamber of her that conceived me.

²⁶And he said, Let me go, for the day breaketh. And he said, I will not let thee go, except thou bless me.

²⁷And beginning at Moses and all the prophets, he expounded unto them in all the scriptures the things concerning himself.

²⁸And they drew nigh unto the village, whither they went: and he made as though he would have gone further.

²⁹But they constrained him, saying, Abide with us: for it is toward evening, and the day is far spent. And he went in to tarry with them.

²²So shall they be life unto thy soul, and grace to thy neck.

³⁹¶ And many of the Samaritans of that city believed on him for the saying of the woman, which testified, He told me all that ever I did.

⁴⁰So when the Samaritans were come unto him, they besought him that he would tarry with them: and he abode there two days.

⁴¹And many more believed because of his own word;

⁴²And said unto the woman, Now we believe, not because of thy saying: for we have heard him ourselves, and know that this is indeed the Christ, the Saviour of the world.