Proverbs 5:2–13

⁶The law of truth was in his mouth, and iniquity was not found in his lips: he walked with me in peace and equity, and did turn many away from iniquity.

⁷For the priest’s lips should keep knowledge, and they should seek the law at his mouth: for he is the messenger of the Lord of hosts.

⁷The lips of the wise disperse knowledge: but the heart of the foolish doeth not so.

²³The heart of the wise teacheth his mouth, and addeth learning to his lips.

¹¹Thy lips, O my spouse, drop as the honeycomb: honey and milk are under thy tongue; and the smell of thy garments is like the smell of Lebanon.

²¹The lips of the righteous feed many: but fools die for want of wisdom.

²The tongue of the wise useth knowledge aright: but the mouth of fools poureth out foolishness.

¹³With my lips have I declared all the judgments of thy mouth.

²Thou art fairer than the children of men: grace is poured into thy lips: therefore God hath blessed thee for ever.

¹⁵My mouth shall shew forth thy righteousness and thy salvation all the day; for I know not the numbers thereof.

¹⁵There is gold, and a multitude of rubies: but the lips of knowledge are a precious jewel.

¹⁶To deliver thee from the strange woman, even from the stranger which flattereth with her words;

²⁴To keep thee from the evil woman, from the flattery of the tongue of a strange woman.

²¹With her much fair speech she caused him to yield, with the flattering of her lips she forced him.

⁵That they may keep thee from the strange woman, from the stranger which flattereth with her words.

²¹The words of his mouth were smoother than butter, but war was in his heart: his words were softer than oil, yet were they drawn swords.

²With whom the kings of the earth have committed fornication, and the inhabitants of the earth have been made drunk with the wine of her fornication.

³So he carried me away in the spirit into the wilderness: and I saw a woman sit upon a scarlet coloured beast, full of names of blasphemy, having seven heads and ten horns.

⁴And the woman was arrayed in purple and scarlet colour, and decked with gold and precious stones and pearls, having a golden cup in her hand full of abominations and filthiness of her fornication:

⁵And upon her forehead was a name written, MYSTERY, BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS AND ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH.

⁶And I saw the woman drunken with the blood of the saints, and with the blood of the martyrs of Jesus: and when I saw her, I wondered with great admiration.

²⁶And I find more bitter than death the woman, whose heart is snares and nets, and her hands as bands: whoso pleaseth God shall escape from her; but the sinner shall be taken by her.

²¹The words of his mouth were smoother than butter, but war was in his heart: his words were softer than oil, yet were they drawn swords.

⁴My soul is among lions: and I lie even among them that are set on fire, even the sons of men, whose teeth are spears and arrows, and their tongue a sharp sword.

¹²For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.

¹⁸But he knoweth not that the dead are there; and that her guests are in the depths of hell.

¹⁵Looking diligently lest any man fail of the grace of God; lest any root of bitterness springing up trouble you, and thereby many be defiled;

¹⁶Lest there be any fornicator, or profane person, as Esau, who for one morsel of meat sold his birthright.

¹⁵¶ And she said unto him, How canst thou say, I love thee, when thine heart is not with me? thou hast mocked me these three times, and hast not told me wherein thy great strength lieth.

¹⁶And it came to pass, when she pressed him daily with her words, and urged him, so that his soul was vexed unto death;

¹⁷That he told her all his heart, and said unto her, There hath not come a rasor upon mine head; for I have been a Nazarite unto God from my mother’s womb: if I be shaven, then my strength will go from me, and I shall become weak, and be like any other man.

¹⁸And when Delilah saw that he had told her all his heart, she sent and called for the lords of the Philistines, saying, Come up this once, for he hath shewed me all his heart. Then the lords of the Philistines came up unto her, and brought money in their hand.

¹⁹And she made him sleep upon her knees; and she called for a man, and she caused him to shave off the seven locks of his head; and she began to afflict him, and his strength went from him.

²⁰And she said, The Philistines be upon thee, Samson. And he awoke out of his sleep, and said, I will go out as at other times before, and shake myself. And he wist not that the Lord was departed from him.

²¹¶ But the Philistines took him, and put out his eyes, and brought him down to Gaza, and bound him with fetters of brass; and he did grind in the prison house.

⁴¶ And it came to pass afterward, that he loved a woman in the valley of Sorek, whose name was Delilah.

⁵And the lords of the Philistines came up unto her, and said unto her, Entice him, and see wherein his great strength lieth, and by what means we may prevail against him, that we may bind him to afflict him: and we will give thee every one of us eleven hundred pieces of silver.

⁶¶ And Delilah said to Samson, Tell me, I pray thee, wherein thy great strength lieth, and wherewith thou mightest be bound to afflict thee.

²⁷For a whore is a deep ditch; and a strange woman is a narrow pit.

²⁸She also lieth in wait as for a prey, and increaseth the transgressors among men.

²⁴To keep thee from the evil woman, from the flattery of the tongue of a strange woman.

²⁵Lust not after her beauty in thine heart; neither let her take thee with her eyelids.

²⁶For by means of a whorish woman a man is brought to a piece of bread: and the adulteress will hunt for the precious life.

²⁷Can a man take fire in his bosom, and his clothes not be burned?

²⁸Can one go upon hot coals, and his feet not be burned?

²⁹So he that goeth in to his neighbour’s wife; whosoever toucheth her shall not be innocent.

³⁰Men do not despise a thief, if he steal to satisfy his soul when he is hungry;

³¹But if he be found, he shall restore sevenfold; he shall give all the substance of his house.

³²But whoso committeth adultery with a woman lacketh understanding: he that doeth it destroyeth his own soul.

³³A wound and dishonour shall he get; and his reproach shall not be wiped away.

³⁴For jealousy is the rage of a man: therefore he will not spare in the day of vengeance.

³⁵He will not regard any ransom; neither will he rest content, though thou givest many gifts.

²²He goeth after her straightway, as an ox goeth to the slaughter, or as a fool to the correction of the stocks;

²³Till a dart strike through his liver; as a bird hasteth to the snare, and knoweth not that it is for his life.

²⁷Her house is the way to hell, going down to the chambers of death.

¹⁸For her house inclineth unto death, and her paths unto the dead.

¹⁹None that go unto her return again, neither take they hold of the paths of life.

²⁶Ponder the path of thy feet, and let all thy ways be established.

²¹For the ways of man are before the eyes of the Lord, and he pondereth all his goings.

¹¹Thou wilt shew me the path of life: in thy presence is fulness of joy; at thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore.

²⁰Such is the way of an adulterous woman; she eateth, and wipeth her mouth, and saith, I have done no wickedness.

¹²¶ A naughty person, a wicked man, walketh with a froward mouth.

¹³He winketh with his eyes, he speaketh with his feet, he teacheth with his fingers;

⁵⁹I thought on my ways, and turned my feet unto thy testimonies.

⁹Even him, whose coming is after the working of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders,

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

¹⁹As righteousness tendeth to life: so he that pursueth evil pursueth it to his own death.

¹⁰And, behold, there met him a woman with the attire of an harlot, and subtil of heart.

¹¹(She is loud and stubborn; her feet abide not in her house:

¹²Now is she without, now in the streets, and lieth in wait at every corner.)

¹³So she caught him, and kissed him, and with an impudent face said unto him,

¹⁴I have peace offerings with me; this day have I payed my vows.

¹⁵Therefore came I forth to meet thee, diligently to seek thy face, and I have found thee.

¹⁶I have decked my bed with coverings of tapestry, with carved works, with fine linen of Egypt.

¹⁷I have perfumed my bed with myrrh, aloes, and cinnamon.

¹⁸Come, let us take our fill of love until the morning: let us solace ourselves with loves.

¹⁹For the goodman is not at home, he is gone a long journey:

²⁰He hath taken a bag of money with him, and will come home at the day appointed.

²¹With her much fair speech she caused him to yield, with the flattering of her lips she forced him.

¹HEAR, ye children, the instruction of a father, and attend to know understanding.

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

¹⁸For it is a pleasant thing if thou keep them within thee; they shall withal be fitted in thy lips.

¹⁹That thy trust may be in the Lord, I have made known to thee this day, even to thee.

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?

²⁴¶ Hearken unto me now therefore, O ye children, and attend to the words of my mouth.

²⁵See that ye refuse not him that speaketh. For if they escaped not who refused him that spake on earth, much more shall not we escape, if we turn away from him that speaketh from heaven:

²¹¶ My son, let not them depart from thine eyes: keep sound wisdom and discretion:

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

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.

¹¹And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather reprove them.

²⁵Let not thine heart decline to her ways, go not astray in her paths.

¹³And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen.

¹⁵Avoid it, pass not by it, turn from it, and pass away.

²⁷Can a man take fire in his bosom, and his clothes not be burned?

²⁸Can one go upon hot coals, and his feet not be burned?

²⁶Did not Solomon king of Israel sin by these things? yet among many nations was there no king like him, who was beloved of his God, and God made him king over all Israel: nevertheless even him did outlandish women cause to sin.

¹³They sacrifice upon the tops of the mountains, and burn incense upon the hills, under oaks and poplars and elms, because the shadow thereof is good: therefore your daughters shall commit whoredom, and your spouses shall commit adultery.

¹⁴I will not punish your daughters when they commit whoredom, nor your spouses when they commit adultery: for themselves are separated with whores, and they sacrifice with harlots: therefore the people that doth not understand shall fall.

²³And Judah said, Let her take it to her, lest we be shamed: behold, I sent this kid, and thou hast not found her.

²⁴¶ And it came to pass about three months after, that it was told Judah, saying, Tamar thy daughter in law hath played the harlot; and also, behold, she is with child by whoredom. And Judah said, Bring her forth, and let her be burnt.

²⁵When she was brought forth, she sent to her father in law, saying, By the man, whose these are, am I with child: and she said, Discern, I pray thee, whose are these, the signet, and bracelets, and staff.

²⁶And Judah acknowledged them, and said, She hath been more righteous than I; because that I gave her not to Shelah my son. And he knew her again no more.

¹⁹And she made him sleep upon her knees; and she called for a man, and she caused him to shave off the seven locks of his head; and she began to afflict him, and his strength went from him.

²⁰And she said, The Philistines be upon thee, Samson. And he awoke out of his sleep, and said, I will go out as at other times before, and shake myself. And he wist not that the Lord was departed from him.

²¹¶ But the Philistines took him, and put out his eyes, and brought him down to Gaza, and bound him with fetters of brass; and he did grind in the prison house.

²⁹So he that goeth in to his neighbour’s wife; whosoever toucheth her shall not be innocent.

³⁰Men do not despise a thief, if he steal to satisfy his soul when he is hungry;

³¹But if he be found, he shall restore sevenfold; he shall give all the substance of his house.

³²But whoso committeth adultery with a woman lacketh understanding: he that doeth it destroyeth his own soul.

³³A wound and dishonour shall he get; and his reproach shall not be wiped away.

³⁴For jealousy is the rage of a man: therefore he will not spare in the day of vengeance.

³⁵He will not regard any ransom; neither will he rest content, though thou givest many gifts.

⁹Strangers have devoured his strength, and he knoweth it not: yea, gray hairs are here and there upon him, yet he knoweth not.

³⁵He will not regard any ransom; neither will he rest content, though thou givest many gifts.

³Give not thy strength unto women, nor thy ways to that which destroyeth kings.

³⁰But as soon as this thy son was come, which hath devoured thy living with harlots, thou hast killed for him the fatted calf.

²¹What fruit had ye then in those things whereof ye are now ashamed? for the end of those things is death.

¹⁵For without are dogs, and sorcerers, and whoremongers, and murderers, and idolaters, and whosoever loveth and maketh a lie.

⁴Marriage is honourable in all, and the bed undefiled: but whoremongers and adulterers God will judge.

²⁷And when he hath made her to drink the water, then it shall come to pass, that, if she be defiled, and have done trespass against her husband, that the water that causeth the curse shall enter into her, and become bitter, and her belly shall swell, and her thigh shall rot: and the woman shall be a curse among her people.

⁴In the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, when ye are gathered together, and my spirit, with the power of our Lord Jesus Christ,

⁵To deliver such an one unto Satan for the destruction of the flesh, that the spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus.

²⁹O that they were wise, that they understood this, that they would consider their latter end!

³¹The prophets prophesy falsely, and the priests bear rule by their means; and my people love to have it so: and what will ye do in the end thereof?

²³Till a dart strike through his liver; as a bird hasteth to the snare, and knoweth not that it is for his life.

⁸But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death.

¹WHOSO loveth instruction loveth knowledge: but he that hateth reproof is brutish.

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

²⁵But ye have set at nought all my counsel, and would none of my reproof:

⁷¶ The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge: but fools despise wisdom and instruction.

⁵A fool despiseth his father’s instruction: but he that regardeth reproof is prudent.

¹³And when he went out the second day, behold, two men of the Hebrews strove together: and he said to him that did the wrong, Wherefore smitest thou thy fellow?

¹⁴And he said, Who made thee a prince and a judge over us? intendest thou to kill me, as thou killedst the Egyptian? And Moses feared, and said, Surely this thing is known.

⁴Howbeit I sent unto you all my servants the prophets, rising early and sending them, saying, Oh, do not this abominable thing that I hate.

¹⁹And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil.

²⁰For every one that doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved.

¹⁸Poverty and shame shall be to him that refuseth instruction: but he that regardeth reproof shall be honoured.

¹⁷Seeing thou hatest instruction, and castest my words behind thee.

⁴Be ye not as your fathers, unto whom the former prophets have cried, saying, Thus saith the Lord of hosts; Turn ye now from your evil ways, and from your evil doings: but they did not hear, nor hearken unto me, saith the Lord.

⁵Your fathers, where are they? and the prophets, do they live for ever?

⁶But my words and my statutes, which I commanded my servants the prophets, did they not take hold of your fathers? and they returned and said, Like as the Lord of hosts thought to do unto us, according to our ways, and according to our doings, so hath he dealt with us.

²⁰And the Spirit of God came upon Zechariah the son of Jehoiada the priest, which stood above the people, and said unto them, Thus saith God, Why transgress ye the commandments of the Lord, that ye cannot prosper? because ye have forsaken the Lord, he hath also forsaken you.

²¹And they conspired against him, and stoned him with stones at the commandment of the king in the court of the house of the Lord.

²²Thus Joash the king remembered not the kindness which Jehoiada his father had done to him, but slew his son. And when he died, he said, The Lord look upon it, and require it.

¹⁶And it came to pass, as he talked with him, that the king said unto him, Art thou made of the king’s counsel? forbear; why shouldest thou be smitten? Then the prophet forbare, and said, I know that God hath determined to destroy thee, because thou hast done this, and hast not hearkened unto my counsel.

¹⁰And the Lord spake to Manasseh, and to his people: but they would not hearken.

¹¹¶ Wherefore the Lord brought upon them the captains of the host of the king of Assyria, which took Manasseh among the thorns, and bound him with fetters, and carried him to Babylon.

¹⁶But they mocked the messengers of God, and despised his words, and misused his prophets, until the wrath of the Lord arose against his people, till there was no remedy.

⁹And they said, Stand back. And they said again, This one fellow came in to sojourn, and he will needs be a judge: now will we deal worse with thee, than with them. And they pressed sore upon the man, even Lot, and came near to break the door.

²²So foolish was I, and ignorant: I was as a beast before thee.

¹¹But they refused to hearken, and pulled away the shoulder, and stopped their ears, that they should not hear.

¹²Yea, they made their hearts as an adamant stone, lest they should hear the law, and the words which the Lord of hosts hath sent in his spirit by the former prophets: therefore came a great wrath from the Lord of hosts.

¹³Therefore it is come to pass, that as he cried, and they would not hear; so they cried, and I would not hear, saith the Lord of hosts:

¹⁴But I scattered them with a whirlwind among all the nations whom they knew not. Thus the land was desolate after them, that no man passed through nor returned: for they laid the pleasant land desolate.

²⁹For that they hated knowledge, and did not choose the fear of the Lord:

³⁰They would none of my counsel: they despised all my reproof.

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

⁸He therefore that despiseth, despiseth not man, but God, who hath also given unto us his holy Spirit.

⁷Remember them which have the rule over you, who have spoken unto you the word of God: whose faith follow, considering the end of their conversation.

¹⁸I will arise and go to my father, and will say unto him, Father, I have sinned against heaven, and before thee,

¹²And we beseech you, brethren, to know them which labour among you, and are over you in the Lord, and admonish you;

¹³And to esteem them very highly in love for their work’s sake. And be at peace among yourselves.