1  When you sit down to eat with a ruler,

observe carefully what¹ is before you,

2  and put a knife to your throat

if you are given to appetite.

3  ^cDo not desire his delicacies,

for they are deceptive food.

4  ^dDo not toil to acquire wealth;

^ebe discerning enough to desist.

5  When your eyes light on it, it is gone,

^ffor suddenly it sprouts wings,

flying like an eagle toward heaven.

6  ^gDo not eat the bread of a man who is ^hstingy;²

ⁱdo not desire his delicacies,

7  for he is like one who is inwardly calculating.³

“Eat and drink!” he says to you,

but his ^jheart is not with you.

8  You will vomit up the morsels that you have eaten,

and waste your pleasant words.

9  Do not speak in the hearing of a fool,

for he will despise the good sense of your words.

10  ^kDo not move an ancient landmark

or enter the fields of the fatherless,

11  for their ^lRedeemer is strong;

he will ^mplead their cause against you.

12  Apply your heart to instruction

and your ear to words of knowledge.

13  Do not withhold ⁿdiscipline from a child;

^oif you strike him with a rod, he will not die.

14  If you strike him with the rod,

you will ^psave his soul from Sheol.

15  ^qMy son, if your heart is wise,

my heart too will be glad.

16  My ^rinmost being⁴ will exult

when your lips speak ^swhat is right.

17  Let not your heart ^tenvy sinners,

but continue in ^uthe fear of the Lord all the day.

18  Surely ^vthere is a future,

and your ^whope will not be cut off.

19  Hear, my son, and ^xbe wise,

and ^ydirect your heart in the way.

20  Be not among ^zdrunkards⁵

or among ^agluttonous eaters of meat,

21  for the drunkard and the glutton will come to poverty,

and ^bslumber will clothe them with rags.

22  ^cListen to your father who gave you life,

^dand do not despise your mother when she is old.

23  ^eBuy truth, and do not sell it;

buy wisdom, instruction, and understanding.

24  ^fThe father of the righteous will greatly rejoice;

he who fathers a wise son will be glad in him.

25  ^fLet your father and mother be glad;

let ^gher who bore you rejoice.

26  My son, give me your heart,

and let your eyes observe⁶ my ways.

27  For a prostitute is ^ha deep pit;

ⁱan adulteress⁷ is a narrow ^jwell.

28  ^kShe lies in wait like a robber

and increases the traitors among mankind.

29  ^lWho has woe? Who has sorrow?

Who has strife? Who has complaining?

Who has ^mwounds without cause?

Who has ⁿredness of eyes?

30  Those who ^otarry long over wine;

those who go to try ^pmixed wine.

31  Do not look at wine when it is red,

when it sparkles in the cup

and goes down smoothly.

32  In the end it ^qbites like a serpent

and stings like an adder.

33  Your eyes will see strange things,

and your heart utter ^rperverse things.

34  You will be like one who lies down in the midst of the sea,

like one who lies on the top of a mast.⁸

35  “They ^sstruck me,” you will say,⁹ “but I was not hurt;

they beat me, but I did not feel it.

When shall I awake?

I ^tmust have another drink.”

1  Be not ^uenvious of evil men,

nor desire to be ^vwith them,

2  for their hearts ^wdevise violence,

and their lips ^xtalk of trouble.

3  By ^ywisdom a house is built,

and by understanding it is established;

4  by knowledge the rooms are filled

with all ^zprecious and pleasant riches.

5  ^aA wise man is full of strength,

and a man of knowledge enhances his might,

6  for by ^bwise guidance you can wage your war,

and in ^cabundance of counselors there is victory.

7  Wisdom is ^dtoo high for a fool;

in ^ethe gate he does not open his mouth.

8  Whoever ^fplans to do evil

will be called a schemer.

9  ^gThe devising¹⁰ of folly is sin,

and ^hthe scoffer is an abomination to mankind.

10  If you ⁱfaint in the day of adversity,

your strength is small.

11  ^jRescue those who are being taken away to death;

hold back those who are stumbling to the slaughter.

12  If you say, “Behold, we did not know this,”

^kdoes not he who ^lweighs the heart perceive it?

Does not he who ^mkeeps watch over your soul know it,

and will he not repay man ⁿaccording to his work?

13  My son, ^oeat honey, for it is good,

and ^pthe drippings of the honeycomb are sweet to your taste.

14  Know that wisdom is such to your soul;

if you find it, there will be ^qa future,

and your hope will not be cut off.

15  ^rLie not in wait as a wicked man against the dwelling of the righteous;

do no violence to his home;

16  ^sfor the righteous falls ^tseven times and rises again,

but ^uthe wicked stumble in times of calamity.

17  ^vDo not rejoice when your enemy falls,

and let not your heart be glad when he stumbles,

18  lest the Lord see it and be displeased,

and turn away his anger from him.

19  ^wFret not yourself because of evildoers,

and be not ^xenvious of the wicked,

20  for the evil man has no ^qfuture;

^ythe lamp of the wicked will be put out.

21  My son, ^zfear the Lord and the king,

and do not join with those who do otherwise,

22  for disaster will arise suddenly from them,

and who knows the ruin that will come from them both?

^bPartiality in judging is not good.

24  Whoever ^csays to the wicked, “You are in the right,”

^dwill be cursed by peoples, abhorred by nations,

25  but those who rebuke the wicked will have delight,

and a good blessing will come upon them.

26  Whoever gives an honest answer

kisses the lips.

27  ^ePrepare your work outside;

get everything ready for yourself in the field,

and after that build your house.

28  ^fBe not a witness against your neighbor without cause,

and do not deceive with your lips.

29  Do not say, ^g“I will do to him as he has done to me;

I will pay the man back for what he has done.”

30  ^hI passed by the field of a sluggard,

by the vineyard of a man ⁱlacking sense,

31  and behold, it was all overgrown with thorns;

the ground was covered with nettles,

and its stone ^jwall was broken down.

32  Then I saw and ^kconsidered it;

I looked and received instruction.

33  ^lA little sleep, a little slumber,

a little folding of the hands to rest,

34  and poverty will come upon you like a robber,

and want like an armed man.

1  Give the king your ^rjustice, O God,

and your righteousness to the royal son!

2  May he ^sjudge your people with righteousness,

and your poor with justice!

3  Let the mountains bear ^tprosperity for the people,

and the hills, in righteousness!

4  May he defend the cause of the poor of the people,

give deliverance to the children of the needy,

and crush the oppressor!

5  May they fear you¹ while ^uthe sun endures,

and as long as the moon, ^vthroughout all generations!

6  May he be like ^wrain that falls on ^xthe mown grass,

like ^yshowers that water the earth!

7  In his days may ^zthe righteous flourish,

and ^apeace abound, till the moon be no more!

8  May he have dominion from ^bsea to sea,

and from ^bthe River² to the ^cends of the earth!

9  May desert tribes ^dbow down before him,

and his enemies ^elick the dust!

10  May the kings of ^fTarshish and of ^gthe coastlands

render him ^htribute;

may the kings of ⁱSheba and ^jSeba

bring gifts!

11  May all kings ^kfall down before him,

all nations serve him!

12  For he delivers ^lthe needy when he calls,

the poor and him who has no helper.

13  He has pity on the weak and the needy,

and saves the lives of the needy.

14  From oppression and violence he redeems their life,

and ^mprecious is their blood in his sight.

15  Long may he live;

may ⁿgold of Sheba be given to him!

May prayer be made ^ofor him continually,

and blessings invoked for him all the day!

16  May there be abundance of grain in the land;

on the tops of the mountains may it wave;

may its fruit be like Lebanon;

and may people ^pblossom in the cities

like the ^qgrass of the field!

17  ^rMay his name endure forever,

his fame continue as long as the sun!

^sMay people be blessed in him,

^tall nations call him blessed!

18  ^uBlessed be the Lord, the God of Israel,

who alone does ^vwondrous things.

19  Blessed be his ^wglorious name forever;

may ^xthe whole earth be filled with his glory!

^yAmen and Amen!

20  ^zThe prayers of ^aDavid, the son of Jesse, are ended.