shalt make thy war: and in multitude of counsellors there is safety. My son, eat thou honey, because it is good; and the honey comb, which is sweet to thy taste: so shall the knowledge of wisdom. be unto thy soul: when thou hast found it, then there shall be a reward; and thy expectation shall not be cut off. My son, fear thou the Lord and the king; and meadle not with them that are given to change: for their calamity shall rise suddenly, and who knoweth the ruin of them both? These things also belong to the wise: it is not good to have respect of persons in judgment. Bé not a witness against thy neighbour without a cause; and deceive not with thy lips. 1 Say not, I will do to him as he hath done to me: I will render to the man according to his work. I went by the field of the slothful, and by the vineyard of the man void of understanding: and, lo, it was all grown over with thorns; and nettles had covered the face thereof, and the stone wall thereof was broken down. Then I saw, and considered it well: I looked upon it and received instruction. Take away the wicked from before the king; and his throne shall be established in righteousness. Put not forth thyself in the presence of the king; and stand not in the place of great men; for better it is that it be said unto thee, come up hither; than that thou shouldest be put lower in the presence of the prince whom thine eyes have seen. Debate thy cause with thy neighbour himself; and discover not a secret to another: lest he that heareth it put thee to shame, and thine infamy turn not away. A word fitly spoken is like apples of gold in pictures of silver. As an ear-ring of gold, and an ornament of fine gold, so is a wise reprover upon an obedient ear. A man that beareth false witness against his neighbour, is a maul, and a sword, and a sharp arrow. Confidence in an unfaithful man in time of trouble, is like a broken tooth, and a foot out of joint. Boast not thyself of to-morrow'; for thou knowest not what a day may bring forth. Let another man praise thee, and not thine own mouth; a stranger, and not thine own lips. Open rebuke is better than secret love. Faithful are the wounds of a friend; but the kisses of an enemy are deceitful. Ointment and perfume rejoice the heart: so doth the sweetness of a man's friend by hearty counsel. They that forsake the law praise the wicked: but such as keep the law contend with them. Evil men understand not judgment: but they that seek the Lord understand all things. Better is the poor that walketh in his uprightness, than he that is perverse in his ways, though he be rich. Whoso keepeth the law is a wise son: but he that is a companion of riotous men, shameth his father. He that covereth his sins shall not prosper: but whoso confesseth and forsaketh them shall have mercy. He that tilleth his land shall have plenty of bread: but he that followeth after vain persons shall have poverty enough. Whoso robbeth his father or his mother, and saith it is no transgression, the same is the companion of a destroyer. ! He that is of a proud heart stirreth up strife: but he that putteth his trust in the Lord shall be made fat. He that trusteth in his own heart is a fool: but whoso walketh wisely, he shall be delivered. Whoso loveth wisdom rejoiceth his father: but he that keepeth company with harlots spendeth his substance. The righteous considereth the cause of the poor : but the wicked regardeth not to know it. The king that faithfully judgeth the poor, his throne shall be established for ever. The rod and reproof give wisdom: but a child left to himself bringeth his mother to shame. Correct thy son and he shall give thee rest; yea, he shall give delight unto thy soul. A man's pride shall bring him low: but honour shall uphold the humble in spirit. The words of Agur the son of Jakeh; even the prophecy: the man spake unto Ithiel; even unto Ithiel and Ucal; surely, I am more brutish than any man, and have not the understanding of a man. I neither learned wisdom, nor have the knowledge of the holy. Who hath ascended up into heaven; or descended? who hath gathered the wind in his fists? who hath bound the waters in a garment? who hath established all the ends of the earth? what is his name, and what is his son's name, if thou canst tell? Every word of God is pure: he is a shield unto them that put their trust in him. 1 Add thou not unto his words, lest he reprove thee, and thou be found a liar. :1 Two things have I required of thee; deny me them not before I die: remove far from me vanity, and lies: give me neither poverty nor riches; feed me with food convenient for me; lest I be full, and deny thee, and say, who is the Lord? or, lest I be poor, and steal, and take the name of my God in vain. Accuse not a servant unto his master, lest he curse thee, and thou be found guilty. There is a generation that curse their father, and do not bless their mother. There is a generation that are pure in their own eyes, and yet are not washed from their filthiness. There is a generation, O how lofty are their eyes! and their eye-lids are lifted up. There is a generation, whose teeth are as swords, and their jaw teeth as knives, to devour the poor from off the earth, and the needy from among men. The horseleach hath two daughters, crying, give, give. There are three things that are never satisfied; yea, four things say not, it is enough :the grave, and the barren womb; the earth that is not filled with water, and the fire that saith not, it is enough. The eye that mocketh at his father, and despiseth to obey his mother, the ravens of the valley shall pick out, and the young eagles shall eat it. There be three things which are too wonderful for me; yea, four which I know not: the way of an eagle in the air; the way of a serpent upon a rock; the way of a ship in the midst of the sea, and the way of a man with a maid. Such is the way of an adulterous woman; she eateth and wipeth her mouth, and saith, I have done no wickedness. For three things the earth is disquieted; and for four, which it cannot bear:--for a servant when he reigneth; and a fool when he is filled with meat: for an odious woman when she is married; and a hand-maid that is heir to her mistress. |