Jun 25 - Proverbs 7-9
Proverbs
1My son, guard my words and conceal my precepts within you2Son, preserve my commandments, and you shall live. And keep my law as the pupil of your eye3Bind it with your fingers; write it on the tablets of your heart4Say to wisdom, "You are my sister," and call prudence your friend5So may she guard you from the woman who is an outsider, and from the stranger who sweetens her words6For I gaze from the window of my house, through the lattice7and I see little ones. I consider a frenzied youth8who crosses the street at the corner and close to the way of that house.9He steps into shadows, as day becomes evening, into the darkness and gloom of the night10And behold, a woman meets him, dressed like a harlot, prepared to captivate souls: chattering and rambling11unwilling to bear silence, unable to keep her feet at home12now outside, now in the streets, now lying in ambush near the corners13And overtaking the youth, she kisses him, and with a provocative face, she flatters him, saying14"I vowed sacrifices for well-being. Today I have repaid my vows15Because of this, I have gone out to meet you, desiring to see you, and I have found you16I have woven my bed with cords. I have strewn it with embroidered tapestries from Egypt17I have sprinkled my bed with myrrh, aloe, and cinnamon18Come, let us be inebriated in abundance, and let us delight in the embraces of desire, until the day begins to dawn19For my husband is not in his house. He has gone away on a very long journey20He took with him a bag of money. He will return to his house on the day of the full moon.21She enmeshed him with many words, and she drew him forward with the flattery of her lips22Immediately, he follows her, like an ox being led to the sacrifice, and like a lamb acting lasciviously, and not knowing that he is being drawn foolishly into chains23until the arrow pierces his liver. It is just as if a bird were to hurry into the snare. And he does not know that his actions endanger his own soul24Therefore, my son, hear me now, and attend to the words of my mouth25Do not let your mind be pulled into her ways. And do not be deceived by her paths26For she has tossed aside many wounded, and some of those who were very strong have been slain by her27Her household is the way to Hell, reaching even to the inner places of death
1Does not wisdom call out, and prudence bestow her voice2At the summits and the tops of exalted places, standing above the ways, in the midst of the paths3beside the gates of the city, at the very doors, she speaks, saying4"O men, to you I call out, and my voice is to the sons of men5O little ones, understand discernment. And you who are unwise, turn your souls6Listen, for I will speak about great things, and my lips will be opened, so as to foretell what is right7My throat shall practice truth, and my lips shall detest the impious8All my words are just. There is no depravity in them, and no perversity9They are upright to those who understand, and equitable to those who discover knowledge10Accept my discipline, and not money. Choose the doctrine that is greater than gold11For wisdom is better than all that is most precious, and everything that is desirable cannot compare to her12I, wisdom, dwell in counsel, and I am inside learned thoughts13The fear of the Lord hates evil. I detest arrogance, and pride, and every wicked way, and a mouth with a double tongue14Counsel is mine, and equity. Prudence is mine. Strength is mine15Through me, kings reign and legislators decree just conditions16Through me, princes rule and the powerful decree justice17I love those who love me. And those who stand watch for me until morning shall discover me18With me, are wealth and glory, superb riches and justice19For my fruit is better than gold and precious stones, and my progeny better than choice silver20I walk in the way of justice, in the midst of the paths of judgment21so that I may enrich those who love me, and thus complete their treasures22The Lord possessed me in the beginning of his ways, before he made anything, from the beginning23I was ordained from eternity, and out of antiquity, before the earth was formed24The abyss did not yet exist, and I was already conceived; neither had the fountains of waters yet erupted25The mountains, with their great mass, had not yet been established. Before the hills, I was brought forth26Still he had not made the earth, and the rivers, and the poles of the globe of the earth27I was already present: when he prepared the heavens; when, with a certain law and a circuit, he fortified the abyss28when he made firm the sky above, and set free the fountains of waters29when he encompassed the sea within its limits, and laid down a law for the waters, lest they transgress their limits; when he weighed the foundations of the earth30I was with him in composing all things. And I was delighted, throughout every day, by playing in his sight at all times31playing in globe of the earth. And my delight was to be with the sons of men32Therefore, sons, hear me now. Blessed are those who preserve my ways33Listen to discipline, and become wise, and do not be willing to cast it aside34Blessed is the man who listens to me, and who stands watch at my gates everyday, and who observes at the posts of my doors35He who finds me, finds life, and he will draw salvation from the Lord36But he who sins against me will wound his own soul. All who hate me love death.
1Wisdom has built a house for herself. She has hewn seven columns2She has immolated her victims. She has mixed her wine and set forth her table3She has sent her maids to call out to the tower and to the fortified walls of the city4"If anyone is little, let him come to me." And to the unwise, she has said5"Approach. Eat my bread, and drink the wine that I have mixed for you6Leave behind childishness. And live and walk by the ways of prudence.7Whoever teaches a mocker causes injury to himself. And whoever argues with the impious produces a blemish on himself8Do not be willing to argue with a mocker, lest he hate you. Dispute with the wise, and he will love you9Present an opportunity to the wise, and wisdom shall be added to him. Teach the just, and he will hurry to receive it10The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and knowledge of holiness is prudence11For by me, your days will be multiplied and years of life will be added to you12If you would be wise, you will be so for yourself. But if you would be one who ridicules, you alone shall carry the evil13A foolish and loud woman, who is full of enticements and who knows nothing at all14sat at the entrance of her house on a seat, in a high place of the city15so as to call to those who were passing by the way and continuing on their journey16"Whoever is little, let him turn aside to me." And to the frenzied, she said17"Stolen waters are more soothing, and secret bread is more pleasant.18And he did not know that giants are there, and that her companions are in the depths of Hell