THE PROVERBS OF SOLOMON by Solomon, Son of David, King of I

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THE PROVERBS OF SOLOMON
by Solomon, Son of David, King of Israel
From The Geneva Bible (1560/1599)

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Table of Contents:

• The Argument
• Proverbs 1
• Proverbs 2
• Proverbs 3
• Proverbs 4
• Proverbs 5
• Proverbs 6
• Proverbs 7
• Proverbs 8
• Proverbs 9
• Proverbs 10
• Proverbs 11
• Proverbs 12
• Proverbs 13
• Proverbs 14
• Proverbs 15
• Proverbs 16
• Proverbs 17
• Proverbs 18
• Proverbs 19
• Proverbs 20
• Proverbs 21
• Proverbs 22
• Proverbs 23
• Proverbs 24
• Proverbs 25
• Proverbs 26
• Proverbs 27
• Proverbs 28
• Proverbs 29
• Proverbs 30
• Proverbs 31

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The Argument

The wonderful love of God toward his Church is declared in this book: for as much as the sum and effect of the whole Scriptures is here set forth in these brief sentences, which partly contain doctrine, and partly manners, and also exhortations to both: whereof the nine first Chapters are as a preface full of grave sentences and deep mysteries, to allure the hearts of men to be diligent reading of the parables that follow: which are left as a most precious jewel to the Church, of those three thousand parables mentioned 1 Kings 4:32, and were gathered and committed to writing by Solomon’s servants, and incited by him.

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Proverbs 1

1 The Parables of Solomon the son of David King of Israel,

2 To know wisdom, and instruction, to understand ye words of knowledge,

3 To receive instruction to do wisely, by justice and judgment and equity,

4 To give unto the simple, sharpness of wit, and to the child knowledge and discretion.

5 A wise man shall hear and increase in learning, and a man of understanding shall attain unto wise counsels,

6 To understand a parable, and the interpretation, the words of ye wise, and their dark sayings.

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

8 My son, hear thy father’s instruction, and forsake not thy mother’s teaching.

9 For they shall be a comely ornament unto thine head, and as chains for thy neck.

10 My son, if sinners do entice thee, consent thou not.

11 If they say, Come with us, we will lay wait for blood, and lie privily for the innocent without a cause:

12 We will swallow them up alive like a grave even whole, as those that go down into the pit:

13 We shall find all precious riches, and fill our houses with spoil:

14 Cast in thy lot among us: we will all have one purse:

15 My son, walk not thou in the way with them: refrain thy foot from their path.

16 For their feet run to evil, and make haste to shed blood.

17 Certainly as without cause the net is spread before the eyes of all that hath wing:

18 So they lay wait for blood and lie privily for their lives.

19 Such are the ways of everyone that is greedy of gain: he would take away the life of the owners thereof.

20 Wisdom crieth without: she uttereth her voice in the streets.

21 She calleth in the high street, among the prease in the enterings of the gates, and uttereth her words in the city, saying,

22 O ye foolish, how long will ye love foolishness? and the scornful take their pleasure in scorning, and the fools hate knowledge?

23 (Turn you at my correction: lo, I will pour out my mind unto you, and make you understand my words)

24 Because I have called, and ye refused: I have stretched out mine hand, and none would regard.

25 But ye have despised all my counsel, and would none of my correction.

26 I will also laugh at your destruction, and mock, when your fear cometh.

27 When your fear cometh like sudden desolation, and your destruction shall come like a whirlwind: when affliction and anguish shall come upon you,

28 Then shall they call upon me, but I will not answer: they shall seek me early, but they shall not find me,

29 Because they hated knowledge, and did not choose the fear of the Lord.

30 They would none of my counsel, but despised all my correction.

31 Therefore shall they eat of ye fruit of their own way, and be filled with their own devices.

32 For ease slayeth the foolish, and the prosperity of fools destroyeth them.

33 But he that obeyeth me, shall dwell safely, and be quiet from fear of evil.

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Proverbs 2

1 My son, if thou wilt receive my words, and hide my commandments within thee,

2 And cause thine ears to hearken unto wisdom, and incline thine heart to understanding,

3 (For if thou callest after knowledge, and cryest for understanding:

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

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

6 For the Lord giveth wisdom, out of his mouth cometh knowledge and understanding.

7 He preserveth the state of the righteous: he is a shield to them that walk uprightly,

8 That they may keep the ways of judgment: and he preserveth the way of his Saints)

9 Then shalt thou understand righteousness, and judgment, and equity, and every good path. 10 When wisdom entereth into thine heart, and knowledge delighteth thy soul,

11 Then shall counsel preserve thee, and understanding shall keep thee,

12 And deliver thee from the evil way, and from the man that speaketh froward things,

13 And from them that leave the ways of righteousness to walk in the ways of darkness:

14 Which rejoice in doing evil, and delight in the frowardness of the wicked,

15 Whose ways are crooked and they are lewd in their paths.

16 And it shall deliver thee from the strange woman, even from the stranger, which flattereth with her words.

17 Which forsaketh the guide of her youth, and forgetteth the covenant of her God.

18 Surely her house tendeth to death, and her paths unto the dead.

19 All they that go unto her, return not again, neither take they hold of the ways of life.

20 Therefore walk thou in the way of good men, and keep the ways of the righteous.

21 For the just shall dwell in the land, and the upright men shall remain in it.

22 But the wicked shall be cut off from ye earth, and the transgressors shall be rooted out of it.

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Proverbs 3

1 My son, forget not thou my Law, but let thine heart keep my commandments.

2 For they shall increase the length of thy days and the years of life, and thy prosperity.

3 Let not mercy and truth forsake thee: bind them on thy neck, and write them upon the table of thine heart.

4 So shalt thou find favor and good understanding in the sight of God and man.

5 Trust in the Lord with all thine heart, and lean not unto thine own wisdom.

6 In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy ways.

7 Be not wise in thine own eyes: but fear the Lord, and depart from evil.

8 So health shall be unto thy navel, and marrow unto thy bones.

9 Honor the Lord with thy riches, and with the firstfruits of all thine increase.

10 So shall thy barns be filled with abundance, and thy presses shall burst with new wine.

11 My son, refuse not the chastening of the Lord, neither be grieved with his correction.

12 For the Lord correcteth him, whom he loveth, even as the father doeth the child in whom he delighteth.

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

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

15 It is more precious than pearls: and all things that thou canst desire, are not to be compared unto her.

16 Length of days is in her right hand, and in her left hand riches and glory.

17 Her ways are ways of pleasure, and all her paths prosperity.

18 She is a tree of life to them that lay hold on her, and blessed is he that retaineth her.

19 The Lord by wisdom hath laid the foundation of the earth, and hath established the heavens through understanding.

20 By his knowledge the depths are broken up, and the clouds drop down the dew.

21 My son, let not these things depart from thine eyes, but observe wisdom, and counsel.

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

23 Then shalt thou walk safely by thy way: and thy foot shall not stumble.

24 If thou sleepest, thou shalt not be afraid, and when thou sleepest, thy sleep shall be sweet.

25 Thou shalt not fear for any sudden fear, neither for the destruction of the wicked, when it cometh.

26 For the Lord shall be for thine assurance, and shall preserve thy foot from taking.

27 Withhold not the good from the owners thereof, though there be power in thine hand to do it.

28 Say not unto thy neighbor, Go and come again, and tomorrow will I give thee, if thou now have it.

29 Intend none hurt against thy neighbor, seeing he doeth dwell without fear by thee.

30 Strive not with a man causeless, when he hath done thee no harm.

31 Be not envious for the wicked man, neither choose any of his ways.

32 For the froward is abomination unto the Lord: but his secret is with the righteous.

33 The curse of the Lord is in the house of the wicked: but he blesseth the habitation of the righteous.

34 With the scornful he scorneth, but he giveth grace unto the humble.

35 The wise shall inherit glory: but fools dishonor, though they be exalted.

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Proverbs 4

1 Hear, O ye children, the instruction of a father, and give ear to learn understanding.

2 For I do give you a good doctrine: therefore forsake ye not my law.

3 For I was my father’s son, tender and dear in the sight of my mother,

4 When he taught me, and said unto me, Let thine heart hold fast my words: keep my commandments, and thou shalt live.

5 Get wisdom: get understanding: forget not, neither decline from the words of my mouth.

6 Forsake her not, and she shall keep thee: love her and she shall preserve thee.

7 Wisdom is the beginning: get wisdom therefore: and above all thy possession get understanding.

8 Exalt her, and she shall exalt thee: she shall bring thee to honor, if thou embrace her.

9 She shall give a comely ornament unto thine head, yea, she shall give thee a crown of glory.

10 Hear, my son, and receive my words, and the years of thy life shall be many.

11 I have taught thee in ye way of wisdom, and led thee in the paths of righteousness.

12 When thou goest, thy gate shall not be strait, and when thou runnest, thou shalt not fall.

13 Take hold of instruction, and leave not: keep her, for she is thy life.

14 Enter not into the way of the wicked, and walk not in the way of evil men.

15 Avoid it, and go not by it: turn from it, and pass by.

16 For they cannot sleep, except they have done evil, and their sleep departeth except they cause some to fall.

17 For they eat the bread of wickedness, and drink the wine of violence.

18 But the way of the righteous shineth as the light, that shineth more and more unto the perfect day.

19 The way of the wicked is as the darkness: they know not wherein they shall fall.

20 My son, hearken unto my words, incline thine ear unto my sayings.

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

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

23 Keep thine heart with all diligence: for there out cometh life.

24 Put away from thee a froward mouth, and put wicked lips far from thee.

25 Let thine eyes behold the right, and let thine eyelids direct thy way before thee.

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

27 Turn not to the right hand, nor to the left, but remove thy foot from evil.

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Proverbs 5

1 My son, hearken unto my wisdom, and incline thine ear unto my knowledge.

2 That thou mayest regard counsel, and thy lips observe knowledge.

3 For the lips of a strange woman drop as an honeycomb, and her mouth is more soft than oil.

4 But the end of her is bitter as wormwood, and sharp as a two-edged sword.

5 Her feet go down to death, and her steps take hold on hell.

6 She weigheth not the way of life: her paths are moveable: thou canst not know them.

7 Hear ye me now therefore, O children, and depart not from the words of my mouth.

8 Keep thy way far from her, and come not near the door of her house,

9 Lest thou give thine honor unto others, and thy years to the cruel:

10 Lest the stranger should be filled with thy strength, and thy labors be in the house of a stranger,

11 And thou mourn at thine end, (when thou hast consumed thy flesh and thy body)

12 And say, How have I hated instruction, and mine heart despised correction!

13 And have not obeyed the voice of them that taught me, nor inclined mine ear to them that instructed me!

14 I was almost brought into all evil in ye midst of the Congregation and assembly.

15 Drink the water of thy cistern, and of the rivers out of the midst of thine own well.

16 Let thy fountains flow forth, and the rivers of waters in the streets.

17 But let them be thine, even thine only, and not the strangers with thee.

18 Let thy fountain be blessed, and rejoice with the wife of thy youth.

19 Let her be as the loving hind and pleasant roe: let her breasts satisfy thee at all times, and delight in her love continually.

20 For why shouldest thou delight, my son, in a strange woman, or embrace the bosom of a stranger?

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

22 His own iniquities shall take the wicked himself, and he shall be holden with the cords of his own sin.

23 He shall die for fault of instruction, and shall go astray through his great folly.

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Proverbs 6

1 My son, if thou be surety for thy neighbor, and hast stricken hands with the stranger,

2 Thou art snared with the words of thy mouth: thou art even taken with the words of thine own mouth.

3 Do this now, my son, and deliver thyself: seeing thou art come into the hand of thy neighbor, go, and humble thyself, and solicit thy friends.

4 Give no sleep to thine eyes, nor slumber to thine eyelids.

5 Deliver thyself as a doe from the hand of the hunter, and as a bird from the hand of the fowler.

6 Go to the pismire, O sluggard: behold her ways, and be wise.

7 For she having no guide, governor, nor ruler,

8 Prepareth her meat in the summer, and gathereth her food in harvest.

9 How long wilt thou sleep, O sluggard? when wilt thou arise out of thy sleep?

10 Yet a little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to sleep.

11 Therefore thy poverty cometh as one that travaileth by the way, and thy necessity like an armed man.

12 The unthrifty man and the wicked man walketh with a froward mouth.

13 He maketh a sign with his eyes: he signifieth with his feet: he instructeth with his fingers.

14 Lewd things are in his heart: he imagineth evil at all times, and raiseth up contentions.

15 Therefore shall his destruction come speedily: he shall be destroyed suddenly without recovery.

16 These six things doeth the Lord hate: yea, his soul abhorreth seven:

17 The haughty eyes, a lying tongue, and the hands that shed innocent blood,

18 An heart that imagineth wicked enterprises, feet that be swift in running to mischief,

19 A false witness that speaketh lies, and him that raiseth up contentions among brethren.

20 My son, keep thy father’s commandment, and forsake not thy mother’s instruction.

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

22 It shall lead thee, when thou walkest: it shall watch for thee, when thou sleepest, and when thou wakest, it shall talk with thee.

23 For the commandment is a lantern, and instruction a light: and corrections for instruction are the way of life,

24 To keep thee from the wicked woman, and from ye flattery of ye tongue of a strange woman.

25 Desire not her beauty in thine heart, neither let her take thee with her eye lids.

26 For because of the whorish woman a man is brought to a morsel of bread, and a woman will hunt for the precious life of a man.

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

28 Or can a man go upon coals, and his feet not be burnt?

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

30 Men do not despise a thief, when he stealeth, to satisfy his soul, because he is hungry.

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

32 But he that commiteth adultery with a woman, he is destitute of understanding: he that doeth it, destroyeth his own soul.

33 He shall find a wound and dishonor, and his reproach shall never be put away.

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

35 He cannot bear the sight of any ransom: neither will he consent, though thou augment the gifts.

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Proverbs 7

1 My son, keep my words, and hide my commandments with thee.

2 Keep my commandments, and thou shalt live, and mine instruction as the apple of thine eyes.

3 Bind them upon thy fingers, and write them upon the table of thine heart.

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

5 That they may keep thee from the strange woman, even from the stranger that is smooth in her words.

6 As I was in the window of mine house, I looked through my window,

7 And I saw among the fools, and considered among the children a young man destitute of understanding,

8 Who passed through the street by her corner, and went toward her house,

9 In the twilight in the evening, when the night began to be black and dark.

10 And behold, there met him a woman with an harlot’s behavior, and subtil in heart.

11 (She is babbling and loud: whose feet cannot abide in her house.

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

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

14 I have peace offerings: this day have I paid my vows.

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

16 I have decked my bed with ornaments, carpets and laces of Egypt.

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

18 Come, let us take our fill of love until the morning: let us take our pleasure in dalliance.

19 For mine husband is not at home: he is gone a journey far off.

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

21 Thus with her great craft she caused him to yield, and with her flattering lips she enticed him.

22 And he followed her straightway, as an ox that goeth to the slaughter, and as a fool to the stocks for correction,

23 Till a dart strike through his liver, as a bird hasteth to the snare, not knowing that he is in danger.

24 Hear me now therefore, O children, and hearken to the words of my mouth.

25 Let not thine heart decline to her ways: wander thou not in her paths.

26 For she hath caused many to fall down wounded, and the strong men are all slain by her.

27 Her house is the way unto ye grave, which goeth down to the chambers of death.

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Proverbs 8

1 Doth not wisdom cry? and understanding utter her voice?

2 She standeth in the top of the high places by the way in the place of the paths.

3 She crieth besides the gates before the city at the entry of the doors,

4 O men, I call unto you, and utter my voice to the children of men.

5 O ye foolish men, understand wisdom, and ye, O fools, be wise in heart.

6 Give ear, for I will speak of excellent things, and the opening of my lips, shall teach things that be right.

7 For my mouth shall speak the truth, and my lips abhor wickedness.

8 All the words of my mouth are righteous: there is no lewdness, nor frowardness in them.

9 They are all plain to him that will understand, and straight to them that would find knowledge.

10 Receive mine instruction, and not silver, and knowledge rather than fine gold.

11 For wisdom is better than precious stones: and all pleasures are not to be compared unto her.

12 I wisdom dwell with prudence, and I find forth knowledge and counsels.

13 The fear of the Lord is to hate evil as pride, and arrogancy, and the evil way: and a mouth that speaketh lewd things, I do hate.

14 I have counsel and wisdom: I am understanding, and I have strength.

15 By me, Kings reign, and princes decree justice.

16 By me princes rule and the nobles, and all the judges of the earth.

17 I love them that love me: and they that seek me early, shall find me.

18 Riches and honor are with me: even durable riches and righteousness.

19 My fruit is better than gold, even than fine gold, and my revenues better than fine silver.

20 I cause to walk in the way of righteousness, and in the midst of the paths of judgment,

21 That I may cause them that love me, to inherit substance, and I will fill their treasures.

22 The Lord hath possessed me in the beginning of his way: I was before his works of old.

23 I was set up from everlasting, from the beginning and before the earth.

24 When there were no depths, was I begotten, when there were no fountains abounding with water.

25 Before the mountains were settled: and before the hills, was I begotten.

26 He had not yet made the earth, nor the open places, nor the height of the dust in the world.

27 When he prepared the heavens, I was there, when he set the compass upon the deep.

28 When he established the clouds above, when he confirmed the fountains of the deep,

29 When he gave his decree to the Sea, that the waters should not pass his commandment: when he appointed the foundations of the earth,

30 Then was I with him as a nourisher, and I was daily his delight rejoicing alway before him,

31 And took my solace in the compass of his earth: and my delight is with the children of men.

32 Therefore now hearken, O children, unto me: for blessed are they that keep my ways.

33 Hear instruction, and be ye wise, and refuse it not: blessed is the man that heareth me, watching daily at my gates, and giving attendance at the posts of my doors.

34 For he that findeth me, findeth life, and shall obtain favor of the Lord.

35 But he that sinneth against me, hurteth his own soul: and all that hate me, love death.