Study Desk

For ^(C1)wisdom will enter your heart, And ^(C2)knowledge will be delightful to your soul;

Discretion will ^(C1)watch over you, Understanding will guard you,

To ^(C1)rescue you from the way of evil, From a person who speaks ^(C2)perverse things;

From those who ^(C1)leave the paths of uprightness To walk in the ^(C2)ways of darkness;

Who ^(C1)delight in doing evil And rejoice in the perversity of evil;

Whose paths are ^(C1)crooked, And who are devious in their ways;

To ^(C1)rescue you from the strange woman, From the ^(C2)foreign woman who flatters with her words,

Who leaves the ^(C1)companion of her youth And forgets the ^(C2)covenant of her God;

For ^(C1)her house sinks down to death, And her tracks lead to the ^(F1)dead;

None ^(C1)who go to her return, Nor do they reach the ^(C2)paths of life.

So you will ^(C1)walk in the way of good people And keep to the ^(C2)paths of the righteous.

For ^(C1)the upright will live in the land, And ^(C2)the blameless will remain in it;

But ^(C1)the wicked will be eliminated from the land, And ^(C2)the treacherous will be ^(C3)torn away from it.

My son, ^(C1)do not forget my ^(F1)teaching, But have your heart ^(C2)comply with my commandments;

For ^(C1)length of days and years of life And peace they will add to you.

Do not let ^(C1)kindness and truth leave you; ^(C2)Bind them around your neck, ^(C3)Write them on the tablet of your heart.

So you will ^(C1)find favor and a ^(C2)good ^(F1)reputation In the sight of God and man.

^(C1)Trust in the LORD with all your heart And ^(C2)do not lean on your own understanding.

In all your ways ^(C1)acknowledge Him, And He will ^(C2)make your paths straight.

^(C1)Do not be wise in your own eyes; ^(C2)Fear the LORD and turn away from evil.

It will be ^(C1)healing to your ^(F1)body And ^(C2)refreshment to your bones.

^(C1)Honor the LORD from your wealth, And from the ^(C2)first of all your produce;

Then your ^(C1)barns will be filled with plenty, And your ^(C2)vats will overflow with new wine.

^(C1)My son, do not reject the ^(F1)discipline of the LORD Or loathe His rebuke,

For ^(C1)whom the LORD loves He disciplines, Just ^(C2)as a father disciplines the son in whom he delights.

^(C1)Blessed is a person who finds wisdom, And one who obtains understanding.

For ^(F1)her ^(C1)profit is better than the profit of silver, And her produce better than gold.

She is ^(C1)more precious than ^(F1)jewels, And nothing you desire compares with her.

^(F1)(C1)Long life is in her right hand; In her left hand are ^(C2)riches and honor.

Her ^(C1)ways are pleasant ways, And all her paths are ^(C2)peace.

She is a ^(C1)tree of life to those who take hold of her, And happy are those who hold on to her.

The LORD founded the earth ^(C1)by wisdom, He ^(C2)established the heavens by understanding.

By His knowledge the ^(C1)ocean depths were burst open, And the ^(C2)clouds drip with dew.

My son, see that ^(C1)they do not escape from your sight; Comply with sound wisdom and discretion,

And they will be ^(C1)life to your soul And ^(C2)adornment to your neck.

Then you will ^(C1)walk in your way securely, And your foot will not ^(C2)stumble.

When you ^(C1)lie down, you will not be afraid; When you lie down, your sleep will be sweet.

^(C1)Do not be afraid of sudden danger, Nor of ^(C2)trouble from the wicked when it comes;

For the LORD will be ^(F1)your confidence, And will ^(C1)keep your foot from being caught.

^(C1)Do not withhold good from ^(F1)those to whom it is due, When it is in your power to do it.

^(C1)Do not say to your neighbor, "Go, and come back, And tomorrow I will give it to you," When you have it with you.

^(C1)Do not devise harm against your neighbor, While he lives securely beside you.

^(C1)Do not contend with a person for no reason, If he has done you no harm.

^(C1)Do not envy a violent person, And do not choose any of his ways.

For the ^(C1)devious are an abomination to the LORD; But ^(F1)He is ^(C2)intimate with the upright.

The ^(C1)curse of the LORD is on the house of the wicked, But He ^(C2)blesses the home of the righteous.

Though ^(C1)He scoffs at the scoffers, Yet ^(C2)He gives grace to the needy.

^(C1)The wise will inherit honor, But fools ^(F1)increase dishonor.

Listen, my sons, to the ^(C1)instruction of a father, And ^(C2)pay attention so that you may ^(F1)gain understanding,

For I give you good ^(C1)teaching; ^(C2)Do not abandon my ^(F1)instruction.

When I was a son to my father, ^(C1)Tender and ^(C2)the only son in the sight of my mother,

He ^(C1)taught me and said to me, "Let your heart ^(C2)take hold of my words; ^(C3)Keep my commandments and live;

^(C1)Acquire wisdom! ^(C2)Acquire understanding! Do not forget nor turn away from the words of my mouth.

-"Do not abandon her, and she will guard you; ^(C1)Love her, and she will watch over you.

-"^(C1)The ^(F1)beginning of wisdom is: ^(C2)Acquire wisdom; And with all your possessions, acquire understanding.

-"^(C1)Prize her, and she will exalt you; She will honor you if you embrace her.

-"She will place ^(C1)on your head a garland of grace; She will present you with a crown of beauty."

Listen, my son, and ^(C1)accept my sayings, And the ^(C2)years of your life will be many.

I have ^(C1)instructed you in the way of wisdom; I have led you in upright paths.

When you walk, your ^(C1)steps will not be hampered; And if you run, you ^(C2)will not stumble.

^(C1)Take hold of instruction; do not let go. Guard her, for she is your ^(C2)life.

^(C1)Do not enter the path of the wicked And do not proceed in the way of evil people.

Avoid it, do not pass by it; Turn away from it and pass on.

For they ^(C1)cannot sleep unless they do evil; And ^(F1)they are robbed of sleep unless they make someone stumble.

For they ^(C1)eat the bread of wickedness, And drink the wine of violence.

But the ^(C1)path of the righteous is like the ^(C2)light of dawn That ^(C3)shines brighter and brighter until the ^(C4)full day.

The ^(C1)way of the wicked is like darkness; They do not know over what they ^(F1)(C2)stumble.

My son, ^(C1)pay attention to my words; ^(C2)Incline your ear to my sayings.

^(C1)They are not to escape from your sight; ^(C2)Keep them in the midst of your heart.

For they are ^(C1)life to those who find them, And ^(C2)healing to all ^(F1)their body.

Watch over your heart with all diligence, For ^(C1)from it flow the springs of life.

Rid yourself of a ^(C1)deceitful mouth And ^(C2)keep devious ^(F1)speech far from you.

Let your eyes look directly ahead And let your ^(F1)gaze be fixed straight in front of you.

^(F1)(C1)Watch the path of your feet, And all your ^(C2)ways will be established.

^(C1)Do not turn to the right or to the left; ^(C2)Turn your foot from evil.

My son, ^(C1)pay attention to my wisdom, ^(C2)Incline your ear to my understanding,

So that you may ^(C1)maintain discretion And your ^(C2)lips may comply with knowledge.

For the lips of an ^(F1)(C1)adulteress ^(C2)drip honey, And her ^(F2)speech is ^(C3)smoother than oil;

But in the end she is ^(C1)bitter as wormwood, ^(C2)Sharp as a two-edged sword.

Her feet ^(C1)go down to death, Her steps take hold of Sheol.

^(F1)She does not ponder the ^(C1)path of life; Her ways are ^(C2)unstable, she ^(C3)does not know it.

^(C1)Now then, my sons, listen to me And ^(C2)do not turn away from the words of my mouth.

^(C1)Keep your way far from her, And do not go near the ^(C2)door of her house,

Otherwise you will give your vigor to others, And your years to the cruel one;

And strangers will be filled with your strength, And your hard-earned possessions will go to the house of a foreigner;

And you will groan ^(F1)in ^(F2)the end, When your flesh and your body are consumed;

And you say, "How I ^(C1)hated instruction! And my heart ^(C2)disdainfully rejected rebuke!

-"I did not listen to the voice of my ^(C1)teachers, Nor incline my ear to my instructors!

-"I was almost in total ruin In the midst of the assembly and congregation."