PRAISE praise God ORAISE 1ye the LORD. Prawa God in his sanctuary: praise him in the firmament of his power. 2 Praise him for his mighty acts: praise him according to his excellent greatness. 3 Praise him with the sound a of the 2 trumpet: praise him with the psaltery and harp. 4 Praise him with the timbrel and 3 dance: praise him with stringed instruments and organs. 5 Praise him upon the loud b cymbals: praise him upon the highsounding cymbals. 6 Let c every thing that hath breath praise the LORD. Praise ye the LORD. The PROVERBS. m From the Creation, 3004....Before Christ, 1000.... Year of Solomon, 15. HE proverbs a of Solomon the 2 To know wisdom and instruction; to perceive the words of understanding; B. C. 1000. a 1Ki.4.32. ment. 3 or, an elo 3 Tob receive the instruction of wisdom, justice, and judgment, and quent 1 equity; 4 To give subtlety to the simple, ce to the young d man knowledge and 2 discretion. 5 A wise man will hear, and will increase learning; and a man of understanding shall attain unto wise counsels: 6 To understand a proverb, and the interpretation; the words of the wise, and their dark e sayings. 7 T The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge: but fools despise wisdom and instruction. 8 My son, hear the instruction of thy father, and forsake not the law of thy mother: 9 For they shall be an 5 ornament of grace unto thy head, and chains about thy neck. 10 My son, if sinners entice thee, consent g thou not. 11 If they say, Come with us, let as lay wait for blood, let us lurk privily for the innocent without cause: 12 Let us swallow them up alive speech. Ps.49.4. 78.2. 4 or, princi- h Ps. 1.1. i Ps. 119.101. eyes of 1Ti.6.10. n Is.65.12. 66.4. as the grave; and whole, as those that go down into the pit: 13 We shall find all precious substance, we shall fill our houses with spoil: 14 Cast in thy lot among us; let us all have one purse: 15 My son, walk h not thou in the way with them; refrain i thy foot from their path: 16 For their feet run to evil, and make haste to shed blood. 17 Surely in vain the net is spread in the 6 sight of any bird. 18 And they lay wait for their own blood; they lurk privily for their own lives. 19 Sok are the ways of every one that is greedy of gain; which taketh away the life of the owners thereof. 20 T7 Wisdom crieth without; she uttereth her voice in the streets: 21 She crieth in the chief place of concourse, in the openings of the gates: in the city she uttereth her words, saying, 22 How long, ye simple ones, will ye love simplicity? and the scorners delight in their scorning, and fools hate knowledge? 23 Turn you at my reproof: behold, Im will pour out my spirit unto you, I will make known my words unto you. 24 T Because n I have called, and ye refused; I have stretched out Zec.7.11-14 my hand, and no man regarded; 25 But ye have set at nought all Wisdom promiseth godliness to her children. lighth in the frowardness of the wicked; PROVERBS, II, III. ny counsel, and would none of my B. C. 1000. reproof: 26 Io also will laugh at your o Lu. 14.24. calamity; I will mock when your fear cometh; p Ge.6.3. Job 27.9. Is. 1.15. Je. 11.11. 14.12. E72.8. 18. Mi.3.4. 27 When your fear cometh as desolation, and your destruction cometh as a whirlwind; when distress and anguish cometh upon you. 28 Thenp shall they call upon me, but I will not answer; they shall scek me early, but they shall not find me: 29 For that they hated q know-s Je.2.19. ledge, and did not choose the fear of the LORD: 30 They would none of my counsel: they despised all my r reproof. 31 Therefores shall they eat of the fruit of their own way, and be filled with their own devices. q Job 21.14. 7 ch.6.23. 6.19. 8 or, ease. (CHAP. 2.) a Ps. 119.11. b Is.55.3. 1 givest. c Mat. 13.44. 15 Whose ways are crooked, and they froward in their paths: 16 To deliver thee from the k 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 For her house inclineth unto 'death, and her paths unto the dead. 19 None m that go unto her return again, neither take they hold of the paths of life. 20 That thou mayest walk in the way of good men, and keep the paths of the righteous. 21 For the upright shall dwell in the land, and the perfect shall re main in it. 22 But the wicked shall be cut off 32 For the turning away of the simple shall slay them, and the & prosperity of fools shall destroy them. d1Ki.3.9, 12. from the earth, and the transgres 33 But whoso hearkeneth unto me shall dwell safely, and shall be quiet from fear of evil. CHAPTER II. Wisdom promiseth godliness to her children. MY son, if thou wilt receive my Ja. 1.5. e ISa.2.9. Jude 24. f Ps. 119.99. g Jno. 12 35. words, and hide a my com-h Ro.1.32. mandments with thee; 2 So that thou incline b thine ear i Ps. 125.5. unto wisdom, and apply thine heart k ch.5.20. to understanding; I Mal.2.14. 3 Yea, if thou criest after know-m Ec.7.26. ledge, and liftest up thy voice for understanding; 4 If thou seekest her as silver, c and searchest for her as for hid treasures; 5 Then shalt thou understand the fear of the LORD, and find the knowledge of God." 6 Ford the LORD giveth wisdom: out of his mouth cometh knowledge and understanding. 2 or, plucked up. (CHAP. 3.) a Is.51.7. Je.31.33. 1 De.3c.16-20. 1Ti.4.8. years of. c 2Co.3.3. 7 He layeth up sound wisdom for 2 or, success. the righteous: he is a buckler to them that walk uprightly. 8 He keepeth the paths of judg ment, and preservethe the way of his saints. 9 Then ƒ shalt thou understand righteousness, and judgment, and equity; yea, every good path. 10 When wisdom entereth into thine heart, and knowledge is pleasant unto thy soul; 11 Discretion shall preserve thee, understanding shall keep thee: 12 To deliver thee from the way of the evil man, from the man that speaketh froward things; 13 Who leave the paths of uplightness, to walk g in the ways of darkness; 14 Who rejoice to do evil, and de d Je. 10.23. Ro. 12. 16. 3 medicine. 4 watering, or, moist. ening. e Ex.22.29. Mal.3.10, 12. ƒ Ec.11.1,2. Mat. 10.42. g He. 12.5,6. Re.3. 19. h ch.8.35,36. 5 draweth out. ỉ Phi.3.8,9. k Ps. 19.10. 2 Forb length of days, and 1 long life, and peace, shall they add to thee. 3 Let not mercy and truth forsake thee: bind them about thy neck; write c them upon the table of thine heart: 4 So shalt thou find favour and good 2 understanding in the sight of God and man. 5 Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not d unto thine own understanding. 6 In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths. 7 Be not wise in thine own eyes: fear the LORD, and depart from evil. 8 It shall be 3 health to thy navel, and 4 marrow to thy bones. 9 Honour the LORD with thy substance, and with the first-fruits e of all thine increase: 10 Sof shall thy barns be filled with plenty, and thy presses shall burst out with new wine. 11 My g son, despise not the chastening of the LORD; neither be weary of his correction: 12 For whom the LORD loveth he correcteth; even as a father the son in whom he delighteth. 13 Happy h is the man that findeth wisdom, and the man that 5 getteth understanding. 14 Fori the merchandise of it is better than the merchandise of silver, and k the gain thereof tha fine gold. Benefits of wisdom. PROVERBS, IV. than B. C. 1000. 15 She is more precious rubies and all the things 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 m and honour. 17 Her ways are ways of pleasantness, and all her paths are peace.no 18 She is a tree o of life to them that lay hold upon her: and happy as every one that retaineth her. 19 The LORD by wisdomp hath founded the earth; by understanding hath he established the heavens. 20 By his knowledge the depths are broken q up, and the clouds drop down ther dew. 21 My son, let not them depart from thine eyes: keep sound wisdom and discretion: m ch.8.18. n Ps. 119. 165. Mat.11.29. Ge.3.22,24. Re.22.2 p Je.51.15. 6 or, prepared. 9 Ge.7.11. Job 36.27. s Le.26.6. t Ps. 127.2. u Ps. 112.7. or, practise no evil 2 ch.25.8. 9 a man of violence. a Ps.25.14. b Zec.5.4. 27 Withhold not good from 7 them to whom it is due, w when xc Job 8.6,7. it is in the power of thine hand to d Da. 12.3. do it. 28 Sayy not unto thy neighbour, Go, and come again, and to-morrow I will give; when thou hast it by thee. 29 8 Devise not evil against thy neighbour, seeing he dwelleth securely by thee. 30 Strive z not with a man without cause, if he have done thee no harm. 31 Envy thou not 9 the oppressor, and choose none of his ways. 32 For the froward is abomination to the LORD: but his secret a is with the righteous. 33 The b curse of the LORD is in the house of the wicked: but che blesseth the habitation of the just. 34 Surely he scorneth the scorners but he giveth grace unto the lowly. 35 The wise d shall inherit glory: but shame 10 shall be the promotion of fools. CHAPTER IV. Solomon showeth what instruction he nad of lus parents. 10 exalteth the fools. (CHAP. 4.) a De.32.2. b ICh.29.1. c 1Ch.28.9. 1 or. she shall compass thee with a crown of glory. d Ps. 1.1. Phi.2.15. f Jno. 12.35. 2 medicine. 3 above all keeping. 4 frowardness of mouth, and perverseness of lips. Of obedience. HEAR, Ye children, the instruc tion of a father, and attend to know understanding. 2 For I give you good doctrine, a forsake ye not my law. 3 For I was my father's son, ten derb and only beloved in the sight of my mother. unto me, Let thine heart retain my 4 Hec taught me also, and said words: keep my commandments, and live. 5 Get wisdom, get understanding: forget it not; neither decline from the words of my mouth. 6 Forsake her not, and she shall preserve thee: love her, and she shali keep thee. 7 Wisdom is the principal thing therefore get wisdom: and with all thy getting get understanding. 8 Exalt her, and she shall promote thee: she shall bring thee to honour, when thou dost embrace her. 9 She shall give to thine head an ornament of grace: 1a crown of glory shall she deliver to thee. 10 Hear, O my son, and receive my sayings; and the years of thy life 11 I have taught thee in the way shall be many. of wisdom; I have led thee in right paths. 12 When thou goest, thy steps shall not be straitened; and when thou runnest, thou shalt not stumble. 13 Take fast hold of instruction; let her not go: keep her; for she is thy life. 14 T Enter d not into the path of the wicked, and go not in the way of evil men. 15 Avoid it, pass not by it, turn from it, and pass away. 16 For they sleep not, except they have done mischief; and their sleep is taken away, unless they cause some to fall. 17 For they eat the bread of wickedness, and drink the wine of violence. 18 But e the path of the just is as the shining light, that shineth more and more unto the perfect day. 19 The way of the wicked is as darkness: theyƒ know not at what they stumble. 20 My son, attend to my words; incline thine ear unto my sayings. 21 Let them not depart from thine eyes; keep them in the midst of thine heart. 22 For they are life unto those that find them, and 2 health to all their flesh. 23 T Keep thy heart 3 with ail diligence; for out of it are the issues of life. 24 Put away from thee 4 froward MYson, attend unto my wisdom, 2 strength. and bow thine ear to my e He.13.4. understanding: f Zec.7.11 14. g ch.1.25. 6.23. 12.1. h I Co.7.2. i Mal.2.14. 2 That thou mayest regard discretion, and that thy lips may keep knowledge. 3 For a the lips of a strange woman drop as an honey-comb, and her 1 mouth is smoother than oil: 4 But her end is bitterb as worm-k Ca.2.9. wood, sharp cas a two-edged sword. 5 Herd feet go down to death, her steps take hold on hell. 6 Lest thou shouldest ponder the path of life, her ways are moveable, that thou canst not know them. 7 Hear me now, therefore, O ye children, and depart not from the words of my mouth. 8 Remove thy way far from her, and come not nigh the door of her house: 9 Lest thou give thine honour unto others, and thy years unto the cruel : 10 Lest strangers be filled with thy 2 wealth; and thy labours be in the house of a stranger; 11 And thou mourn at the last, e when thy flesh and thy body are consumed, 12 And say, How f have I hated instruction, and my heart despised g reproof; 13 And have not obeyed the voice of my teachers, nor inclined mine ear to them that instructed me! 3 7.3-8. water. 4 err thou always in. un 12Ch. 16.9. Job 31.4. Je. 16. 17. 32.19. Ho.7.2. He.4.13. 5 sin. m ch.10.21. Job 36,12. (CHAP. 6.) a ch.11.15. 17.18. 22.26. 1 or, so shalt thou prevail with. b Job 12.7. c ch.24.33,34. d Job 15.12. e Is.57.20. 2 casteth 14 I was almost in all evil in forth. the midst of the congregation and f Ro. 16.17. assembly. 15 Drink waters out of thine 5 ch.1.27. own h cistern, and running waters out of thine own well. 16 Let thy fountains be dispersed abroad, and rivers of waters in the streets. 17 Let them be only thine own, and not strangers' with thee. h Je. 19.11. i 2Ch.36.16. of his soul. 4 haughty eyes. k Ps. 18.27. 1 Ps. 120.3.4. Re.22.15. 18 Let thy fountain be blessed : and rejoice with the wife i of thym 2Ki.24.3,4. youth. Is. 1.15. 19 Let k her be as the loving hind n Mi.2.1. and pleasant roe; let her 3 breasts o Is.59.7. satisfy thee at all times; and 4 be p ch. 19.9. thou ravished always with her love. q 3Jno.9.10. And why wilt thou, my son, be Against idleness. ravisned with a strange woman, and embrace the bosom of a stranger! 21 For the ways of man are before the eyes of the LORD, and he pondereth all his goings. 22 His own iniquities shall take the wicked himself, and he shall be holden with the cords of his 5 sins. 23 He m shall die without instruction; and in the greatness of his folly he shall go astray. CHAPTER VI. Against suretiship, idleness, and mischievousness. MY Y son, if thou be surety a for thy friend, if thou hast stricken thy hand with a stranger, 2 Thou art snared with the words of thy mouth, thou art taken with the words of thy mouth. 3 Do this now, my son, and deliver thyself, when thou art come into the hand of thy friend; go, humble thyself, and make sure thy friend. 4 Give not sleep to thine eyes, not slumber to thine eyelids. 5 Deliver thyself as a roe from the hand of the hunter, and as a bird from the hand of the fowler. 6 Gob to the ant, thou sluggard; consider her ways, and be wise: 7 Which having no guide, overseer, or ruler, 8 Provideth her meat in the summer, and gathereth her food in the harvest. 9 How long wilt thou sleep, O sluggard? when wilt thou arise out of thy sleep? 10 Yet c a little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to sleep: 11 So shall thy poverty come as one that travelleth, and thy want as an armed man. 12 TA naughty person, a wicked man, walketh with a froward mouth. 13 Hed winketh with his eyes, he speaketh with his feet, he teacheth with his fingers; 14 Frowardness is in his heart, hee deviseth mischief continually; he 2 soweth discord.f 15 Therefore g shall his calamity come suddenly; suddenly shall he be h broken without i remedy. 16 T These six things doth the LORD hate: yea, seven are an abomination 9 unto him: 17 4 A proud look, k a lying? tongue, and hands m that shed innocent blood, 18 An heart n that deviseth wicked imaginations, feet o that be swift in running to mischief, 19 A p false witness that speaketh lies, and he g that soweth discord among brethren. Mischiefs of whoredom. PROVERBS, VII, VIII. Cunning of a whore. 20 T My son, keep r thy father's; B. C. 1000. house I looked through my case. commandment, and forsake not the ment, law of thy mother: r Ep.6.1. 21 Bind them continually upon De.11.18-21. thine heart, and tie them about thys or, candle. neck. 22 When s thou goest, it shall lead thee; when thou sleepest, it shall keep thee; and when thou awakest, it shall talk with thee. t Ps. 119.105. 6 or, strange tongue. u Mat.5.28. w Ge.39.14, &c. 23 For the commandment is av ch.29.3. lamp; and the law is light; t and reproofs of instruction are the way of life : woman of a man, or, a man's wife. 24 To keep thee from the evil woman, from the flattery of the 6 tongue of a strange woman. 25 Lust u not after her beauty x Eze. 13. 18. in thine heart; neither let her takes heart. thee with her eyelids. z Ca.8.6. accept the face of. (CHAP. 7.) 28 For v by means of a whorish y He. 13.4. woman a man is brought to a piece of bread and w the 7 adulteress will hunt z for the precious life. 27 Can a man take fire in his bosom, and his clothes not be burned? 28 Can one go upon hot coals, and his feet not be burned? a ch.2.1-7. b Le. 18.5. Is.55.3. 29 So he that goeth in to his neighbour's wife; whosoever toucheth De.32.10. her shall not be innocent. d ch.6.21. De.6.8. 30 Men do not despise a thief, if he steal to satisfy his soul when he is hungry; 31 But if he be found, he shall restore seven-fold; he shall give all the substance of his house. 1 sons. e ch.6.32. 32 But whoso committeth adultery with a woman lacketh 8 under-2 standing he that y doeth it destroyeth his own soul. 33 A wound and dishonour shall he get, and his reproach shall not be wiped away. 34 For jealousy z is the rage of a man: therefore he will not spare in the day of vengeance. 35 He will not 9 regard any ransom; neither will he rest content, though thou givest many gifts. CHAPTER VII. Solomon persuadeth to a sincere and kind familiarity with wisdom. 9.4,16. fch.5.9. evening of the day. g ch.9. 13. h Je.3.3. i 1Ti.5.13. Tit.2.5. 3 she strengthened her face, and said. Peace offer ings are upon me. k Is. 19.9. 7 And beheld among the simple ones, I discerned among the youths, a young man voide of understanding, 8 Passing through the street near her corner; and he went the wayf to her house,. 9 In the twilight, in the 2 evening, in the black and dark night: 10 And, behold, there met him a woman with the attire of an harlot, and subtle of heart. 11 (She is lcud g and stubborn; her feet i abide not in her house: 12 Now is she without, now in the streets, and lieth in wait at every corner.) 13 So she caught him, and kissed him, and 3 with an impudent face said unto him, 14 4 I have peace-offerings with me; this day have I paid my vows. 15 Therefore came I forth to meet thee, diligently to seek thy face, and 1 have found thee. 16 I have decked my bed with coverings of tapestry, with carved works, with fine linen k 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 solace ourselves with loves. 19 For the goodman is not at home, he is gone a long journey: 20 He hath taken a bag of money 5 with him, and will come home at the 6 day appointed. 21 With her much fair speech / sho caused him to yield, with the flattering m of her lips she forced him. 22 He goeth after her 7 straightway, as an ox goeth to the slaughter, or as a fool to the correction of the stocks; 23 Till a dart strike through his liver; as a bird hasteth to the snare, n and knoweth not that it is for his life. 21 Hearken unto me now, therefore, O ye children, and attend to MY son, keep my words, and lays in his hand, the words of my mouth. thee. 2 Keep b my commandments, and 1 ch.5.3. live; and my law as the apple c of thine eye. m Ps. 12.2. suddenly. 3 Bindd them upon thy fingers, write them upon the table of thinen Ec.9.12. heart. 4 Say unto wisdom, Thou art my sister; and call understanding thy kinswoman: o Ju. 16. 19-30. Ne. 13.26. p ch.5.5. (CHAP. 8.) 9.3,&c. 5 That they may keep thee from the strange woman, from the stran-a ch.1.20. ger which flattereth with her words. 6 T For at the window of my |