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¹⁸For her house sinketh down unto death,

And her paths unto the shades;

¹⁹None that go unto her return,

Neither do they attain unto the paths of life;

²⁰That thou mayest walk in the way of good men,

And keep the paths of the righteous.

²¹For the upright shall dwell in the land,

And the whole-hearted shall remain in it.

²²But the wicked shall be cut off from the land,

And the faithless shall be plucked up out of it.

3 My son, forget not my teaching;

But let thy heart keep my commandments;

²For length of days, and years of life,

And peace, will they add to thee.

³Let not kindness and truth forsake thee;

Bind them about thy neck, write them upon the table of thy heart;

⁴So shalt thou find grace and good favour

In the sight of God and man.

 

⁵Trust in the Lord with all thy heart,

And lean not upon thine own understanding.

⁶In all thy ways acknowledge Him,

And He will direct thy paths.

 

⁷Be not wise in thine own eyes;

Fear the Lord, and depart from evil;

⁸It shall be health to thy navel,

And marrow to thy bones.

 

⁹Honour the Lord with thy substance,

And with the first-fruits of all thine increase; ¹⁰So shall thy barns be filled with plenty,

And thy vats shall overflow with new wine.

¹¹My son, despise not the chastening of the Lord,

Neither spurn thou His correction;

¹²For whom the Lord loveth He correcteth,

Even as a father the son in whom he delighteth.

 

¹³Happy is the man that findeth wisdom,

And the man that obtaineth understanding.

¹⁴For the merchandise of it is better than the merchandise of silver,

And the gain thereof than fine gold.

¹⁵She is more precious than rubies;

And all the things thou canst desire are not to be compared unto her.

¹⁶Length of days is in her right hand;

In her left hand are riches and honour.

¹⁷Her ways are ways of pleasantness,

And all her paths are peace.

¹⁸She is a tree of life to them that lay hold upon her,

And happy is every one that holdest her fast.

 

¹⁹The Lord by wisdom founded the earth;

By understanding He established the heavens.

²⁰By His knowledge the depths were broken up,

And the skies drop down the dew.

 

²¹My son, let not them depart from thine eyes;

Keep sound wisdom and discretion;

²²So shall they be life unto thy soul,

And grace to thy neck.

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