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¹⁷Let not thy heart envy sinners,

But be in the fear of the Lord all the day;

¹⁸For surely there is a future;

And thy hope shall not be cut off.

 

¹⁹Hear thou, my son, and be wise,

And guide thy heart in the way.

²⁰Be not among winebibbers;

Among gluttonous eaters of flesh;

²¹For the drunkard and the glutton shall come to poverty;

And drowsiness shall clothe a man with rags.

 

²²Hearken unto thy father that begot thee,

And despise not thy mother when she is old.

 

²³Buy the truth, and sell it not;

Also wisdom, and instruction, and understanding.

²⁴The father of the righteous will greatly rejoice;

And he that begetteth a wise child will have joy of him.

²⁵Let thy father and thy mother be glad,

And let her that bore thee rejoice.

 

²⁶My son, give me thy heart,

And let thine eyes observe my ways.

²⁷For a harlot is a deep ditch;

And an alien woman is a narrow pit.

²⁸She also lieth in wait as a robber,

And increaseth the faithless among men.

 

²⁹Who crieth: 'Woe'? who: 'Alas'?

Who hath contentions? who hath raving?

Who hath wounds without cause?

Who hath redness of eyes?

³⁰They that tarry long at the wine;

They that go to try mixed wine.

³¹Look not thou upon the wine when it is red,

When it giveth its colour in the cup,

When it glideth down smoothly;

³²At the last it biteth like a serpent,

And stingeth like a basilisk.

³³Thine eyes shall behold strange things,

And thy heart shall utter confused things.

³⁴Yea, thou shalt be as he that lieth down in the midst of the sea,

Or as he that lieth upon the top of a mast.

³⁵'They have struck me, and I felt it not,

They have beaten me, and I knew it not;

When shall I awake? I will seek it yet again.'

24 Be not thou envious of evil men,

Neither desire to be with them.

²For their heart studieth destruction,

And their lips talk of mischief.

 

³Through wisdom is a house builded;

And by understanding it is established;

⁴And by knowledge are the chambers filled

With all precious and pleasant riches.

 

⁵A wise man is strong;

Yea, a man of knowledge increaseth strength.

⁶For with wise advice thou shalt make thy war;

And in the multitude of counsellors there is safety.

 

⁷Wisdom is as unattainable to a fool as corals;

He openeth not his mouth in the gate.

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