Or

Do not swerve to the right or to the left; turn your feet away from evil.

I did not listen to the voice of my teachers or incline my ear to my mentors.

Why be captivated, my son, by an adulteress, or embrace the bosom of a stranger?

Allow no sleep to your eyes or slumber to your eyelids.

Without a commander, without an overseer or ruler,

Do not lust in your heart for her beauty or let her captivate you with her eyes.

He will not be appeased by any ransom, or persuaded by lavish gifts.

All the words of my mouth are righteous; none are crooked or perverse.

…before He made the land or fields, or any of the dust of the earth.

…before He made the land or fields, or any of the dust of the earth.

Do not rebuke a mocker, or he will hate you; rebuke a wise man, and he will love you.

It is surely not good to punish the innocent or to flog a noble for his honesty.

He who assaults his father or evicts his mother is a son who brings shame and disgrace.

Do not love sleep, or you will grow poor; open your eyes, and you will have plenty of food.

Whoever curses his father or mother, his lamp will be extinguished in deepest darkness.

Oppressing the poor to enrich oneself or giving gifts to the rich will surely lead to poverty.

…or you may learn his ways and entangle yourself in a snare.

Do not move an ancient boundary stone or encroach on the fields of the fatherless,

Do not join those who drink too much wine or gorge themselves on meat.

You will be like one sleeping on the high seas or lying on the top of a mast:

Do not envy wicked men or desire their company;

…or the LORD will see and disapprove, and turn His wrath away from him.

Like an earring of gold or an ornament of fine gold is a wise man’s rebuke to a listening ear.

Like a club or sword or sharp arrow is a man who bears false witness against his neighbor.

Like a club or sword or sharp arrow is a man who bears false witness against his neighbor.

Like a broken tooth or a foot out of joint is confidence in a faithless man in time of trouble.

Like one who removes a garment on a cold day or vinegar poured on a wound is one who sings songs to a heavy heart.

Like a muddied spring or a polluted well is a righteous man who gives way to the wicked.

It is not good to eat too much honey or to search out one’s own glory.

Like a fluttering sparrow or darting swallow, an undeserved curse does not come to rest.

Do not answer a fool according to his folly, or you yourself will be like him.

Like cutting off one’s own feet or drinking violence is the sending of a message by the hand of a fool.

Like an archer who wounds at random is he who hires a fool or passerby.

Do not forsake your friend or your father’s friend, and do not go to your brother’s house in the day of your calamity; better a neighbor nearby than a brother far away.

…restraining her is like holding back the wind or grasping oil with one’s right hand.

Like a roaring lion or a charging bear is a wicked ruler over a helpless people.

He who robs his father or mother, saying, “It is not wrong,” is a companion to the man who destroys.

Otherwise, I may have too much and deny You, saying, ‘Who is the LORD?’ Or I may become poor and steal, profaning the name of my God.

Do not slander a servant to his master, or he will curse you, and you will bear the guilt.

If you have foolishly exalted yourself or if you have plotted evil, put your hand over your mouth.

Do not spend your strength on women or your vigor on those who ruin kings.

It is not for kings, O Lemuel, it is not for kings to drink wine, or for rulers to crave strong drink,

And who knows whether that man will be wise or foolish? Yet he will take over all the labor at which I have worked skillfully under the sun. This too is futile.

I know that everything God does endures forever; nothing can be added to it or taken from it. God does it so that they should fear Him.

There is a man all alone, without even a son or brother. And though there is no end to his labor, his eyes are still not content with his wealth: “For whom do I toil and bereave my soul of enjoyment?” This too is futile—a miserable task.

The sleep of the worker is sweet, whether he eats little or much, but the abundance of the rich man permits him no sleep.

…or wealth lost in a failed venture, so when that man has a son there is nothing to pass on.

Do not pay attention to every word that is spoken, or you may hear your servant cursing you.

When I applied my mind to know wisdom and to observe the task that one performs on the earth—though his eyes do not see sleep in the day or even in the night—

So I took all this to heart and concluded that the righteous and the wise, as well as their deeds, are in God’s hands. Man does not know what lies ahead, whether love or hate.

Whatever you find to do with your hands, do it with all your might, for in Sheol, where you are going, there is no work or planning or knowledge or wisdom.

Whatever you find to do with your hands, do it with all your might, for in Sheol, where you are going, there is no work or planning or knowledge or wisdom.

Whatever you find to do with your hands, do it with all your might, for in Sheol, where you are going, there is no work or planning or knowledge or wisdom.

For surely no man knows his time: Like fish caught in a cruel net or birds trapped in a snare, so men are ensnared in an evil time that suddenly falls upon them.

Do not curse the king even in your thoughts, or curse the rich even in your bedroom, for a bird of the air may carry your words, and a winged creature may report your speech.

Divide your portion among seven, or even eight, for you do not know what disaster may befall the land.

If the clouds are full, they will pour out rain upon the earth; whether a tree falls to the south or to the north, in the place where it falls, there it will lie.

As you do not know the path of the wind, or how the bones are formed in a mother’s womb, so you cannot understand the work of God, the Maker of all things.

Sow your seed in the morning, and do not rest your hands in the evening, for you do not know which will succeed, whether this or that, or if both will equally prosper.

Sow your seed in the morning, and do not rest your hands in the evening, for you do not know which will succeed, whether this or that, or if both will equally prosper.

For God will bring every deed into judgment, along with every hidden thing, whether good or evil.

O daughters of Jerusalem, I adjure you by the gazelles and does of the field: Do not arouse or awaken love until the time is right.

My beloved is like a gazelle or a young stag. Look, he stands behind our wall, gazing through the windows, peering through the lattice.

Before the day breaks and shadows flee, turn, my beloved, and be like a gazelle or a young stag on the mountains of Bether.

O daughters of Jerusalem, I adjure you by the gazelles and does of the field: Do not arouse or awaken love until the time is right.

I went down to the walnut grove to see the blossoms of the valley, to see if the vines were budding or the pomegranates were in bloom.

O daughters of Jerusalem, I adjure you: Do not arouse or awaken love until the time is right.

Come away, my beloved, and be like a gazelle or a young stag on the mountains of spices.

On that day he will cry aloud: “I am not a healer. I have no food or clothing in my house. Do not make me leader of the people!”

None of them grows weary or stumbles; no one slumbers or sleeps. No belt is loose and no sandal strap is broken.

None of them grows weary or stumbles; no one slumbers or sleeps. No belt is loose and no sandal strap is broken.

…and say to him: Calm down and be quiet. Do not be afraid or disheartened over these two smoldering stubs of firewood—over the fierce anger of Rezin and Aram and of the son of Remaliah.

“Ask for a sign from the LORD your God, whether from the depths of Sheol or the heights of heaven.”

For before the boy knows how to cry ‘Father’ or ‘Mother,’ the wealth of Damascus and the plunder of Samaria will be carried off by the king of Assyria.”

Nothing will remain but to crouch among the captives or fall among the slain. Despite all this, His anger is not turned away; His hand is still upraised.

My hand reached as into a nest to seize the wealth of the nations. Like one gathering abandoned eggs, I gathered all the earth. No wing fluttered, no beak opened or chirped.’”

Does an axe raise itself above the one who swings it? Does a saw boast over him who saws with it? It would be like a rod waving the one who lifts it, or a staff lifting him who is not wood!

She will never be inhabited or settled from generation to generation; no nomad will pitch his tent there, no shepherd will rest his flock there.

Prepare a place to slaughter his sons for the iniquities of their forefathers. They will never rise up to possess a land or cover the earth with their cities.

Joy and gladness are removed from the orchard; no one sings or shouts in the vineyards. No one tramples the grapes in the winepresses; I have put an end to the cheering.

Yet gleanings will remain, like an olive tree that has been beaten—two or three berries atop the tree, four or five on its fruitful branches,” declares the LORD, the God of Israel.

Yet gleanings will remain, like an olive tree that has been beaten—two or three berries atop the tree, four or five on its fruitful branches,” declares the LORD, the God of Israel.

They will not look to the altars they have fashioned with their hands or to the Asherahs and incense altars they have made with their fingers.

There is nothing Egypt can do—head or tail, palm or reed.

There is nothing Egypt can do—head or tail, palm or reed.

You built a reservoir between the walls for the waters of the ancient pool, but you did not look to the One who made it, or consider Him who planned it long ago.

This is the burden against Tyre: Wail, O ships of Tarshish, for Tyre is laid waste, without house or harbor. Word has reached them from the land of Cyprus.

Be ashamed, O Sidon, the stronghold of the sea, for the sea has spoken: “I have not been in labor or given birth. I have not raised young men or brought up young women.”

Be ashamed, O Sidon, the stronghold of the sea, for the sea has spoken: “I have not been in labor or given birth. I have not raised young men or brought up young women.”

Yet her profits and wages will be set apart to the LORD; they will not be stored or saved, for her profit will go to those who live before the LORD, for abundant food and fine clothing.

Or let them lay claim to My protection; let them make peace with Me—yes, let them make peace with Me.”

Therefore Jacob’s guilt will be atoned for, and the full fruit of the removal of his sin will be this: When he makes all the altar stones like crushed bits of chalk, no Asherah poles or incense altars will remain standing.

Behold, the Lord has one who is strong and mighty. Like a hailstorm or destructive tempest, like a driving rain or flooding downpour, he will smash that crown to the ground.

Behold, the Lord has one who is strong and mighty. Like a hailstorm or destructive tempest, like a driving rain or flooding downpour, he will smash that crown to the ground.

So now, do not mock, or your shackles will become heavier. Indeed, I have heard from the Lord GOD of Hosts a decree of destruction against the whole land.

Or if the scroll is handed to one unable to read, he will say, “I cannot read.”

It will break in pieces like a potter’s jar, shattered so that no fragment can be found. Not a shard will be found in the dust large enough to scoop the coals from a hearth or to skim the water from a cistern.”

And whether you turn to the right or to the left, your ears will hear this command behind you: “This is the way. Walk in it.”

For this is what the LORD has said to me: “Like a lion roaring or a young lion over its prey—and though a band of shepherds is called out against it, it is not terrified by their shouting or subdued by their clamor—so the LORD of Hosts will come down to do battle on Mount Zion and its heights.

For this is what the LORD has said to me: “Like a lion roaring or a young lion over its prey—and though a band of shepherds is called out against it, it is not terrified by their shouting or subdued by their clamor—so the LORD of Hosts will come down to do battle on Mount Zion and its heights.