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In Gibeon/ the LORD appeared to Solomon in a dream by night: and God said, Ask what I shall give thee.

And Solomon said,/ Thou hast showed unto thy servant David my father great mercy, according as he walked before thee in truth, and in righteousness, and in uprightness of heart with thee; and thou hast kept for him this great kindness, that thou hast given him a son to sit on his throne, as it is this day.

And now,/ O LORD my God, thou hast made thy servant king instead of David my father: and I am but a little child: I know not how to go out or come in.

And thy/ servant is in the midst of thy people which thou hast chosen, a great people, that cannot be numbered nor counted for multitude.

Give therefore/ thy servant an understanding heart to judge thy people, that I may discern between good and bad: for who is able to judge this thy so great a people?

And the speech/ pleased the Lord, that Solomon had asked this thing.

And God said/ unto him, Because thou hast asked this thing, and hast not asked for thyself long life; neither hast asked riches for thyself, nor hast asked the life of thine enemies; but hast asked for thyself understanding to discern judgment;

Behold, I/ have done according to thy words: lo, I have given thee a wise and an understanding heart; so that there was none like thee before thee, neither after thee shall any arise like unto thee.

And I/ have also given thee that which thou hast not asked, both riches, and honour: so that there shall not be any among the kings like unto thee all thy days.

And if/ thou wilt walk in my ways, to keep my statutes and my commandments, as thy father David did walk, then I will lengthen thy days.

And Solomon awoke;/ and, behold, it was a dream. And he came to Jerusalem, and stood before the ark of the covenant of the LORD, and offered up burnt offerings, and offered peace offerings, and made a feast to all his servants.

And God gave/ Solomon wisdom and understanding exceeding much, and largeness of heart, even as the sand that is on the sea shore.

And Solomon's/ wisdom excelled the wisdom of all the children of the east country, and all the wisdom of Egypt.

And when the queen of Sheba heard/ of the fame of Solomon concerning the name of the LORD, she came to prove him with hard questions.

And she came/ to Jerusalem with a very great train, with camels that bare spices, and very much gold, and precious stones: and when she was come to Solomon, she communed with him of all that was in her heart.

And Solomon told/ her all her questions: there was not any thing hid from the king, which he told her not.

And when the queen of Sheba had/ seen all Solomon's wisdom, and the house that he had built,

And the meat/ of his table, and the sitting of his servants, and the attendance of his ministers, and their apparel, and his cupbearers, and his ascent by which he went up unto the house of the LORD; there was no more spirit in her.

And she said/ to the king, It was a true report that I heard in mine own land of thy acts and of thy wisdom.

Howbeit/ I believed not the words, until I came, and mine eyes had seen it: and, behold, the half was not told me: thy wisdom and prosperity exceedeth the fame which I heard.

Happy are/ thy men, happy are these thy servants, which stand continually before thee, and that hear thy wisdom.

Blessed be/ the LORD thy God, which delighted in thee, to set thee on the throne of Israel: because the LORD loved Israel for ever, therefore made he thee king, to do judgment and justice.

The proverbs of Solomon the/ son of David, king of Israel;

To know/ wisdom and instruction; to perceive the words of understanding;

To receive/ the instruction of wisdom, justice, and judgment, and equity;

To give/ subtlety to the simple, to the young man knowledge and discretion.

A wise man will/ hear, and will increase learning; and a man of understanding shall attain unto wise counsels:

To understand/ a proverb, and the interpretation; the words of the wise, and their dark sayings.

The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge:/ but fools despise wisdom and instruction.

My son, hear/ the instruction of thy father, and forsake not the law of thy mother:

For they shall/ be an ornament of grace unto thy head, and chains about thy neck.

Wisdom crieth/ without; she uttereth her voice in the streets:

She crieth in/ the chief place of concourse, in the openings of the gates: in the city she uttereth her words, saying,

How long, ye/ simple ones, will ye love simplicity? and the scorners delight in their scorning, and fools hate knowledge?

Turn you/ at my reproof: behold, I will pour out my spirit unto you, I will make known my words unto you.

Because/ I have called, and ye refused; I have stretched out my hand, and no man regarded;

But ye/ have set at nought all my counsel, and would none of my reproof:

I also/ will laugh at your calamity; I will mock when your fear cometh;

When your/ fear cometh as desolation, and your destruction cometh as a whirlwind; when distress and anguish cometh upon you.

Then shall/ they call upon me, but I will not answer; they shall seek me early, but they shall not find me:

For that/ they hated knowledge, and did not choose the fear of the LORD:

They would/ none of my counsel: they despised all my reproof.

Therefore/ shall they eat of the fruit of their own way, and be filled with their own devices.

For the turning/ away of the simple shall slay them, and the prosperity of fools shall destroy them.

But whoso/ hearkeneth unto me shall dwell safely, and shall be quiet from fear of evil.

My son, if/ thou wilt receive my words, and hide my commandments with thee;

So that/ thou incline thine ear unto wisdom, and apply thine heart to understanding;

Yea,/ if thou criest after knowledge, and liftest up thy voice for understanding;

If thou seekest/ her as silver, and searchest for her as for hid treasures;

Then shalt thou understand the/ fear of the LORD, and find the knowledge of God.

For the LORD giveth/ wisdom: out of his mouth cometh knowledge and understanding.

He layeth/ up sound wisdom for the righteous: he is a buckler to them that walk uprightly.

He keepeth/ the paths of judgment, and preserveth the way of his saints.

Then shalt thou understand righteousness,/ and judgment, and equity; yea, every good path.

When wisdom/ entereth into thine heart, and knowledge is pleasant unto thy soul;

Discretion/ shall preserve thee, understanding shall keep thee:

To deliver thee from the way/ of the evil man, from the man that speaketh froward things;

Who leave/ the paths of uprightness, to walk in the ways of darkness;

Who rejoice/ to do evil, and delight in the frowardness of the wicked;

Whose/ ways are crooked, and they froward in their paths:

To deliver thee from the strange/ woman, even from the stranger which flattereth with her words;

Which forsaketh/ the guide of her youth, and forgetteth the covenant of her God.

For her/ house inclineth unto death, and her paths unto the dead.

None/ that go unto her return again, neither take they hold of the paths of life.

That thou mayest walk/ in the way of good men, and keep the paths of the righteous.

For the upright/ shall dwell in the land, and the perfect shall remain in it.

But the wicked/ shall be cut off from the earth, and the transgressors shall be rooted out of it.

My son, forget/ not my law; but let thine heart keep my commandments:

For length/ of days, and long life, and peace, shall they add to thee.

Let not/ mercy and truth forsake thee: bind them about thy neck; write them upon the table of thine heart:

So shalt/ thou find favour and good understanding in the sight of God and man.

Trust/ in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding.

In all/ thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.

Be not wise/ in thine own eyes: fear the LORD, and depart from evil.

It shall/ be health to thy navel, and marrow to thy bones.

Honour/ the LORD with thy substance, and with the firstfruits of all thine increase:

So shall thy barns/ be filled with plenty, and thy presses shall burst out with new wine.

My son, despise/ not the chastening of the LORD; neither be weary of his correction:

For whom/ the LORD loveth he correcteth; even as a father the son in whom he delighteth.

Happy is/ the man that findeth wisdom, and the man that getteth understanding.

For the merchandise/ of it is better than the merchandise of silver, and the gain thereof than fine gold.

She is more/ precious than rubies: and all the things thou canst desire are not to be compared unto her.

Length/ of days is in her right hand; and in her left hand riches and honour.

Her/ ways are ways of pleasantness, and all her paths are peace.

She is a/ tree of life to them that lay hold upon her: and happy is every one that retaineth her.

The LORD by/ wisdom hath founded the earth; by understanding hath he established the heavens.

By his/ knowledge the depths are broken up, and the clouds drop down the dew.

My son, let/ not them depart from thine eyes: keep sound wisdom and discretion:

So shall they/ be life unto thy soul, and grace to thy neck.

Then shalt thou walk/ in thy way safely, and thy foot shall not stumble.

When thou liest/ down, thou shalt not be afraid: yea, thou shalt lie down, and thy sleep shall be sweet.

Be not afraid/ of sudden fear, neither of the desolation of the wicked, when it cometh.

For the LORD shall/ be thy confidence, and shall keep thy foot from being taken.

Withhold not good/ from them to whom it is due, when it is in the power of thine hand to do it.

Say not unto/ thy neighbour, Go, and come again, and to morrow I will give; when thou hast it by thee.

Devise/ not evil against thy neighbour, seeing he dwelleth securely by thee.

Strive/ not with a man without cause, if he have done thee no harm.

Envy/ thou not the oppressor, and choose none of his ways.

For the froward/ is abomination to the LORD: but his secret is with the righteous.

The curse/ of the LORD is in the house of the wicked: but he blesseth the habitation of the just.

Surely/ he scorneth the scorners: but he giveth grace unto the lowly.

The wise shall/ inherit glory: but shame shall be the promotion of fools.

Get/ wisdom, get understanding: forget it not; neither decline from the words of my mouth.

Forsake/ her not, and she shall preserve thee: love her, and she shall keep thee.

Wisdom is/ the principal thing; therefore get wisdom: and with all thy getting get understanding.

Exalt/ her, and she shall promote thee: she shall bring thee to honour, when thou dost embrace her.

She shall/ give to thine head an ornament of grace: a crown of glory shall she deliver to thee.

Hear, O/ my son, and receive my sayings; and the years of thy life shall be many.

I have/ taught thee in the way of wisdom; I have led thee in right paths.

When thou goest, thy/ steps shall not be straitened; and when thou runnest, thou shalt not stumble.

Take fast/ hold of instruction; let her not go: keep her; for she is thy life.

Enter/ not into the path of the wicked, and go not in the way of evil men.

Avoid/ it, pass not by it, turn from it, and pass away.

For they sleep/ not, except they have done mischief; and their sleep is taken away, unless they cause some to fall.

For they eat/ the bread of wickedness, and drink the wine of violence.

But the path/ of the just is as the shining light, that shineth more and more unto the perfect day.

The way of the wicked is as/ darkness: they know not at what they stumble.

My son, attend to/ my words; incline thine ear unto my sayings.

Let them/ not depart from thine eyes; keep them in the midst of thine heart.

For they are/ life unto those that find them, and health to all their flesh.

Keep thy/ heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life.

Put away/ from thee a froward mouth, and perverse lips put far from thee.

Let thine/ eyes look right on, and let thine eyelids look straight before thee.

Ponder/ the path of thy feet, and let all thy ways be established.

Turn not/ to the right hand nor to the left: remove thy foot from evil.

My son, attend unto/ my wisdom, and bow thine ear to my understanding:

That thou mayest regard/ discretion, and that thy lips may keep knowledge.

For the ways/ of man are before the eyes of the LORD, and he pondereth all his goings.

His/ own iniquities shall take the wicked himself, and he shall be holden with the cords of his sins.

He shall/ die without instruction; and in the greatness of his folly he shall go astray.

Go/ to the ant, thou sluggard; consider her ways, and be wise:

Which having/ no guide, overseer, or ruler,

Provideth/ her meat in the summer, and gathereth her food in the harvest.

How long wilt/ thou sleep, O sluggard? when wilt thou arise out of thy sleep?

Yet a little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to sleep:/

So shall thy poverty come as one that travelleth, and thy want as an armed man./

These/ six things doth the LORD hate: yea, seven are an abomination unto him:

A proud/ look, a lying tongue, and hands that shed innocent blood,

An heart/ that deviseth wicked imaginations, feet that be swift in running to mischief,

A false/ witness that speaketh lies, and he that soweth discord among brethren.

My son, keep thy/ father's commandment, and forsake not the law of thy mother:

Bind them continually/ upon thine heart, and tie them about thy neck.

When thou goest, it/ shall lead thee; when thou sleepest, it shall keep thee; and when thou awakest, it shall talk with thee.

For the commandment/ is a lamp; and the law is light; and reproofs of instruction are the way of life:

My son, keep my/ words, and lay up my commandments with thee.

Keep my/ commandments, and live; and my law as the apple of thine eye.

Bind them upon/ thy fingers, write them upon the table of thine heart.

Say unto/ wisdom, Thou art my sister; and call understanding thy kinswoman:

That they/ may keep thee from the strange woman, from the stranger which flattereth with her words.

Doth/ not wisdom cry? and understanding put forth her voice?

She standeth/ in the top of high places, by the way in the places of the paths.

She crieth at/ the gates, at the entry of the city, at the coming in at the doors.

Unto/ you, O men, I call; and my voice is to the sons of man.

O/ ye simple, understand wisdom: and, ye fools, be ye of an understanding heart.

Hear; for/ I will speak of excellent things; and the opening of my lips shall be right things.

For my/ mouth shall speak truth; and wickedness is an abomination to my lips.

All the words/ of my mouth are in righteousness; there is nothing froward or perverse in them.

They are/ all plain to him that understandeth, and right to them that find knowledge.

Receive/ my instruction, and not silver; and knowledge rather than choice gold.

For wisdom/ is better than rubies; and all the things that may be desired are not to be compared to it.

I wisdom/ dwell with prudence, and find out knowledge of witty inventions.

The fear of the LORD is to/ hate evil: pride, and arrogancy, and the evil way, and the froward mouth, do I hate.

Counsel is/ mine, and sound wisdom: I am understanding; I have strength.

By me kings/ reign, and princes decree justice.

By me princes/ rule, and nobles, even all the judges of the earth.

I love/ them that love me; and those that seek me early shall find me.

Riches and/ honour are with me; yea, durable riches and righteousness.

My fruit/ is better than gold, yea, than fine gold; and my revenue than choice silver.

I lead/ in the way of righteousness, in the midst of the paths of judgment:

That I may/ cause those that love me to inherit substance; and I will fill their treasures.

The LORD possessed/ me in the beginning of his way, before his works of old.

I was/ set up from everlasting, from the beginning, or ever the earth was.

Hear instruction,/ and be wise, and refuse it not.

Blessed is/ the man that heareth me, watching daily at my gates, waiting at the posts of my doors.

For whoso/ findeth me findeth life, and shall obtain favour of the LORD.

But he that/ sinneth against me wrongeth his own soul: all they that hate me love death.

He that reproveth/ a scorner getteth to himself shame: and he that rebuketh a wicked man getteth himself a blot.

Reprove/ not a scorner, lest he hate thee: rebuke a wise man, and he will love thee.

Give instruction/ to a wise man, and he will be yet wiser: teach a just man, and he will increase in learning.

The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom:/ and the knowledge of the holy is understanding.

A foolish woman/ is clamorous: she is simple, and knoweth nothing.

For she/ sitteth at the door of her house, on a seat in the high places of the city,

To call/ passengers who go right on their ways:

Whoso is/ simple, let him turn in hither: and as for him that wanteth understanding, she saith to him,

Stolen/ waters are sweet, and bread eaten in secret is pleasant.

But he knoweth/ not that the dead are there; and that her guests are in the depths of hell.

The proverbs of Solomon. A/ wise son maketh a glad father: but a foolish son is the heaviness of his mother.

Treasures/ of wickedness profit nothing: but righteousness delivereth from death.

The LORD will/ not suffer the soul of the righteous to famish: but he casteth away the substance of the wicked.

He becometh/ poor that dealeth with a slack hand: but the hand of the diligent maketh rich.

He that gathereth/ in summer is a wise son: but he that sleepeth in harvest is a son that causeth shame.

The memory/ of the just is blessed: but the name of the wicked shall rot.

The mouth/ of a righteous man is a well of life: but violence covereth the mouth of the wicked.

Hatred/ stirreth up strifes: but love covereth all sins.

In the lips/ of him that hath understanding wisdom is found: but a rod is for the back of him that is void of understanding.

In the multitude/ of words there wanteth not sin: but he that refraineth his lips is wise.

The tongue of the just/ is as choice silver: the heart of the wicked is little worth.

The lips of the righteous/ feed many: but fools die for want of wisdom.

The blessing/ of the LORD, it maketh rich, and he addeth no sorrow with it.

It is as/ sport to a fool to do mischief: but a man of understanding hath wisdom.

The fear of the wicked,/ it shall come upon him: but the desire of the righteous shall be granted.

As the whirlwind/ passeth, so is the wicked no more: but the righteous is an everlasting foundation.

As vinegar/ to the teeth, and as smoke to the eyes, so is the sluggard to them that send him.