The MacArthur Study Bible, NKJV

by John MacArthur

  And her paths to the dead;

  19None who go to her return,

  Nor do they 2regain the paths of life—

  20So you may walk in the way of goodness,

  And keep to the paths of righteousness.

  21For the upright will dwell in the nland,

  And the blameless will remain in it;

  22But the wicked will be 3cut off from the 4earth,

  And the unfaithful will be uprooted from it.

  Proverbs 3

  Guidance for the Young

  1My son, do not forget my law,

  a But let your heart keep my commands;

  2For length of days and long life

  And bpeace they will add to you.

  3Let not mercy and truth forsake you;

  c Bind them around your neck,

  d Write them on the tablet of your heart,

  4e And so find favor and 1high esteem

  In the sight of God and man.

  5f Trust in the LORD with all your heart,

  g And lean not on your own understanding;

  6h In all your ways acknowledge Him,

  And He shall 2direct your paths.

  7Do not be wise in your own ieyes;

  Fear the LORD and depart from evil.

  8It will be health to your 3flesh,

  And jstrength4 to your bones.

  9k Honor the LORD with your possessions,

  And with the firstfruits of all your increase;

  10l So your barns will be filled with plenty,

  And your vats will overflow with new wine.

  11m My son, do not despise the chastening of the LORD,

  Nor detest His correction;

  12For whom the LORD loves He corrects,

  n Just as a father the son in whom he delights.

  13o Happy is the man who finds wisdom,

  And the man who gains understanding;

  14p For her proceeds are better than the profits of silver,

  And her gain than fine gold.

  15She is more precious than rubies,

  And qall the things you may desire cannot compare with her.

  16r Length of days is in her right hand,

  In her left hand riches and honor.

  17s Her ways are ways of pleasantness,

  And all her paths are peace.

  18She is ta tree of life to those who take hold of her,

  And happy are all who 5retain her.

  19u The LORD by wisdom founded the earth;

  By understanding He established the heavens;

  20By His knowledge the depths were vbroken up,

  And clouds drop down the dew.

  21My son, let them not depart from your eyes—

  Keep sound wisdom and discretion;

  22So they will be life to your soul

  And grace to your neck.

  23w Then you will walk safely in your way,

  And your foot will not stumble.

  24When you lie down, you will not be afraid;

  Yes, you will lie down and your sleep will be sweet.

  25x Do not be afraid of sudden terror,

  Nor of trouble from the wicked when it comes;

  26For the LORD will be your confidence,

  And will keep your foot from being caught.

  27y Do not withhold good from 6those to whom it is due,

  When it is in the power of your hand to do so.

  28z Do not say to your neighbor,

  “Go, and come back,

  And tomorrow I will give it,”

  When you have it with you.

  29Do not devise evil against your neighbor,

  For he dwells by you for safety’s sake.

  30a Do not strive with a man without cause,

  If he has done you no harm.

  31b Do not envy the oppressor,

  And choose none of his ways;

  32For the perverse person is an abomination to the LORD,

  c But His secret counsel is with the upright.

  33d The curse of the LORD is on the house of the wicked,

  But eHe blesses the home of the just.

  34f Surely He scorns the scornful,

  But gives grace to the humble.

  35The wise shall inherit glory,

  But shame shall be the legacy of fools.

  Proverbs 4

  Security in Wisdom

  1Hear, amy children, the instruction of a father,

  And give attention to know understanding;

  2For I give you good doctrine:

  Do not forsake my law.

  3When I was my father’s son,

  b Tender and the only one in the sight of my mother,

  4c He also taught me, and said to me:

  “Let your heart retain my words;

  d Keep my commands, and live.

  5e Get wisdom! Get understanding!

  Do not forget, nor turn away from the words of my mouth.

  6Do not forsake her, and she will preserve you;

  f Love her, and she will keep you.

  7g Wisdom is the principal thing;

  Therefore get wisdom.

  And in all your getting, get understanding.

  8h Exalt her, and she will promote you;

  She will bring you honor, when you embrace her.

  9She will place on your head ian ornament of grace;

  A crown of glory she will deliver to you.”

  10Hear, my son, and receive my sayings,

  j And the years of your life will be many.

  11I have ktaught you in the way of wisdom;

  I have led you in right paths.

  12When you walk, lyour steps will not be hindered,

  m And when you run, you will not stumble.

  13Take firm hold of instruction, do not let go;

  Keep her, for she is your life.

  14n Do not enter the path of the wicked,

  And do not walk in the way of evil.

  15Avoid it, do not travel on it;

  Turn away from it and pass on.

  16o For they do not sleep unless they have done evil;

  And their sleep is 1taken away unless they make someone fall.

  17For they eat the bread of wickedness,

  And drink the wine of violence.

  18p But the path of the just qis like the shining 2sun,

  That shines ever brighter unto the perfect day.

  19r The way of the wicked is like darkness;

  They do not know what makes them stumble.

  20My son, give attention to my words;

  Incline your ear to my sayings.

  21Do not let them depart from your eyes;

  Keep them in the midst of your heart;

  22For they are life to those who find them,

  And health to all their flesh.

  23Keep your heart with all diligence,

  For out of it spring the issues of slife.

  24Put away from you a 3deceitful mouth,

  And put perverse lips far from you.

  25Let your eyes look straight ahead,

  And your eyelids look right before you.

  26Ponder the path of your tfeet,

  And let all your ways be established.

  27Do not turn to the right or the left;

  Remove your foot from evil.

  Proverbs 5

  The Peril of Adultery

  1My son, pay attention to my wisdom;

  1 Lend your ear to my understanding,

  2That you may 2preserve discretion,

  And your lips amay keep knowledge.

  3b For the lips of 3an immoral woman drip honey,

  And her mouth is csmoother than oil;

  4But in the end she is bitter as wormwood,

  Sharp as a two-edged sword.

  5Her feet go down to death,

  d Her steps lay hold of 4hell.

  6Lest you ponder her path of life—

  Her ways are unstable;

  You do not know them.

  7
Therefore hear me now, my children,

  And do not depart from the words of my mouth.

  8Remove your way far from her,

  And do not go near the door of her house,

  9Lest you give your 5honor to others,

  And your years to the cruel one;

  10Lest aliens be filled with your 6wealth,

  And your labors go to the house of a foreigner;

  11And you mourn at last,

  When your flesh and your body are consumed,

  12And say:

  “How I have hated instruction,

  And my heart despised correction!

  13I have not obeyed the voice of my teachers,

  Nor inclined my ear to those who instructed me!

  14I was on the verge of total ruin,

  In the midst of the assembly and congregation.”

  15Drink water from your own cistern,

  And running water from your own well.

  16Should your fountains be dispersed abroad,

  7 Streams of water in the streets?

  17Let them be only your own,

  And not for strangers with you.

  18Let your fountain be blessed,

  And rejoice with ethe wife of your youth.

  19f As a loving deer and a graceful doe,

  Let her breasts satisfy you at all times;

  And always be 8enraptured with her love.

  20For why should you, my son, be enraptured by gan immoral woman,

  And be embraced in the arms of a seductress?

  21h For the ways of man are before the eyes of the LORD,

  And He 9ponders all his paths.

  22i His own iniquities entrap the wicked man,

  And he is caught in the cords of his sin.

  23j He shall die for lack of instruction,

  And in the greatness of his folly he shall go astray.

  Proverbs 6

  Dangerous Promises

  1My son, aif you become 1surety for your friend,

  If you have 2shaken hands in pledge for a stranger,

  2You are snared by the words of your mouth;

  You are taken by the words of your mouth.

  3So do this, my son, and deliver yourself;

  For you have come into the hand of your friend:

  Go and humble yourself;

  Plead with your friend.

  4b Give no sleep to your eyes,

  Nor slumber to your eyelids.

  5Deliver yourself like a gazelle from the hand of the hunter,

  And like a bird from the hand of the 3fowler.

  The Folly of Indolence

  6c Go to the ant, you sluggard!

  Consider her ways and be wise,

  7Which, having no 4captain,

  Overseer or ruler,

  8Provides her 5supplies in the summer,

  And gathers her food in the harvest.

  9d How long will you 6slumber, O sluggard?

  When will you rise from your sleep?

  10A little sleep, a little slumber,

  A little folding of the hands to sleep—

  11e So shall your poverty come on you like a prowler,

  And your need like an armed man. Symbols for the Bible

  The Wicked Man

  12A worthless person, a wicked man,

  Walks with a perverse mouth;

  13f He winks with his eyes,

  He 7shuffles his feet,

  He points with his fingers;

  14Perversity is in his heart,

  g He devises evil continually,

  h He sows discord.

  15Therefore his calamity shall come isuddenly;

  Suddenly he shall jbe broken kwithout remedy.

  16These six things the LORD hates,

  Yes, seven are an abomination to 8Him:

  17l A9 proud look,

  m A lying tongue,

  n Hands that shed innocent blood,

  18o A heart that devises wicked plans,

  p Feet that are swift in running to evil,

  19q A false witness who speaks lies,

  And one who rsows discord among brethren.

  Beware of Adultery

  20s My son, keep your father’s command,

  And do not forsake the law of your mother.

  21t Bind them continually upon your heart;

  Tie them around your neck.

  22u When you roam, 10they will lead you;

  When you sleep, vthey will keep you;

  And when you awake, they will speak with you.

  23w For the commandment is a lamp,

  And the law a light;

  Reproofs of instruction are the way of life,

  24x To keep you from the evil woman,

  From the flattering tongue of a seductress.

  25y Do not lust after her beauty in your heart,

  Nor let her allure you with her eyelids.

  26For zby means of a harlot

  A man is reduced to a crust of bread;

  a And 11an adulteress will bprey upon his precious life.

  27Can a man take fire to his bosom,

  And his clothes not be burned?

  28Can one walk on hot coals,

  And his feet not be seared?

  29So is he who goes in to his neighbor’s wife;

  Whoever touches her shall not be innocent.

  30People do not despise a thief

  If he steals to satisfy himself when he is starving.

  31Yet when he is found, che must restore sevenfold;

  He may have to give up all the substance of his house.

  32Whoever commits adultery with a woman dlacks understanding;

  He who does so destroys his own soul.

  33Wounds and dishonor he will get,

  And his reproach will not be wiped away.

  34For ejealousy is a husband’s fury;

  Therefore he will not spare in the day of vengeance.

  35He will 12accept no recompense,

  Nor will he be appeased though you give many gifts.

  Proverbs 7

  The Wiles of a Harlot

  1My son, keep my words,

  And atreasure my commands within you.

  2b Keep my commands and live,

  c And my law as the apple of your eye.

  3d Bind them on your fingers;

  Write them on the tablet of your heart.

  4Say to wisdom, “You are my sister,”

  And call understanding your nearest kin,

  5e That they may keep you from the immoral woman,

  From the seductress who flatters with her words.

  The Crafty Harlot

  6For at the window of my house

  I looked through my lattice,

  7And saw among the simple,

  I perceived among the 1youths,

  A young man fdevoid2 of understanding,

  8Passing along the street near her corner;

  And he took the path to her house

  9g In the twilight, in the evening,

  In the black and dark night.

  10And there a woman met him,

  With the attire of a harlot, and a crafty heart.

  11h She was loud and rebellious,

  i Her feet would not stay at home.

  12At times she was outside, at times in the open square,

  Lurking at every corner.

  13So she caught him and kissed him;

  With an 3impudent face she said to him:

  14“I have peace offerings with me;

  Today I have paid my vows.

  15So I came out to meet you,

  Diligently to seek your face,

  And I have found you.

  16I have spread my bed with tapestry,

  Colored coverings of jEgyptian linen.

  17I have perfumed my bed

  With myrrh, aloes, and cinnamon.

  18Come, let us take our fill of love until morning;

  Let us delight ourselves with love.

  19For 4my husband is not a
t home;

  He has gone on a long journey;

  20He has taken a bag of money 5with him,

  And will come home 6on the appointed day.”

  217 With kher enticing speech she caused him to yield,

  l With her flattering lips she 8seduced him.

  22Immediately he went after her, as an ox goes to the slaughter,

  Or 9as a fool to the correction of the 10stocks,

  23Till an arrow struck his liver.

  m As a bird hastens to the snare,

  He did not know it 11would cost his life.

  24Now therefore, listen to me, my children;

  Pay attention to the words of my mouth:

  25Do not let your heart turn aside to her ways,

  Do not stray into her paths;

  26For she has cast down many wounded,

  And nall who were slain by her were strong men.

  27o Her house is the way to 12hell,

  Descending to the chambers of death.

  Proverbs 8

  The Excellence of Wisdom

  1Does not awisdom cry out,

  And understanding lift up her voice?

  2She takes her stand on the top of the 1high hill,

  Beside the way, where the paths meet.

  3She cries out by the gates, at the entry of the city,

  At the entrance of the doors:

  4“To you, O men, I call,

  And my voice is to the sons of men.

  5O you 2simple ones, understand prudence,

  And you fools, be of an understanding heart.

  6Listen, for I will speak of bexcellent things,

  And from the opening of my lips will come right things;

  7For my mouth will speak truth;

  Wickedness is an abomination to my lips.

  8All the words of my mouth are with righteousness;

  Nothing crooked or perverse is in them.

  9They are all plain to him who understands,

  And right to those who find knowledge.

  10Receive my instruction, and not silver,

  And knowledge rather than choice gold;

  11c For wisdom is better than rubies,

  And all the things one may desire cannot be compared with her.

  12“I, wisdom, dwell with prudence,

  And find out knowledge and discretion.

  13d The fear of the LORD is to hate evil;

  e Pride and arrogance and the evil way

  And fthe perverse mouth I hate.

  14Counsel is mine, and sound wisdom;

  I am understanding, gI have strength.

  15h By me kings reign,

  And rulers decree justice.

  16By me princes rule, and nobles,

  All the judges of 3the earth.

  17i I love those who love me,

  And jthose who seek me diligently will find me.