¹ The wise sayings of Solomon, the son of David, king of Israel.

² To have knowledge of wise teaching; to be clear about the words of reason:

³ To be trained in the ways of wisdom, in righteousness and judging truly and straight behaviour:

⁴ To make the simple-minded sharp, and to give the young man knowledge, and serious purpose:

⁵ (The wise man, hearing, will get greater learning, and the acts of the man of good sense will be wisely guided:)

¹¹ Even a child may be judged by his doings, if his work is free from sin and if it is right.

⁵ For you are my hope, O Lord God; I have had faith in you from the time when I was young.

³⁰ Even the young men will become feeble and tired, and the best of them will come to the end of his strength;

³¹ But those who are waiting for the Lord will have new strength; they will get wings like eagles: running, they will not be tired, and walking, they will have no weariness.

⁶ To the young men give orders to be wise and serious-minded:

¹⁰ So put away trouble from your heart, and sorrow from your flesh; because the early years and the best years are to no purpose.

¹¹ I have kept your sayings secretly in my heart, so that I might do no sin against you.

¹² Young men and virgins; old men and children:

¹³ Let them give glory to the name of the Lord: for his name only is to be praised: his kingdom is over the earth and the heaven.

¹⁴ He has put on high the horn of his people, for the praise of all his saints; even the children of Israel, a people which is near to him. Let the Lord be praised.

⁹ <BETH> How may a young man make his way clean? by guiding it after your word.

¹³ With right behaviour as in the day; not in pleasure-making and drinking, not in bad company and unclean behaviour, not in fighting and envy.

¹⁷ Now as for these four young men, God gave them knowledge and made them expert in all book-learning and wisdom: and Daniel was wise in all visions and dreams.

¹⁸ Now at the end of the time fixed by the king for them to go in, the captain of the unsexed servants took them in to Nebuchadnezzar.

¹⁹ And the king had talk with them; and among them all there was no one like Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah; so they were given places before the king.

²⁰ And in any business needing wisdom and good sense, about which the king put questions to them, he saw that they were ten times better than all the wonder-workers and users of secret arts in all his kingdom.

¹² Let no one make little of you because you are young, but be an example to the church in word, in behaviour, in love, in faith, in holy living.

¹³ A young man who is poor and wise is better than a king who is old and foolish and will not be guided by the wisdom of others.

¹ Let your mind be turned to your Maker in the days of your strength, while the evil days come not, and the years are far away when you will say, I have no pleasure in them;

¹ Let your mind be turned to your Maker in the days of your strength, while the evil days come not, and the years are far away when you will say, I have no pleasure in them;

² While the sun, or the light, or the moon, or the stars, are not dark, and the clouds come not back after the rain;

³ In the day when the keepers of the house are shaking for fear, and the strong men are bent down, and the women who were crushing the grain are at rest because their number is small, and those looking out of the windows are unable to see;

⁴ When the doors are shut in the street, and the sound of the crushing is low, and the voice of the bird is soft, and the daughters of music will be made low;

¹⁹ Give ear, my son, and be wise, guiding your heart in the right way.

²⁰ Do not be among those who give themselves to wine-drinking, or among those who make themselves full with meat:

²¹ For those who take delight in drink and feasting will come to be in need; and through love of sleep a man will be poorly clothed.

²² Give ear to your father whose child you are, and do not keep honour from your mother when she is old.

²³ Get for yourself that which is true, and do not let it go for money; get wisdom and teaching and good sense.

¹ Children, do what is ordered by your fathers and mothers in the Lord: for this is right.

² Give honour to your father and mother (which is the first rule having a reward),

³ So that all may be well for you, and your life may be long on the earth.

⁴ And, you fathers, do not make your children angry: but give them training in the teaching and fear of the Lord.

⁵ And in the same way, let the younger men be ruled by the older ones. Let all of you put away pride and make yourselves ready to be servants: for God is a hater of pride, but he gives grace to those who make themselves low.

⁶ For this cause make yourselves low under the strong hand of God, so that when the time comes you may be lifted up;

⁷ Putting all your troubles on him, for he takes care of you.

⁹ Have joy, O young man, while you are young; and let your heart be glad in the days of your strength, and go in the ways of your heart, and in the desire of your eyes; but be certain that for all these things God will be your judge.

²⁹ The glory of young men is their strength, and the honour of old men is their grey hairs.

¹⁴ I have sent a letter to you, fathers, because you have knowledge of him who was from the first. I have sent a letter to you, young men, because you are strong, and the word of God is in you, and because you have overcome the Evil One.

²⁷ It is good for a man to undergo the yoke when he is young.

⁶ Then said I, O Lord God! see, I have no power of words, for I am a child.

⁷ But the Lord said to me, Do not say, I am a child: for wherever I send you, you are to go, and whatever I give you orders to say, you are to say.

⁸ Have no fear because of them: for I am with you, to keep you safe, says the Lord.

⁹ Then the Lord put out his hand, touching my mouth; and the Lord said to me, See, I have put my words in your mouth:

¹¹ For I am conscious of my thoughts about you, says the Lord, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you hope at the end.

¹² And you will go on crying to me and making prayer to me, and I will give ear to you.

¹³ And you will be searching for me and I will be there, when you have gone after me with all your heart.

¹⁴ I will be near you again, says the Lord, and your fate will be changed, and I will get you together from all the nations and from all the places where I had sent you away, says the Lord; and I will take you back again to the place from which I sent you away prisoners.

¹⁵ For you have said, The Lord has given us prophets in Babylon.

¹ Children, do what is ordered by your fathers and mothers in the Lord: for this is right.

² Give honour to your father and mother (which is the first rule having a reward),

³ So that all may be well for you, and your life may be long on the earth.