Part 8 (1/2)
ii
The Mourning for the Fool
Weep for the dead, For light hath failed him; And weep for a fool, For understanding hath failed him:
Weep more sweetly for the dead, Because he hath found rest; But the life of the fool Is worse than death.
Seven days are the days of mourning for the dead: But for a fool and an unG.o.dly man, all the days of his life.
iii
The Two Paths
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 paths of uprightness.
When thou goest, thy steps shall not be straitened; And if 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 walk not in the way of evil men.
Avoid it, Pa.s.s not by it; Turn from it, And pa.s.s on.
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 righteous is as the light of dawn, That s.h.i.+neth more and more unto the perfect day.
The way of the wicked is as darkness: They know not at what they stumble.
iv
The Creator has made Wisdom the Supreme Prize
My son, despise not the chastening of the LORD; Neither be weary of his reproof: For whom the LORD loveth he reproveth; 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 none of the things thou canst desire are to be compared unto her.
Length of days is in her right hand; In her left hand are 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 founded the earth; By understanding he established the heavens.