Proverbs 22:1-24:34

1A good name is more desirable than great riches; to be esteemed is better than silver or gold.

2Rich and poor have this in common: The LORD is the Maker of them all.

3The prudent see danger and take refuge, but the simple keep going and pay the penalty.

4Humility is the fear of the LORD ; its wages are riches and honor and life.

5In the paths of the wicked are snares and pitfalls, but those who would preserve their life stay far from them.

6Start children off on the way they should go, and even when they are old they will not turn from it.

7The rich rule over the poor, and the borrower is slave to the lender.

8Whoever sows injustice reaps calamity, and the rod they wield in fury will be broken.

9The generous will themselves be blessed, for they share their food with the poor.

10Drive out the mocker, and out goes strife; quarrels and insults are ended.

11One who loves a pure heart and who speaks with grace will have the king for a friend.

12The eyes of the LORD keep watch over knowledge, but he frustrates the words of the unfaithful.

13The sluggard says, “There’s a lion outside! I’ll be killed in the public square!”

14The mouth of an adulterous woman is a deep pit; a man who is under the LORD ’s wrath falls into it.

15Folly is bound up in the heart of a child, but the rod of discipline will drive it far away.

16One who oppresses the poor to increase his wealth and one who gives gifts to the rich—both come to poverty.

Thirty Sayings of the Wise Saying 1 17Pay attention and turn your ear to the sayings of the wise; apply your heart to what I teach,

18for it is pleasing when you keep them in your heart and have all of them ready on your lips.

19So that your trust may be in the LORD, I teach you today, even you.

20Have I not written thirty sayings for you, sayings of counsel and knowledge,

21teaching you to be honest and to speak the truth, so that you bring back truthful reports to those you serve?

Saying 2 22Do not exploit the poor because they are poor and do not crush the needy in court,

23for the LORD will take up their case and will exact life for life.

Saying 3 24Do not make friends with a hot-tempered person, do not associate with one easily angered,

25or you may learn their ways and get yourself ensnared.

Saying 4 26Do not be one who shakes hands in pledge or puts up security for debts;

27if you lack the means to pay, your very bed will be snatched from under you.

Saying 5 28Do not move an ancient boundary stone set up by your ancestors. Saying 6 29Do you see someone skilled in their work? They will serve before kings; they will not serve before officials of low rank.

Saying 7 1When you sit to dine with a ruler, note well what Or who is before you,

2and put a knife to your throat if you are given to gluttony.

3Do not crave his delicacies, for that food is deceptive.

Saying 8 4Do not wear yourself out to get rich; do not trust your own cleverness.

5Cast but a glance at riches, and they are gone, for they will surely sprout wings and fly off to the sky like an eagle.

Saying 9 6Do not eat the food of a begrudging host, do not crave his delicacies;

7for he is the kind of person who is always thinking about the cost. Or for as he thinks within himself, / so he is; or for as he puts on a feast, / so he is “Eat and drink,” he says to you, but his heart is not with you.

8You will vomit up the little you have eaten and will have wasted your compliments.

Saying 10 9Do not speak to fools, for they will scorn your prudent words.

Saying 11 10Do not move an ancient boundary stone or encroach on the fields of the fatherless,

11for their Defender is strong; he will take up their case against you.

Saying 12 12Apply your heart to instruction and your ears to words of knowledge.

Saying 13 13Do not withhold discipline from a child; if you punish them with the rod, they will not die.

14Punish them with the rod and save them from death.

Saying 14 15My son, if your heart is wise, then my heart will be glad indeed;

16my inmost being will rejoice when your lips speak what is right.

Saying 15 17Do not let your heart envy sinners, but always be zealous for the fear of the LORD .

18There is surely a future hope for you, and your hope will not be cut off.

Saying 16 19Listen, my son, and be wise, and set your heart on the right path:

20Do not join those who drink too much wine or gorge themselves on meat,

21for drunkards and gluttons become poor, and drowsiness clothes them in rags.

Saying 17 22Listen to your father, who gave you life, and do not despise your mother when she is old.

23Buy the truth and do not sell it— wisdom, instruction and insight as well.

24The father of a righteous child has great joy; a man who fathers a wise son rejoices in him.

25May your father and mother rejoice; may she who gave you birth be joyful!

Saying 18 26My son, give me your heart and let your eyes delight in my ways,

27for an adulterous woman is a deep pit, and a wayward wife is a narrow well.

28Like a bandit she lies in wait and multiplies the unfaithful among men.

Saying 19 29Who has woe? Who has sorrow? Who has strife? Who has complaints? Who has needless bruises? Who has bloodshot eyes?

30Those who linger over wine, who go to sample bowls of mixed wine.

31Do not gaze at wine when it is red, when it sparkles in the cup, when it goes down smoothly!

32In the end it bites like a snake and poisons like a viper.

33Your eyes will see strange sights, and your mind will imagine confusing things.

34You will be like one sleeping on the high seas, lying on top of the rigging. 35“They hit me,” you will say, “but I’m not hurt! They beat me, but I don’t feel it! When will I wake up so I can find another drink?”

Saying 20 1Do not envy the wicked, do not desire their company;

2for their hearts plot violence, and their lips talk about making trouble.

Saying 21 3By wisdom a house is built, and through understanding it is established;

4through knowledge its rooms are filled with rare and beautiful treasures.

Saying 22 5The wise prevail through great power, and those who have knowledge muster their strength.

6Surely you need guidance to wage war, and victory is won through many advisers.

Saying 23 7Wisdom is too high for fools; in the assembly at the gate they must not open their mouths.

Saying 24 8Whoever plots evil will be known as a schemer.

9The schemes of folly are sin, and people detest a mocker.

Saying 25 10If you falter in a time of trouble, how small is your strength!

11Rescue those being led away to death; hold back those staggering toward slaughter.

12If you say, “But we knew nothing about this,” does not he who weighs the heart perceive it? Does not he who guards your life know it? Will he not repay everyone according to what they have done?

Saying 26 13Eat honey, my son, for it is good; honey from the comb is sweet to your taste.

14Know also that wisdom is like honey for you: If you find it, there is a future hope for you, and your hope will not be cut off.

Saying 27 15Do not lurk like a thief near the house of the righteous, do not plunder their dwelling place;

16for though the righteous fall seven times, they rise again, but the wicked stumble when calamity strikes.

Saying 28 17Do not gloat when your enemy falls; when they stumble, do not let your heart rejoice,

18or the LORD will see and disapprove and turn his wrath away from them.

Saying 29 19Do not fret because of evildoers or be envious of the wicked,

20for the evildoer has no future hope, and the lamp of the wicked will be snuffed out.

Saying 30 21Fear the LORD and the king, my son, and do not join with rebellious officials,

22for those two will send sudden destruction on them, and who knows what calamities they can bring?

Further Sayings of the Wise 23These also are sayings of the wise: To show partiality in judging is not good:

24Whoever says to the guilty, “You are innocent,” will be cursed by peoples and denounced by nations.

25But it will go well with those who convict the guilty, and rich blessing will come on them.

26An honest answer is like a kiss on the lips.

27Put your outdoor work in order and get your fields ready; after that, build your house.

28Do not testify against your neighbor without cause— would you use your lips to mislead?

29Do not say, “I’ll do to them as they have done to me; I’ll pay them back for what they did.”

30I went past the field of a sluggard, past the vineyard of someone who has no sense;

31thorns had come up everywhere, the ground was covered with weeds, and the stone wall was in ruins.

32I applied my heart to what I observed and learned a lesson from what I saw:

33A little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to rest— 34and poverty will come on you like a thief and scarcity like an armed man.