A Good Name, the Wisdom of Instruction, and the Courage to Stand for What Is Right
Proverbs 22
1 A good name is more desirable than great riches, and loving favor is better than silver and gold.
2 The rich and the poor have this in common: Yahweh is the maker of them all.
3 A prudent man sees danger and takes refuge; but the simple pass on, and suffer for it.
4 The result of humility and the fear of Yahweh is wealth, honor, and life.
5 Thorns and snares are in the path of the crooked. Whoever guards his soul stays far from them.
6 Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not depart from it.
7 The rich rule over the poor. The borrower is servant to the lender.
8 He who sows wickedness reaps trouble, and the rod of his fury will be destroyed.
9 He who has a generous eye will be blessed; for he shares his food with the poor.
10 Drive out the scoffer, and strife will go out; yes, quarrels and insults will cease.
11 He who loves purity of heart and speaks gracefully is the king’s friend.
12 The eyes of Yahweh watch over knowledge, but he frustrates the words of the unfaithful.
13 The sluggard says, “There is a lion outside! I will be killed in the streets!”
14 The mouth of an adulteress is a deep pit. He who is under Yahweh’s wrath will fall into it.
15 Folly is bound up in the heart of a child; the rod of discipline drives it far from him.
16 Whoever oppresses the poor to increase his wealth, or gives to the rich, will surely come to poverty.
17 Turn your ear, and listen to the words of the wise. Apply your heart to my teaching.
18 For it is a pleasant thing if you keep them within you, if all of them are ready on your lips.
19 That your trust may be in Yahweh, I teach you today, even you.
20 Haven’t I written to you thirty sayings of counsel and knowledge,
21 to teach you truth, reliable words, to give sound answers to those who sent you?
22 Don’t exploit the poor, because he is poor; and don’t crush the needy in court;
23 for Yahweh will plead their case, and plunder the life of those who plunder them.
24 Don’t befriend a hot-tempered man, and don’t associate with one who harbors anger,
25 lest you learn his ways, and ensnare your soul.
26 Don’t you be one of those who strike hands, of those who are collateral for debts.
27 If you don’t have means to pay, why should he take away your bed from under you?
28 Don’t move the ancient boundary stone, which your fathers have set up.
29 Do you see a man skilled in his work? He will serve kings. He won’t serve obscure men.
Proverbs 23
1 When you sit to eat with a ruler, consider diligently what is before you;
2 and put a knife to your throat if you are a man given to appetite.
3 Don’t be desirous of his dainties, since they are deceitful food.
4 Don’t weary yourself to be rich. In your wisdom, show restraint.
5 Why do you set your eyes on that which is not? For it certainly sprouts wings like an eagle that flies toward the sky.
6 Don’t eat the food of him who has a stingy eye, and don’t crave his delicacies,
7 for as he thinks about the cost, so he is. “Eat and drink!” he says to you, but his heart is not with you.
8 You will vomit up the morsel which you have eaten, and waste your pleasant words.
9 Don’t speak in the ears of a fool, for he will despise the wisdom of your words.
10 Don’t move the ancient boundary stone. Don’t encroach on the fields of the fatherless,
11 for their Defender is strong. He will plead their case against you.
12 Apply your heart to instruction, and your ears to the words of knowledge.
13 Don’t withhold correction from a child. If you punish him with the rod, he will not die.
14 Punish him with the rod, and save his soul from Sheol.
15 My son, if your heart is wise, then my heart will be glad, even mine.
16 Yes, my heart will rejoice when your lips speak what is right.
17 Don’t let your heart envy sinners, but rather fear Yahweh all day long.
18 Indeed surely there is a future hope, and your hope will not be cut off.
19 Listen, my son, and be wise, and keep your heart on the right path!
20 Don’t be among winebibbers, or among gluttonous eaters of meat;
21 for the drunkard and the glutton shall become poor; and drowsiness clothes them in rags.
22 Listen to your father who gave you life, and don’t despise your mother when she is old.
23 Buy the truth, and don’t sell it. Get wisdom, discipline, and understanding.
24 The father of the righteous has great joy. Whoever fathers a wise child delights in him.
25 Let your father and your mother be glad! Let her who bore you rejoice!
26 My son, give me your heart; and let your eyes keep in my ways.
27 For a prostitute is a deep pit; and a wayward wife is a narrow well.
28 Yes, she lies in wait like a robber, and increases the unfaithful among men.
29 Who has woe? Who has sorrow? Who has strife? Who has complaints? Who has needless bruises? Who has bloodshot eyes?
30 Those who stay long at the wine; those who go to seek out mixed wine.
31 Don’t look at the wine when it is red, when it sparkles in the cup, when it goes down smoothly.
32 In the end, it bites like a snake, and poisons like a viper.
33 Your eyes will see strange things, and your mind will imagine confusing things.
34 Yes, you will be as he who lies down in the middle of the sea, or as he who lies on top of the rigging:
35 “They hit me, and I was not hurt! They beat me, and I didn’t feel it! When will I wake up? I can do it again. I can find another.”
Proverbs 24
1 Don’t be envious of evil men, neither desire to be with them;
2 for their hearts plot violence, and their lips talk about mischief.
3 Through wisdom a house is built; by understanding it is established;
4 by knowledge the rooms are filled with all rare and beautiful treasure.
5 A wise man has great power; and a man of knowledge increases strength;
6 for by wise guidance you wage your war; and victory is in many advisors.
7 Wisdom is too high for a fool. He doesn’t open his mouth in the gate.
8 One who plots to do evil will be called a schemer.
9 The schemes of folly are sin. The mocker is detested by men.
10 If you falter in the time of trouble, your strength is small.
11 Rescue those who are being led away to death! Indeed, hold back those who are staggering to the slaughter!
12 If you say, “Behold, we didn’t know this,” doesn’t he who weighs the hearts consider it? He who keeps your soul, doesn’t he know it? Shall he not render to every man according to his work?
13 My son, eat honey, for it is good; the droppings of the honeycomb, which are sweet to your taste:
14 so you shall know wisdom to be to your soul; if you have found it, then there will be a reward, your hope will not be cut off.
15 Don’t lay in wait, wicked man, against the habitation of the righteous. Don’t destroy his resting place;
16 for a righteous man falls seven times and rises up again; but the wicked are overthrown by calamity.
17 Don’t rejoice when your enemy falls. Don’t let your heart be glad when he is overthrown;
18 lest Yahweh see it, and it displease him, and he turn away his wrath from him.
19 Don’t fret yourself because of evildoers; neither be envious of the wicked;
20 for there will be no reward to the evil man. The lamp of the wicked shall be snuffed out.
21 My son, fear Yahweh and the king. Don’t join those who are rebellious;
22 for their calamity will rise suddenly. Who knows the destruction that will come from them both?
23 These also are sayings of the wise. To show partiality in judgment is not good.
24 He who says to the wicked, “You are righteous,” peoples will curse him, and nations will abhor him—
25 but it will go well with those who convict the guilty, and a rich blessing will come on them.
26 An honest answer is like a kiss on the lips.
27 Prepare your work outside, and get your fields ready. Afterward, build your house.
28 Don’t be a witness against your neighbor without cause. Don’t deceive with your lips.
29 Don’t say, “I will do to him as he has done to me; I will pay back the man for what he did.”
30 I went by the field of the sluggard, by the vineyard of the man void of understanding;
31 and behold, it was all grown over with thorns. Its surface was covered with nettles, and its stone wall was broken down.
32 Then I saw, and considered well. I saw, and received instruction:
33 a little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to sleep;
34 so your poverty will come as a robber, and your scarcity as an armed man.
Scripture: World English Bible (WEB), public domain.
