³ We put no obstruction in anybody’s way [we give no offense in anything], so that no fault may be found and [our] ministry blamed and discredited.

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7 Therefore, since these [great] promises are ours, beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from everything that contaminates and defiles body and spirit, and bring [our] consecration to completeness in the [reverential] fear of God.

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20 Wine is a mocker, strong drink a riotous brawler; and whoever errs or reels because of it is not wise.^(A)

² The terror of a king is as the roaring of a lion; whoever provokes him to anger or angers himself against him sins against his own life.

³ It is an honor for a man to cease from strife and keep aloof from it, but every fool will quarrel.

⁴ The sluggard does not plow when winter sets in; therefore he begs in harvest and has nothing.

⁵ Counsel in the heart of man is like water in a deep well, but a man of understanding draws it out.^(B)

⁶ Many a man proclaims his own loving-kindness and goodness, but a faithful man who can find?

⁷ The righteous man walks in his integrity; blessed (happy, fortunate, enviable) are his children after him.

⁸ A king who sits on the throne of judgment winnows out all evil [like chaff] with his eyes.

⁹ Who can say, I have made my heart clean, I am pure from my sin?^(C)

¹⁰ Diverse weights [one for buying and another for selling] and diverse measures—both of them are exceedingly offensive and abhorrent to the Lord.^(D)

¹¹ Even a child is known by his acts, whether [or not] what he does is pure and right.

¹² The hearing ear and the seeing eye—the Lord has made both of them.

¹³ Love not sleep, lest you come to poverty; open your eyes and you will be satisfied with bread.

¹⁴ It is worthless, it is worthless! says the buyer; but when he goes his way, then he boasts [about his bargain].

¹⁵ There is gold, and a multitude of pearls, but the lips of knowledge are a vase of preciousness [the most precious of all].^(E)

¹⁶ [The judge tells the creditor] Take the garment of one who is security for a stranger; and hold him in pledge when he is security for foreigners.

¹⁷ Food gained by deceit is sweet to a man, but afterward his mouth will be filled with gravel.

¹⁸ Purposes and plans are established by counsel; and [only] with good advice make or carry on war.

¹⁹ He who goes about as a talebearer reveals secrets; therefore associate not with him who talks too freely.^(F)

²⁰ Whoever curses his father or his mother, his lamp shall be put out in complete darkness.

²¹ An inheritance hastily gotten [by greedy, unjust means] at the beginning, in the end it will not be blessed.^(G)

²² Do not say, I will repay evil; wait [expectantly] for the Lord, and He will rescue you.^(H)

²³ Diverse and deceitful weights are shamefully vile and abhorrent to the Lord, and false scales are not good.

²⁴ Man’s steps are ordered by the Lord. How then can a man understand his way?

²⁵ It is a snare to a man to utter a vow [of consecration] rashly and [not until] afterward inquire [whether he can fulfill it].

²⁶ A wise king winnows out the wicked [from among the good] and brings the threshing wheel over them [to separate the chaff from the grain].

²⁷ The spirit of man [that factor in human personality which proceeds immediately from God] is the lamp of the Lord, searching all his innermost parts.^(I)

²⁸ Loving-kindness and mercy, truth and faithfulness, preserve the king, and his throne is upheld by [the people’s] loyalty.

²⁹ The glory of young men is their strength, and the beauty of old men is their gray head [suggesting wisdom and experience].

³⁰ Blows that wound cleanse away evil, and strokes [for correction] reach to the innermost parts.

21 The king’s heart is in the hand of the Lord, as are the watercourses; He turns it whichever way He wills.

² Every way of a man is right in his own eyes, but the Lord weighs and tries the hearts.^(J)

³ To do righteousness and justice is more acceptable to the Lord than sacrifice.^(K)

⁴ Haughtiness of eyes and a proud heart, even the tillage of the wicked or the lamp [of joy] to them [whatever it may be], are sin [in the eyes of God].

⁵ The thoughts of the [steadily] diligent tend only to plenteousness, but everyone who is impatient and hasty hastens only to want.

⁶ Securing treasures by a lying tongue is a vapor driven to and fro; those who seek them seek death.

⁷ The violence of the wicked shall sweep them away, because they refuse to do justice.

⁸ The way of the guilty is exceedingly crooked, but as for the pure, his work is right and his conduct is straight.

⁹ It is better to dwell in a corner of the housetop [on the flat oriental roof, exposed to all kinds of weather] than in a house shared with a nagging, quarrelsome, and faultfinding woman.

¹⁰ The soul or life of the wicked craves and seeks evil; his neighbor finds no favor in his eyes.^(L)

¹¹ When the scoffer is punished, the fool gets a lesson in being wise; but men of [godly] Wisdom and good sense learn by being instructed.

¹² The [uncompromisingly] righteous man considers well the house of the wicked—how the wicked are cast down to ruin.

¹³ Whoever stops his ears at the cry of the poor will cry out himself and not be heard.^(M)

¹⁴ A gift in secret pacifies and turns away anger, and a bribe in the lap, strong wrath.

¹⁵ When justice is done, it is a joy to the righteous (the upright, in right standing with God), but to the evildoers it is dismay, calamity, and ruin.

¹⁶ A man who wanders out of the way of understanding shall abide in the congregation of the spirits (of the dead).

¹⁷ He who loves pleasure will be a poor man; he who loves wine and oil will not be rich.

¹⁸ The wicked become a ransom for the [uncompromisingly] righteous, and the treacherous for the upright [because the wicked themselves fall into the traps and pits they have dug for the good].

¹⁹ It is better to dwell in a desert land than with a contentious woman and with vexation.

²⁰ There are precious treasures and oil in the dwelling of the wise, but a self-confident and foolish man swallows it up and wastes it.

²¹ He who earnestly seeks after and craves righteousness, mercy, and loving-kindness will find life in addition to righteousness (uprightness and right standing with God) and honor.^(N)

²² A wise man scales the city walls of the mighty and brings down the stronghold in which they trust.

²³ He who guards his mouth and his tongue keeps himself from troubles.^(O)

²⁴ The proud and haughty man—Scoffer is his name—deals and acts with overbearing pride.

²⁵ The desire of the slothful kills him, for his hands refuse to labor.

²⁶ He covets greedily all the day long, but the [uncompromisingly] righteous gives and does not withhold.^(P)

²⁷ The sacrifice of the wicked is exceedingly disgusting and abhorrent [to the Lord]—how much more when he brings it with evil intention?

²⁸ A false witness will perish, but the word of a man who hears attentively will endure and go unchallenged.

²⁹ A wicked man puts on the bold, unfeeling face [of guilt], but as for the upright, he considers, directs, and establishes his way [with the confidence of integrity].

³⁰ There is no [human] wisdom or understanding or counsel [that can prevail] against the Lord.

³¹ The horse is prepared for the day of battle, but deliverance and victory are of the Lord.