² “Therefore my anxious thoughts make me answer,
Because of the turmoil within me.
³ I have heard the rebuke ^[a]that reproaches me,
And the spirit of my understanding causes me to answer.

⁴ “Do you not know this of ^(B)old,
Since man was placed on earth,
^5 (C)That the triumphing of the wicked is short,
And the joy of the hypocrite is but for a ^(D)moment?
^6 (E)Though his haughtiness mounts up to the heavens,
And his head reaches to the clouds,
⁷ Yet he will perish forever like his own refuse;
Those who have seen him will say, ‘Where is he?’
⁸ He will fly away ^(F)like a dream, and not be found;
Yes, he ^(G)will be chased away like a vision of the night.
⁹ The eye that saw him will see him no more,
Nor will his place behold him anymore.
¹⁰ His children will seek the favor of the poor,
And his hands will restore his wealth.
¹¹ His bones are full of ^(H)his youthful vigor,
^(I)But it will lie down with him in the dust.

¹² “Though evil is sweet in his mouth,
And he hides it under his tongue,
¹³ Though he spares it and does not forsake it,
But still keeps it in his ^[b]mouth,
¹⁴ Yet his food in his stomach turns sour;
It becomes cobra venom within him.
¹⁵ He swallows down riches
And vomits them up again;
God casts them out of his belly.
¹⁶ He will suck the poison of cobras;
The viper’s tongue will slay him.
¹⁷ He will not see ^(J)the streams,
The rivers flowing with honey and cream.
¹⁸ He will restore that for which he labored,
And will not swallow it down;
From the proceeds of business
He will get no enjoyment.
¹⁹ For he has ^[c]oppressed and forsaken the poor,
He has violently seized a house which he did not build.

²⁰ “Because^(K) he knows no quietness in his ^[d]heart,
He will not save anything he desires.
²¹ Nothing is left for him to eat;
Therefore his well-being will not last.
²² In his self-sufficiency he will be in distress;
Every hand of ^[e]misery will come against him.
²³ When he is about to fill his stomach,
God will cast on him the fury of His wrath,
And will rain it on him while he is eating.
^24 (L)He will flee from the iron weapon;
A bronze bow will pierce him through.
²⁵ It is drawn, and comes out of the body;
Yes, ^(M)the glittering point comes out of his ^[f]gall.
^(N)Terrors come upon him;
²⁶ Total darkness is reserved for his treasures.
^(O)An unfanned fire will consume him;
It shall go ill with him who is left in his tent.
²⁷ The heavens will reveal his iniquity,
And the earth will rise up against him.
²⁸ The increase of his house will depart,
And his goods will flow away in the day of His ^(P)wrath.
^29 (Q)This is the portion from God for a wicked man,
The heritage appointed to him by God.”

² All the ways of a man are pure in his own ^(C)eyes,
But the Lord weighs the spirits.

^3 (D)Commit^[b] your works to the Lord,
And your thoughts will be established.

⁴ The ^(E)Lord has made all for Himself,
^(F)Yes, even the wicked for the day of ^[c]doom.

^5 (G)Everyone proud in heart is an abomination to the Lord;
Though they join ^[d]forces, none will go unpunished.

^6 (H)In mercy and truth
Atonement is provided for iniquity;
And ^(I)by the fear of the Lord one departs from evil.

⁷ When a man’s ways please the Lord,
He makes even his enemies to be at peace with him.

^8 (J)Better is a little with righteousness,
Than vast revenues without justice.

^9 (K)A man’s heart plans his way,
^(L)But the Lord directs his steps.

¹⁰ Divination is on the lips of the king;
His mouth must not transgress in judgment.
^11 (M)Honest weights and scales are the Lord’s;
All the weights in the bag are His ^[e]work.
¹² It is an abomination for kings to commit wickedness,
For ^(N)a throne is established by righteousness.
^13 (O)Righteous lips are the delight of kings,
And they love him who speaks what is right.
¹⁴ As messengers of death is the king’s wrath,
But a wise man will ^(P)appease it.
¹⁵ In the light of the king’s face is life,
And his favor is like a ^(Q)cloud of the latter rain.

^16 (R)How much better to get wisdom than gold!
And to get understanding is to be chosen rather than silver.

¹⁷ The highway of the upright is to depart from evil;
He who keeps his way preserves his soul.

¹⁸ Pride goes before destruction,
And a haughty spirit before ^[f]a fall.
¹⁹ Better to be of a humble spirit with the lowly,
Than to divide the ^[g]spoil with the proud.

²⁰ He who heeds the word wisely will find good,
And whoever ^(S)trusts in the Lord, happy is he.

²¹ The wise in heart will be called prudent,
And sweetness of the lips increases learning.

²² Understanding is a wellspring of life to him who has it.
But the correction of fools is folly.

²³ The heart of the wise teaches his mouth,
And adds learning to his lips.

²⁴ Pleasant words are like a honeycomb,
Sweetness to the soul and health to the bones.

²⁵ There is a way that seems right to a man,
But its end is the way of ^(T)death.

²⁶ The person who labors, labors for himself,
For his hungry mouth drives ^(U)him on.

^27 [h]An ungodly man digs up evil,
And it is on his lips like a burning ^(V)fire.
²⁸ A perverse man sows strife,
And ^(W)a whisperer separates the best of friends.
²⁹ A violent man entices his neighbor,
And leads him in a way that is not good.
³⁰ He winks his eye to devise perverse things;
He ^[i]purses his lips and brings about evil.

^31 (X)The silver-haired head is a crown of glory,
If it is found in the way of righteousness.

^32 (Y)He who is slow to anger is better than the mighty,
And he who rules his spirit than he who takes a city.

³³ The lot is cast into the lap,
But its every decision is from the Lord.