22 It is better to be respected than to be rich. A good name is worth more than silver or gold.

² The rich and the poor are the same. The Lord made them all.

³ Wise people see trouble coming and get out of its way, but fools go straight to it and suffer for it.

⁴ Respect the Lord and be humble. Then you will have wealth, honor, and true life.

⁵ Evil people are trapped by many troubles, but those who want to live avoid them.

⁶ Teach children in a way that fits their needs, and even when they are old, they will not leave the right path.

⁷ The rich rule over the poor. The one who borrows is a slave to the one who lends.

⁸ Those who spread trouble will harvest trouble. In the end, they will be destroyed for the trouble they caused.

⁹ Generous people will be blessed, because they share their food with the poor.

¹⁰ Get rid of the proud who laugh at what is right, and trouble will leave with them. All arguments and insults will end.

¹¹ Love a pure heart and kind words, and the king will be your friend.

¹² The Lord watches over true knowledge, and he opposes those who try to deceive others.

¹³ A person who is lazy and wants to stay home says, “There is a lion outside, and I might be killed in the streets!”

¹⁴ The sin of adultery is a trap, and the Lord gets very angry with those who fall into it.

¹⁵ Children do foolish things, but if you punish them, they will learn not to do them.

¹⁶ These two things will make you poor: hurting the poor to make yourself rich and giving gifts to the rich.

Thirty Wise Sayings

¹⁷ Listen carefully to these words from the wise. Pay attention to what I have learned. ¹⁸ It will be good for you to remember these words and have them ready when they are needed. ¹⁹ I will teach you these things now. I want you to trust the Lord. ²⁰ I have written 30 sayings for you.^[a] These are words of advice and wisdom. ²¹ They will teach you things that you can know for sure to be true. Then you can give good answers to the one who sent you.

— 1 —

²² It is easy to steal from the poor, but don’t do it. And don’t take advantage of them in court. ²³ The Lord is on their side. He supports the poor, and he will take from those who take from them.

— 2 —

²⁴ Don’t be friends with people who become angry easily. Don’t stay around quick-tempered people. ²⁵ If you do, you may learn to be like them. Then you will have the same problems they do.

— 3 —

²⁶ Don’t promise to pay someone else’s debt. ²⁷ If you cannot pay, you will lose everything you have. So why should you lose the bed you sleep on?

— 4 —

²⁸ Never move an old property line that was marked long ago by your ancestors.

— 5 —

²⁹ Skilled workers will always serve kings. They will never have to work for less important people.

— 6 —

23 When you sit and eat with an important person, remember who you are with. ² Never eat too much, even if you are very hungry. ³ Don’t eat too much of his fine food. It might be a trick.

— 7 —

⁴ Don’t ruin your health trying to get rich. If you are smart, you will give it up. ⁵ In the blink of an eye, money can disappear, as if it grew wings and flew away like a bird.

— 8 —

⁶ Don’t eat with selfish people. Control any desire you have for their finest foods. ⁷ They might tell you to eat and drink all you want, but they don’t really mean it. They are the kind of people who are only thinking about the cost. ⁸ And if you eat their food, you will get sick and be embarrassed.

— 9 —

⁹ Don’t try to teach fools. They will make fun of your wise words.

— 10 —

¹⁰ Never move an old property line, and don’t take land that belongs to orphans. ¹¹ The Lord will be against you. He is powerful and protects orphans.

— 11 —

¹² Listen to your teacher and learn all you can.

— 12 —

¹³ Always correct children when they need it. If you spank them, it will not kill them. ¹⁴ In fact, you might save their lives.

— 13 —

¹⁵ My son, it makes me happy when you make a wise decision. ¹⁶ It makes me feel good inside when you say the right things.

— 14 —

¹⁷ Never envy evil people, but always respect the Lord. ¹⁸ This will give you something to hope for that will not disappoint you.

— 15 —

¹⁹ So listen, my son, and be wise. Always be careful to follow the right path. ²⁰ Don’t make friends with people who drink too much wine and eat too much food. ²¹ Those who eat and drink too much become poor. They sleep too much and end up wearing rags.

— 16 —

²² Listen to your father. Without him, you would never have been born. Respect your mother, even when she is old. ²³ Truth, wisdom, learning, and understanding are worth paying money for. They are worth far too much to ever sell. ²⁴ The father of a good person is very happy. A wise child brings him joy. ²⁵ Make both of your parents happy. Give your mother that same joy.

— 17 —

²⁶ My son, listen closely to what I am saying. Let my life be your example. ²⁷ Prostitutes and bad women are a trap. They are like a deep well that you cannot escape. ²⁸ A bad woman waits for you like a thief, and she causes many men to be unfaithful to their wives.

— 18 —

^29-30 Who gets into fights and arguments? Who gets hurt for no reason and has red, bloodshot eyes? People who stay out too late drinking wine, staring into their strong drinks.

³¹ So be careful with wine. It is pretty and red as it sparkles in the cup. And it goes down so smoothly when you drink it. ³² But in the end, it will bite like a snake.

³³ Wine will cause you to see strange things and to say things that make no sense. ³⁴ When you lie down, you will think you are on a rough sea and feel like you are at the top of the mast. ³⁵ You will say, “They hit me, but I never felt it. They beat me, but I don’t remember it. Now I can’t wake up. I need another drink.”

— 19 —

24 Don’t be jealous of evil people. Have no desire to be around them. ² In their hearts they plan to do evil. All they talk about is making trouble.

— 20 —

³ Good homes are built on wisdom and understanding. ⁴ Knowledge fills the rooms with rare and beautiful treasures.

— 21 —

⁵ Wisdom makes a man more powerful. Knowledge gives a man strength. ⁶ Get good advice before you start a war. To win, you must have many good advisors.

— 22 —

⁷ Fools cannot understand wisdom. They have nothing to say when people are discussing important things.

— 23 —

⁸ If you start planning ways to do wrong, people will learn that you are a troublemaker. ⁹ Such foolish plans are wrong, and people have no respect for someone who laughs at what is right.

— 24 —

¹⁰ If you are weak in times of trouble, that is real weakness.

— 25 —

¹¹ If you see someone on their way to death or in danger of being killed, you must do something to save them. ¹² You cannot say, “It’s none of my business.” The Lord knows everything, and he knows why you do things. He watches you, and he will pay you back for what you do.

— 26 —

¹³ My son, eat honey; it is good. Honey straight from the honeycomb is the sweetest. ¹⁴ In the same way, know that wisdom is good for you. Wisdom will give you something to hope for that will not disappoint you.

— 27 —

¹⁵ Don’t be like a criminal who makes plans to rob those who are good or take away their homes. ¹⁶ Good people might fall again and again, but they always get up. It is the wicked who are defeated by their troubles.

— 28 —

¹⁷ Don’t be happy when your enemy has troubles. Don’t be glad when they fall. ¹⁸ The Lord will see this, and he might be upset with you and decide not to punish your enemy.

— 29 —

¹⁹ Don’t let those who are evil upset you, and don’t be jealous of them. ²⁰ They have no hope. Their light will burn out.

— 30 —

²¹ Son, respect the Lord and the king, and don’t join with those who are against them, ²² because people like that can quickly be destroyed. You have no idea how much trouble God and the king can make for their enemies.

More Wise Sayings

²³ These are also words from the wise:

A judge must be fair. He must not support some people simply because he knows them. ²⁴ The people will turn against a judge who lets the guilty go free. Even the people of other nations will curse him. ²⁵ But if a judge punishes the guilty, then people will be happy with him, and he will be a blessing to them.

²⁶ An honest answer is as pleasing as a kiss on the lips.

²⁷ First get your fields ready, next plant your crops, and then build your house.

²⁸ Don’t speak against someone without a good reason, or you will appear foolish.

²⁹ Don’t say, “You hurt me, so I will do the same to you. I will punish you for what you did to me.”

³⁰ I walked past a field that belonged to a lazy man. It was a vineyard that belonged to someone who understood nothing. ³¹ Weeds were growing everywhere! Wild vines covered the ground, and the wall around the vineyard was broken and falling down. ³² I looked at this and thought about it. This is what I learned: ³³ a little sleep, a little rest, folding your arms, and taking a nap— ³⁴ these things will make you poor very quickly. Soon you will have nothing, as if a thief broke in and took everything away.