Proverbs 21-24
New International Version
21 In the Lord’s hand the king’s heart is a stream of water
that he channels toward all who please him.(A)
2 A person may think their own ways are right,
but the Lord weighs the heart.(B)
3 To do what is right and just
is more acceptable to the Lord than sacrifice.(C)
4 Haughty eyes(D) and a proud heart—
the unplowed field of the wicked—produce sin.
5 The plans of the diligent lead to profit(E)
as surely as haste leads to poverty.
7 The violence of the wicked will drag them away,(G)
for they refuse to do what is right.
8 The way of the guilty is devious,(H)
but the conduct of the innocent is upright.
9 Better to live on a corner of the roof
than share a house with a quarrelsome wife.(I)
10 The wicked crave evil;
their neighbors get no mercy from them.
11 When a mocker is punished, the simple gain wisdom;
by paying attention to the wise they get knowledge.(J)
14 A gift given in secret soothes anger,
and a bribe concealed in the cloak pacifies great wrath.(N)
15 When justice is done, it brings joy to the righteous
but terror to evildoers.(O)
16 Whoever strays from the path of prudence
comes to rest in the company of the dead.(P)
17 Whoever loves pleasure will become poor;
whoever loves wine and olive oil will never be rich.(Q)
18 The wicked become a ransom(R) for the righteous,
and the unfaithful for the upright.
19 Better to live in a desert
than with a quarrelsome and nagging wife.(S)
20 The wise store up choice food and olive oil,
but fools gulp theirs down.
22 One who is wise can go up against the city of the mighty(V)
and pull down the stronghold in which they trust.
24 The proud and arrogant person(Y)—“Mocker” is his name—
behaves with insolent fury.
25 The craving of a sluggard will be the death of him,(Z)
because his hands refuse to work.
26 All day long he craves for more,
but the righteous(AA) give without sparing.(AB)
27 The sacrifice of the wicked is detestable(AC)—
how much more so when brought with evil intent!(AD)
29 The wicked put up a bold front,
but the upright give thought to their ways.(AG)
31 The horse is made ready for the day of battle,
but victory rests with the Lord.(AJ)
22 A good name is more desirable than great riches;
to be esteemed is better than silver or gold.(AK)
2 Rich and poor have this in common:
The Lord is the Maker of them all.(AL)
5 In the paths of the wicked are snares and pitfalls,(AQ)
but those who would preserve their life stay far from them.
6 Start(AR) children off on the way they should go,(AS)
and even when they are old they will not turn from it.(AT)
7 The rich rule over the poor,
and the borrower is slave to the lender.
10 Drive out the mocker, and out goes strife;
quarrels and insults are ended.(AY)
11 One who loves a pure heart and who speaks with grace
will have the king for a friend.(AZ)
12 The eyes of the Lord keep watch over knowledge,
but he frustrates the words of the unfaithful.
13 The sluggard says, “There’s a lion outside!(BA)
I’ll be killed in the public square!”
14 The mouth of an adulterous woman is a deep pit;(BB)
a man who is under the Lord’s wrath falls into it.(BC)
15 Folly is bound up in the heart of a child,
but the rod of discipline will drive it far away.(BD)
16 One 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
17 Pay attention(BE) and turn your ear to the sayings of the wise;(BF)
apply your heart to what I teach,(BG)
18 for it is pleasing when you keep them in your heart
and have all of them ready on your lips.
19 So that your trust may be in the Lord,
I teach you today, even you.
20 Have I not written thirty sayings for you,
sayings of counsel and knowledge,
21 teaching you to be honest and to speak the truth,(BH)
so that you bring back truthful reports
to those you serve?
Saying 2
22 Do not exploit the poor(BI) because they are poor
and do not crush the needy in court,(BJ)
23 for the Lord will take up their case(BK)
and will exact life for life.(BL)
Saying 3
24 Do not make friends with a hot-tempered person,
do not associate with one easily angered,
25 or you may learn their ways
and get yourself ensnared.(BM)
Saying 4
26 Do not be one who shakes hands in pledge(BN)
or puts up security for debts;
27 if you lack the means to pay,
your very bed will be snatched from under you.(BO)
Saying 5
28 Do not move an ancient boundary stone(BP)
set up by your ancestors.
Saying 6
29 Do you see someone skilled(BQ) in their work?
They will serve(BR) before kings;(BS)
they will not serve before officials of low rank.
Saying 7
23 When you sit to dine with a ruler,
note well what[d] is before you,
2 and put a knife to your throat
if you are given to gluttony.
3 Do not crave his delicacies,(BT)
for that food is deceptive.
Saying 8
4 Do not wear yourself out to get rich;
do not trust your own cleverness.
5 Cast but a glance at riches, and they are gone,(BU)
for they will surely sprout wings
and fly off to the sky like an eagle.(BV)
Saying 9
6 Do not eat the food of a begrudging host,
do not crave his delicacies;(BW)
7 for he is the kind of person
who is always thinking about the cost.[e]
“Eat and drink,” he says to you,
but his heart is not with you.
8 You will vomit up the little you have eaten
and will have wasted your compliments.
Saying 10
9 Do not speak to fools,
for they will scorn your prudent words.(BX)
Saying 11
10 Do not move an ancient boundary stone(BY)
or encroach on the fields of the fatherless,
11 for their Defender(BZ) is strong;(CA)
he will take up their case against you.(CB)
Saying 12
12 Apply your heart to instruction(CC)
and your ears to words of knowledge.
Saying 13
13 Do not withhold discipline from a child;
if you punish them with the rod, they will not die.
14 Punish them with the rod
and save them from death.(CD)
Saying 14
15 My son, if your heart is wise,
then my heart will be glad indeed;
16 my inmost being will rejoice
when your lips speak what is right.(CE)
Saying 15
17 Do not let your heart envy(CF) sinners,
but always be zealous for the fear of the Lord.
18 There is surely a future hope for you,
and your hope will not be cut off.(CG)
Saying 16
19 Listen, my son,(CH) and be wise,
and set your heart on the right path:
20 Do not join those who drink too much wine(CI)
or gorge themselves on meat,
21 for drunkards and gluttons become poor,(CJ)
and drowsiness clothes them in rags.
Saying 17
22 Listen to your father, who gave you life,
and do not despise your mother when she is old.(CK)
23 Buy the truth and do not sell it—
wisdom, instruction and insight as well.(CL)
24 The father of a righteous child has great joy;
a man who fathers a wise son rejoices in him.(CM)
25 May your father and mother rejoice;
may she who gave you birth be joyful!(CN)
Saying 18
26 My son,(CO) give me your heart
and let your eyes delight in my ways,(CP)
27 for an adulterous woman is a deep pit,(CQ)
and a wayward wife is a narrow well.
28 Like a bandit she lies in wait(CR)
and multiplies the unfaithful among men.
Saying 19
29 Who has woe? Who has sorrow?
Who has strife? Who has complaints?
Who has needless bruises? Who has bloodshot eyes?
30 Those who linger over wine,(CS)
who go to sample bowls of mixed wine.
31 Do not gaze at 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 sights,
and your mind will imagine confusing things.
34 You 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?”(CT)
Saying 20
24 Do not envy(CU) the wicked,
do not desire their company;
2 for their hearts plot violence,(CV)
and their lips talk about making trouble.(CW)
Saying 21
3 By wisdom a house is built,(CX)
and through understanding it is established;
4 through knowledge its rooms are filled
with rare and beautiful treasures.(CY)
Saying 22
5 The wise prevail through great power,
and those who have knowledge muster their strength.
6 Surely you need guidance to wage war,
and victory is won through many advisers.(CZ)
Saying 23
7 Wisdom is too high for fools;
in the assembly at the gate they must not open their mouths.
Saying 24
8 Whoever plots evil
will be known as a schemer.
9 The schemes of folly are sin,
and people detest a mocker.
Saying 25
10 If you falter in a time of trouble,
how small is your strength!(DA)
11 Rescue those being led away to death;
hold back those staggering toward slaughter.(DB)
12 If you say, “But we knew nothing about this,”
does not he who weighs(DC) the heart perceive it?
Does not he who guards your life know it?
Will he not repay(DD) everyone according to what they have done?(DE)
Saying 26
13 Eat honey, my son, for it is good;
honey from the comb is sweet to your taste.
14 Know 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.(DF)
Saying 27
15 Do not lurk like a thief near the house of the righteous,
do not plunder their dwelling place;
16 for though the righteous fall seven times, they rise again,
but the wicked stumble when calamity strikes.(DG)
Saying 28
17 Do not gloat(DH) when your enemy falls;
when they stumble, do not let your heart rejoice,(DI)
18 or the Lord will see and disapprove
and turn his wrath away from them.(DJ)
Saying 29
19 Do not fret(DK) because of evildoers
or be envious of the wicked,
20 for the evildoer has no future hope,
and the lamp of the wicked will be snuffed out.(DL)
Saying 30
21 Fear the Lord and the king,(DM) my son,
and do not join with rebellious officials,
22 for those two will send sudden destruction(DN) on them,
and who knows what calamities they can bring?
Further Sayings of the Wise
23 These also are sayings of the wise:(DO)
To show partiality(DP) in judging is not good:(DQ)
24 Whoever says to the guilty, “You are innocent,”(DR)
will be cursed by peoples and denounced by nations.
25 But it will go well with those who convict the guilty,
and rich blessing will come on them.
26 An honest answer
is like a kiss on the lips.
27 Put your outdoor work in order
and get your fields ready;
after that, build your house.
28 Do not testify against your neighbor without cause(DS)—
would you use your lips to mislead?
29 Do not say, “I’ll do to them as they have done to me;
I’ll pay them back for what they did.”(DT)
30 I went past the field of a sluggard,(DU)
past the vineyard of someone who has no sense;
31 thorns had come up everywhere,
the ground was covered with weeds,
and the stone wall was in ruins.
32 I applied my heart to what I observed
and learned a lesson from what I saw:
33 A little sleep, a little slumber,
a little folding of the hands to rest(DV)—
34 and poverty will come on you like a thief
and scarcity like an armed man.(DW)
Footnotes
- Proverbs 21:6 Some Hebrew manuscripts, Septuagint and Vulgate; most Hebrew manuscripts vapor for those who seek death
- Proverbs 21:12 Or The righteous person
- Proverbs 21:21 Or righteousness
- Proverbs 23:1 Or who
- Proverbs 23:7 Or for as he thinks within himself, / so he is; or for as he puts on a feast, / so he is
Psalm 139
New International Version
Psalm 139
For the director of music. Of David. A psalm.
1 You have searched me,(A) Lord,
and you know(B) me.
2 You know when I sit and when I rise;(C)
you perceive my thoughts(D) from afar.
3 You discern my going out(E) and my lying down;
you are familiar with all my ways.(F)
4 Before a word is on my tongue
you, Lord, know it completely.(G)
5 You hem me in(H) behind and before,
and you lay your hand upon me.
6 Such knowledge is too wonderful for me,(I)
too lofty(J) for me to attain.
7 Where can I go from your Spirit?
Where can I flee(K) from your presence?
8 If I go up to the heavens,(L) you are there;
if I make my bed(M) in the depths, you are there.
9 If I rise on the wings of the dawn,
if I settle on the far side of the sea,
10 even there your hand will guide me,(N)
your right hand(O) will hold me fast.
11 If I say, “Surely the darkness will hide me
and the light become night around me,”
12 even the darkness will not be dark(P) to you;
the night will shine like the day,
for darkness is as light to you.
13 For you created my inmost being;(Q)
you knit me together(R) in my mother’s womb.(S)
14 I praise you(T) because I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
your works are wonderful,(U)
I know that full well.
15 My frame was not hidden from you
when I was made(V) in the secret place,
when I was woven together(W) in the depths of the earth.(X)
16 Your eyes saw my unformed body;
all the days ordained(Y) for me were written in your book
before one of them came to be.
17 How precious to me are your thoughts,[a](Z) God!(AA)
How vast is the sum of them!
18 Were I to count them,(AB)
they would outnumber the grains of sand(AC)—
when I awake,(AD) I am still with you.
19 If only you, God, would slay the wicked!(AE)
Away from me,(AF) you who are bloodthirsty!(AG)
20 They speak of you with evil intent;
your adversaries(AH) misuse your name.(AI)
21 Do I not hate those(AJ) who hate you, Lord,
and abhor(AK) those who are in rebellion against you?
22 I have nothing but hatred for them;
I count them my enemies.(AL)
23 Search me,(AM) God, and know my heart;(AN)
test me and know my anxious thoughts.
24 See if there is any offensive way(AO) in me,
and lead me(AP) in the way everlasting.
Footnotes
- Psalm 139:17 Or How amazing are your thoughts concerning me
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