Proverbs 22-23

Christian Standard Bible

22 A good name is to be chosen over great wealth;
favor is better than silver and gold.^(A)

² Rich and poor have this in common:^[a]
the Lord makes them all.^(B)

³ A sensible person sees danger and takes cover,
but the inexperienced keep going and are punished.^(C)

⁴ Humility, the fear of the Lord,
results in wealth, honor, and life.^(D)

⁵ There are thorns and snares on the way of the crooked;^(E)
the one who guards himself stays far from them.

⁶ Start a youth out on his way;^(F)
even when he grows old he will not depart from it.

⁷ The rich rule over the poor,^(G)
and the borrower is a slave to the lender.^(H)

⁸ The one who sows injustice will reap disaster,^(I)
and the rod of his fury will be destroyed.

⁹ A generous person^[b] will be blessed,^(J)
for he shares his food with the poor.^(K)

¹⁰ Drive out a mocker,^(L) and conflict goes too;
then quarreling and dishonor will cease.^(M)

¹¹ The one who loves a pure heart
and gracious lips—the king is his friend.^(N)

¹² The Lord’s eyes keep watch over knowledge,
but he overthrows the words of the treacherous.

¹³ The slacker says, “There’s a lion outside!
I’ll be killed in the public square!” ^(O)

¹⁴ The mouth of the forbidden woman is a deep pit;
a man cursed by the Lord will fall into it.^(P)

¹⁵ Foolishness is bound to the heart of a youth;
a rod of discipline will separate it from him.^(Q)

¹⁶ Oppressing the poor to enrich oneself,
and giving to the rich—both lead only to poverty.^(R)

²² Don’t rob a poor person because he is poor,
and don’t crush the oppressed^(V) at the city gate,^(W)
23 for the Lord will champion their cause^(X)
and will plunder those who plunder them.

²⁴ Don’t make friends with an angry person,^[g]
and don’t be a companion of a hot-tempered one,^(Y)
25 or you will learn his ways^(Z)
and entangle yourself in a snare.

²⁶ Don’t be one of those who enter agreements,^[h]
who put up security for loans.^(AA)
27 If you have nothing with which to pay,
even your bed will be taken from under you.^(AB)

²⁸ Don’t move an ancient boundary marker
that your ancestors set up.^(AC)

²⁹ Do you see a person skilled in his work?
He will stand in the presence of kings.
He will not stand in the presence of the unknown.^(AD)

23 When you sit down to dine with a ruler,
consider carefully what^[i] is before you,
² and put a knife to your throat
if you have a big^[j] appetite;
³ don’t desire his choice food,^(AE)
for that food is deceptive.

⁴ Don’t wear yourself out to get rich;^(AF)
because you know better, stop!
⁵ As soon as your eyes fly to it, it disappears,^(AG)
for it makes wings for itself
and flies like an eagle to the sky.

⁶ Don’t eat a stingy person’s bread,^[k](AH)
and don’t desire his choice food,^(AI)
7 for it’s like someone calculating inwardly.^[l](AJ)
“Eat and drink,” he says to you,
but his heart is not with you.^(AK)
8 You will vomit the little you’ve eaten
and waste your pleasant words.

⁹ Don’t speak to^[m] a fool,
for he will despise the insight of your words.^(AL)

¹⁰ Don’t move an ancient boundary marker,^(AM)
and don’t encroach on the fields of the fatherless,
¹¹ for their Redeemer is strong,^(AN)
and he will champion their cause against you.^(AO)

¹² Apply yourself to discipline
and listen to words of knowledge.

¹³ Don’t withhold discipline from a youth;
if you punish him with a rod, he will not die.^(AP)
14 Punish him with a rod,
and you will rescue his life from Sheol.^(AQ)

¹⁵ My son, if your heart is wise,
my heart will indeed rejoice.^(AR)
16 My innermost being will celebrate
when your lips say what is right.^(AS)

¹⁷ Don’t let your heart envy sinners;^(AT)
instead, always fear the Lord.^(AU)
18 For then you will have a future,
and your hope will not be dashed.^(AV)

¹⁹ Listen, my son, and be wise;
keep your mind on the right course.
²⁰ Don’t associate with those who drink too much wine^(AW)
or with those who gorge themselves on meat.^(AX)
21 For the drunkard and the glutton will become poor,
and grogginess will clothe them in rags.^(AY)

²² Listen to your father who gave you life,
and don’t despise your mother when^[n] she is old.^(AZ)
23 Buy—and do not sell—truth,
wisdom, instruction, and understanding.^(BA)
24 The father of a righteous son will rejoice greatly,
and one who fathers a wise son will delight in him.^(BB)
25 Let your father and mother have joy,^(BC)
and let her who gave birth to you rejoice.

²⁶ My son, give me your heart,
and let your eyes observe my ways.
²⁷ For a prostitute is a deep pit,^(BD)
and a wayward woman is a narrow well;
²⁸ indeed, she sets an ambush like a robber^(BE)
and increases the number of unfaithful people.

²⁹ Who has woe? Who has sorrow?
Who has conflicts? Who has complaints?
Who has wounds for no reason?^(BF)
Who has red eyes?
³⁰ Those who linger over wine;
those who go looking for mixed wine.^(BG)
31 Don’t gaze at wine because it is red,^(BH)
because it gleams in the cup
and goes down smoothly.^(BI)
32 In the end it bites like a snake
and stings like a viper.
³³ Your eyes will see strange things,
and you will say absurd things.^[o](BJ)
34 You’ll be like someone sleeping out at sea
or lying down on the top of a ship’s mast.
³⁵ “They struck me, but^[p] I feel no pain!
They beat me, but I didn’t know it!^(BK)
When will I wake up?
I’ll look for another drink.”^(BL)