^19 (A)Do not fret because of evildoers,
Nor be envious of the wicked;
²⁰ For there will be no prospect for the evil man;
The lamp of the wicked will be put out.

²¹ My son, ^(B)fear the Lord and the king;
Do not associate with those given to change;
²² For their calamity will rise suddenly,
And who knows the ruin those two can bring?

^(C)It is not good to ^[a]show partiality in judgment.
^24 (D)He who says to the wicked, “You are righteous,”
Him the people will curse;
Nations will abhor him.
²⁵ But those who rebuke the wicked will have ^(E)delight,
And a good blessing will come upon them.

²⁶ He who gives a right answer kisses the lips.

^27 (F)Prepare your outside work,
Make it fit for yourself in the field;
And afterward build your house.

^28 (G)Do not be a witness against your neighbor without cause,
^[b]For would you deceive with your lips?
^29 (H)Do not say, “I will do to him just as he has done to me;
I will render to the man according to his work.”

³⁰ I went by the field of the lazy man,
And by the vineyard of the man devoid of understanding;
³¹ And there it was, ^(I)all overgrown with thorns;
Its surface was covered with nettles;
Its stone wall was broken down.
³² When I saw it, I considered it well;
I looked on it and received instruction:
^33 (J)A little sleep, a little slumber,
A little folding of the hands to rest;
^34 (K)So shall your poverty come like ^[c]a prowler,
And your need like ^[d]an armed man.

⁵ “Who set the wild donkey free?
Who loosed the bonds of the ^[b]onager,
^6 (C)Whose home I have made the wilderness,
And the ^[c]barren land his dwelling?
⁷ He scorns the tumult of the city;
He does not heed the shouts of the driver.
⁸ The range of the mountains is his pasture,
And he searches after ^(D)every green thing.

⁹ “Will the ^(E)wild ox be willing to serve you?
Will he bed by your manger?
¹⁰ Can you bind the wild ox in the furrow with ropes?
Or will he plow the valleys behind you?
¹¹ Will you trust him because his strength is great?
Or will you leave your labor to him?
¹² Will you trust him to bring home your ^[d]grain,
And gather it to your threshing floor?

¹³ “The wings of the ostrich wave proudly,
But are her wings and pinions like the kindly stork’s?
¹⁴ For she leaves her eggs on the ground,
And warms them in the dust;
¹⁵ She forgets that a foot may crush them,
Or that a wild beast may break them.
¹⁶ She ^(F)treats her young harshly, as though they were not hers;
Her labor is in vain, without ^[e]concern,
¹⁷ Because God deprived her of wisdom,
And did not ^(G)endow her with understanding.
¹⁸ When she lifts herself on high,
She scorns the horse and its rider.

¹⁹ “Have you given the horse strength?
Have you clothed his neck with ^[f]thunder?
²⁰ Can you ^[g]frighten him like a locust?
His majestic snorting strikes terror.
²¹ He paws in the valley, and rejoices in his strength;
^(H)He gallops into the clash of arms.
²² He mocks at fear, and is not frightened;
Nor does he turn back from the sword.
²³ The quiver rattles against him,
The glittering spear and javelin.
²⁴ He devours the distance with fierceness and rage;
Nor does he come to a halt because the trumpet has sounded.
²⁵ At the blast of the trumpet he says, ‘Aha!’
He smells the battle from afar,
The thunder of captains and shouting.

²⁶ “Does the hawk fly by your wisdom,
And spread its wings toward the south?
²⁷ Does the ^(I)eagle mount up at your command,
And ^(J)make its nest on high?
²⁸ On the rock it dwells and resides,
On the crag of the rock and the stronghold.
²⁹ From there it spies out the prey;
Its eyes observe from afar.
³⁰ Its young ones suck up blood;
And ^(K)where the slain are, there it is.”