Proverbs 24-26

Easy-to-Read Version

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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.

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

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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.

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

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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.

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

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

More Wise Sayings From Solomon

25 These are some more wise sayings from Solomon. These proverbs were copied by servants of Hezekiah, the king of Judah.

² We honor God for the things he keeps secret. But we honor kings for the things they can discover.

³ We cannot discover how high the sky is above us or how deep the earth is below. The same is true with the minds of kings. We cannot understand them.

⁴ Remove the worthless things from silver to make it pure, and a worker can make something beautiful. ⁵ Take the evil advisors away from a king, and goodness will make his kingdom strong.

⁶ Don’t brag about yourself before the king and pretend you are someone important. ⁷ It is much better for the king to invite you to take a more important position than to embarrass you in front of his officials.

⁸ Don’t be too quick to tell a judge about something you saw. You will be embarrassed if someone else proves you wrong.

⁹ If you want to tell your friends about your own problems, tell them. But don’t discuss what someone told you in private. ¹⁰ Whoever hears it will lose their respect for you and will never trust you again.

¹¹ Saying the right thing at the right time is like a golden apple in a silver setting. ¹² Wise advice to a listening ear is like gold earrings or fine jewelry.

¹³ To his master who sent him, a messenger who can be trusted is as refreshing as a drink of cold water on a hot summer day.^[a]

¹⁴ People who promise to give gifts but never give them are like clouds and wind that bring no rain.

¹⁵ With patience, you can make anyone change their thinking, even a ruler. Gentle speech is very powerful.

¹⁶ Honey is good, but don’t eat too much of it, or you will be sick. ¹⁷ And don’t visit your neighbors’ homes too often, or they will begin to hate you.

¹⁸ A person who gives false testimony against a neighbor is as deadly as a club, a sword, or a very sharp arrow. ¹⁹ Never depend on a liar in times of trouble. It’s like chewing with a bad tooth or walking with a crippled foot.

²⁰ Singing happy songs to a sad person is as foolish as taking a coat off on a cold day or mixing soda and vinegar.

²¹ If your enemies are hungry, give them something to eat. If they are thirsty, give them some water. ²² This will make them feel the burning pain of shame,^[b] and the Lord will reward you for being good to them.

²³ Just as wind blowing from the north brings rain, telling secrets brings anger.

²⁴ It is better to live in a small corner of the roof than to share the house with a woman who is always arguing.

²⁵ Good news from a faraway place is like a cool drink of water when you are hot and thirsty.

²⁶ Good people who don’t stand strong against evil are like springs that have been polluted or pools that have turned dirty and muddy.

²⁷ Just as eating too much honey is not good, it is not good for people to always be looking for honor.

²⁸ People who cannot control themselves are like cities without walls to protect them.

Wise Sayings About Fools

26 Just as snow should not fall in summer, nor rain at harvest time, so people should not honor a fool.

² Don’t worry when someone curses you for no reason. Nothing bad will happen. Such words are like birds that fly past and never stop.

³ You have to whip a horse, you have to put a bridle on a mule, and you have to beat a fool.

^4-5 There is no good way to answer fools when they say something stupid. If you answer them, then you, too, will look like a fool. If you don’t answer them, they will think they are smart.

⁶ Never let a fool carry your message. If you do, it will be like cutting off your own feet. You are only asking for trouble.

⁷ A fool trying to say something wise is like a crippled person trying to walk.

⁸ Showing honor to a fool is as bad as tying a rock in a sling.

⁹ A fool trying to say something wise is like a drunk trying to pick a thorn out of his hand.

¹⁰ Hiring a fool or a stranger who is just passing by is dangerous—you don’t know who might get hurt.

¹¹ Like a dog that returns to its vomit, a fool does the same foolish things again and again.

¹² People who think they are wise when they are not are worse than fools.

¹³ A person who is lazy and wants to stay home says, “What if there is a lion out there? Really, there might be a lion in the street!”

¹⁴ Like a door on its hinges, a lazy man turns back and forth on his bed.

¹⁵ Lazy people are too lazy to lift the food from their plate to their mouth.

¹⁶ Lazy people think they are seven times smarter than the people who really have good sense.

¹⁷ To step between two people arguing is as foolish as going out into the street and grabbing a stray dog by the ears.

^18-19 Anyone who would trick someone and then say, “I was only joking” is like a fool who shoots flaming arrows into the air and accidentally kills someone.

²⁰ Without wood, a fire goes out. Without gossip, arguments stop.

²¹ Charcoal keeps the coals glowing, wood keeps the fire burning, and troublemakers keep arguments alive.

²² People love to hear gossip. It is like tasty food on its way to the stomach.

²³ Good words that hide an evil heart are like silver paint over a cheap, clay pot. ²⁴ Evil people say things to make themselves look good, but they keep their evil plans a secret. ²⁵ What they say sounds good, but don’t trust them. They are full of evil ideas. ²⁶ They hide their evil plans with nice words, but in the end, everyone will see the evil they do.

²⁷ Whoever digs a pit can fall into it. Whoever rolls a large stone can be crushed by it.

²⁸ Liars hate the people they hurt, and false praise can hurt people.