Beginning
24 Do not envy evil people,
and do not wish to be with them,
2 because their hearts plan violence,
and their lips speak trouble.
3 With wisdom a house is built.
With understanding it is established.
4 With knowledge its rooms are filled with every kind of riches,
both valuable and appealing.
5 A wise person grows strong,
and a knowledgeable man becomes more powerful,
6 because advice prepares you for battle,
and many advisors bring victory.
8 Whoever plans evil will be called a master schemer.
9 A foolish scheme is a sin,
and a mocker is disgusting to people.
10 If you fail to act in the day of trouble,
your strength is too little.
11 Rescue captives condemned to death,
and spare those staggering toward slaughter.
12 If you say, “We did not know about this,”
won’t the one who weighs motives notice?
Won’t the one who guards your life know about it,
and won’t he repay people according to what each one has done?
13 My son, eat honey, because it is good.
Flowing honey is sweet on your palate.
14 Know also that wisdom is sweet for your soul.
If you find it, then there is a future for you,
and your hope will never be cut off.
15 Do not be like the wicked who attack the home of the righteous.
Do not destroy his resting place,
16 because a righteous person may fall seven times, but he will get up,
while wicked people will stumble into misfortune.
17 Do not be happy when your enemy falls.
Do not let your heart celebrate when he stumbles.
18 If you do, the Lord will see it and consider it evil,
and he will turn his anger away from him.
19 Do not fret about evildoers.
Do not be jealous of wicked people,
20 because an evil person has no future.
The lamp of the wicked will be put out.
21 Fear the Lord, my son, and also the king.
Do not associate with those who are rebellious,
22 because their disaster will take place suddenly.
Who knows what ruin the Lord and the king will cause?
More Words of the Wise
23 These sayings also are by the wise:
To show partiality when administering justice is not good.
24 If anyone says to a guilty person, “You are innocent,”
people will curse him. Nations will denounce him.
25 However, it will be pleasant for those who convict the guilty.
A wonderful blessing will come upon them.
26 Someone who gives a straight answer gives a kiss on the lips.
27 Prepare your work outside,
and get things ready for yourself in the fields.
Afterward, build your house.
28 Do not be a witness against your neighbor without cause.
Do not practice deception with your lips.
29 Do not think, “I will do to him what he did to me.
I will pay the man back for what he did.”
30 I passed by a lazy man’s field
and by a vineyard that belonged to a senseless man.
31 It was overgrown with thistles
and covered with weeds.
Its stone wall was broken down.
32 When I saw this, I took it to heart.
I observed and learned a lesson:
33 A little sleep, a little slumber,
a little folding of the hands to rest—
34 and poverty will come on you like a prowler,
and scarcity will come like a warrior.
More Proverbs of Solomon
25 These also are the proverbs of Solomon,
which the men of King Hezekiah of Judah compiled.[c]
2 It brings glory to God to hide a matter,
but it brings glory to kings to investigate a matter.
3 As heaven is high and earth is deep,
so there is no searching the heart of kings.
4 Remove impurities from silver,
and a vessel can be cast by a silversmith.
5 Remove a wicked person from a king’s presence,
and his throne will be established with righteousness.
6 Do not honor yourself in a king’s presence.
Do not stand in a place reserved for great people,
7 because it is better to be told, “Come up here,”
than for you to be humiliated before a ruler
whom your eyes have seen.[d]
8 Do not be in a hurry to go to court.
Otherwise, what will you do afterward,
when your neighbor humiliates you?
9 Argue your case with your neighbor,
but do not reveal someone else’s secret.
10 If you do, the person who hears it will shame you,
and your bad reputation will never leave you.
11 A word spoken at the right time
is like golden apples in silver settings.
12 To ears that listen, a wise person’s correction
is like a gold ring or like jewelry made of pure gold.
13 To those who send him, a trustworthy messenger
is like cooling snow on a warm day during harvest.
He refreshes his masters’ spirits.
14 A person who brags about a gift that is never given
is like clouds and wind that bring no rain.
15 By patience a ruler can be persuaded,
and a soft tongue can break a bone.
16 When you find honey, eat only what you need.
Otherwise you will be filled with it and vomit it up.
17 Do not set foot in your neighbor’s house too often.
If you do, he will have too much of you and hate you.
18 A person who gives false testimony against his neighbor
is a club, a sword, and a sharp arrow.
19 Confidence in an unfaithful person during a time of crisis
is like a broken tooth or a lame foot.
20 Singing songs to a despondent heart
is like taking off a coat on a cold day
or like vinegar on baking soda.
21 If your enemy is hungry, give him something to eat.
If he is thirsty, give him something to drink,
22 because you will heap burning coals on his head,
and the Lord will repay you.
23 A north wind gives birth to rain,
and a whispering tongue gives birth to angry faces.
24 Better to live on the corner of a roof
than in a home shared with a nagging wife.
25 Good news from a distant country is
like cold water for a weary soul.
26 A righteous person who is swayed by the wicked
is a muddied spring or a polluted fountain.
27 Eating too much honey is not good,
and people seeking their own glory is not glorious.[e]
28 A person who lacks self-control
is like a broken-down city without a wall.
Assorted Fools
26 Like snow during summer and rain during the harvest,
so honor is not appropriate for a fool.
2 Like a migrating bird or a flying swallow,
so an undeserved curse does not come to rest.
3 A whip is for horses, a bridle for donkeys,
and a rod for the backs of fools.
4 Do not answer a fool according to his folly.
If you do, you yourself will become like him.
5 Answer a fool according to his folly.
If you do not, he will consider himself wise.
6 It is like cutting off your own feet or drinking violence[f]
when a person sends messages in the hand of a fool.
7 The legs of a lame person dangle.
So does a proverb in the mouth of fools.
8 Giving honor to a fool is
like tying a stone in a slingshot.
9 A proverb in the mouth of a fool
is like a thorn in a drunkard’s hand.
10 One who hires a fool or someone just passing by
is like an archer who wounds at random.[g]
11 As a dog returns to his vomit,
so a fool repeats his stupidity.
12 Have you seen a person who is wise in his own eyes?
There is more hope for a fool than for him.
13 A lazy person says, “There’s a ferocious lion in the street.
There’s a lion in the public square!”
14 A door turns on its hinges,
and a lazy person turns on his bed.
15 A lazy person buries his hand in a dish,
but he is too tired to return it to his mouth.
16 A lazy person considers himself wiser
than seven people who answer sensibly.
17 A passerby who meddles in a quarrel that is not his
is like a person who grabs a dog by the ears.
18 A person who deceives his neighbor and then says, “I was only joking,”
19 is like a madman who shoots firebrands and deadly arrows.[h]
20 When there is no more wood, a fire goes out,
and without gossip, a quarrel dies down.
21 As charcoal is to hot embers and as wood is to fire,
so a quarrelsome person is to igniting a fight.
22 Words of a gossip are like food that is easy to swallow.
They go down to the depths of one’s heart.[i]
23 Fervent[j] lips and an evil heart
are like a glaze[k] covering a clay pot.
24 With his lips a person hides his hatred,
but he hides deceit inside.
25 When his voice sounds gracious, do not believe him,
because seven abominations are in his heart.
26 His hatred covers itself with deceit,
but his evil will be revealed in the assembly.
27 The person who digs a pit will fall into it.
The person who rolls away a stone—it will roll back over him.
28 A lying tongue hates those it crushes,
and a smooth mouth causes ruin.
The Holy Bible, Evangelical Heritage Version®, EHV®, © 2019 Wartburg Project, Inc. All rights reserved.