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The abuse of alcohol is as ancient as the first batch of Egyptian beer or the first sip of Noah’s wine (Genesis 9:20–21). Its wide availability today has made for binge drinking on college campuses, underage drinking by young teens, drunk driving on city streets, and alcoholic rants and abuse in the home. The sage offers a tragic description of a young man who goes from drink to drink and cannot get his bearings in life. Too many people lose so much life in an alcoholic stupor.
24 Do not envy evil people
or seek their friendship;
2 For they are conniving and violent,
and all they talk about is causing trouble.
3 Wisdom is required to build a house;
understanding is necessary to make it secure.
4 Knowledge is needed to furnish all the rooms
and fill them with beautiful treasures.
5 A wise man possesses great strength,
and an intelligent man knows how to increase it;
6 For with wise guidance, you can wage a successful war,
and with a council of many advisors, you will be victorious!
7 Fools can’t grab hold of wisdom; it’s out of their reach;
they dare not open their mouths in public for no one would listen anyway.
8 Whoever schemes to carry out evil
will be labeled a troublemaker.
9 Such foolish plans are sinful,
and the mocker is deplored by all.
10 If you fall apart during a crisis,
then you weren’t very strong to begin with.
11 Rescue everyone you can of those being taken away and killed,
and hold on to those innocent souls staggering toward their own slaughter.
12 If you excuse yourself, saying, “Look, we didn’t know anything about this,”
doesn’t God, who knows what you are really thinking, understand your motives?
Isn’t your Protector aware of why you aren’t protecting the innocent?
Will He not repay you in kind?
Our world is all too familiar with violence and its victims. It’s easy to look the other way, pretend we didn’t see it, hope it goes away, or live in denial. Perhaps we are numbed to real violence because we are so entertained by the onslaught of it in modern media. But the violence in our homes, across our cities, and throughout the world is very real. Every day someone is beaten, captured, raped, enslaved, shot, robbed, stabbed, or run over. Wisdom calls us to step into those places and help those marching off to their deaths. God knows what we know. He knows what is in our hearts.
13 My son, eat honey—it’s good for you;
the honey that drips from the comb is sweet in your mouth.
14 Know, too, that wisdom is good for your soul:
if you find it, your reward will be a bright future
and an enduring hope!
15 Do not lurk outside the home of the just like a common criminal;
do not tear up the place where he rests.
16 For a good man may fall seven times and get back up again,
but the wicked will stumble around and fall into misfortune.
17 Do not celebrate when your enemies fall,
and do not rejoice when they trip up;
18 Or else the Eternal will know and be upset with you,
and He will release them from His anger.
19 Do not worry when evildoers go unpunished
or be jealous when the wicked seem to prosper.
20 Evil people will have no future;
the life of the wicked will be snuffed out like a candle.
21 My son, fear both the Eternal and His anointed ruler.
It is not wise to associate with those rebelling against them
22 Because disaster can arise from either of them without warning,
and who knows what destruction comes down from both of them?
23 The wise also say,
It is not good for a judge to be partial.
24 When a judge says to the guilty, “You are innocent,”
he will be cursed by all people; he will be hated by nations.
25 But those who reprimand evildoers will be celebrated,
and good fortune will come their way.
26 A straight answer is as precious
as a kiss on the lips.
27 Complete your work outside,
and get your fields ready for next season;
after that’s done, build your house.
28 Do not testify against your neighbor without a reason;
do not give misleading testimony.
29 Do not say, “I’ll do to him what he did to me!
I’ll repay him for what he did!”
30 Once I passed by the property of a slacker,
by the vineyard of a foolish man.
31 You should have seen it! The entire field was overgrown with thorns.
Every inch was covered with weeds.
Even the stone wall was crumbling down.
32 I took a moment to take it all in.
The scene taught me:
33 “A little sleep, a little rest,
a few more minutes, a nice little nap.”
34 But soon poverty will be on top of you like a robber,
need will strike you down like a well-armed warrior.
25 These words, too, are proverbs of King Solomon, words which Hezekiah, king of Judah, later told his scribes to record for posterity:
2 God’s glory is shown when He conceals things;
a king’s glory is shown in his ability to explore the facts of the matter.
3 As the heights of heaven and the depths of earth are beyond comprehension,
so are the hearts of kings.
4 Take away the impurities from the silver,
and a good smith can create something of value;
5 Take away the wicked from among the king’s advisors,
and his reign will be established with integrity.
6 Do not claim to be important in the presence of the king
or vie for a position within the company of great men.
7 Truly, it is far sweeter to have someone of influence say to you, “Come up here and join us,”
than to be ordered to some lower rank in front of a noble.
Just because you think you have seen something
8 doesn’t mean you should be quick to go to court,
For what will you do
when your neighbor disproves the charge and embarrasses you?
9 Instead, discuss the matter directly with your neighbor,
but in doing so, remember never to reveal another person’s secrets;
10 For if you do, someone who hears you could disgrace you,
and a bad reputation will cling to you ever afterward.
11 A well-spoken word at just the right moment
is like golden apples in settings of silver.
12 To an attentive ear, constructive criticism from a truly wise person
is like an earring or jewelry made of fine gold.
13 Like a cooling snow that breaks the heat of a harvest day,
so is the messenger who is faithful to those who sent him,
for he refreshes the soul of his masters.
14 Like clouds and wind that bring no rain,
so is one who boasts of gifts promised but never delivered.
15 Patience can soften up a leader,
and a tender tongue can break even bone.
16 When you find honey, remember to eat only what you need,
because if you eat in excess, you may be sick and lose all of it.
17 Don’t visit your neighbor too often,
or he will become tired of you and grow to hate you.
18 Like a maul and a sword and a sharp arrow all in one,
so is anyone who bears false witness against a neighbor.
19 Like a tooth that is rotten or a foot that is unsteady,
so is relying on a person who can’t be trusted in times of trouble.
20 Like a man who undresses in winter
or a woman who pours vinegar on a wound,[a]
So is anyone who tries to sing happy songs
to a sorrowful heart.
21 If your enemy is hungry, give him something to eat;
if he is thirsty, give him something to drink,
22 For your kind treatment will be like heaping hot coals on his head,[b]
it may cause a change in heart,
and the Eternal will repay you.
Acts of kindness, especially when we know they are undeserved, awaken a slumbering conscience, stimulate sorrow, and perhaps even effect a change. They are the best ways to turn an enemy into a friend.
23 As surely as a north wind drives the rain before it,
a backbiting tongue brings angry looks.
24 It is better to dwell outside on the corner of your roof
than to live inside your house with a badgering wife.
25 Like cool water to a weary soul,
so is good news from a distant country.
26 Like a muddy spring or a polluted fountain,
so is a righteous person who gives in to the wicked.
27 Eating too much honey is not good for you,
nor is it good to seek one honor after another.
28 Like a conquered city with no walls,
so is a man who has no self-control.
26 Like snow in the summer and rain in the time of harvest,
so honor is never fitting for a fool.
2 Like a bird that flits and flutters or a swallow in mid-flight,
so a curse that lacks cause will never come to light.
3 A whip is for the horse, a bridle is for the donkey,
and a rod is for the fool’s back.
4 Never answer a fool on his own foolish terms,
or you will become like him;
5 Rather, answer a fool on his own foolish terms,
or he will become wise in his own eyes.
6 Like someone who cuts off his feet or drinks to his ruin,
so is the one who uses a fool to pass on his message.
7 As lame legs are useless, dangling on the crippled,
so is a proverb in the mouth of a fool.
8 Like one who ties a stone in his slingshot,
so is one who honors a fool.
9 Like a thorn in the hand of a drunkard,
so is a proverb in the mouth of a fool.
10 Like an archer who shoots at random and injures everyone,
so is a person who hires a fool or someone off the street.[c]
11 Like a dog who goes back to his own vomit,[d]
so is a fool who always returns to his foolishness.
12 Have you seen a person who is wise in his own sight?
Know that there is more hope for a fool than for him.
13 A lazy person says, “There’s a lion in the road!
A lion in the streets!
Another good reason to stay in today.”
14 As a door swings on its hinges and goes nowhere,
so a slacker turns over in his bed.
15 Some people are so lazy that they reach for food on the plate
but lack the will to bring it up to their mouths.
16 The slacker sees himself as wiser by far
than seven men who can converse intelligently.
17 Like a man who seizes a wild dog by the ears,
so is anyone who walks by and meddles in someone else’s argument.
18 Like a madman who hurls flaming spears and shoots deadly arrows,
19 So is anyone who deceives a neighbor
and then says, “But I was only joking with you.”
20 When there is no wood, the fire goes out;
when there is no one to spread gossip, arguing stops.
21 Like charcoal to smoldering embers and dry wood to a fire,
so a hot-tempered man kindles strife.
22 Whispered gossip is like a delicious first course:
it is devoured with pleasure and then penetrates deep within you.
23 Like a shiny glaze[e] coating a rough clay pot,
so are burning lips that conceal an evil heart.
24 One who hates may camouflage it beneath pleasant words,
but deep inside him, treachery still rages;
25 Don’t believe him when he speaks kindly
because his heart is completely ruled by evil.[f]
26 And though he covers his hatred with cleverness,
his wicked ways will be publicly exposed.
27 The one who digs a trap for another will fall into it,
and the one who starts rolling a stone will have it roll back over him.
28 Liars take no pity on those they crush with their lies,
and flattery spoils everyone it touches.
The Voice Bible Copyright © 2012 Thomas Nelson, Inc. The Voice™ translation © 2012 Ecclesia Bible Society All rights reserved.