Beginning
22 A good name is to be chosen above great riches. And loving favor is above silver and above gold.
2 The rich and poor meet together, the LORD the maker of them all.
3 A prudent man sees the plague and hides himself. But the foolish go on still, and are punished.
4 The reward of humility and the fear of God is riches and glory and life.
5 Thorns and snares are in the way of the perverse. But he who guards his soul will depart far from them.
6 Teach a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he shall not depart from it.
7 The rich rules the poor. And the borrower is servant to the lender.
8 He who sows iniquity shall reap affliction. And the rod of his anger shall fail.
9 He who has a generous eye shall be blessed, for he gives his bread to the poor.
10 Cast out the scoffer, and strife shall go out. Indeed, contention and dishonor shall cease.
11 He who loves pureness of heart shall the king befriend, because of the grace of his lips.
12 The eyes of the LORD preserve knowledge. But He overthrows the words of the transgressor.
13 The slothful says, “A lion is outside. I shall be killed in the street.”
14 The mouth of strange women is as a deep pit. He with whom the LORD is angry shall fall therein.
15 Foolishness is bound up in the heart of a child. But the rod of correction shall drive it away from him.
16 He who oppresses the poor for his own gain, giving to the rich, shall surely come to poverty.
17 Incline your ear, and hear the words of the wise, and apply your heart to my knowledge.
18 For it shall be pleasant if you keep them in your core; and if they are set together on your lips.
19 That your confidence may be in the LORD, I have shown you this day. Yes, you.
20 Have I not written to you before in counsels and knowledge,
21 that I might show you the assurance of the words of truth; and to answer words of truth to those who have sent you?
22 Do not rob the poor because he is poor; nor oppress the afflicted in the gate.
23 For the LORD will defend their cause and spoil the soul of those who spoil them.
24 Make no friendship with an angry man, nor go with the furious man,
25 lest you learn his ways and receive destruction to your soul.
26 Do not be one of those who shakes hands in pledges; nor among those who are surety for debts.
27 If you have nothing to pay, why should he take your bed from under you?
28 You shall not remove the ancient boundaries which your fathers have made.
29 You see that a man who is diligent in his business stands before kings; and does not stand before the lowly.
23 When you sit to eat with a ruler, diligently consider what is before you;
2 and put your knife to your throat if you are a man given to overeating.
3 Do not be desirous of his delicacies. For it is deceptive food.
4 Do not overwork to be rich. Cease from your own understanding.
5 Will you set your eyes on that which is nothing? For riches takes to her wings, as an eagle, and flies into the sky.
6 Do not eat the bread of him who has an evil eye; nor desire his delicacies.
7 For as he thinks in his heart, so he is. He will say to you, “Eat and drink.” But his heart is not with you.
8 You shall vomit your morsel that you have eaten, and you shall lose your sweet words.
9 Do not speak in the ears of a fool. For he will despise the wisdom of your words.
10 Do not remove the ancient boundaries. And do not enter into the fields of the fatherless.
11 For He who redeems them is mighty. He will defend their cause against you.
12 Apply your heart to instruction; and your ears to the words of knowledge.
13 Do not withhold correction from the child. If you strike him with the rod, he shall not die.
14 You shall strike him with the rod, and shall deliver his soul from Hell.
15 My son, if your heart is wise, my heart shall rejoice (and I also).
16 Indeed, my core shall rejoice when your lips speak righteous things.
17 Do not let your heart be envious against sinners. But let it be in the fear of the LORD, continually.
18 For surely there is an end. And your hope shall not be cut off.
19 O my son, hear, and be wise. And guide your heart in the way.
20 Do not keep company with drunkards, nor with gluttons.
21 For the drunkard and the glutton shall be poor. And the sleeper shall be clothed with rags.
22 Obey your father who has begotten you. And do not despise your mother when she is old.
23 Buy the truth, but do not sell it (likewise wisdom, instruction, and understanding).
24 The father of the righteous shall greatly rejoice. And he who begets a wise child shall have joy from him.
25 Your father and your mother shall be glad. And she who bore you shall rejoice.
26 My son, give me your heart, and let your eyes delight in my ways.
27 For a whore is as a deep ditch. And a strange woman is as a narrow pit.
28 Also, she lies in wait, as if for a prey. And she increases the transgressors among men.
29 To whom is woe? To whom is sorrow? To whom is strife? To whom is murmuring? To whom are wounds without cause? To whom is the redness of the eyes?
30 It is to those who linger long at the wine; to those who go and seek mixed wine.
31 Do not look at the wine when it is red; when it shows its color in the cup or goes down pleasantly.
32 In the end, it will bite like a serpent; and hurt like a viper.
33 Your eyes shall look upon strange women. And your heart shall speak lewd things.
34 And you shall be as one who sleeps in the midst of the sea; or who sleeps on the top of the mast, saying,
35 “They have stricken me, but I was not sick. They have beaten me, but I did not know it.” Therefore, when I awake, I will still seek it.
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