Beginning
22 A good name is more desirable than great riches;
to be esteemed is better than silver or gold.(A)
2 Rich and poor have this in common:
The Lord is the Maker of them all.(B)
5 In the paths of the wicked are snares and pitfalls,(G)
but those who would preserve their life stay far from them.
6 Start(H) children off on the way they should go,(I)
and even when they are old they will not turn from it.(J)
7 The rich rule over the poor,
and the borrower is slave to the lender.
10 Drive out the mocker, and out goes strife;
quarrels and insults are ended.(O)
11 One who loves a pure heart and who speaks with grace
will have the king for a friend.(P)
12 The eyes of the Lord keep watch over knowledge,
but he frustrates the words of the unfaithful.
13 The sluggard says, “There’s a lion outside!(Q)
I’ll be killed in the public square!”
14 The mouth of an adulterous woman is a deep pit;(R)
a man who is under the Lord’s wrath falls into it.(S)
15 Folly is bound up in the heart of a child,
but the rod of discipline will drive it far away.(T)
16 One who oppresses the poor to increase his wealth
and one who gives gifts to the rich—both come to poverty.
Thirty Sayings of the Wise
Saying 1
17 Pay attention(U) and turn your ear to the sayings of the wise;(V)
apply your heart to what I teach,(W)
18 for it is pleasing when you keep them in your heart
and have all of them ready on your lips.
19 So that your trust may be in the Lord,
I teach you today, even you.
20 Have I not written thirty sayings for you,
sayings of counsel and knowledge,
21 teaching you to be honest and to speak the truth,(X)
so that you bring back truthful reports
to those you serve?
Saying 2
22 Do not exploit the poor(Y) because they are poor
and do not crush the needy in court,(Z)
23 for the Lord will take up their case(AA)
and will exact life for life.(AB)
Saying 3
24 Do not make friends with a hot-tempered person,
do not associate with one easily angered,
25 or you may learn their ways
and get yourself ensnared.(AC)
Saying 4
26 Do not be one who shakes hands in pledge(AD)
or puts up security for debts;
27 if you lack the means to pay,
your very bed will be snatched from under you.(AE)
Saying 5
28 Do not move an ancient boundary stone(AF)
set up by your ancestors.
Saying 6
29 Do you see someone skilled(AG) in their work?
They will serve(AH) before kings;(AI)
they will not serve before officials of low rank.
Saying 7
23 When you sit to dine with a ruler,
note well what[a] is before you,
2 and put a knife to your throat
if you are given to gluttony.
3 Do not crave his delicacies,(AJ)
for that food is deceptive.
Saying 8
4 Do not wear yourself out to get rich;
do not trust your own cleverness.
5 Cast but a glance at riches, and they are gone,(AK)
for they will surely sprout wings
and fly off to the sky like an eagle.(AL)
Saying 9
6 Do not eat the food of a begrudging host,
do not crave his delicacies;(AM)
7 for he is the kind of person
who is always thinking about the cost.[b]
“Eat and drink,” he says to you,
but his heart is not with you.
8 You will vomit up the little you have eaten
and will have wasted your compliments.
Saying 10
9 Do not speak to fools,
for they will scorn your prudent words.(AN)
Saying 11
10 Do not move an ancient boundary stone(AO)
or encroach on the fields of the fatherless,
11 for their Defender(AP) is strong;(AQ)
he will take up their case against you.(AR)
Saying 12
12 Apply your heart to instruction(AS)
and your ears to words of knowledge.
Saying 13
13 Do not withhold discipline from a child;
if you punish them with the rod, they will not die.
14 Punish them with the rod
and save them from death.(AT)
Saying 14
15 My son, if your heart is wise,
then my heart will be glad indeed;
16 my inmost being will rejoice
when your lips speak what is right.(AU)
Saying 15
17 Do not let your heart envy(AV) sinners,
but always be zealous for the fear of the Lord.
18 There is surely a future hope for you,
and your hope will not be cut off.(AW)
Saying 16
19 Listen, my son,(AX) and be wise,
and set your heart on the right path:
20 Do not join those who drink too much wine(AY)
or gorge themselves on meat,
21 for drunkards and gluttons become poor,(AZ)
and drowsiness clothes them in rags.
Saying 17
22 Listen to your father, who gave you life,
and do not despise your mother when she is old.(BA)
23 Buy the truth and do not sell it—
wisdom, instruction and insight as well.(BB)
24 The father of a righteous child has great joy;
a man who fathers a wise son rejoices in him.(BC)
25 May your father and mother rejoice;
may she who gave you birth be joyful!(BD)
Saying 18
26 My son,(BE) give me your heart
and let your eyes delight in my ways,(BF)
27 for an adulterous woman is a deep pit,(BG)
and a wayward wife is a narrow well.
28 Like a bandit she lies in wait(BH)
and multiplies the unfaithful among men.
Saying 19
29 Who has woe? Who has sorrow?
Who has strife? Who has complaints?
Who has needless bruises? Who has bloodshot eyes?
30 Those who linger over wine,(BI)
who go to sample bowls of mixed wine.
31 Do not gaze at wine when it is red,
when it sparkles in the cup,
when it goes down smoothly!
32 In the end it bites like a snake
and poisons like a viper.
33 Your eyes will see strange sights,
and your mind will imagine confusing things.
34 You will be like one sleeping on the high seas,
lying on top of the rigging.
35 “They hit me,” you will say, “but I’m not hurt!
They beat me, but I don’t feel it!
When will I wake up
so I can find another drink?”(BJ)
Footnotes
- Proverbs 23:1 Or who
- Proverbs 23:7 Or for as he thinks within himself, / so he is; or for as he puts on a feast, / so he is
Cross references
- Proverbs 22:1 : Ecc 7:1
- Proverbs 22:2 : S Job 31:15; Pr 29:13; Mt 5:45
- Proverbs 22:3 : S Pr 14:16
- Proverbs 22:3 : Pr 27:12
- Proverbs 22:4 : S Pr 15:33
- Proverbs 22:4 : S Pr 10:27; Da 4:36
- Proverbs 22:5 : Pr 15:19
- Proverbs 22:6 : S Ge 14:14
- Proverbs 22:6 : Eph 6:4
- Proverbs 22:6 : S Dt 6:7
- Proverbs 22:8 : S Ex 1:20; S Job 4:8; Gal 6:7-8
- Proverbs 22:8 : Hos 8:7
- Proverbs 22:9 : S Dt 14:29
- Proverbs 22:9 : S Pr 11:25; S 19:17; 28:27
- Proverbs 22:10 : Pr 26:20
- Proverbs 22:11 : Pr 16:13; Mt 5:8
- Proverbs 22:13 : Pr 26:13
- Proverbs 22:14 : S Pr 5:3-5; 23:27
- Proverbs 22:14 : Ecc 7:26
- Proverbs 22:15 : S Pr 13:24; S 20:30
- Proverbs 22:17 : S Pr 1:8
- Proverbs 22:17 : S Pr 1:6; 30:1; 31:1
- Proverbs 22:17 : S Pr 2:2
- Proverbs 22:21 : Ecc 12:10
- Proverbs 22:22 : S Lev 25:17; S Job 5:16
- Proverbs 22:22 : S Ex 23:6
- Proverbs 22:23 : S Job 29:16; Ps 140:12
- Proverbs 22:23 : Est 8:1; S 9:1; Pr 23:10-11
- Proverbs 22:25 : 1Co 15:33
- Proverbs 22:26 : Pr 6:1-5
- Proverbs 22:27 : S Pr 11:15; S 17:18
- Proverbs 22:28 : S Dt 19:14
- Proverbs 22:29 : S 1Ki 11:28
- Proverbs 22:29 : S Ge 41:46
- Proverbs 22:29 : S Ge 39:4
- Proverbs 23:3 : ver 6-8; Ps 141:4
- Proverbs 23:5 : S Mt 6:19
- Proverbs 23:5 : Pr 27:24
- Proverbs 23:6 : ver 1-3; Ps 141:4
- Proverbs 23:9 : S Pr 9:7
- Proverbs 23:10 : S Dt 19:14
- Proverbs 23:11 : S Job 19:25
- Proverbs 23:11 : Ps 24:8
- Proverbs 23:11 : Ex 22:22-24; Pr 15:25; 22:22-23
- Proverbs 23:12 : S Pr 2:2
- Proverbs 23:14 : S Pr 13:24; S 19:18
- Proverbs 23:16 : ver 24; Pr 27:11; 29:3
- Proverbs 23:17 : S Ps 37:1; S 73:3
- Proverbs 23:18 : S Ps 9:18; 37:1-4; Pr 24:14, 19-20
- Proverbs 23:19 : Dt 4:9; Pr 28:7
- Proverbs 23:20 : Isa 5:11, 22; 56:12; Hab 2:15
- Proverbs 23:21 : S Pr 21:17
- Proverbs 23:22 : S Lev 19:32
- Proverbs 23:23 : Pr 4:7; 17:16
- Proverbs 23:24 : S ver 15-16
- Proverbs 23:25 : S Pr 10:1
- Proverbs 23:26 : Pr 5:1-6
- Proverbs 23:26 : S Ps 18:21
- Proverbs 23:27 : S Pr 22:14
- Proverbs 23:28 : Pr 7:11-12
- Proverbs 23:30 : ver 20-21; Isa 5:11
- Proverbs 23:35 : Pr 20:1
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