Bible in 90 Days
22 Do not say, ‘I will pay you back for the evil thing you did to me.’
Trust the Lord to make it right for you.
23 The Lord hates traders who use false weights.
He hates scales that do not weigh things properly.
24 The Lord chooses the way that we take through life.
We cannot understand what will happen to us.
25 Do not be too quick to promise to give something to God.
If you want to change your mind, you have made a trap for yourself.
26 A wise king can pick out wicked people,
and he will punish them as they deserve.
27 The Lord makes our human spirit like his lamp inside us.
It shows us what we are really like.
28 A king should rule with faithful love and truth.
If he is honest and fair, he will continue to rule.
29 Young men boast about their strength.
Old men are proud of their beautiful grey hair.
30 Painful punishment stops you from doing evil things.
It makes you change to a better way of life.
21 The Lord controls the things that a king decides to do.
He can change the king's thoughts, like the direction of a stream.
2 People think that everything they do is right,
but the Lord knows exactly why they are doing it.
3 If you do what is right and fair,
it pleases the Lord more than sacrifices.
4 Wicked people are proud and they boast.
Sin is their guide through life.
5 A careful person makes good plans
and he has everything that he needs.
But anyone who works in a hurry will soon become poor.
6 If you deceive people to become rich,
it will soon all disappear.
It will lead you to an early death.
7 When wicked people do violent things, it destroys them.
They refuse to do what is right.
8 Guilty people are always going the wrong way.
Good people keep on the right way.
9 It is better to live on the roof of your house
than to live with a wife who always argues.
10 Evil things are the food that wicked people eat to live.
They are not kind to anyone, even their friends.
11 When a proud person receives punishment,
silly people become wise.
When you teach a wise person,
he learns more knowledge.
12 The Righteous One knows what happens in the homes of wicked people.[a]
He punishes them as they deserve.
13 If you refuse to listen when poor people ask for help,
you too will receive no help when you need it.
14 If someone is angry with you, give him a gift secretly.
A secret bribe will make him quiet, even if he is very angry.
15 When there is justice, righteous people are happy,
but wicked people are afraid.
16 If someone decides to turn away from wisdom,
he will soon be in his grave.
17 Anyone who loves only pleasure will become poor.
People who love wine and big feasts will never become rich.
18 When trouble comes,
wicked people receive the pain instead of righteous people.
19 It is better to live alone in a desert
than to live with a wife who quarrels and complains.
20 Wise people store valuable things and good food in their houses.
But foolish people waste everything immediately.
21 If you are kind and faithful, you will live a long life!
Other people will respect you and they will be kind to you.
22 A wise person can win against a city that is full of strong men.
He can destroy the strong place that they trust to keep them safe.
23 If you want to keep away from trouble,
always be careful about what you say.
24 If you are proud, people will call you ‘Boaster’,
because you think that you are better than all other people.
25 Lazy people want many things but they refuse to work,
so they are killing themselves.
26 They think only about more things that they want for themselves.
But righteous people are happy to give their things to other people.
27 The Lord hates it
when wicked people offer sacrifices to him.
He hates it even more
when they do it with an evil purpose.
28 Anyone who tells lies in court will come to nothing.
But if someone listens to the truth, his report will remain for ever.
29 Wicked people do not show what they are really thinking.
But righteous people think carefully about what they are doing.
30 There is no wisdom, no knowledge and no advice
that can win against the Lord.
31 You can prepare your horses to fight in a battle,
but only the Lord can help you to win.
22 It is better to receive honour from people than to be very rich.
If people respect you, that is better than silver or gold.
2 This is true about rich people and poor people:
The Lord created them all.
3 A careful person can see danger and he will hide himself.
But a silly person never stops, and he walks into trouble.
4 You should be humble. You should respect and obey the Lord.
Then you will receive riches, honour and a long life.
5 Wicked people go through a lot of trouble,
like thorn bushes and traps in their way.
So be careful to keep far away from them.
6 If you teach children the right way to live,
they will not forget it when they are older.
7 Rich people have authority over poor people.
People who borrow money have to serve those who lend it to them.
8 If you plant evil things,
your harvest will be trouble.
If you are angry and you hurt people,
it will never help you.
9 If you are kind to poor people and you share your food with them,
God will bless you.
10 If someone laughs at what is right, send him away.
Then there will be no more arguments, quarrels and insults.
11 If you live in a pure way, and you speak kind words,
you will have the king as your friend.
12 The Lord watches over truth, to keep it safe.
But when people tell lies, he makes them useless.
13 A lazy person stays in his house.
He says, ‘There is a lion outside in the street!
If I go out, it will kill me!’
14 The mouth of an adulteress is like a deep hole.
If you make the Lord angry, you will fall into it!
15 Children love to do foolish things.
To stop them, you must warn and punish them.
16 Someone may be cruel to poor people to make himself rich.
Someone else may give gifts to rich people to make them his friends.
But both those people will become poor in the end.
30 wise thoughts
17 Listen carefully. I will teach you what wise people have said. Think about the things that I am teaching you. 18 If you remember these things, you will be happy. Tell them to other people. 19 I want you to trust in the Lord. So I will tell you these things today. They are for you.
20 I have written down 30 wise thoughts for you.[b] They will teach you what is right, so that you know how to live well. 21 You can trust these words because they are true. Then you can give a good answer to the people who sent you to me.
22 1. Do not cheat poor people just because they are poor. Do not attack helpless people in court.
23 The Lord will speak on their behalf. He will punish anyone who cheats them.
24 2. Do not become a friend of angry people. Keep away from them. 25 You might become angry, like them. Then you would spoil your whole life.
26 3. Do not promise to pay someone else's debt. 27 If you cannot pay, they will take away your bed, even while you are sleeping on it!
28 4. Do not move any stone that shows the border of your land. Your ancestors put it there to stop arguments.
29 5. A worker with special skills may work for a king. He will no longer have to work for ordinary people.
More wise thoughts
23 6. When you sit down to eat a meal with a ruler, be careful how you eat. 2 Even if you enjoy your food, do not eat too much of it. 3 Do not want his special food for yourself. He may be trying to deceive you.
4 7. Do not work so hard to become rich that you make yourself ill. Be wise and rest when you need to. 5 Your money can disappear very quickly. It may seem to grow wings and then fly far away like an eagle.
6 8. Do not go and eat a meal with someone who hates to spend his money. His food may be good, but do not be greedy for it.
7 He says, ‘Eat and drink as much as you want,’ but he does not really mean that. He is thinking about the cost of the food.
8 Even if you only eat a little of his food, it will make you sick. All your nice words to him will be useless.
9 9. Do not speak to foolish people. They will think that your wise words are silly.
10 10. Never move a stone that has always shown the border of someone's land. Do not take for yourself the fields of people who have no family to help them. 11 God himself will be the relative who helps them. He will speak against you in court.
12 11. Listen carefully to your teacher and study well. Then you will learn knowledge.
13 12. Remember to warn your children when they do something wrong. If you punish them with a stick, you will not kill them. 14 Punishment may save them from death.
15 13. My child, if you become wise, I will be happy. 16 When I hear you speak true words, it will make me very happy.
17 14. Do not be jealous of sinners. Always respect the Lord and obey him in everything that you do. 18 Then you will be happy in future days. What you hope for will surely happen.
19 15. Listen to me, my child. Learn to be wise and to live in a good way.
20 Do not be a friend of people who become drunk. Do not be a friend of greedy people who eat too much. 21 People who are like that soon become poor. They sleep too much, and their clothes have holes in them.
22 16. Listen to your father. You would not be alive without him. Continue to respect your mother when she becomes old.
23 Truth, wisdom, good teaching and knowledge are valuable things. Buy them for yourself. Do not sell them.
24 The father of a righteous person will be very happy. He will be proud of a wise child. 25 So make your father and your mother proud of you. Do things that will make your mother happy.
26 17. Listen to me carefully, my son. Watch how I live.
27 Prostitutes are a dangerous trap for men. Women who are not faithful to their husbands can cause men to fall into danger, like a deep well. 28 They are like robbers who wait to attack people. They take more and more men away from their wives.
29-30 18. People who drink too much wine have many problems. Do you see someone who is in trouble? Someone who is very sad? Someone who argues or complains all the time? Do you see someone with wounds on his body for no reason, or someone with red eyes? Then you are looking at someone who likes to drink wine until late at night. He is someone who likes to try different drinks.
31 So do not even look at that beautiful red wine! Do not think about the pleasure it would give to you. 32 In the end, it will bite you, like a snake with its poison. 33 Your eyes will see strange things. Your mind will be confused so that you say crazy things.
34 You will roll about, like a man who tries to sleep on a ship in a storm. 35 You will say, ‘Somebody must have hit me, but I do not remember what happened. I need to wake up soon and have another drink.’
More wise thoughts
24 19. Do not be jealous of evil people. Do not try to be friends with them. 2 They only think about how to cause trouble. They only speak to be cruel.
3 20. It is wisdom that helps a man to build a house.[c] The house will have a strong foundation if he understands what is right. 4 Knowledge will help him to fill its rooms with beautiful and valuable things.
5 21. A wise man is better than a brave soldier. If a man learns knowledge, he will become stronger. 6 If you receive good advice before you fight a battle, you will win against your enemy.
7 22. A fool cannot understand wisdom. He has nothing to say when leaders meet.
8 23. If anyone has ideas to do evil things, people will know that he always causes trouble.
9 If you decide to do something foolish, that is a sin. People hate anyone who laughs at others.
10 24. If you stop trying in times of trouble, you are really very weak.
11 25. You should rescue people who are in danger of death. 12 You may say, ‘We did not know what was happening.’ But God knows your thoughts. He carefully watches your life and he knows what you are doing. He will pay back to you whatever you deserve.
13 26. My child, honey is good for you, so eat it. It is sweet on your tongue when you taste it.
14 In the same way, wisdom is also good for you. If you find wisdom, it will help you in life. The things that you hope for in the future will surely happen.
15 27. Do not be like wicked people who attack righteous people. Do not try to rob the homes of honest people. 16 If an honest person falls down seven times, he will still stand up again. But when trouble comes to a wicked person, that is the end of him.
17 28. Do not shout with joy when your enemy falls down. Do not be happy when his foot slips. 18 The Lord will know what you are thinking, and he will not be happy. He may decide not to punish your enemy.
19 29. Do not have trouble in your mind because of evil people. Do not be jealous of them. 20 A wicked person has nothing to hope for in the future. His life will end suddenly.
21 30. My child, respect and obey the Lord, and the king too. Do not be friends with people who turn against them. 22 Both the Lord and the king have the power to give strong punishment. In a moment they can destroy people who turn against them.
More wise thoughts
23 These are more things that wise people have said:
When you judge people, be fair. It is not good to respect some people more than others. 24 A judge must not say to a guilty person, ‘You are not guilty.’ If he does say that, everyone will curse him. People of all nations will say that he is bad. 25 When judges decide to punish a guilty person, they will be happy, because God will bless them.
26 Somebody who gives you an honest answer is your true friend.
27 Finish your work outside and prepare your fields. After that, you can build your house.
28 If you do not know what is true, do not speak against your neighbour in court. Do not deceive people with what you say. 29 Do not say, ‘I will do to him the same thing that he did to me. I will punish him because of what he did.’
30 I walked past the field of a lazy person. And I walked past the vineyard of a stupid person. 31 There were weeds and thorn bushes over all the ground. The wall of stones round the field had fallen down. 32 I looked at this and I thought about it carefully. I learned a lesson from the things that I had seen:
33 You may say, ‘I will have a short sleep. I will rest quietly for a while.’ 34 But while you sleep you will suddenly become poor. You will have nothing, as if someone has robbed you.
More of Solomon's proverbs
25 These are more of Solomon's proverbs.[d] Hezekiah's men wrote them down when Hezekiah was king of Judah.[e]
2 God hides things because he is great. But great kings can explain things.
3 You can never know all the thoughts of a king. They go high above the sky and deep below the earth.
4 If you remove dirt from silver, a worker can use it to make a beautiful thing. 5 In the same way, you should keep wicked people away from the king. Then he will rule in a right way.
6 When you stand in front of the king, do not be proud. Do not stand where the important people stand. 7 Then it will be good if the king says to you, ‘Come and sit up here, near me.’ That would be better than if he sends you away while his officers watch.
8 If you see something bad happen, do not quickly go and tell a judge. Your neighbour may show that you are wrong. Then you will be ashamed. You will not know what to do.
9 If you argue with your neighbour, do not tell his secrets to other people. 10 If you do that, everyone will know about it. Then you will be ashamed for your whole life.
11 A wise word that you speak at the right time is a beautiful thing. It is like a gold apple on a silver plate. 12 When a wise person warns you, that is also a beautiful thing. It is like a gold ear-ring or a gold necklace.
13 When a faithful servant takes a message for his master, his master will have peace in his mind. It will keep him cool, like snow in the middle of summer.
14 Some people promise things, but they never do anything. Those people are like clouds and wind that do not bring any rain.
15 If you are patient, you may make a ruler change his mind. If you speak a quiet word, you can remove a difficult problem.
16 When you find honey, never eat more than you need. If you eat too much, you will become very sick.
17 Do not visit your neighbour's house too often. He may see you too much and he will start to hate you.
18 Some people may tell lies about their neighbour in court. Those people are like dangerous weapons, like sharp swords or arrows.
19 If you are in trouble and you trust someone who is not honest, it will not help you. He will be as useless as a bad tooth or a broken leg.
20 If you sing to a very sad man to make him happy, it only gives him more pain. It is like you are taking away his coat on a cold day, or you are putting vinegar on his wound.
21 If your enemy is hungry, give him something to eat. If he is thirsty, give him some water to drink. 22 If you help him, he will become ashamed, and the Lord will bless you with good things.
23 When the wind blows from the north, it brings rain. In the same way, when somebody tells other people's secrets, it brings anger.
24 It is better to live on the roof of your house than to live with a wife who always argues.
25 If you receive good news from a far away country, it is like cool water when you are tired and thirsty.
26 If you put dirt in a well, its good water becomes bad. It is the same with a righteous person who agrees to do wicked things.
27 It is bad for you to eat too much honey. If you always want people to praise you, it is also bad for you.
28 Somebody who cannot control his anger is in danger. He is like a city that no longer has a strong wall round it.
26 It is not right to give honour to a fool.
It is as silly as snow that falls in summer,
or rain that falls at the time of harvest.
2 If someone curses you for no reason, it will not stay with you.
Their words will be like birds that never stop to rest.
3 There are right ways to punish a horse or a donkey.
The right way to punish a fool is to beat him with a stick.
4 If someone asks you a silly question, do not give him a silly answer.
Be careful that you do not become as silly as he is.
5 If someone asks you a silly question, give him a silly answer.
Then he will know that he is not as wise as he thinks he is.[f]
6 If you send a message with a fool, there will be trouble.
It would be better to cut off your own feet!
7 A lame person cannot use his legs properly.
A fool cannot use a proverb properly.
8 If you tie a stone into a sling, it will be a useless weapon.
It is also useless to give honour to a fool.
9 A fool who speaks a proverb is like a drunk person with a thorn in his finger.
He does not know what to do with it.
10 A soldier who shoots his arrows everywhere is useless.
It is the same if you ask a stupid person to do work for you.
11 A sick dog goes back to eat what it could not keep in its stomach.
A fool goes back and makes the same mistakes again.
12 Some men think that they are already wise.
A fool is more likely to learn something than they are.
13 A lazy person does not go out of his house.
He says, ‘There is a lion outside in the street!’
14 A lazy person turns over in his bed,
like a door that continues to open and close.
15 A lazy person pushes his hand into his bowl of food.
But then he is too tired to lift his hand up to his mouth.
16 A lazy person thinks that he is very wise.
He thinks that he is wiser than seven people who can answer questions well.
17 When strangers are arguing, only a fool joins the argument.
It would be better if he took hold of a wild dog's ears!
18 A crazy man may shoot sharp arrows to kill people.
19 If a person deceives his friend and then laughs about it,
he is as bad as that crazy person.
20 Without wood, a fire stops burning.
When people do not tell their friends' secrets, quarrels stop.
21 But when a fire has wood, it continues to burn.
When people love to quarrel, there will always be arguments.
22 We love to hear other people's secrets.
They seem like good food that we can really enjoy.
23 When a hypocrite says nice words,
that is like a cheap pot with silver paint.
24 A hypocrite can say nice things to hide his thoughts,
but he is still thinking about ways to hurt people.
25 Do not believe him when he speaks kind words.
His mind is still full of evil things.
26 He may not seem to hate people, but he is telling lies.
In a public meeting, everyone will recognize his sins.
27 If a man digs a deep hole as a trap, he will fall into it himself.
If a man pushes a stone to fall on someone, it will fall back on him.
28 If you tell lies, it shows that you hate other people.
If you deceive people with sweet words, you will destroy them.
27 Do not boast about what you will do tomorrow.
You do not know what might happen.
2 Let other people praise you.
Do not boast about yourself.
3 A stone is heavy to carry and sand also weighs a lot.
But the silly acts of a fool give more pain than both of those.
4 An angry person does cruel things that can destroy people.
But a jealous person is much worse.
5 When a friend is not afraid to warn you that you are wrong,
it shows that he really loves you.
6 You can trust a friend when he says things that hurt you.
But when an enemy kisses you, he is deceiving you.
7 A person who has eaten enough food will refuse honey.
But even bitter food seems sweet to a hungry person.
8 A person who travels away from his home
is like a bird that flies away from its nest.
9 Beautiful oil and perfume may give you joy.
But good advice from a friend is even better.
10 Do not forget your friends or your father's friends.
If you are in trouble, do not ask your relatives to help you.
A friend who is a neighbour will be more help than a relative who lives far away.
11 My son, if you are wise, I will be happy.
I will be able to answer anyone who insults me.
12 A careful person can see danger and he will hide himself.
But a silly person never stops, and he walks into trouble.
13 If someone promises to pay the debts of a stranger,
take his coat as a guarantee that he will pay.
14 If you shout a blessing to your neighbour early in the morning,
he will think it is no better than a curse.
15 A wife who is always arguing with you
is as bad as rain that never stops falling.
16 Can you catch the wind? Can you hold oil in your hand?
No! And you cannot keep that woman quiet.
17 People learn from each other,
as one iron tool can make another one sharp.
18 If you take care of a fig tree, it will give you fruit to eat.
If you take care of your master, he will give you honour.
19 A man can see his face in a mirror.
But his thoughts show what he is really like.
20 The deep hole of death always wants more dead people to fill it.
In the same way, a person wants to have everything that he sees.
21 You need a hot fire to see if silver and gold are pure.
In the same way, when people praise you,
they can see what you are really like.
22 Even if you beat a fool with a big stick, as hard as you beat grain,
you will never remove all his silly ideas.
23 Always take care of your sheep and your goats, as well as your cows. 24 Your riches will not be there for ever. One family does not rule a kingdom for ever. 25 One day you will cut the grass in your fields and then new grass will grow. You will store the grass that has grown on the hills. 26 Then you will use the wool from your sheep to make clothes. You make clothes from your sheep's wool. You will sell your goats, and you will buy a field. 27 You will have enough milk from your goats to feed yourself, your family and your female servants.[g]
28 A wicked person runs away even when nobody is chasing him.
But a righteous person is as brave as a lion.
2 When the people in a country refuse to obey the law,
they will have many rulers.
But if a country has a wise ruler who understands what is right,
it will continue to be strong.
3 A poor person who is cruel to helpless people
is like a storm that destroys crops.[h]
4 People who do not obey the law praise wicked people.
But people who obey the law speak against wicked people.
5 Evil people do not understand justice.
But people who serve the Lord understand all about it.
6 It is better to be poor and live in an honest way
than to be a rich hypocrite.
7 If you obey the law, you are a wise child.
But if you make friends with greedy people,
you will make your parents ashamed.
8 If you make people pay more when you lend money to them,
you may become rich.
But someone else will enjoy your riches.
They will go to someone who is kind to poor people.
9 If you refuse to listen to God's law,
God will refuse to listen to your prayers.
10 If you cause a good person to do evil things,
your own evil trap will catch you.
But people who do nothing wrong will receive good things.
11 A rich person thinks that he knows everything.
But a poor person who understands people knows what he is really like.
12 When righteous people have power,
everybody is happy.
But when wicked people have power,
good people run away to hide.
13 Anyone who hides his sins will never do well.
But God will forgive somebody,
if he agrees that he has done wrong things,
and if he turns away from his sins.
14 If you are afraid to do wrong things, God will bless you.
But trouble will happen to anyone who refuses to obey.
15 A wicked ruler brings danger to poor people.
He is as dangerous as an angry lion or a hungry bear.
16 If a ruler is cruel, it shows that he is not wise.
But a ruler who refuses bribes will rule for a long time.
17 Someone who is guilty of murder will be running until he dies.
Nobody should help him to escape.
18 If you live in an honest way, you will be safe.
But the hypocrite will suddenly fall into trouble.
19 A farmer who works hard will have plenty of food to eat.
But anyone who works only on useless things will always be poor.
20 A faithful person will receive many blessings.
But anyone who hurries to become rich will only receive punishment.
21 When you judge people, you must always be fair. That is the right thing to do.
But even a small bribe can make some people do the wrong thing.
22 Greedy people hurry to become rich.
They do not know that they will soon be poor.
23 If you warn someone that he has done a wrong thing,
he will thank you in the end.
He will like you more than if you only say sweet words to him.
24 If anyone cheats his parents,
he may say that he has done nothing wrong.
But a person like that is as bad as a robber.
25 Greedy people cause a lot of trouble.
But someone who trusts the Lord will enjoy many good things.
26 If you trust your own thoughts, you are a fool.
But if you live in a wise way, you will be safe from danger.
27 If you give things to poor people, you will still have enough for yourself.
But everyone will curse you if you refuse to help poor people.
28 When wicked people become powerful,
everyone runs away to hide.
But when wicked people lose their power,
righteous people do well again.
29 You may warn a proud person many times, but he will not listen to you.
Trouble will suddenly happen to him and he will not escape.
2 When righteous people are doing well, everyone is happy.
But when wicked people rule, everyone is sad.
3 A man who loves wisdom makes his father happy.
But anyone who is a friend of prostitutes is wasting his father's money.
4 A king who rules with justice makes his country strong.
But a king who takes lots of taxes destroys his country.
5 If you always praise your friends with sweet words,
that will be a trap that you walk into yourself.
6 The sin of an evil person becomes a trap that catches him.
But a righteous person sings with joy.
7 Righteous people want poor people to receive justice.
But wicked people do not understand things like that.
8 People who insult their friends bring trouble to a city.
But wise people stop arguments.
9 If a wise person accuses a foolish person in court,
there will be no agreement.
The fool will only laugh or he will become angry.
10 Murderers hate honest people.
They try to kill any good person.
11 Foolish people cannot control their anger.
But wise people are patient.
12 When a ruler listens to lies,
all his officers will be wicked.
13 The Lord gives light to all people so that they can see.
He does that for poor people and also those who are cruel to them.
14 If a king judges poor people in a true way,
he will always have the power to rule.
15 If you want your children to be wise,
warn them and punish them when they do wrong things.
If you let them do anything that they want to do,
they will make their mother ashamed.
16 When wicked people receive more power, there is also more sin.
But those wicked people will fall while righteous people watch.
17 Warn your children when they do wrong things,
so that you have peace in your mind.
They will make you very happy.
18 If people do not hear God's message,
there is no law to control them.
But if someone obeys God's law,
he is in a happy place.
19 You must use more than words to show a servant what is right.
Even if he understands what you say, he will not obey you.
20 Do you know anyone who speaks before he thinks?
A foolish person is more likely to become wise than that person.
21 You may give a servant everything that he wants from his birth.
But if you do that, he will be useless in the end.
22 An angry person causes arguments.
When he is angry, he causes many sins to happen.
23 A person's pride will bring shame to him.
But a humble person will receive honour.
24 If you help a robber, you are bringing punishment on yourself.
If you tell the truth in court, or if you keep quiet,
you will receive your punishment.[i]
25 If you are afraid of what people think about you,
you will never feel safe.
But if you trust in the Lord,
he will keep you safe.
26 Many people want the king to be their friend.
But only the Lord can give you true justice.
27 Righteous people hate wicked people.
Wicked people also hate people who live in a good way.
The wise words of Agur
30 These are the words of Jakeh's son, Agur. It is an important message. The man says this to Ithiel:
God, I am weak and tired. I cannot continue to stand.
2 I feel more stupid than any other person. I do not understand things as other people do.
3 I have never learned wisdom. I do not know anything about God, the Holy One.
4 No one has gone up to heaven and then come back. No one has held the wind in his hands. No one has tied his coat around the seas. No one has fixed the borders of the earth. If anyone has done this, tell me his name. Tell me his son's name. Tell me, if you know.
5 Everything that God says is completely true. If you trust him, he will protect you like a soldier's shield.
6 Do not add anything to what God has said. If you do that, he will warn you. He will show that you are someone who tells lies.
7 God, I ask you to do two things for me. Please do them before I die:
8 Do not let me ever deceive people with lies.
Do not let me be too rich or too poor. Give me only as much food as I need each day.
9 If I have more than enough, I might say that I do not know you. I might say, ‘Who is the Lord?’
But if I am poor, I might rob people. That would insult my God's good name.
10 Do not say bad things about a servant to his master. If you do, the servant may curse you, and then you will be guilty.
11 There are some people who curse their fathers. They do not bless their mothers.
12 There are some people who think that they are perfect. But they are still dirty inside.
13 There are some people who are very proud. They look down on everyone else.
14 There are some people who are very cruel. Their teeth are like swords and sharp knives. They want to eat up all the poor and helpless people, so that they disappear from the earth.
15 A greedy leech has two daughters.[j] They are always saying, ‘Give me more!’
There are three things that never have enough for themselves, even four things:
16 The deep hole of death.
A wife who has no children.
Dry ground that needs rain.
A fire that burns strongly.
17 Punishment will come to anyone who insults his father, or who refuses to listen to his mother. Wild birds will pick out his eyes and vultures will eat his body.
18 There are three things that are too difficult for me to understand, even four things:
19 How an eagle flies high in the sky.
How a snake moves across a rock.
How a ship sails on the sea.
How a man starts to love a young woman.
20 A woman who is not faithful to her husband does this: When she has sex with another man, she thinks it is like a meal that she has eaten. Then she washes herself and she says, ‘I have not done anything wrong.’ That is something else that I cannot understand.
21 There are three things that make the earth shake, even four things:
22 A slave who becomes a king.
A fool who eats too much.
23 A woman that nobody loves who marries a husband.
A female servant who takes the place of the woman that she has served.
24 There are four things that live on the earth which are very small, but they are also very wise:
25 Ants are not very strong, but they prepare their food in the summer.
26 Rock badgers are weak animals, but they make their homes among the rocks.
27 Locusts have no king to lead them, but they all fly together as one.
28 Lizards are easy to catch with your hand, but you will see them in kings' palaces.
29 There are three things that seem great as they walk around, even four things:
30 Lions are the strongest of all animals, and they are not afraid of anything.
31 Cockerels that shout proudly.
Male goats.
A king who has his army with him.
32 You may be foolish and too proud of yourself. You may have ideas to do evil things. If that is true, stop yourself! Do not say a word! 33 If you beat milk for a long time, it will become butter. If you hit someone's nose, it will bleed. In the same way, if you make people angry, it will cause trouble.
Good advice to a king
31 These are the words that King Lemuel's mother said to him. It is an important message:[k]
2 Be careful, my dear son. God answered my prayers when I gave birth to you. Please listen carefully!
3 Do not chase after women and lose your strength. Women like that have destroyed kings.
4 Listen, Lemuel. Kings should not drink lots of wine. They should not want strong drink. 5 When kings drink alcohol, they forget to obey the law. They take away justice for helpless people.
6 Give strong drink to people who are dying. Give wine to people who are very upset. 7 Then they can forget how poor they are, or how sad they are.
8 Speak on behalf of people who cannot speak for themselves. Help helpless people to receive justice. 9 Speak clearly to help them. Judge people in a way that is fair and right. Help poor and helpless people to receive justice.
A poem about a good wife[l]
10 How difficult it is to find a wife who is truly wise! She is worth much more than valuable jewels.
11 Her husband trusts her to help him. He will have everything that he needs.
12 She does good things for him every day of her life. She never tries to hurt him.
13 She is happy to work with her own hands to make clothes with wool and linen.
14 She brings special food from far away, like a ship that travels across the sea.
15 She gets up while it is still night and she prepares food for her family. She also gives some to her female servants.
16 She looks carefully at a field, and she decides to buy it. She uses her own money to plant a vineyard.
17 She is strong and she always works hard.
18 She knows how to make money as she buys and sells things. Even at night, she is still working.
19 She knows how to make cloth.
20 She gives money to poor and helpless people.
21 All her family have warm clothes to wear. She is not afraid when cold weather comes.
22 She makes beautiful cloths to cover the beds. Her own clothes are made with valuable linen and purple cloth.
23 People in the city respect her husband. He meets with the other leaders at the city's gate.
24 She uses linen to make clothes and she sells them. She makes belts to sell to the traders.
25 She shows her strength and people respect her. She is not afraid of what will happen in the future.
26 When she speaks, she says wise words. She is kind as she teaches people what is right.
27 She always works hard and she takes care of her family.
28 Her children all agree to thank her. Her husband also praises her.
29 He says, ‘Many women are wise and they work well, but you are better than all of them.’
30 A woman may seem to be beautiful, but that can deceive people. Her body will not be beautiful for ever.
But a woman who respects the Lord with fear will receive honour.
31 Praise her for everything that she has done.
Everyone in the city should know about her, and they should praise her as she deserves.
Nothing has a purpose
1 These are the words of the Teacher, David's son, who ruled as king in Jerusalem.[m]
2 The Teacher says, ‘Nothing has a purpose.
Nothing that ever happens has a purpose.’
3 People work very hard while they live on the earth.
But in the end, what do they receive in return for their work?
4 Old people die and then their children live after them.
But the earth continues and it never changes.
5 The sun rises in the morning and it disappears in the evening.
Then it quickly moves to rise again the next morning.
6 The wind blows to the south. Then it turns to the north.
It blows in every direction. Then it starts again.
7 All rivers pour water into the sea, but the sea does not become full.
The water returns to the rivers and it all happens again.
8 Everything continues in the same way.
There is nothing important to talk about.
Nothing that we see is enough to make us happy.
There are always more things that we want to hear.
9 Things that are happening now will continue to happen in the future.
What people have done before, other people will do again.
There is nothing truly new anywhere on the earth.
10 People may say, ‘Look! Here is something new!’
But really it happened long ago, before we were born.
11 People do not remember things that happened in the past.
In the future, people will not remember what has happened either.
Wisdom has no purpose
12 I, the Teacher, ruled Israel as king in Jerusalem. 13 I decided to study everything that happens on the earth. I used wisdom to try to understand these things. I realized that God has given people hard work to do, which causes them to suffer. 14 I thought about all the things that people do on the earth. I realized that all these things have no purpose. It is like somebody who tries to catch the wind.
15 If someone has bent something,
you cannot always make it straight again.
You cannot count things,
if they are not there.[n]
16 I said to myself, ‘Listen! I have become very wise! I am much wiser than any of the kings who ruled in Jerusalem before me. I know a lot more things than they ever did!’ 17 So I decided to study how much wisdom and knowledge really help a person. I wanted to learn if it was better than someone who only does foolish things. But this was also useless, like somebody who tries to catch the wind.
18 The more wisdom you have,
the more you will worry.
The more you learn,
the more you suffer.[o]
Pleasure has no purpose
2 I said to myself, ‘I will enjoy the good things of life. I will see if that helps me to be happy.’ But I realized that this too had no purpose. 2 I said, ‘It is foolish to laugh all the time. If I only try to please myself, it does not really help me.’
3 I thought about wine. If I drink a lot of wine, I thought that might make me happy. I might enjoy foolish things. I used wisdom to think about this. People only live for a short time on the earth. I thought this might be the best way for people to enjoy life.
4 I also did a lot of great things for myself. I built houses. I planted vineyards. 5 I made gardens and fields of trees. I planted many different kinds of fruit trees in them. 6 I made large pools of water. I used the water to help my trees to grow well. 7 I bought male slaves and female slaves. Their children became my slaves too. I had many animals, including sheep, goats and cows. I had more animals than any of the rulers in Jerusalem who lived before me. 8 I stored a lot of silver and gold for myself. Other kings and rulers paid me with many valuable things. I had men and women who would sing for me. I had many beautiful slave wives to give me as much pleasure as any man could want. 9 As a result, I was greater than anyone who had ever lived in Jerusalem before me. And I continued to follow the way of wisdom.
10 If I saw something that I wanted
I took it for myself.
If something would give me pleasure,
I did it.
So all my work made me very happy.
My hard work gave me things to enjoy.
11 Then I thought about everything that I had done,
and all my hard work.
After all that, I realized that none of these things had a purpose.
I was like somebody who tries to catch the wind.
None of the things on earth have any value.
12 Then I decided to think about wisdom.
I also thought about foolish ways to live.
I thought, ‘The next king will not do any more
than I have already done.’
13 I realized that it is better to be wise than foolish.
In the same way, the light is better than the dark.
14 Wise people can see where they are going.
Foolish people walk in the dark.
But at the end of their lives, there is no difference.
They both die.
15 Then I thought, ‘I will also die, as foolish people do.
So what value have I received from my great wisdom?’
I said to myself, ‘Wisdom too has no purpose.’
16 People forget about wise people
as quickly as they forget about fools.
One day, nobody will remember any of them.
It is true! As fools all have to die, wise people will also die.
17 So I hated life. Everything that happens on the earth only brings me trouble. Nothing has any purpose. It is as useless as somebody who tries to catch the wind.
Work has no purpose
18 I thought about all the hard work that I have done here on the earth. When I die, all the things that I worked so hard to get will belong to the next king. So I hated all my hard work. 19 The next king may be a wise man, or he may be a foolish man. Nobody knows! But all the things that I used my wisdom and hard work to get will belong to him. All this has no purpose. 20 So I was very upset when I thought about all my hard work on the earth. 21 Some people are very wise and clever. They use their knowledge to provide good things for themselves. But after they die, someone else will have all their things. Their good things will belong to someone who did not have to work to get them. This also has no purpose. It only brings trouble.
22 People have to do a lot of hard work on this earth and it causes them to worry. But in the end, they have nothing. 23 Every day, their work causes their bodies to suffer. At night, their minds do not have any rest. All this has no purpose.
24 So I decided what is best for us to do. We should be happy to eat and to drink. And we should enjoy our work. I realized that all these things are gifts from God. 25 Without God's help, nobody can eat anything or enjoy anything. 26 God gives wisdom, knowledge and joy to people who please him. Wicked people may work hard and become rich. But God takes away their valuable things and he gives them to someone who pleases him. So their hard work has no purpose. It is like somebody who tries to catch the wind.
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