Chronological
Yahweh Is the Maker of All
22 A (A)good name is to be chosen over great wealth,
Favor is better than silver and gold.
2 The rich and the poor meet together in this—
Yahweh is the (B)Maker of them all.
3 A (C)prudent man sees evil and hides,
But the simple pass on, and are punished.
4 The reward of humility—the [a]fear of Yahweh—
Is riches, glory, and life.
5 (D)Thorns and snares are in the way of the crooked;
He who keeps his soul will be far from them.
6 [b](E)Train up a child [c]according to his way,
Even when he is old he will not [d]depart from it.
7 The (F)rich rules over the poor,
And the borrower is the slave of the lender.
8 He who (G)sows unrighteousness will reap iniquity,
And the (H)rod of his fury will end.
9 He who [e]is (I)generous will be blessed,
For he (J)gives from his food to the poor.
10 (K)Drive out the scoffer, and strife will go out,
Even contention and disgrace will cease.
11 He who loves (L)purity of heart
And (M)grace on his lips, the king is his friend.
12 The eyes of Yahweh guard knowledge,
But He subverts the words of the treacherous one.
13 The (N)sluggard says, “There is a lion outside;
I will be killed in the streets!”
14 The mouth of (O)strange women is a deep pit;
He who is (P)cursed of Yahweh will fall [f]into it.
15 Folly is bound up in the heart of a child;
The (Q)rod of discipline will remove it far from him.
16 He (R)who oppresses the poor to make [g]more for himself
Or who gives to the rich (S)will only come to lack.
17 (T)Incline your ear and hear the words of the wise,
And set your heart on my knowledge;
18 For it will be (U)pleasant if you keep them within you,
[h]That they may be established on your lips.
19 So that your (V)trust may be in Yahweh,
I have made you know today, even you.
20 Have I not written to you [i](W)excellent things
Of counsels and knowledge,
21 To make you (X)know the veracity of the words of truth
That you may [j](Y)respond with the words of truth to him who sent you?
22 (Z)Do not rob the poor because he is poor,
And do not (AA)crush the afflicted at the gate;
23 For Yahweh will (AB)plead their case
And rob the soul of those who rob them.
24 Do not befriend a man of anger;
And do not come along with a man of (AC)great wrath,
25 Lest you (AD)learn his ways
And take on a snare against your soul.
26 Do not be among those who (AE)strike [k]hands in pledge,
Among those who become guarantors for debts.
27 If you have nothing with which to pay,
Why should he (AF)take your bed from under you?
28 (AG)Do not move the ancient boundary
Which your fathers made.
29 Do you see a man skilled in his work?
He will (AH)stand before kings;
He will not stand before obscure men.
The Fear of Yahweh
23 When you sit down to dine with a ruler,
Understand well [l]what is before you,
2 So you should put a knife to your throat
If you are a (AI)man of appetite.
3 Do not (AJ)desire his delicacies,
For it is bread of falsehood.
4 (AK)Do not weary yourself to gain wealth,
(AL)Because of your understanding, cease!
5 Do you make your eyes fly up to see it? But it is not there!
Because (AM)it certainly makes itself wings
Like an eagle that flies toward the heavens.
6 (AN)Do not eat the bread of [m]a (AO)selfish man,
And do not desire his delicacies;
7 For as he [n]calculates in his soul, so he is.
“Eat and drink!” he says to you,
But (AP)his heart is not with you.
8 You will (AQ)vomit up [o]the morsel you have eaten,
And you will corrupt your pleasant words.
10 Do not move the ancient boundary
And do not (AT)come into the fields of the orphans,
11 For their (AU)Redeemer is strong;
(AV)He will plead their case against you.
12 Bring your heart to discipline
And your ears to [q]words of knowledge.
13 (AW)Do not withhold discipline from the child,
Although you [r]strike him with the rod, he will not die.
14 You shall [s]strike him with the rod
And (AX)deliver his soul from Sheol.
15 My son, if your heart is (AY)wise,
My own heart also will be glad;
16 And my [t]inmost being will exult
When your lips speak (AZ)upright things.
17 (BA)Do not let your heart be jealous of sinners,
But be zealous in the [u](BB)fear of Yahweh [v]always.
18 Surely there is a [w](BC)future,
And your (BD)hope will not be cut off.
19 You, my son, listen and (BE)be wise,
And (BF)direct your heart in the way.
20 Do not be with (BG)heavy drinkers of wine,
Or with (BH)gluttonous eaters of meat;
21 For the (BI)heavy drinker and the glutton will come to poverty,
And (BJ)drowsiness will clothe them with rags.
22 (BK)Listen to your father who begot you,
And (BL)do not despise your mother when she is old.
23 (BM)Buy truth, and do not sell it,
Get wisdom and discipline and understanding.
24 The father of the righteous will greatly rejoice,
And (BN)he who begets a wise son will be glad in him.
25 Let your (BO)father and your mother be glad,
And let her rejoice who gave birth to you.
26 (BP)Give your heart to me, my son,
And let your eyes [x](BQ)delight in my ways.
27 For a harlot is a (BR)deep pit
And [y]a (BS)foreign woman is a narrow well.
28 Surely she (BT)lies in wait as a robber,
And adds to the treacherous among men.
29 Who has (BU)woe? Who has sorrow?
Who has contentions? Who has complaining?
Who has wounds without cause?
Who has redness of eyes?
30 Those who (BV)linger long over wine,
Those who go to search out (BW)mixed wine.
31 Do not look on the wine when it glistens red,
When it [z]sparkles in the cup,
When it (BX)goes down smoothly;
32 At the end—like a serpent it (BY)bites,
And like a (BZ)viper it stings.
33 Your eyes will see strange things
And your heart will (CA)speak perverse things.
34 And you will be like one who lies down in the heart of the sea,
Or like one who lies down on the top of a [aa]mast.
35 “They (CB)struck me, but I did not become [ab]ill;
They beat me, but I did not know it.
When shall I awake?
I will (CC)seek yet another.”
My Son, Fear Yahweh
24 Do not be (CD)jealous of evil men,
And do not desire to (CE)be with them;
2 For their heart meditates on (CF)destruction,
And their lips (CG)talk of mischief.
3 (CH)By wisdom a house is built,
And by discernment it is firmly established;
4 And by knowledge the rooms are (CI)filled
With all precious and pleasant riches.
5 A (CJ)wise man is [ac]strong,
And a man of knowledge strengthens his power.
6 For (CK)by guidance you will make war,
And (CL)in abundance of counselors there is salvation.
8 One who (CO)deliberately thinks to do evil,
Men will call a [ad]schemer.
9 The (CP)scheming of folly is sin,
And the scoffer is an abomination to men.
10 If you (CQ)are slack in the day of trouble,
Your strength is in trouble.
11 (CR)Deliver those who are being taken away to death,
And those who are stumbling to the slaughter, Oh hold them back.
12 If you say, “Behold, we did not know this,”
Does not He (CS)who weighs the hearts (CT)understand?
And (CU)does not He who (CV)guards your soul know?
And will not He [ae](CW)render to man according to his work?
13 Eat (CX)honey, my son, for it is good,
Indeed, the (CY)honey from the comb is sweet to your taste;
14 Know that (CZ)wisdom is thus for your soul;
If you find it, then there will be a [af](DA)future,
And your hope will not be cut off.
15 (DB)Do not lie in wait, O wicked man, against the abode of the righteous;
Do not destroy his resting place;
16 For a (DC)righteous man falls seven times, and rises again,
But the (DD)wicked will stumble in [ag]calamity.
17 When your enemy falls, (DE)do not be glad,
And when he stumbles, do not let your heart rejoice;
18 Lest Yahweh see it and it be evil in His eyes,
And turn His anger away from him.
19 (DF)Do not fret because of evildoers
Do not be (DG)jealous of the wicked;
20 For (DH)there will be no [ah](DI)future for the evil one;
The (DJ)lamp of the wicked will go out.
21 My son, [ai](DK)fear Yahweh and the king;
Do not associate with those who change,
22 For suddenly their (DL)disaster will rise,
And who knows the upheaval that comes from both of them?
23 These also are (DM)sayings of the wise.
To [aj](DN)show partiality in judgment is not good.
24 He (DO)who says to the wicked, “You are righteous,”
(DP)Peoples will curse him, nations will be indignant with him;
25 But (DQ)to those who reprove the wicked, it will be pleasant,
And a good blessing will come upon them.
26 He kisses the lips
Who responds with right words.
27 Establish your work outside
And (DR)make it ready for yourself in the field;
And afterwards, you shall build your house.
28 Do not be a (DS)witness against your neighbor without cause,
Nor (DT)deceive with your lips.
29 (DU)Do not say, “As he did to me so I shall do to him;
I will [ak]render to the man according to his work.”
30 I passed by the field of the sluggard
And by the vineyard of the man (DV)lacking a heart of wisdom,
31 And behold, it was completely [al](DW)overgrown with thistles;
[am](DX)Nettles have covered its surface,
And its stone (DY)wall has been torn down.
32 And I beheld, I set my heart upon it;
I saw, I received discipline.
33 “(DZ)A little sleep, a little slumber,
A little folding of the hands to rest,”
34 Then your poverty will come as [an]a robber
And your want like [ao]an armed man.
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