Old/New Testament
22 Rather than wealth, choose a good reputation,
esteem over silver and gold.
2 Rich and poor have this in common —
Adonai made them both.
3 The clever see trouble coming and hide;
the simple go on and pay the penalty.
4 The reward for humility is fear of Adonai,
along with wealth, honor and life.
5 Thorns and snares beset the way of the stubborn;
he who values his life keeps his distance from them.
6 Train a child in the way he [should] go;
and, even when old, he will not swerve from it.
7 The rich rule the poor,
and the borrower is slave to the lender.
8 He who sows injustice reaps trouble,
and the rod of his angry outburst will fail.
9 He who is generous is blessed,
because he shares his food with the poor.
10 Throw the scoffer out, and quarreling goes too;
strife and insults cease.
11 He who loves the pure-hearted and is gracious in speech
will have the king as his friend.
12 The eyes of Adonai protect [the man with] knowledge,
but he overturns the plans of a traitor.
13 A lazy man says, “There’s a lion outside!
I’ll be killed if I go out in the street!”
14 The mouth of an adulteress is a deep pit;
the man with whom Adonai is angry falls into it.
15 Doing wrong is firmly tied to the heart of a child,
but the rod of discipline will drive it far away from him.
16 Both oppressing the poor to enrich oneself
and giving to the rich yield only loss.
17 Pay attention, and listen to the words of the wise;
apply your heart to my knowledge;
18 for it is pleasant to keep them deep within you;
have all of them ready on your lips.
19 I want your trust to be in Adonai;
this is why I’m instructing you about them today.
20 I have written you worthwhile things
full of good counsel and knowledge,
21 so you will know that these sayings are certainly true
and bring back true sayings to him who sent you.
22 Don’t exploit the helpless, because they are helpless,
and don’t crush the poor in court,
23 for Adonai will plead their case for them
and withhold life from those who defraud them.
24 Don’t associate with an angry man;
make no hot-tempered man your companion.
25 If you do, you may learn his ways
and find yourself caught in a trap.
26 Don’t be one of those who give pledges,
guaranteeing loans made to others;
27 for if you don’t have the wherewithal to pay,
they will take your bed away from underneath you.
28 Don’t move the ancient boundary stone
set up by your ancestors.
29 Do you see a man skilled at his work?
He will serve kings, not obscure people.
23 When you sit down to dine with a ruler,
think carefully about who is before you.
2 If you have a big appetite,
put a knife to your throat!
3 Don’t be greedy for his delicacies,
for they are deceptive food.
4 Don’t exhaust yourself in pursuit of wealth;
be smart enough to desist.
5 If you make your eyes rush at it,
it’s no longer there!
For wealth will surely grow wings,
like an eagle flying off to the sky.
6 Don’t eat the food of a stingy man;
don’t be greedy for his delicacies.
7 For he is like someone who keeps accounts —
“Eat! Drink!” he says to you,
but he doesn’t really mean it.
8 The little you eat you will vomit up,
and your compliments will have been wasted.
9 Don’t speak in the ears of a fool,
for he will only despise the common sense in your words.
10 Don’t move the ancient boundary stone
or encroach on the land of the fatherless;
11 for their Redeemer is strong;
he will take up their fight against you.
12 Apply your mind to discipline
and your ears to words of knowledge.
13 Don’t withhold discipline from a child —
if you beat him with a stick, he won’t die!
14 If you beat him with a stick,
you will save him from Sh’ol.
15 My son, if your heart is wise,
then my own heart too is glad;
16 my inmost being rejoices
when your lips say what is right.
17 Don’t envy sinners, but follow the example
of those who always fear God;
18 for then you will have a future;
what you hope for will not be cut off.
19 You, my son: listen, be wise,
and set your mind on the right way.
20 Don’t be one of those who guzzle wine
or of those who eat meat to excess,
21 for both drunkard and glutton will become poor —
drowsiness will clothe them with rags.
22 Listen to your father, who gave you life;
and don’t despise your mother when she gets old.
23 Buy the truth, don’t sell it,
also wisdom, discipline and discernment.
24 A righteous person’s father will be filled with joy;
yes, he whose son is wise will rejoice in him.
25 So let your father and mother be glad;
let her who gave you birth rejoice.
26 My son, give me your heart;
let your eyes observe my ways.
27 A prostitute is a deep ditch,
and a forbidden woman like a narrow well.
28 She lies in wait to snatch her prey
and adds to the number of faithless men.
29 Who has misery? Who has regret?
Who fights and complains all the time?
Who gets bruised for no good reason?
Who has bloodshot eyes?
30 Those who spend their time over wine,
those always trying out mixed drinks.
31 Don’t gaze at the red wine
as it gives its color to the cup.
It may glide down smoothly now;
32 but in the end, it bites like a serpent —
yes, it strikes like a poisonous snake.
33 Your eyes will see peculiar things,
your mind will utter nonsense.
34 You will feel as if lying on the waves of the sea
or sprawled on top of the mast —
35 “They hit me, but I didn’t feel it!
They beat me up, and I didn’t even know it!
When will I wake up? . . .
I’ll go get another drink.”
24 Don’t be envious of evil people,
and don’t desire to be with them.
2 For their minds are occupied with violence,
and their lips speak of making trouble.
3 By wisdom a house is built,
by understanding it is made secure,
4 and by knowledge its rooms are filled
with all kinds of costly and pleasant possessions.
5 A wise man is strong;
yes, a man of knowledge grows in strength.
6 For with clever strategy you wage your war,
and victory comes from having many advisers.
7 Wisdom is too lofty for a fool;
he keeps his mouth shut at the city gate.
8 He who plans to do evil
people call a schemer.
9 The evil plans of the foolish are sin,
and people detest a scorner.
10 If you slack off on a day of distress,
your strength is small indeed.
11 Yes, rescue those being dragged off to death —
won’t you save those about to be killed?
12 If you say, “We knew nothing about it,”
won’t he who weighs hearts discern it?
Yes, he who guards you will know it
and repay each one as his deeds deserve.
13 My son, eat honey, for it is good;
honeycomb drippings are sweet to your taste.
14 Know that wisdom is similar[ly sweet] to your soul;
if you find it, then you will have a future,
what you hope for will not be cut off.
15 Don’t lurk like an outlaw near the home of the righteous,
don’t raid the place where he lives.
16 For though he falls seven times, he will get up again;
it’s the wicked who fail under stress.
17 Don’t rejoice when your enemy falls;
don’t let your heart be glad when he stumbles.
18 For Adonai might see it, and it would displease him;
he might withdraw his anger from your foe.
19 Don’t get upset because of evildoers;
don’t be envious of the wicked.
20 For the evil person has no future —
the lamp of the wicked will go out.
21 My son, don’t get involved with revolutionaries,
but fear Adonai and the king.
22 For disaster from them will suddenly appear,
and who knows what ruin they both can cause?
23 These also are sayings of the wise:
Showing partiality in judgment is not good.
24 He who tells the guilty, “You are innocent,”
will be cursed by peoples, reviled by nations;
25 but with those who condemn him, things will go well,
and a good blessing will come upon them.
26 Giving an honest answer
is like giving a kiss.
27 Prepare your outside work,
and get things ready for yourself on the land;
after that, build your house.
28 Don’t be a witness against your neighbor for no reason —
would you use your lips to deceive?
29 Don’t say, “I’ll do to him what he did to me,
I’ll pay him back what his deeds deserve.”
30 I passed by the field of the lazy man
and the vineyard of the man lacking sense.
31 There it was, overgrown with thistles;
the ground was covered with nettles,
and its stone wall was broken down.
32 I looked, and I thought about it;
I saw, and I learned this lesson:
33 “I’ll just lie here a bit, rest a little longer,
just fold my hands for a little more sleep” —
34 and poverty comes marching in on you,
scarcity hits you like an invading soldier.
8 Now, brothers, we must tell you about the grace God has given the congregations in Macedonia. 2 Despite severe trials, and even though they are desperately poor, their joy has overflowed in a wealth of generosity. 3 I tell you they have not merely given according to their means, but of their own free will they have given beyond their means. 4 They begged and pleaded with us for the privilege of sharing in this service for God’s people. 5 Also, they didn’t do this in the way we had expected, but first they gave themselves to the Lord, which means, by God’s will, to us.
6 All this has led us to urge Titus to bring this same gracious gift to completion among you, since he has already made a beginning of it. 7 Just as you excel in everything — in faith, in speech, in knowledge, in diligence of every kind, and in your love for us — see that you excel in this gift too. 8 I am not issuing an order; rather, I am testing the genuineness of your love against the diligence of others. 9 For you know how generous our Lord Yeshua the Messiah was — for your sakes he impoverished himself, even though he was rich, so that he might make you rich by means of his poverty. 10 As I say, in regard to this matter I am only giving an opinion. A year ago you were not only the first to take action but the first to want to do so. Now it would be to your advantage 11 to finish what you started, so that your eagerness in wanting to commence the project may be matched by your eagerness to complete it, as you contribute from what you have. 12 For if the eagerness to give is there, the acceptability of the gift will be measured by what you have, not by what you don’t have. 13 It is not that relief for others should cause trouble for you, but that there should be a kind of reciprocity: 14 at present your abundance can help those in need; so that when you are in need, their abundance can help you — thus there is reciprocity. 15 It is as the Tanakh says,
“He who gathered much had nothing extra,
and he who gathered little had nothing lacking.”[a]
16 Now I thank God for making Titus as devoted to you as we are; 17 for he not only responded to our urging, but, being so devoted, he is coming to you on his own initiative. 18 And with him we are sending the brother whose work for the Good News is praised in all the congregations; 19 not only that, he has also been appointed by the congregations to travel with us, so that the way we administer this charitable work will bring honor to the Lord and show our eagerness to help. 20 Our aim in this is to show that our conduct in dealing with these substantial sums is above reproach; 21 for we take pains to do what is right not only in the sight of God but also in the sight of other people.[b] 22 With these two we are sending another brother of ours, one whose diligence we have tested many times in many ways, but who is now all the more diligent because of his great confidence in you. 23 As for Titus, he is my partner who works with me on your behalf; and the other brothers with him are emissaries of the congregations and bring honor to the Messiah. 24 So the love you show these men will justify our pride in you to them, and through them to the congregations that sent them.
Copyright © 1998 by David H. Stern. All rights reserved.