24 aBe not thou envious against evil men,

Neither desire to be bwith them.

2  cFor their heart studieth destruction,

And their lips talk of dmischief.

3  Through ewisdom is an house builded;

And by understanding it eis established:

4  And by knowledge shall the chambers be filled

With all precious and pleasant riches.

5  fA wise man †is strong;

Yea, a man of knowledge †increaseth strength.

6  For hby wise counsel thou shalt make thy war:

And iin multitude of counsellers there is safety.

7  kWisdom is ltoo high for a fool:

He openeth not his mouth min the gate.

8  He that ndeviseth to do evil

Shall be called oa mischievous person.

9  The pthought of foolishness is sin:

And the scorner is an abomination to men.

10  If thou faint in the day of adversity,

Thy strength is †small.

11  If thou forbear qto deliver them that are drawn unto death,

And those that are rready to be slain;

12  If thou sayest, sBehold, we knew it not;

Doth not he that tpondereth the heart consider it?

And he that ukeepeth thy soul, doth not he know it?

And shall not he render to every man waccording to his works?

13  My son, eat thou xyhoney, because it is good;

And the xyhoneycomb, which is sweet †to thy taste:

14  ySo shall the knowledge of wisdom be unto thy soul:

When thou hast found it, then zthere shall be a reward,

zAnd thy expectation shall not be cut off.

15  aLay not wait, O wicked man, against the dwelling of the righteous;

Spoil not his resting place:

16  bFor a just man falleth cseven times, and riseth up again:

But dthe wicked shall efall into mischief.

17  fRejoice not when thine enemy falleth,

And let not thine heart be glad when he estumbleth:

18  Lest the Lord see it, and †it displease him,

And he turn away his wrath from him.

19  g||Fret not thyself because of evil men,

Neither hbe thou envious at the wicked;

20  For there shall be no ireward to the evil man;

kThe ||candle of the wicked shall be put out.

21  My son, lfear thou the Lord and the king:

And meddle not with †them that are given to change:

22  For their calamity shall rise suddenly;

And llwho knoweth the mruin of nthem both?

23  These things also belong to the wise.

It is not good oto have respect of persons in judgment.

24  pHe that saith unto the wicked, Thou art righteous;

qHim shall the people curse, nations shall abhor him:

25  But to them that rebuke him shall be delight,

And †a good blessing shall come upon them.

26  Every man shall kiss his lips

†That giveth a rright answer.

27  sPrepare thy work without,

And make it fit for thyself in the field;

And afterwards build thine house.

28  tBe not a witness against thy neighbour without cause;

And deceive not with thy lips.

29  uSay not, I will do so to him as he hath done to me:

I will render to the man according to his work.

30  xI went by the field of the slothful,

And by the vineyard of the man yvoid of understanding;

31  And, lo, it was all grown over with thorns,

And znettles had covered the face thereof,

And the stone awall thereof was broken down.

32  Then I saw, and †considered it well:

I xlooked upon it, and received instruction.

33  bYet a little sleep, a little slumber,

A little folding of the hands to sleep:

34  So shall thy poverty come as one that travelleth;

And thy want as †an armed man.

21 The king’s heart is in the hand of the Lord, as athe rivers of water:

He bturneth it whithersoever he will.

2  cEvery way of a man is right in his own eyes:

But dthe Lord cpondereth the hearts.

3  eTo do justice and judgment

Is more acceptable to the Lord than sacrifice.

4  f†An high look, and ga proud heart,

And ||the hplowing of the wicked, is sin.

5  The thoughts of ithe diligent tend only to plenteousness;

But of every one that is khasty lonly to want.

6  mThe getting of treasures by a lying tongue

Is na vanity otossed to and fro of them pthat seek death.

7  The robbery of the wicked shall †sdestroy them;

Because they refuse to do judgment.

8  The way of man is froward and strange:

But as for the pure, his work is right.

9  tIt is better to dwell in a ucorner of the housetop,

tThan with †a brawling woman in †a wide house.

10  yThe soul of the wicked desireth evil:

His neighbour †findeth no favour in his eyes.

11  zWhen the scorner is apunished, the simple is made wise:

And when the wise bis instructed, he receiveth knowledge.

12  The righteous man bcwisely considereth the house of the wicked:

But dGod overthroweth the wicked for their wickedness.

13  eWhoso stoppeth his ears at the cry of the poor,

He also shall cry himself, but shall not be heard.

14  fA gift in secret pacifieth anger:

And a reward in gthe bosom strong wrath.

15  It is joy to the just to do judgment:

hBut destruction shall be to ithe workers of iniquity.

16  The man that wandereth out of the way of understanding

jShall remain in the congregation of kthe dead.

17  He that loveth ||pleasure shall be a poor man:

He that loveth wine and loil shall not be rich.

18  mThe wicked shall be a nransom for the righteous,

And the transgressor for the upright.

19  oIt is better to dwell †in the wilderness,

Than with a contentious and an angry woman.

20  pThere is treasure to be desired and lqoil in the dwelling of the wise;

But a foolish man rspendeth it up.

21  sHe that followeth after righteousness and mercy

tFindeth life, righteousness, and honour.

22  uA wise man scaleth the city of the mighty,

And casteth down the strength of the confidence thereof.

23  wWhoso keepeth his mouth and his tongue

xKeepeth his soul yfrom troubles.

24  Proud and zhaughty scorner is his name,

Who dealeth †in proud wrath.

25  aThe desire of the slothful killeth him;

For his hands refuse to labour.

26  He bcoveteth greedily all the day long:

But cthe righteous giveth and spareth not.

27  dThe sacrifice of the wicked is abomination:

How much more, when he bringeth it †with a wicked mind?

28  †A false witness shall perish:

But the man that heareth speaketh econstantly.

29  A wicked man fhardeneth his face:

But as for the upright, he ||gdirecteth his way.

30  hThere is no wisdom nor understanding

Nor counsel against the Lord.

31  iThe horse is prepared against the day of battle:

But ||ksafety is of the Lord.

22 A agood name is rather bto be chosen than great riches,

And ||loving favour rather than silver and gold.

2  The rich and poor cmeet together:

dThe Lord is ethe maker of them all.

3  fA prudent man foreseeth the evil, and hideth himself:

fBut the simple pass on, and gare punished.

4  ||By humility and the fear of the Lord

Are iriches, and honour, and life.

5  kThorns and snares are in the way of the froward:

He that doth lkeep his soul shall be far from them.

6  m||Train up a child †in the way he should go:

And when he is old, he will …

17 aBetter is a dry morsel, and quietness therewith,

Than an house full of ||sacrifices with strife.

2  A wise servant shall have rule over ba son that causeth shame,

And shall have part of the inheritance among the brethren.

3  cThe fining pot is for silver, and the furnace for gold:

But the Lord dtrieth the hearts.

4  A wicked doer giveth heed to false lips;

And a liar giveth ear to a naughty tongue.

5  Whoso mocketh the poor ereproacheth ehis Maker:

And fhe that is glad at calamities shall not be †unpunished.

6  gChildren’s children are hthe crown of old men;

And ithe glory of children are their fathers.

7  †Excellent speech kbecometh not a fool:

Much less do †lying lips a prince.

8  lA gift is as †a precious stone in the eyes of mhim that hath it:

Whithersoever it turneth, it prospereth.

9  nHe that covereth a transgression ||seeketh love;

But he that repeateth a matter oseparateth very friends.

10  ||A reproof qentereth more into a wise man

Than an hundred stripes into a fool.

11  An evil man seeketh only rebellion:

Therefore a rcruel messenger sshall be sent against him.

12  tLet a bear robbed of her whelps meet a man,

ttRather than a fool in his folly.

13  uWhoso rewardeth xevil for good,

Evil shall not depart from his house.

14  The beginning of strife is as when one letteth out water:

Therefore yleave off contention, before it zbe meddled with.

15  He that ajustifieth the wicked, and he that bcondemneth the just,

Even they both are abomination to the Lord.

16  Wherefore is there a price in the hand of a fool

To cget wisdom, seeing he hath no heart to it?

17  dA friend loveth at all times,

And a brother is born for adversity.

18  A man void of †understanding estriketh hands,

And ebecometh surety in the presence of his friend.

19  He loveth transgression that loveth strife:

And fhe that exalteth his gate seeketh destruction.

20  †He that hath a froward heart findeth no good:

And he that hath a perverse tongue falleth into mischief.

21  gHe that begetteth a fool doeth it to his sorrow:

And the father of a fool hath no joy.

22  hA merry heart doeth good ||like a medicine:

But a hbroken spirit idrieth the bones.

23  A wicked man taketh a gift out of the kbosom

lTo pervert the ways of judgment.

24  mWisdom is nbefore him that hath understanding;

But nthe eyes of a fool are in the ends of the earth.

25  gA foolish son is a grief to his father,

And bitterness to nnher that bare him.

26  Also bto opunish the just is not good,

Nor to strike princes for equity.

27  He that hath knowledge oospareth his words:

And a man of understanding is of ||an excellent spirit.

28  Even a fool, pwhen he holdeth his peace, is counted wise:

And he that shutteth his lips is esteemed a man of understanding.