Proverbs 22:17–24:22

Words of the Wise

^17pIncline your ear, and hear ^qthe words of the wise,

^rand apply your heart to my knowledge,

¹⁸for it will be pleasant if you keep them within you,

if all of them are ready on your lips.

¹⁹That your trust may be in the Lord,

I have made them known to you today, even to you.

²⁰Have I not written for you ^sthirty sayings

of counsel and knowledge,

²¹to ^tmake you know what is right and true,

that you may give a true answer to those who sent you?

^22uDo not rob the poor, because he is poor,

or ^vcrush the afflicted at ^wthe gate,

²³for ^xthe Lord will plead their cause

and rob of life those who rob them.

²⁴Make no friendship with a man given to anger,

nor go with a wrathful man,

²⁵lest you learn his ways

and entangle yourself in a snare.

²⁶Be not one of those who ^ygive pledges,

who put up security for debts.

²⁷If you have nothing with which to pay,

why should ^zyour bed be taken from under you?

²⁸Do not move the ancient ^alandmark

that your fathers have set.

²⁹Do you see a man skillful in his work?

He will ^bstand before kings;

he will not stand before obscure men.

23When you sit down to eat with a ruler,

observe carefully what¹ is before you,

²and put a knife to your throat

if you are given to appetite.

^3cDo not desire his delicacies,

for they are deceptive food.

^4dDo not toil to acquire wealth;

^ebe discerning enough to desist.

⁵When your eyes light on it, it is gone,

^ffor suddenly it sprouts wings,

flying like an eagle toward heaven.

^6gDo not eat the bread of a man who is ^hstingy;²

ⁱdo not desire his delicacies,

⁷for he is like one who is inwardly calculating.³

“Eat and drink!” he says to you,

but his ^jheart is not with you.

⁸You will vomit up the morsels that you have eaten,

and waste your pleasant words.

⁹Do not speak in the hearing of a fool,

for he will despise the good sense of your words.

^10kDo not move an ancient landmark

or enter the fields of the fatherless,

¹¹for their ^lRedeemer is strong;

he will ^mplead their cause against you.

¹²Apply your heart to instruction

and your ear to words of knowledge.

¹³Do not withhold ⁿdiscipline from a child;

^oif you strike him with a rod, he will not die.

¹⁴If you strike him with the rod,

you will ^psave his soul from Sheol.

^15qMy son, if your heart is wise,

my heart too will be glad.

¹⁶My ^rinmost being⁴ will exult

when your lips speak ^swhat is right.

¹⁷Let not your heart ^tenvy sinners,

but continue in ^uthe fear of the Lord all the day.

¹⁸Surely ^vthere is a future,

and your ^whope will not be cut off.

¹⁹Hear, my son, and ^xbe wise,

and ^ydirect your heart in the way.

²⁰Be not among ^zdrunkards⁵

or among ^agluttonous eaters of meat,

²¹for the drunkard and the glutton will come to poverty,

and ^bslumber will clothe them with rags.

^22cListen to your father who gave you life,

^dand do not despise your mother when she is old.

^23eBuy truth, and do not sell it;

buy wisdom, instruction, and understanding.

^24fThe father of the righteous will greatly rejoice;

he who fathers a wise son will be glad in him.

^25fLet your father and mother be glad;

let ^gher who bore you rejoice.

²⁶My son, give me your heart,

and let your eyes observe⁶ my ways.

²⁷For a prostitute is ^ha deep pit;

ⁱan adulteress⁷ is a narrow ^jwell.

^28kShe lies in wait like a robber

and increases the traitors among mankind.

^29lWho has woe? Who has sorrow?

Who has strife? Who has complaining?

Who has ^mwounds without cause?

Who has ⁿredness of eyes?

³⁰Those who ^otarry long over wine;

those who go to try ^pmixed wine.

³¹Do not look at wine when it is red,

when it sparkles in the cup

and goes down smoothly.

³²In the end it ^qbites like a serpent

and stings like an adder.

³³Your eyes will see strange things,

and your heart utter ^rperverse things.

³⁴You will be like one who lies down in the midst of the sea,

like one who lies on the top of a mast.⁸

³⁵“They ^sstruck me,” you will say,⁹ “but I was not hurt;

they beat me, but I did not feel it.

When shall I awake?

I ^tmust have another drink.”

24Be not ^uenvious of evil men,

nor desire to be ^vwith them,

²for their hearts ^wdevise violence,

and their lips ^xtalk of trouble.

³By ^ywisdom a house is built,

and by understanding it is established;

⁴by knowledge the rooms are filled

with all ^zprecious and pleasant riches.

^5aA wise man is full of strength,

and a man of knowledge enhances his might,

⁶for by ^bwise guidance you can wage your war,

and in ^cabundance of counselors there is victory.

⁷Wisdom is ^dtoo high for a fool;

in ^ethe gate he does not open his mouth.

⁸Whoever ^fplans to do evil

will be called a schemer.

^9gThe devising¹ of folly is sin,

and ^hthe scoffer is an abomination to mankind.

¹⁰If you ⁱfaint in the day of adversity,

your strength is small.

^11jRescue those who are being taken away to death;

hold back those who are stumbling to the slaughter.

¹²If you say, “Behold, we did not know this,”

^kdoes not he who ^lweighs the heart perceive it?

Does not he who ^mkeeps watch over your soul know it,

and will he not repay man ⁿaccording to his work?

¹³My son, ^oeat honey, for it is good,

and ^pthe drippings of the honeycomb are sweet to your taste.

¹⁴Know that wisdom is such to your soul;

if you find it, there will be ^qa future,

and your hope will not be cut off.

^15rLie not in wait as a wicked man against the dwelling of the righteous;

do no violence to his home;

^16sfor the righteous falls ^tseven times and rises again,

but ^uthe wicked stumble in times of calamity.

^17vDo not rejoice when your enemy falls,

and let not your heart be glad when he stumbles,

¹⁸lest the Lord see it and be displeased,

and turn away his anger from him.

^19wFret not yourself because of evildoers,

and be not ^xenvious of the wicked,

²⁰for the evil man has no ^qfuture;

^ythe lamp of the wicked will be put out.

²¹My son, ^zfear the Lord and the king,

and do not join with those who do otherwise,

²²for disaster will arise suddenly from them,

and who knows the ruin that will come from them both?