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.

25 *These are also aproverbs of Solomon, which bthe men of Hezekiah king of Judah copied out.

2  It is the glory of God cto conceal a thing:

But the honour of kings is dto search out a matter.

3  The heaven for height, and the earth for depth,

And the heart of kings †is unsearchable.

4  eTake away fthe dross from the silver,

And there shall come forth a vessel for the finer.

5  eTake away gthe wicked from before the king,

And hhis throne shall be established in righteousness.

6  †Put not forth thyself in the presence of the king,

And istand not in the place of great men:

7  jFor better it is that it be said unto thee, Come up hither;

Than that thou shouldest be put lower in the presence of the prince

kWhom thine eyes have seen.

8  lGo not forth hastily to strive,

Lest thou know not what to do in the end thereof,

When thy neighbour hath llput thee to shame.

9  mDebate thy cause with thy neighbour himself;

And ||discover not a secret to another:

10  Lest he that heareth it nput thee to shame,

And thine infamy turn not away.

11  oA word †fitly spoken

Is like papples of gold in qpictures of silver.

12  As ran earring of gold, and an sornament of tfine gold,

uSo is a wise reprover upon an xobedient ear.

13  As the cold of snow in the time of harvest,

So is ya faithful messenger to them that send him:

For he refresheth the soul of his masters.

14  zWhoso boasteth himself †of a false gift

Is like aclouds and wind without rain.

15  bBy clong forbearing is a dprince persuaded,

And a soft tongue breaketh the bone.

16  eHast thou found honey? eat so much as is sufficient for thee,

Lest thou be filled therewith, and fvomit it.

17  ||Withdraw thy foot from thy neighbour’s house;

Lest he be †weary of thee, and so hate thee.

18  A man that gbeareth false witness against his neighbour

Is a maul, and ha sword, and a isharp arrow.

19  Confidence in an unfaithful man in time of trouble

Is like a broken tooth, and ka foot out of joint.

20  As he that ltaketh away a garment in cold weather,

And as vinegar upon mnitre,

So is he nthat singeth songs to an heavy heart.

21  oIf thine enemy be hungry, give him bread to eat;

And if he be thirsty, give him water to drink:

22  For thou shalt pheap qcoals of fire upon his head,

And the Lord shall reward thee.

23  ||The north wind driveth away rain:

So doth an angry countenance a sbackbiting tongue.

24  tIt is better to dwell in the corner of the housetop,

tThan with a brawling woman and in a wide house.

25  As cold waters uto a thirsty soul,

So is wgood news from a far country.

26  A righteous man xfalling down before the wicked

Is as a ytroubled fountain, and a corrupt spring.

27  zIt is not good to eat much honey:

aSo for men bto search their own bcglory is not glory.

28  dHe that hath no rule over his own spirit

Is like a city that is ebroken down, and without walls.

26 As snow in summer, and aas rain in harvest,

bSo honour is not cseemly for a fool.

2  As the dbird by wandering, as the dswallow by flying,

So ethe curse causeless shall not come.

3  fA whip for the horse, a bridle for the ass,

And ga rod for the fool’s back.

4  hAnswer not a fool according to his folly,

Lest thou also be like unto him.

5  iAnswer a fool according to his folly,

Lest he be wise in †his own conceit.

6  He that sendeth a message by the hand of a fool

Cutteth off the feet, and kdrinketh ||damage.

7  The legs of the lame †are not equal:

So is a lparable in the mouth of fools.

8  ||As he that bindeth a stone in a sling,

bSo is he that giveth honour to a fool.

9  As ma thorn goeth up into the hand of a drunkard,

So is a lparable in the mouth of fools.

10  ||The great God that nformed all things

Both rewardeth the fool, and rewardeth transgressors.

11  As pa dog returneth to his vomit,

So qa fool †returneth to his folly.

12  rSeest thou a man wise in his own conceit?

sThere is more hope of a fool than of him.

13  tThe slothful man saith, There is ua lion in the way;

A lion is in the streets.

14  As the door turneth upon his hinges,

So doth the slothful upon his bed.

15  wThe slothful hideth his hand in his bosom;

||It grieveth him to bring it again to his mouth.

16  The sluggard is wiser xin his own conceit

Than yseven men that can zrender a zzreason.

17  He that passeth by, and ||ameddleth with strife belonging not to him,

Is like one that taketh a dog by the ears.

18  As a mad man who casteth †firebrands, arrows, and death,

19  So is the man that deceiveth his neighbour,

And saith, Am not I in sport?

20  †Where no wood is, there the fire goeth out:

So where there is no ||talebearer, bthe strife †ceaseth.

21  As ccoals are to dburning coals, and wood to fire;

So is ea contentious man to kindle strife.

22  fThe words of a talebearer are as wounds,

And they go down into the †innermost parts of the belly.

23  gBurning lips and a wicked heart

Are like a potsherd hcovered with silver idross.

24  He that hateth ||kdissembleth with his lips,

And layeth up deceit within him;

25  lWhen he †speaketh fair, believe him not:

For there are yseven abominations in his heart.

26  Whose ||hatred is covered by deceit,

His wickedness shall be mshewed nbefore the whole congregation.

27  oWhoso diggeth a pit shall fall therein:

And he that rolleth a stone, it will preturn upon him.

28  A lying tongue hateth those that are afflicted by it;

And a flattering mouth worketh ruin.

27 aBoast not thyself of †to morrow;

aFor thou knowest not what a day may bring forth.

2  bLet another man praise thee, and not thine own mouth;

A stranger, and not thine own lips.

3  A stone is †heavy, and cthe sand weighty;

But a ccfool’s wrath is heavier than them both.

4  †Wrath is cruel, and anger is outrageous;

But who is able to stand before ||envy?

5  eOpen rebuke is better than secret love.

6  eFaithful are fthe wounds of a friend;

But the gkisses of an enemy are ||deceitful.

7  The full soul †loatheth han honeycomb;

But to the hungry soul ievery bitter thing is sweet.

8  jAs a bird that wandereth from her nest,

So is a man that wandereth from his place.

9  kOintment and perfume rejoice the heart:

So doth the sweetness of a man’s friend †by lhearty counsel.

10  Thine own friend, and mthy father’s friend, forsake not;

Neither go into thy brother’s house in the day of thy calamity:

For nbetter is a neighbour that is near than a brother far off.