Proverbs 22:17–24:34

Other Wise Sayings

¹⁷Listen carefully to what wise people say;

pay attention to what I am teaching you.

¹⁸It will be good to keep these things in mind

so that you are ready to repeat them.

¹⁹I am teaching them to you now

so that you will put your trust in the Lord.

²⁰I have written thirty sayings for you,

which give knowledge and good advice.

²¹I am teaching you true and reliable words

so that you can give true answers to anyone who asks.

²²Do not abuse poor people because they are poor,

and do not take away the rights of the needy in court.

²³The Lord will defend them in court

and will take the life of those who take away their rights.

²⁴Don’t make friends with quick-tempered people

or spend time with those who have bad tempers.

²⁵If you do, you will be like them.

Then you will be in real danger.

²⁶Don’t promise to pay what someone else owes,

and don’t guarantee anyone’s loan.

²⁷If you cannot pay the loan,

your own bed may be taken right out from under you.

²⁸Don’t move an old stone that marks a border,

because those stones were set up by your ancestors.

²⁹Do you see people skilled in their work?

They will work for kings, not for ordinary people.

23If you sit down to eat with a ruler,

notice the food that is in front of you.

²Control yourself

if you have a big appetite.

³Don’t be greedy for his fine foods,

because that food might be a trick.

⁴Don’t wear yourself out trying to get rich;

be wise enough to control yourself.

⁵Wealth can vanish in the wink of an eye.

It can seem to grow wings

and fly away like an eagle.

⁶Don’t eat the food of selfish people;

don’t be greedy for their fine foods.

⁷Selfish people are always worrying

about how much the food costs.

They tell you, “Eat and drink,”

but they don’t really mean it.

⁸You will throw up the little you have eaten,

and you will have wasted your kind words.

⁹Don’t speak to fools;

they will only ignore your wise words.

¹⁰Don’t move an old stone that marks a border,

and don’t take fields that belong to orphans.

¹¹God, their defender, is strong;

he will take their side against you.

¹²Remember what you are taught,

and listen carefully to words of knowledge.

¹³Don’t fail to punish children.

If you spank them, they won’t die.

¹⁴If you spank them,

you will save them from death.

¹⁵My child, if you are wise,

then I will be happy.

¹⁶I will be so pleased

if you speak what is right.

¹⁷Don’t envy sinners,

but always respect the Lord.

¹⁸Then you will have hope for the future,

and your wishes will come true.

¹⁹Listen, my child, and be wise.

Keep your mind on what is right.

²⁰Don’t drink too much wine

or eat too much food.

²¹Those who drink and eat too much become poor.

They sleep too much and end up wearing rags.

²²Listen to your father, who gave you life,

and do not forget your mother when she is old.

²³Learn the truth and never reject it.

Get wisdom, self-control, and understanding.

²⁴The father of a good child is very happy;

parents who have wise children are glad because of them.

²⁵Make your father and mother happy;

give your mother a reason to be glad.

²⁶My son, pay attention to me,

and watch closely what I do.

²⁷A prostitute is as dangerous as a deep pit,

and an unfaithful wife is like a narrow well.

²⁸They ambush you like robbers

and cause many men to be unfaithful to their wives.

²⁹Who has trouble? Who has pain?

Who fights? Who complains?

Who has unnecessary bruises?

Who has bloodshot eyes?

³⁰It is people who drink too much wine,

who try out all different kinds of strong drinks.

³¹Don’t stare at the wine when it is red,

when it sparkles in the cup,

when it goes down smoothly.

³²Later it bites like a snake

with poison in its fangs.

³³Your eyes will see strange sights,

and your mind will be confused.

³⁴You will feel dizzy as if you’re in a storm on the ocean,

as if you’re on top of a ship’s sails.

³⁵You will think, “They hit me, but I’m not hurt.

They beat me up, but I don’t remember it.

I wish I could wake up.

Then I would get another drink.”

24Don’t envy evil people

or try to be friends with them.

²Their minds are always planning violence,

and they always talk about making trouble.

³It takes wisdom to have a good family,

and it takes understanding to make it strong.

⁴It takes knowledge to fill a home

with rare and beautiful treasures.

⁵Wise people have great power,

and those with knowledge have great strength.

⁶So you need advice when you go to war.

If you have lots of good advice, you will win.

⁷Foolish people cannot understand wisdom.

They have nothing to say in a discussion.

⁸Whoever makes evil plans

will be known as a troublemaker.

⁹Making foolish plans is sinful,

and making fun of wisdom is hateful.

¹⁰If you give up when trouble comes,

it shows that you are weak.

¹¹Save those who are being led to their death;

rescue those who are about to be killed.

¹²If you say, “We don’t know anything about this,”

God, who knows what’s in your mind, will notice.

He is watching you, and he will know.

He will reward each person for what he has done.

¹³My child, eat honey because it is good.

Honey from the honeycomb tastes sweet.

¹⁴In the same way, wisdom is pleasing to you.

If you find it, you have hope for the future,

and your wishes will come true.

¹⁵Don’t be wicked and attack a good family’s house;

don’t rob the place where they live.

¹⁶Even though good people may be bothered by trouble seven times, they are never defeated,

but the wicked are overwhelmed by trouble.

¹⁷Don’t be happy when your enemy is defeated;

don’t be glad when he is overwhelmed.

¹⁸The Lord will notice and be displeased.

He may not be angry with them anymore.

¹⁹Don’t envy evil people,

and don’t be jealous of the wicked.

²⁰An evil person has nothing to hope for;

the wicked will die like a flame that is put out.

²¹My child, respect the Lord and the king.

Don’t join those people who refuse to obey them.

²²The Lord and the king will quickly destroy such people.

Those two can cause great disaster!

More Words of Wisdom

²³These are also sayings of the wise:

It is not good to take sides when you are the judge.

²⁴Don’t tell the wicked that they are innocent;

people will curse you, and nations will hate you.

²⁵But things will go well if you punish the guilty,

and you will receive rich blessings.

²⁶An honest answer is as pleasing

as a kiss on the lips.

²⁷First, finish your outside work

and prepare your fields.

After that, you can build your house.

²⁸Don’t testify against your neighbor for no good reason.

Don’t say things that are false.

²⁹Don’t say, “I’ll get even;

I’ll do to him what he did to me.”

³⁰I passed by a lazy person’s field

and by the vineyard of someone with no sense.

³¹Thorns had grown up everywhere.

The ground was covered with weeds,

and the stone walls had fallen down.

³²I thought about what I had seen;

I learned this lesson from what I saw.

³³You sleep a little; you take a nap.

You fold your hands and lie down to rest.

³⁴Soon you will be as poor as if you had been robbed;

you will have as little as if you had been held up.