Proverbs 22:17–24:22

Thirty Sayings of the Wise

Saying 1

¹⁷Pay attention^h and turn your ear to the sayings of the wise;ⁱ

apply your heart to what I teach,^j

¹⁸for it is pleasing when you keep them in your heart

and have all of them ready on your lips.

¹⁹So that your trust may be in the Lord,

I teach you today, even you.

²⁰Have I not written thirty sayings for you,

sayings of counsel and knowledge,

²¹teaching you to be honest and to speak the truth,^k

so that you bring back truthful reports

to those you serve?

Saying 2

²²Do not exploit the poor^l because they are poor

and do not crush the needy in court,^m

²³for the Lord will take up their caseⁿ

and will exact life for life.^o

Saying 3

²⁴Do not make friends with a hot-tempered person,

do not associate with one easily angered,

²⁵or you may learn their ways

and get yourself ensnared.^p

Saying 4

²⁶Do not be one who shakes hands in pledge^q

or puts up security for debts;

²⁷if you lack the means to pay,

your very bed will be snatched from under you.^r

Saying 5

²⁸Do not move an ancient boundary stone^s

set up by your ancestors.

Saying 6

²⁹Do you see someone skilled^t in their work?

They will serve^u before kings;^v

they will not serve before officials of low rank.

Saying 7

23When you sit to dine with a ruler,

note well what^a is before you,

²and put a knife to your throat

if you are given to gluttony.

³Do not crave his delicacies,^w

for that food is deceptive.

Saying 8

⁴Do not wear yourself out to get rich;

do not trust your own cleverness.

⁵Cast but a glance at riches, and they are gone,^x

for they will surely sprout wings

and fly off to the sky like an eagle.^y

Saying 9

⁶Do not eat the food of a begrudging host,

do not crave his delicacies;^z

⁷for he is the kind of person

who is always thinking about the cost.^b

“Eat and drink,” he says to you,

but his heart is not with you.

⁸You will vomit up the little you have eaten

and will have wasted your compliments.

Saying 10

⁹Do not speak to fools,

for they will scorn your prudent words.^a

Saying 11

¹⁰Do not move an ancient boundary stone^b

or encroach on the fields of the fatherless,

¹¹for their Defender^c is strong;^d

he will take up their case against you.^e

Saying 12

¹²Apply your heart to instruction^f

and your ears to words of knowledge.

Saying 13

¹³Do not withhold discipline from a child;

if you punish them with the rod, they will not die.

¹⁴Punish them with the rod

and save them from death.^g

Saying 14

¹⁵My son, if your heart is wise,

then my heart will be glad indeed;

¹⁶my inmost being will rejoice

when your lips speak what is right.^h

Saying 15

¹⁷Do not let your heart envyⁱ sinners,

but always be zealous for the fear of the Lord.

¹⁸There is surely a future hope for you,

and your hope will not be cut off.^j

Saying 16

¹⁹Listen, my son,^k and be wise,

and set your heart on the right path:

²⁰Do not join those who drink too much wine^l

or gorge themselves on meat,

²¹for drunkards and gluttons become poor,^m

and drowsiness clothes them in rags.

Saying 17

²²Listen to your father, who gave you life,

and do not despise your mother when she is old.ⁿ

²³Buy the truth and do not sell it—

wisdom, instruction and insight as well.^o

²⁴The father of a righteous child has great joy;

a man who fathers a wise son rejoices in him.^p

²⁵May your father and mother rejoice;

may she who gave you birth be joyful!^q

Saying 18

²⁶My son,^r give me your heart

and let your eyes delight in my ways,^s

²⁷for an adulterous woman is a deep pit,^t

and a wayward wife is a narrow well.

²⁸Like a bandit she lies in wait^u

and multiplies the unfaithful among men.

Saying 19

²⁹Who has woe? Who has sorrow?

Who has strife? Who has complaints?

Who has needless bruises? Who has bloodshot eyes?

³⁰Those who linger over wine,^v

who go to sample bowls of mixed wine.

³¹Do not gaze at wine when it is red,

when it sparkles in the cup,

when it goes down smoothly!

³²In the end it bites like a snake

and poisons like a viper.

³³Your eyes will see strange sights,

and your mind will imagine confusing things.

³⁴You will be like one sleeping on the high seas,

lying on top of the rigging.

³⁵“They hit me,” you will say, “but I’m not hurt!

They beat me, but I don’t feel it!

When will I wake up

so I can find another drink?”^w

Saying 20

24Do not envy^x the wicked,

do not desire their company;

²for their hearts plot violence,^y

and their lips talk about making trouble.^z

Saying 21

³By wisdom a house is built,^a

and through understanding it is established;

⁴through knowledge its rooms are filled

with rare and beautiful treasures.^b

Saying 22

⁵The wise prevail through great power,

and those who have knowledge muster their strength.

⁶Surely you need guidance to wage war,

and victory is won through many advisers.^c

Saying 23

⁷Wisdom is too high for fools;

in the assembly at the gate they must not open their mouths.

Saying 24

⁸Whoever plots evil

will be known as a schemer.

⁹The schemes of folly are sin,

and people detest a mocker.

Saying 25

¹⁰If you falter in a time of trouble,

how small is your strength!^d

¹¹Rescue those being led away to death;

hold back those staggering toward slaughter.^e

¹²If you say, “But we knew nothing about this,”

does not he who weighs^f the heart perceive it?

Does not he who guards your life know it?

Will he not repay^g everyone according to what they have done?^h

Saying 26

¹³Eat honey, my son, for it is good;

honey from the comb is sweet to your taste.

¹⁴Know also that wisdom is like honey for you:

If you find it, there is a future hope for you,

and your hope will not be cut off.ⁱ

Saying 27

¹⁵Do not lurk like a thief near the house of the righteous,

do not plunder their dwelling place;

¹⁶for though the righteous fall seven times, they rise again,

but the wicked stumble when calamity strikes.^j

Saying 28

¹⁷Do not gloat^k when your enemy falls;

when they stumble, do not let your heart rejoice,^l

¹⁸or the Lord will see and disapprove

and turn his wrath away from them.^m

Saying 29

¹⁹Do not fretⁿ because of evildoers

or be envious of the wicked,

²⁰for the evildoer has no future hope,

and the lamp of the wicked will be snuffed out.^o

Saying 30

²¹Fear the Lord and the king,^p my son,

and do not join with rebellious officials,

²²for those two will send sudden destruction^q on them,

and who knows what calamities they can bring?