Sayings of the Wise

17 Incline your ear and hear the words of the wise,

And apply your heart to my knowledge;

18 For it is a pleasant thing if you keep them within you;

Let them all be fixed upon your lips,

19 So that your trust may be in the Lord;

I have instructed you today, even you.

20 Have I not written to you excellent things

Of counsels and knowledge,

21 pThat I may make you know the certainty of the words of truth,

qThat you may answer words of truth

To those who 4send to you?

22 Do not rob the rpoor because he is poor,

Nor oppress the afflicted at the gate;

23 sFor the Lord will plead their cause,

And plunder the soul of those who plunder them.

24 Make no friendship with an angry man,

And with a tfurious man do not go,

25 Lest you learn his ways

And set a snare for your soul.

26 uDo not be one of those who 5shakes hands in a pledge,

One of those who is 6surety for debts;

27 If you have nothing with which to pay,

Why should he take away your bed from under you?

28 vDo not remove the ancient 7landmark

Which your fathers have set.

29 Do you see a man who 8excels in his work?

He will stand before kings;

He will not stand before 9unknown men.

23 When you sit down to eat with a ruler,

Consider carefully what is before you;

2 And put a knife to your throat

If you are a man given to appetite.

3 Do not desire his delicacies,

For they are deceptive food.

4 aDo not overwork to be rich;

bBecause of your own understanding, cease!

5 1Will you set your eyes on that which is not?

For riches certainly make themselves wings;

They fly away like an eagle toward heaven.

6 Do not eat the bread of ca 2miser,

Nor desire his delicacies;

7 For as he thinks in his heart, so is he.

“Eat and drink!” dhe says to you,

But his heart is not with you.

8 The morsel you have eaten, you will vomit up,

And waste your pleasant words.

9 eDo not speak in the hearing of a fool,

For he will despise the wisdom of your words.

10 Do not remove the ancient 3landmark,

Nor enter the fields of the fatherless;

11 fFor their Redeemer is mighty;

He will plead their cause against you.

12 Apply your heart to instruction,

And your ears to words of knowledge.

13 gDo not withhold correction from a child,

For if you beat him with a rod, he will not die.

14 You shall beat him with a rod,

And deliver his soul from 4hell.

15 My son, if your heart is wise,

My heart will rejoice—indeed, I myself;

16 Yes, my 5inmost being will rejoice

When your lips speak right things.

17 hDo not let your heart envy sinners,

But ibe zealous for the fear of the Lord all the day;

18 jFor surely there is a 6hereafter,

And your hope will not be cut off.

19 Hear, my son, and be wise;

And guide your heart in the way.

20 kDo not mix with winebibbers,

Or with gluttonous eaters of meat;

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

And drowsiness will clothe a man with rags.

22 lListen to your father who begot you,

And do not despise your mother when she is old.

23 mBuy the truth, and do not sell it,

Also wisdom and instruction and understanding.

24 nThe father of the righteous will greatly rejoice,

And he who begets a wise child will delight in him.

25 Let your father and your mother be glad,

And let her who bore you rejoice.

26 My son, give me your heart,

And let your eyes observe my ways.

27 oFor a harlot is a deep pit,

And a seductress is a narrow well.

28 pShe also lies in wait as for a victim,

And increases the unfaithful among men.

29 qWho has woe?

Who has sorrow?

Who has contentions?

Who has complaints?

Who has wounds without cause?

Who rhas redness of eyes?

30 sThose who linger long at the wine,

Those who go in search of tmixed wine.

31 Do not look on the wine when it is red,

When it sparkles in the cup,

When it 7swirls around smoothly;

32 At the last it bites like a serpent,

And stings like a viper.

33 Your eyes will see strange things,

And your heart will utter perverse things.

34 Yes, you will be like one who lies down in the 8midst of the sea,

Or like one who lies at the top of the mast, saying:

35 “They uhave struck me, but I was not hurt;

They have beaten me, but I did not feel it.

When shall vI awake, that I may seek another drink?”

24 Do not be aenvious of evil men, Nor desire to be with them;

2 For their heart devises violence,

And their lips talk of troublemaking.

3 Through wisdom a house is built,

And by understanding it is established;

4 By knowledge the rooms are filled

With all precious and pleasant riches.

5 bA wise man is strong,

Yes, a man of knowledge increases strength;

6 cFor by wise counsel you will wage your own war,

And in a multitude of counselors there is safety.

7 dWisdom is too lofty for a fool;

He does not open his mouth in the gate.

8 He who eplots to do evil

Will be called a 1schemer.

9 The devising of foolishness is sin,

And the scoffer is an abomination to men.

10 If you ffaint in the day of adversity,

Your strength is small.

11 gDeliver those who are drawn toward death,

And hold back those stumbling to the slaughter.

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

Does not hHe who weighs the hearts consider it?

He who keeps your soul, does He not know it?

And will He not render to each man iaccording to his deeds?

13 My son, jeat honey because it is good,

And the honeycomb which is sweet to your taste;

14 kSo shall the knowledge of wisdom be to your soul;

If you have found it, there is a 2prospect,

And your hope will not be cut off.

15 Do not lie in wait, O wicked man, against the dwelling of the righteous;

Do not plunder his resting place;

16 lFor a righteous man may fall seven times

And rise again,

mBut the wicked shall fall by calamity.

17 nDo not rejoice when your enemy falls,

And do not let your heart be glad when he stumbles;

18 Lest the Lord see it, and 3it displease Him,

And He turn away His wrath from him.

19 oDo not fret because of evildoers,

Nor be envious of the wicked;

20 For there will be no prospect for the evil man;

The lamp of the wicked will be put out.

21 My son, pfear the Lord and the king;

Do not associate with those given to change;

22 For their calamity will rise suddenly,

And who knows the ruin those two can bring?