Proverbs 22:17–24:34

Sayings of the Wise

¹⁷Listen to the words of the wise;

apply your heart to my instruction.

¹⁸For it is good to keep these sayings in your heart

and always ready on your lips.

¹⁹I am teaching you today—yes, you—

so you will trust in the Lord.

²⁰I have written thirty sayings for you,

filled with advice and knowledge.

²¹In this way, you may know the truth

and take an accurate report to those who sent you.

²²Don’t rob the poor just because you can,

or exploit the needy in court.

²³For the Lord is their defender.

He will ruin anyone who ruins them.

²⁴Don’t befriend angry people

or associate with hot-tempered people,

²⁵or you will learn to be like them

and endanger your soul.

²⁶Don’t agree to guarantee another person’s debt

or put up security for someone else.

²⁷If you can’t pay it,

even your bed will be snatched from under you.

²⁸Don’t cheat your neighbor by moving the ancient boundary markers

set up by previous generations.

²⁹Do you see any truly competent workers?

They will serve kings

rather than working for ordinary people.

Chapter 23

¹While dining with a ruler,

pay attention to what is put before you.

²If you are a big eater,

put a knife to your throat;

³don’t desire all the delicacies,

for he might be trying to trick you.

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

Be wise enough to know when to quit.

⁵In the blink of an eye wealth disappears,

for it will sprout wings

and fly away like an eagle.

⁶Don’t eat with people who are stingy;

don’t desire their delicacies.

⁷They are always thinking about how much it costs.

“Eat and drink,” they say, but they don’t mean it.

⁸You will throw up what little you’ve eaten,

and your compliments will be wasted.

⁹Don’t waste your breath on fools,

for they will despise the wisest advice.

¹⁰Don’t cheat your neighbor by moving the ancient boundary markers;

don’t take the land of defenseless orphans.

¹¹For their Redeemer is strong;

he himself will bring their charges against you.

¹²Commit yourself to instruction;

listen carefully to words of knowledge.

¹³Don’t fail to discipline your children.

The rod of punishment won’t kill them.

¹⁴Physical discipline

may well save them from death.

¹⁵My child, if your heart is wise,

my own heart will rejoice!

¹⁶Everything in me will celebrate

when you speak what is right.

¹⁷Don’t envy sinners,

but always continue to fear the Lord.

¹⁸You will be rewarded for this;

your hope will not be disappointed.

¹⁹My child, listen and be wise:

Keep your heart on the right course.

²⁰Do not carouse with drunkards

or feast with gluttons,

²¹for they are on their way to poverty,

and too much sleep clothes them in rags.

²²Listen to your father, who gave you life,

and don’t despise your mother when she is old.

²³Get the truth and never sell it;

also get wisdom, discipline, and good judgment.

²⁴The father of godly children has cause for joy.

What a pleasure to have children who are wise.

²⁵So give your father and mother joy!

May she who gave you birth be happy.

²⁶O my son, give me your heart.

May your eyes take delight in following my ways.

²⁷A prostitute is a dangerous trap;

a promiscuous woman is as dangerous as falling into a narrow well.

²⁸She hides and waits like a robber,

eager to make more men unfaithful.

²⁹Who has anguish? Who has sorrow?

Who is always fighting? Who is always complaining?

Who has unnecessary bruises? Who has bloodshot eyes?

³⁰It is the one who spends long hours in the taverns,

trying out new drinks.

³¹Don’t gaze at the wine, seeing how red it is,

how it sparkles in the cup, how smoothly it goes down.

³²For in the end it bites like a poisonous snake;

it stings like a viper.

³³You will see hallucinations,

and you will say crazy things.

³⁴You will stagger like a sailor tossed at sea,

clinging to a swaying mast.

³⁵And you will say, “They hit me, but I didn’t feel it.

I didn’t even know it when they beat me up.

When will I wake up

so I can look for another drink?”

Chapter 24

¹Don’t envy evil people

or desire their company.

²For their hearts plot violence,

and their words always stir up trouble.

³A house is built by wisdom

and becomes strong through good sense.

⁴Through knowledge its rooms are filled

with all sorts of precious riches and valuables.

⁵The wise are mightier than the strong,

and those with knowledge grow stronger and stronger.

⁶So don’t go to war without wise guidance;

victory depends on having many advisers.

⁷Wisdom is too lofty for fools.

Among leaders at the city gate, they have nothing to say.

⁸A person who plans evil

will get a reputation as a troublemaker.

⁹The schemes of a fool are sinful;

Everyone detests a mocker.

¹⁰If you fail under pressure,

your strength is too small.

¹¹Rescue those who are unjustly sentenced to die;

save them as they stagger to their death.

¹²Don’t excuse yourself by saying, “Look, we didn’t know.”

For God understands all hearts, and he sees you.

He who guards your soul knows you knew.

He will repay all people as their actions deserve.

¹³My child, eat honey, for it is good,

and the honeycomb is sweet to the taste.

¹⁴In the same way, wisdom is sweet to your soul.

If you find it, you will have a bright future,

and your hopes will not be cut short.

¹⁵Don’t wait in ambush at the home of the godly,

and don’t raid the house where the godly live.

¹⁶The godly may trip seven times, but they will get up again.

But one disaster is enough to overthrow the wicked.

¹⁷Don’t rejoice when your enemies fall;

don’t be happy when they stumble.

¹⁸For the Lord will be displeased with you

and will turn his anger away from them.

¹⁹Don’t fret because of evildoers;

don’t envy the wicked.

²⁰For evil people have no future;

the light of the wicked will be snuffed out.

²¹My child, fear the Lord and the king.

Don’t associate with rebels,

²²for disaster will hit them suddenly.

Who knows what punishment will come

from the Lord and the king?

More Sayings of the Wise

²³Here are some further sayings of the wise:

It is wrong to show favoritism when passing judgment.

²⁴A judge who says to the wicked, “You are innocent,”

will be cursed by many people and denounced by the nations.

²⁵But it will go well for those who convict the guilty;

rich blessings will be showered on them.

²⁶An honest answer

is like a kiss of friendship.

²⁷Do your planning and prepare your fields

before building your house.

²⁸Don’t testify against your neighbors without cause;

don’t lie about them.

²⁹And don’t say, “Now I can pay them back for what they’ve done to me!

I’ll get even with them!”

³⁰I walked by the field of a lazy person,

the vineyard of one with no common sense.

³¹I saw that it was overgrown with nettles.

It was covered with weeds,

and its walls were broken down.

³²Then, as I looked and thought about it,

I learned this lesson:

³³A little extra sleep, a little more slumber,

a little folding of the hands to rest—

³⁴then poverty will pounce on you like a bandit;

scarcity will attack you like an armed robber.