Proverbs 22:17–24:34: The Thirty Sayings of the Wise
Scripture: Berean Standard Bible
Incline your ear and hear the words of the wise—apply your mind to my knowledge—for it is pleasing when you keep them within youand they are constantly on your lips.So that your trust may be in the LORD,I instruct you today—yes, you.Have I not written for you thirty sayingsabout counsel and knowledge,to show you true and reliable words,that you may soundly answer those who sent you?
Do not rob a poor man because he is poor,and do not crush the afflicted at the gate,for the LORD will take up their caseand will plunder those who rob them.
Do not make friends with an angry man,and do not associate with a hot-tempered man,or you may learn his waysand entangle yourself in a snare.
Do not be one who gives pledges,who puts up security for debts.If you have nothing with which to pay,why should your bed be taken from under you?
Do not move an ancient boundary stonewhich your fathers have placed.
Do you see a man skilled in his work?He will be stationed in the presence of kings;he will not stand before obscure men.
When you sit down to dine with a ruler,consider carefully what is set before you,and put a knife to your throatif you possess a great appetite.Do not crave his delicacies,for that food is deceptive.
Do not wear yourself out to get rich;be wise enough to restrain yourself.When you glance at wealth, it disappears,for it makes wings for itselfand flies like an eagle to the sky.
Do not eat the bread of a stingy man,and do not crave his delicacies;for he is keeping track,inwardly counting the cost.“Eat and drink,” he says to you,but his heart is not with you.You will vomit up what little you have eatenand waste your pleasant words.
Do not speak to a fool,for he will despise the wisdom of your words.
Do not move an ancient boundary stoneor encroach on the fields of the fatherless,for their Redeemer is strong;he will take up their case against you.
Apply your heart to instructionand your ears to words of knowledge.
Do not withhold discipline from a child;although you strike him with a rod, he will not die.Strike him with a rod,and you will deliver his soul from Sheol.
My son, if your heart is wise,my own heart will indeed rejoice.My inmost being will rejoicewhen your lips speak what is right.
Do not let your heart envy sinners,but always continue in the fear of the LORD.For surely there is a future,and your hope will not be cut off.
Listen, my son, and be wise,and guide your heart on the right course.Do not join those who drink too much wineor gorge themselves on meat.For the drunkard and the glutton will come to poverty,and drowsiness will clothe them in rags.
Listen to your father who gave you life,and do not despise your mother when she is old.Invest in truth and never sell it—in wisdom and instruction and understanding.The father of a righteous man will greatly rejoice,and he who fathers a wise son will delight in him.May your father and mother be glad,and may she who gave you birth rejoice!
My son, give me your heart,and let your eyes delight in my ways.For a prostitute is a deep pit,and an adulteress is a narrow well.Like a robber she lies in waitand multiplies the faithless among men.
Who has woe? Who has sorrow?Who has contentions? Who has complaints?Who has needless wounds? Who has bloodshot eyes?Those who linger over wine,who go to taste mixed drinks.Do not gaze at wine while it is red,when it sparkles in the cupand goes down smoothly.In the end it bites like a snakeand stings like a viper.Your eyes will see strange things,and your mind will utter perversities.You will be like one sleeping on the high seasor lying on the top of a mast:“They struck me, but I feel no pain!They beat me, but I did not know it!When can I wake upto search for another drink?”
Do not envy wicked menor desire their company;for their hearts devise violence,and their lips declare trouble.
By wisdom a house is builtand by understanding it is established;through knowledge its rooms are filledwith every precious and beautiful treasure.
A wise man is strong,and a man of knowledge enhances his strength.Only with sound guidance should you wage war,and victory lies in a multitude of counselors.
Wisdom is too high for a fool;he does not open his mouth in the meeting place.
He who plots evilwill be called a schemer.A foolish scheme is sin,and a mocker is detestable to men.
If you faint in the day of distress,how small is your strength!Rescue those being led away to death,and restrain those stumbling toward the slaughter.If you say, “Behold, we did not know about this,”does not he who weighs hearts consider it?Does not the One who guards your life know?Will he not repay a man according to his deeds?
Eat honey, my son, for it is good,and the honeycomb is sweet to your taste.Know therefore that wisdom is sweet to your soul.If you find it, there is a future for you,and your hope will never be cut off.
Do not lie in wait, O wicked man, near the dwelling of the righteous;do not destroy his resting place.For though a righteous man may fall seven times, he still gets up;but the wicked stumble in bad times.
Do not gloat when your enemy falls,and do not let your heart rejoice when he stumbles,or the LORD will see and disapprove,and turn his wrath away from him.
Do not fret over evildoers,and do not be envious of the wicked.For the evil man has no future;the lamp of the wicked will be extinguished.
My son, fear the LORD and the king,and do not associate with the rebellious.For they will bring sudden destruction.Who knows what ruin they can bring?
These also are sayings of the wise:
To show partiality in judgmentis not good.Whoever tells the guilty, “You are innocent”—peoples will curse him, and nations will denounce him;but it will go well with those who convict the guilty,and rich blessing will come upon them.
An honest answer givenis like a kiss on the lips.
Complete your outdoor work and prepare your field;after that, you may build your house.
Do not testify against your neighbor without cause,and do not deceive with your lips.Do not say, “I will do to him as he has done to me;I will repay the man according to his work.”
I went past the field of a slackerand by the vineyard of a man lacking judgment.Thorns had grown up everywhere,thistles had covered the ground,and the stone wall was broken down.I observed and took it to heart;I looked and received instruction:A little sleep, a little slumber,a little folding of the hands to rest,and poverty will come upon you like a robber,and need like a bandit.