Proverbs

11{These are} the wise sayings said by Solomon. {He was} David’s son and Israel’s king.

2{These wise sayings are} for knowing what is wise and instructive.

{They are} for understanding insightful things that people say.

3{These wise sayings are} for instructing someone about what is insightful,

righteous, just, and honest.

4{They are} for making naive people prudent,

and {for making} young people knowledgeable and discreet.

5(Wise people will listen {to these wise sayings} and learn more.

Indeed, understanding people will know {what to do} because these sayings will guide them.)

6{These wise sayings are} for understanding wise sayings and parables.

{Indeed, they are for understanding} what wise people say and the riddles they tell.

7Reverently fearing Yahweh is necessary for being knowledgeable.

{But} foolish people detest what is wise or instructive.

8My child, listen carefully to what I, your father, am teaching you.

Indeed, obey the rules that your mother has commanded.

9{Obey your parents’ teaching} because it {will make you respectable, as if it} were an attractive wreath on your head,

or beautiful necklaces around your neck.

10My child, if sinful people tempt you {to sin with them},

refuse {to do so}.

11Those sinful people may say, “Join us!

We will hide and wait in order to kill someone {who walks by}.

Indeed, we will hide ourselves in order to suddenly attack an innocent person for no good reason.

12We will kill living people completely, as if we were death itself.

{We will even kill} healthy people, as if they could not escape dying.

13We will discover many valuable treasures!

We will fill our houses with what we steal!

14Join our gang!

We will share all the loot between us.”

15My child, do not associate with those sinful people!

Prevent yourself from doing anything they do!

16{Avoid those sinners} because they are eager to do wicked things.

They even rush to murder people.

17It is useless {for a hunter} to put out a net {to trap a bird}

while the bird is watching {because the bird will avoid the net}.

18However, {these sinful people are more foolish than birds.} They {actually} hide in wait, so that they kill themselves.

Indeed, they hide themselves to suddenly attack, so that they die.

19That is what happens to anyone who gains wealth in an unjust manner.

What they gained unjustly will kill them.

20What is wise {is like a woman who} calls out {to everyone} in public.

Indeed, what is wise {is like a woman who} shouts {to people} in crowded places.

21Indeed, at the place where busy streets intersect she cries out.

Indeed, at the {crowded} entrance of the city gates she speaks.

22She cries, “You naive people have loved being naive for too long!

You people who ridicule have enjoyed ridiculing to benefit yourselves for too long!

You foolish people have hated what you should know for too long!

23Turn around {and listen} to me when I correct you!

Pay attention! I will tell you all that I am thinking.

Indeed, I will help you understand what I am saying to you.

24I cried out {to you}, but you refused {to listen}.

Indeed, I invited you to come to me,

but no one paid any attention {to me}.

25You ignored everything I advised {you to do}.

Indeed, you rejected what I said to correct you.

26Therefore, as for me, I will laugh at you when disastrous things happen to you.

Indeed, I will ridicule you when you are terrified.

27{I will ridicule you} when you are terrified, as if a violent storm has arrived,

{when} disastrous things happen to you violently,

{and} when you become distressed and anguished!

28At that time, those foolish people will cry out to me {to help them},

but I will not reply {to them}.

Indeed, they will desperately try to find me,

but they will not be able to.

29{Those foolish people will not find me} because they refuse to be knowledgeable.

They have also decided not to reverently fear Yahweh.

30Those foolish people rejected what I advised {them to do}.

Indeed, they detested everything I said to correct them.

31Those foolish people will suffer rightly for what they have done.

Indeed, they will suffer fully for what they have planned.

32Ultimately, naive people will die because they refuse {to be wise}.

Indeed, being complacent will destroy foolish people.

33By contrast, people who listen attentively to what I say will live safely.

They will not fear that something evil might happen to them.”

21My child, accept what I say.

Consider what I command {you} to be precious.

2{Do this by} listening attentively to what is wise,

{and by} thinking seriously about what you should understand.

3Yes, cry out to learn what you should understand.

Cry loudly to learn what you should perceive!

4Try to learn what is wise, like you would try to find silver.

Indeed, look eagerly for it, like you would look for a treasure that someone has hidden.

5{If you do those things,} then you will understand how to reverently fear Yahweh.

You will even succeed in knowing God.

6{This is} because Yahweh provides people with what is wise.

He tells them what they should know and understand.

7He gives what is truly wise to upright people.

He protects people who behave honestly.

8{He does these things} in order to guard those people who live justly.

Indeed, he keeps safe those people who are faithful to him.

9{If you listen to me,} then you will understand what is righteous, just, and honest,

{even} the best way to behave.

10{This is because} you will truly know what is wise,

and knowing what you should know will please you.

11Being discreet will make you safe.

Indeed, being insightful will make you secure.

12{Being like this will protect you} in order to save you from people who behave wickedly

{and save you} from people who speak perversely.

13Those people refuse to behave righteously in order to behave wickedly.

14They gladly do evil things.

They enjoy evil and perverse acts.

15They behave deceptively.

Indeed, they act deviously.

16{Being discreet and insightful will protect you also} in order to save you from adulterous women,

{and to save you} from immoral women who speak {to you} seductively.

17Those women left the husbands they married when they were young.

They even forgot what they had promised to God {when they married}.

18{Being discreet and insightful will rescue you} because {going to} such a woman’s house will result in you dying.

Indeed, going with her will result in you going to the place where the spirits of dead people are.

19No one who acts adulterously with her will live again.

They will never become alive again!

20Therefore, behave like a good person.

Indeed, conduct yourself like a righteous person.

21Ultimately, people who live uprightly will live in our land,

Indeed, people whom Yahweh does not blame {for acting wickedly} will stay in this land for a long time.

22By contrast, Yahweh will remove people who act wickedly from our land.

Yahweh will completely remove people who act treacherously from this land!

31My child, remember the rules I have taught you!

Always be mindful to obey what I have commanded you!

2{Do this} because {obeying} what I have commanded you will help you live for a long time with many fulfilling and peaceful years.

3Always be faithful and trustworthy.

Let everyone see {how faithful and trustworthy you are, as if} they were a necklace you are wearing.

Remember to be faithful and trustworthy at all times.

4As a result of doing so, both God and people will approve of you and think well of you.

5Trust Yahweh completely,

and do not rely on what you understand.

6Remember Yahweh whenever you do anything.

As a result {of doing so}, he will show you what you should do.

7Do not think that you are wise.

Instead, reverently fear Yahweh and refuse to do what is evil.

8Doing so will make your body healthy.

Indeed, {doing so} will refresh you.

9Revere Yahweh {by giving to him} some of your riches,

{even by giving to him} some of the first {crops} from everything that you harvest.

10{Doing so} will result in your places for storing crops becoming abundantly full {of crops}.

Even your containers for wine will overflow with fresh wine.

11My child, do not refuse to listen when Yahweh corrects you.

Do not be resentful even when he rebukes you.

12{Do not do so} because Yahweh only reproves the people whom he loves.

He is similar to a father who reproves the child whom he likes.

13People who gain what is wise are happy.

Indeed, people who gain what they should understand {are truly happy}.

14{This is} because being wise profits people more than silver {could profit them}.

Indeed, being wise benefits people more than gold {could benefit them}.

15Being wise is more valuable than precious jewels.

There is nothing you could desire that is worth as much as being wise.

16Being wise will help you live for a long time.

Being wise will help you become wealthy and honorable.

17Being wise will make you live pleasantly.

Indeed, in every way being wise will make you live peacefully.

18What is wise is {like} a tree {with fruit} that keeps alive the people who hold on to it,

People who are consistently wise live happily.

19Yahweh made the world by using what is wise.

He made the sky by using what he understands.

20According to what Yahweh understands, water flowed forth from deep {below the earth} and water fell from the clouds {above}.

21My child, always remember to do what is prudent and discreet.

Always be mindful to do those things.

22Doing so will help you live for a long time

and will make you {respectable, as if you had} an attractive necklace around your neck.

23Doing so will {also} cause you to live safely.

You will not even get hurt.

24When you lie down {to sleep}, you will not fear anything.

You will even lie down {to sleep} and sleep peacefully.

25Do not worry about something terrible suddenly happening {to you},

or about {what will happen} when God destroys wicked people.

26{Do not worry} because Yahweh will make you confident.

He will not allow people to harm you.

27Do not refrain from giving what is good to people who deserve it

when you are able to do so.

28When you have something {that someone you know needs}, do not tell that person,

“Go away and come back later. I will give it to you then.”

29Do not plan to harm anyone, even someone who lives nearby and trusts you.

30Do not argue needlessly with someone who has not harmed you.

31Do not envy violent people.

Do not imitate anything they do.

32{Do not do so} because Yahweh detests {such} people who act wickedly,

but he converses like a friend with people who act uprightly.

33Yahweh causes bad things to happen to the families of wicked people,

but he causes good things to happen to the families of righteous people.

34Yahweh is the one who ridicules people who ridicule {others},

but he approves of people who are humble.

35People will honor wise people,

but will shame foolish people.

41Children, listen carefully to what I, your father, am teaching you.

Pay attention in order to learn what you should understand.

2{Do this} because what I am teaching you is good.

{So} remember the rules that I am teaching you.

3I was once my father’s boy,

{and} my mother considered me to be her delicate, only son.

4During that time, my father taught me. He told me,

“Remember what I have told you!

Do what I have commanded you, so that you will keep on living!

5Obtain what is wise and what you should understand!

Always remember what I have spoken to you!

6Remember what is wise, so that it will be like a woman who keeps you safe.

Love what is wise, so that it will be like a woman who protects you.

7Being wise is the most important thing! {So} obtain what is wise!

{Even if} it costs you everything that you own, obtain what you should understand!

8Prize what is wise, so that you will become great.

People will honor you when you value what is wise.

9Being wise {will make you respectable, as if it} put an attractive wreath on your head.

Indeed, being wise {will make you honorable, as if it} gave you a magnificent crown.”

10My child, listen attentively and accept what I say.

Doing so will increase the number of years that you live.

11I instructed you in how to act wisely.

I directed you in how to act uprightly.

12When you do something, nothing will prevent you {from succeeding}.

Indeed, if you do anything, you will succeed.

13Consistently remember the things I have instructed you;

keep remembering them!

Always be mindful of them, because they will keep you alive.

14Do not do what wicked people do.

Indeed, do not act like evil people act.

15Shun doing what is evil. Do not even consider doing it!

Refuse to act wickedly and do something else.

16{Do not act wickedly} because {it is as if} evil people cannot even sleep unless they do something evil;

{it is as if} they cannot rest unless they hurt someone.

17{Do not act wickedly} because evil people do wicked things as if they were eating food;

they violently hurt others as if they were drinking wine.

18As for righteous people, {they will live wisely and safely} like the light of the sun at dawn.

{They will live more and more wisely and safely as} the sun shines brighter and brighter until the brightest time of day.

19{But} wicked people {live dangerously} like people {who walk} in total darkness.

{Like people walking in darkness do not know} what they trip over, they do not know {what hurts them}.

20My child, pay attention to what I am saying to you!

Listen carefully to what I say!

21Always remember what I say!

Fully commit yourself to remembering such things!

22{Do this} because those who do so will live {for a long time},

even their whole bodies will be healthy.

23Be extremely careful about what you think,

because what you think will control how you live.

24Do not say anything that deceives people.

Indeed, never say anything that misleads people.

25{Focus on doing what is right, like} someone who is always looking straight ahead.

Indeed, {act like} someone who is looking straight in front of himself.

26Carefully consider what you do.

As a result {of doing so}, you will succeed in everything that you do.

27Do not do anything other than what is right.

Prevent yourself from doing what is evil.

51My son, pay attention to the wise things that I tell you!

Listen carefully to what I say you should understand!

2{Do this} so that you may remain discreet,

and you may preserve what you know when you speak.

3{Do this} because what adulterous women say seems delightful like honey

and more pleasing than olive oil.

4However, being with such a woman will result in you being miserable, as if you had eaten a bitter plant.

{You will suffer} like a person whom someone has cut with a sharp, double-edged sword.

5{Being with such a woman will result in both of you dying} as if she were leading you to where dead people are.

Indeed, what she does will cause you both to die.

6She does not want to do what will cause her to live for a long time.

She does not realize that she {lives precariously like someone who} is walking on an uneven path.

7So now, children, pay attention to what I say!

Always remember what I have spoken to you!

8Stay far away from any adulterous woman!

Do not even go near the door of the place where such a woman dwells!

9If you go to such a woman, people will weaken you,

and some merciless person will take away {what you have gained in} the best time of your life.

10If you go to such a woman, people you do not know will satisfy themselves with {what you gained} when you were strong,

and some foreign person will fill his house with what you labored to gain.

11Then you will groan when you are about to die

and have worn out your whole body.

12Then you will say, “I hated it extremely when people corrected me!

Indeed, I scorned people when they rebuked me!

13I did not obey the people who taught me.

Indeed, I did not listen carefully to the people who instructed me.

14I almost utterly disgraced myself in public.”

15{So be like} someone who only drinks water from his own well;

have sex with your wife only.

16{Do not be like} someone who lets his water run out into the streets;

never have sex with other women!

17Only have sex with your own wife!

Do not have sex with other women!

18Be happy with your wife;

rejoice with the woman whom you married when you were young.

19{She is as beautiful as} a loving deer and {as graceful as} a mountain goat.

Let how attractive she is always satisfy you.

Constantly be exhilarated by how she loves you.

20My son, you should never be exhilarated by an adulterous woman!

You should never passionately caress an immoral woman!

21{Never do that] because Yahweh fully knows what people do.

Indeed, he knows everything that people do.

22The wicked things that wicked people do are {like} traps that catch them;

the sinful things they do are {like] ropes that tie them down.

23Those wicked people will die because they did not discipline themselves.

They will do what kills them because they are extremely foolish.

61My child, if you guarantee to pay a loan for someone you know,

{or if} you agree to pay a loan for someone you do not know,

2{or if} you have troubled yourself by promising to do something,

{and} you cannot fulfill what you promised,

3then, my child, do this in order to save yourself {from what you have troubled yourself with}:

humbly go to that person you know and beg him {to cancel what you have promised} because he controls you.

4Do not sleep,

do not even rest {until you go and talk to him}.

5Save yourself {immediately},

as if you were a deer fleeing from a hunter

or a bird fleeing from a trapper.

6You lazy person, go watch ants!

Consider what ants do so that you can be wise.

7Absolutely no one tells ants what to do.

8{Nevertheless,} at the right time they store their food {to eat during the winter}.

Indeed, when people harvest crops, the ants collect what they will {later} eat.

9{But} you lazy person, stop sleeping!

Wake up!

10{You say to yourself,} “Let me sleep just a little more!

Let me lay my hands {across my chest} in order to rest comfortably for a little while longer!”

11{Being so lazy} will result in you suddenly becoming poor and needy

as if a thief has robbed you.

12Worthless people who act sinfully constantly deceive people by what they say.

13They gesture with their bodies to deceive people.

14They are always thinking perversely while planning how to do evil things.

They cause people to argue {with each other}.

15Because of this, disastrous things will suddenly happen to those people.

Someone will destroy them instantly and they will not be able to recover.

16Yahweh absolutely hates six, no, seven things:

17being proud, speaking falsely,

someone who murders a person who has not done anything wrong,

18someone who plans ways to act sinfully,

someone who is eager to act wickedly,

19someone who easily lies when testifying,

and someone who causes members of the same family to argue.

20My child, be mindful to obey what I, your father, have commanded {you}.

Indeed, obey the rules that your mother has commanded.

21Remember what we have taught you as if it were always a part of you.

Indeed, {remember these lessons as if} you wore them like a necklace.

22What we have taught you will cause you to know what you should do each day.

It will cause you to be safe when you sleep.

It will even be instructive for you when you wake up {in the morning}.

23{This is so} because what I have commanded {you} is {like} a lamp {for you}.

Indeed, the rules {we taught you} are {like} a light {to guide you}.

When we rebuke you while instructing you, {we do that} so that you can do what will keep you alive.

24{We taught you these lessons} in order to prevent you from {going to} wicked women,

{and to prevent you} from {believing} what immoral women say seductively.

25Do not think lustfully about her beautiful body.

Do not let her seduce you by the {flirtatious} way she looks at you.

26{Do not do so} because, although having sex with a prostitute only costs you the price of a cheap meal,

an {adulterous} married woman will cause you to die.

27Fire will surely burn people who put it on their chests!

28Burning coals will surely burn the feet of people who step on them!

29It is similar with anyone who acts adulterously with a married woman.

People will certainly punish anyone who does that.

30Nobody hates people who steal if they steal {food} in order to feed themselves when they are hungry.

31Nevertheless, if people catch thieves, those thieves must pay back seven times {as much as they stole to those whom they stole from}.

They must give everything that they have {in order to repay what they stole}.

32By contrast, a man who acts adulterously with a woman does not think wisely.

What he does will kill him!

33Someone will injure and disgrace him,

and he will always be ashamed.

34{This is so} because the jealous husband will become furious.

He will act mercilessly when he revenges himself {on the man who acted adulterously with his wife}.

35That jealous husband will not accept any money {to stop being furious},

no matter how much money you offer him.

71My son, obey what I have told you.

Sincerely consider what I have commanded {you} to be precious.

2Do what I have commanded {you}, so that you will keep on living.

Consider the rules I have taught you to be the most precious things you possess.

3{Always remember what I have commanded you as if} it were tied around your fingers.

Remember it at all times!

4Love what is wise as if it were your sister.

Indeed, love what you should understand as if it were a close relative.

5{Do this} so that you will be able to stay away from adulterous women,

and {stay away} from immoral women who speak {to you} seductively.

6{I was} once {standing} near the window {in my house},

and I looked down {from above the street} through the shutters on the window.

7Then I observed {someone} among the naive people.

I noticed among the youths a young man who does not think wisely.

8He walked down the street near the corner of {the road where} the adulterous woman {dwells}.

Then he walked toward the place where she dwelled.

9(It was the time of day when night begins, {and then} it became dark.)

10Suddenly an adulterous woman approached the young man.

She was wearing a prostitute’s clothing and intended to deceive {the young man}.

11(That woman spoke loudly and acted rebelliously.

She never stayed at home.

12She {often} walked around the streets and public places.

At the corner of any road she waited for someone whom she could seduce.)

13When {she saw the young man}, she firmly took hold of him and kissed him.

She shamelessly told {him},

14“Today {I have meat in my house, because} I sacrificed an animal {in the temple} to promise friendship {with Yahweh}.

{In this way} I did what I had vowed to do.

15So I have come out here to meet you.

{I have come out} to look everywhere for you, and now I have found you!

16I have covered my bed with expensive Egyptian fabric.

17I have put pleasant-smelling perfumes on my bed:

myrrh, aloes, and cinnamon.

18Come {with me}! Let us satisfy ourselves sexually all night!

Let us enjoy ourselves sexually!

19{Come with me} because my husband is not at home.

He has gone away on a long journey.

20He filled a bag with money and took it with him.

He will not return home until the middle of the month.”

21{Thus} that adulterous woman persuaded the young man by speaking so persuasively;

by speaking seductively she allured him {into doing what she wanted to do}.

22He quickly followed her {to her home}.

He {unknowingly} went to die like an ox going to the place where its owner will kill it.

{He went to die} like a foolish person {who goes} in fetters to be punished

23until {someone kills him by} shooting an arrow into his entrails.

{He went to die quickly} like a bird that flies into a trap.

He did not realize that going with the adulterous woman would cause him to die.

24So now, children, pay attention to what I say!

Pay careful attention to what I have spoken to you!

25Do not decide to do what adulterous women do.

Indeed, never act like them!

26{Do not do so} because they have killed many men who are {now} slain.

They have slain so many men!

27{Going to} an adulterous woman’s house is doing something that will result in that person dying.

{Doing that} will result in that person going to the place where the spirits of dead people are.

81What is wise {is surely like a woman who} calls out {to everyone}.

Indeed, what people should understand {is surely like a woman who} shouts {to people}.

2What is wise {is like a woman who} stands at the highest place along the crowded streets {where everyone can hear her}.

3What is wise {is like a woman who} cries out next to the gates at the entrance to a city.

4{She proclaims:} “I am calling out to all of you!

I am speaking to all people!

5You naive people must comprehend what is prudent.

You foolish people comprehend how to be discerning.

6Listen {to what I say}, because I will tell you some excellent things.

I will speak to you about what is right.

7{Listen to what I say} because I speak what is true.

I detest speaking what is evil.

8Everything that I say is righteous.

I do not say anything that is false or deceptive.

9Everything that I say is plain for people who understand.

{Everything that I say} is right to people who have become knowledgeable.

10Choose {to learn} what I instruct you instead of silver.

Indeed, {choose to learn} what you should know instead of the finest gold.

11{Do this} because I am more valuable than precious jewels.

I am more valuable than anything you can desire.

12I am what is wise. I am related to what is prudent.

I enable someone to know what is discreet.

13Everyone who reverently fears Yahweh hates what is evil.

{I hate it when} people are proud or arrogant.

I hate it when people act wickedly and when people speak perversely.

14I advise people and enable them to be truly wise.

I am what you need to understand.

I strengthen people.

15I enable kings to rule {well}.

{I enable} rulers to make righteous laws.

16I enable princes to govern;

and {I enable} every royal official who judges righteously {to govern}.

17I {am what is wise, and} I benefit anyone who loves me.

Anyone who earnestly tries to become wise will succeed.

18I enable people to become rich and I cause people to honor those people.

{I enable people to have} riches that will last and {I enable people to become} righteous.

19What I can give people is more valuable than even the purest gold and the best silver.

20I {always} do what is righteous and just

21in order to give wealth to people who love me.

I will fill up the places where they store valuable items.

22Yahweh had me{, what is wise,} when he began to create {everything}.

{Indeed, he had me} before he started doing that.

23Yahweh established me a very long time ago—at the very beginning, before the world existed.

24I began to exist before the oceans existed

and before there were springs abounding with water.

25I began to exist before Yahweh made the mountains {and} before the hills {existed}.

26{I began to exist} before Yahweh made the land or the fields or the first particles of dirt on the earth.

27I existed when Yahweh made the sky,

{and} when he made the boundary between the sky and the ocean’s surface.

28{I existed} when Yahweh made the clouds above {the earth},

{and} when he made the springs flow at the bottom of the ocean.

29{I existed} when Yahweh set boundaries for the seas,

so that the water {in the seas} would not go past those boundaries.

{I existed} when Yahweh made the boundaries of the land.

30At that time I was {like} someone who was beside Yahweh {and} helped him create {everything}.

I made him happy every day.

I was always rejoicing when I was with him.

31{I was} rejoicing in the whole world that Yahweh had made.

I was also happy with the people {he had made}.

32So now, children, pay attention to what I say!

{Do this} because anyone who behaves wisely will be happy.

33Listen to what I teach {you}, so that you will become wise.

Accept what I teach you!

34People who listen to me will be happy,

{They are eager to listen to me like} people who wait {for me} at the door of my house every day.

{They are like} people who diligently wait {for me} at my doorway.

35{This is true} because people who learn to be wise will live {a long time},

and Yahweh will approve of them.

36But those who refuse to be wise hurt themselves.

All those who hate to be wise {are like people who} love death.”

91What is wise {is like a woman who} has built her own {spacious} house

and made seven pillars to support its roof.

2{What is wise is like} a woman {who has prepared a meal for guests.

She} has prepared the meat {to eat} and wine {to drink}.

She has {fully} prepared her table for a meal.

3{What is wise is like} a woman who sends out her maids {to invite her dinner guests}.

{What is wise is like} a woman who cries out at the highest place in the city {where everyone can hear her}.

4She tells those who are not wise,

“Come into {my house}, all you naive people!

5Come {to me}! Eat the food that I have prepared,

and drink the wine that I have prepared.

6Stop acting naively so that you can live {for a long time}.

Do what will cause you to learn what you should understand.

7If you {try to} teach someone who ridicules {other people}, that person will ridicule you.

If you correct an evil person, that person will hurt you.

8{So} do not correct a person who ridicules {other people}. If you do so, then that person will hate you.

{However,} if you correct a wise person, that person will love you {for doing so}.

9If you instruct a wise person, then that person will become even wiser.

If you teach a righteous person, then that person will learn even more.

10Reverently fearing Yahweh is necessary for being wise,

and knowing what is holy is what you should understand.

11Surely being wise will cause you to live for many days,

and it will cause you to live for many years.

12Any wise person benefits from being wise.

But anyone who ridicules {other people} will suffer alone for doing so.”

13Foolish women speak loudly,

act naively, and are very ignorant.

14They sit at the doors of the places where they dwell.

{They sit} on seats at the highest place in the city {where everyone can hear them}.

15{They sit there} in order to cry out to the people who are walking past them.

{They cry out to} those walking down the road, who are only concerned about where they are going.

16They tell those who are not wise,

“Come into {my house}, all you naive people!

17{Come to me, because having sex with someone to whom you are not married is} as sweet as water that you have stolen.

Indeed, {it is} as delicious as food that you eat all by yourself.”

18But men who go to the houses of such women are not aware that the men who have gone there before have died.

{They are not aware} that the guests of such women are now in the deepest parts of the place where dead people are.

101{These are} the wise sayings {said} by Solomon:

Wise children make their fathers glad,

but foolish children make their mothers sad.

2Riches that people acquire by acting wickedly will not benefit them,

but people who act righteously prevent themselves from dying {too soon}.

3Yahweh prevents righteous people from starving,

but he prevents wicked people from getting what they want.

4People who are too lazy to work become poor,

but people who work hard become rich.

5Sons who collect crops at the right time are insightful,

but sons who sleep during the time to harvest crops are shameful.

6God blesses righteous people;

but what wicked people say prevents others from knowing about the violent acts {that they do}.

7People will be happy when they remember righteous people,

but people will forget wicked people as if they were something that decays {and disappears}.

8People who think wisely obey what people command {them to do that is good},

but people who speak foolishly destroy themselves.

9People who behave honestly will live safely;

but God will catch people who behave deceitfully.

10People who gesture with their eyes {to deceive people} hurt {people},

and people who speak foolishly destroy themselves.

11What righteous people say is like a spring that enables people to live for a long time;

but what wicked people say prevents others from knowing about the violent acts {that they do}.

12When people are hateful, they cause people to argue;

but when people are loving, they forgive people who wrong them.

13Discerning people say what is wise,

but someone must punish people who do not think wisely.

14Wise people sincerely consider what they should know,

but people who speak foolishly are destructive.

15What rich people own keeps them safe like a wall keeps a city safe,

but being poor destroys poor people.

16God rewards righteous people by allowing them to live {for a long time},

but God recompenses wicked people by punishing them for sinning.

17People who heed what is instructive will live for a long time;

but people who do not let others correct them do what will destroy them.

18People who do not admit that they hate someone speak falsely.

People who slander others are foolish.

19People who talk a lot sin a lot;

but people who refrain from speaking {unnecessarily} are wise.

20What righteous people say is {as valuable as} the best silver;

{but} what wicked people think is worthless.

21What righteous people say benefits many people,

but foolish people die because they do not think wisely.

22When people become wealthy, {it is because} Yahweh has blessed them,

and he does not make them suffer for it.

23Foolish people enjoy doing the wicked things that they planned {to do},

but understanding people enjoy what is wise.

24Wicked people will experience what frightens them;

but righteous people will receive what they want.

25When something disastrous happens, it destroys wicked people,

but righteous people are {like} a foundation that lasts forever.

26Lazy people irritate people who send them {to do something for them},

like vinegar irritates teeth and smoke irritates eyes.

27Reverently fearing Yahweh will cause a person to live for a long time,

but wicked people will not live for a long time.

28What righteous people hope for leads to being joyful,

but what wicked people hope for will not happen.

29What Yahweh does protects honest people like a fortress,

but what he does destroys people who act sinfully.

30Righteous people will always be safe,

but wicked people will never live in our land.

31Righteous people say what is wise,

but Yahweh will stop people who speak perversely from speaking.

32What righteous people say is favorable,

but what wicked people say is perverse.

111Yahweh detests {people} using weighing instruments in order to deceive others,

but people who use correct weights {on their weighing instruments} please him.

2When people act proudly, they will soon disgrace themselves,

but humble people are wise.

3Being honest will cause people who act uprightly to know what they should do,

but being deceitful will ruin people who act treacherously.

4What people own will not help them when Yahweh judges {the world},

but acting righteously will prevent people from dying.

5Being righteous will cause people whom Yahweh does not blame {for acting wickedly} to know what they should do,

but being wicked will ruin those who act wickedly.

6Being righteous will cause people who act uprightly to escape,

but what people who act treacherously want will cause someone to trap them.

7When wicked people die, what they hoped for never happens,

what people who rely on how strong they are hoped for also never happens.

8Yahweh prevents righteous people from becoming distressed;

but wicked people will become distressed instead.

9What people who reject God say ruins people they know,

but what righteous people know will cause them to escape.

10People in a city rejoice when the righteous people {there} prosper,

and they shout joyously when wicked people die.

11A city becomes great when people who act uprightly bless {the people there},

but what people who act wickedly say destroys that city.

12People who {openly} detest someone they know are not thinking wisely;

but understanding people say nothing.

13People who gossip walk around telling {others} what is secret,

but trustworthy people will not do so.

14Not having anyone to guide a people group will ruin that group,

but having many people advise {a people group} will rescue {that group}.

15People who guarantee to pay a loan for someone they do not know will surely suffer,

but people who hate agreeing to pay a loan for someone will be safe.

16People honor a gracious woman,

but cruel people {only} gain wealth.

17People who are faithfully kind benefit themselves,

but cruel people hurt themselves.

18People who act wickedly do not really gain anything,

but God truly rewards people who do what is righteous.

19People who truly act righteously will live {for a long time},

but people who eagerly do what is evil will die.

20Yahweh detests people who think deceitfully,

but people who act blamelessly please him.

21Yahweh will certainly punish wicked people.

but he will not punish the offspring of righteous people.

22Attractive women who refuse to act discreetly

are {as ridiculous as} a gold ring in a pig’s snout.

23What righteous people want only results in what is good,

but what wicked people hope for results in {Yahweh} being angry.

24People who generously share {what they have with others} will receive even more,

but people who keep more {of what they have} than they should keep will only lose it.

25People who generously bless others will prosper;

and people who generously give others something to drink will also receive something to drink.

26People will curse people who {selfishly} hoard food {instead of selling it},

but they will bless people who sell it {when others need it}.

27Yahweh and others approve of people who earnestly try to do what is good,

but evil things happen to people who try to do what is evil.

28People who depend on their money are those who will ruin themselves,

but righteous people will thrive like a green plant.

29People who trouble their families will not inherit anything,

and people who act foolishly will serve people who think wisely.

30What righteous people do is {like} a tree {with fruit} that keeps people alive,

and people who persuade others are wise.

31Pay attention! Righteous people on the earth will get what they deserve;

but even more so, wicked people and sinful people will {also} get what they deserve!

121People who love other people correcting them {also} love {learning} what they should know.

But people who hate other people correcting them are foolish.

2Yahweh approves of people who are good,

but he condemns people who plan to do what is evil.

3People cannot live stably by acting wickedly,

but righteous people are {as stable as} a tree with immovable roots.

4A virtuous wife causes people to praise her husband,

but a disgraceful wife {destroys her husband} like a disease that destroys his bones.

5What righteous people plan is just,

{but} what wicked people advise is deceitful.

6What wicked people say {causes people to die like} someone who hides in wait in order to kill someone {who walks by};

but what upright people say will enable them to escape.

7Yahweh destroys wicked people and they will cease to exist,

but the families of righteous people will continue to exist.

8People will praise someone according to how insightful that person is,

but people will despise someone who thinks perversely.

9People whom others disrespect yet have servants are better

than people who think they are important yet have no food.

10Righteous people take care of their animals,

but even when wicked people {try to} act compassionately, they act cruelly.

11People who work hard will have enough food {to eat},

but people who waste time doing worthless things do not think wisely.

12Wicked people want what evil people steal,

but righteous people benefit {others} like a tree with deep roots.

13What wicked people sinfully say will destroy them,

but righteous people will not become distressed.

14What people say will satisfy them with what is good;

what people work hard to accomplish will benefit them.

15Foolish people think that what they are doing is {always} right;

but wise people listen to what other people advise {them to do}.

16People know immediately when foolish people are angry;

but clever people ignore it when someone disrespects them.

17People who easily speak truthfully speak righteously,

but witnesses who speak falsely speak deceitfully.

18When people speak without thinking {about what to say}, they hurt others like someone who stabs people with a sword,

but what wise people say helps people heal.

19What people say truthfully will last forever,

but what people say falsely will {only} last for a moment.

20People who plan to act evilly think deceitfully,

but people who advise others to act peacefully will be joyful.

21Bad things do not happen to righteous people,

but wicked people will experience many bad things.

22Yahweh detests people who speak falsely,

but people who act faithfully please him.

23Clever people conceal what they know,

but foolish people shout out foolish things.

24People who work hard will reign {over others},

but lazy people will become slaves.

25When people worry, they feel sad,

but when someone says what is good, those people feel happy.

26Righteous people will guide the people they know,

but what wicked people do causes them to do what will destroy them.

27Lazy people do not even cook the animals that they catch,

but people who work hard acquire valuable riches.

28People who do what is righteous will live {for a long time}.

Indeed, people who do so will not die {too soon}.

131Wise children pay attention when their fathers instruct them,

but people who ridicule {other people} do not pay attention when people correct {them}.

2What people say will enable them to eat good {food},

but people who act treacherously {only} want to act violently.

3People who are careful about what they say enable themselves to stay alive,

{but} people who speak carelessly destroy themselves.

4Lazy people always want something but never receive it,

but people who work hard will receive more than what they want.

5Righteous people detest speaking falsely,

but wicked people are disgusting and disgraceful.

6Acting righteously enables people who act blamelessly to be safe,

but acting wickedly causes sinful people to do what will destroy them.

7Some people act as if they are wealthy while they are {actually} poor.

Other people act as if they are poor while they are {actually} wealthy.

8Rich people {might} have to pay money {to someone who threatens them} in order to stay alive,

but poor people do not {even} listen when someone threatens them.

9Righteous people live joyfully like a light {that shines brightly},

but wicked people {will merely die} like an oil lamp that stops burning {oil}.

10People acting proudly only causes people to argue,

but people who let others advise them are wise.

11Riches that people gain effortlessly will diminish,

but people who gain riches by working hard will increase {their riches}.

12People despair when they do not receive what they hope to receive,

but receiving what people want to receive is {like} a tree {with fruit} that keeps those people alive.

13People who detest what others {try to} teach them will suffer for doing so,

but God will reward those very people who reverently fear what he has commanded.

14What wise people teach is like a spring that enables people to live for a long time.

It enables people to avoid what could kill them.

15People approve of people who are very insightful,

but how treacherous people live is harsh.

16All clever people act according to what they know,

but foolish people show how foolish they are {by how they act}.

17Bad things happen to messengers who are not reliable,

but reliable messengers help people heal.

18People who do not let other people correct them will be poor and ashamed,

but people will respect those people who let other people rebuke them.

19People feel pleasant when they get what they want,

but foolish people detest refusing to do what is evil.

20People who associate with wise people will become wise {themselves},

but people who are companions of foolish people will agonize.

21Bad things happen to sinful people,

but good things happen to righteous people.

22Good people will leave riches for their grandchildren when they die,

but righteous people will receive the riches that sinful people have saved.

23Poor people have fields that can produce a lot of food,

but unjust people take it all away {from them}.

24Parents who do not physically punish {their children act as if they} hate their children,

but parents who {truly} love their children are careful to discipline them.

25Righteous people eat enough {food} to satisfy themselves,

but wicked people are always hungry.

141The wisest women help their families thrive,

but foolish women ruin their families by what they do.

2People who behave uprightly reverently fear Yahweh,

but people who behave deceptively detest Yahweh.

3What foolish people say causes someone to punish them for being proud,

but what wise people say keeps them alive.

4Where there are not any oxen {to feed in the barn}, the feeding container is clean;

but oxen work to produce a lot of crops.

5Honest witnesses do not lie,

but dishonest witnesses lie easily.

6People who ridicule {other people} try to become wise and fail to do so,

but understanding people can easily learn what they should know.

7Stay away from foolish people

because you will not learn anything from what they say.

8Clever people know what to do because they are wise,

but foolish people deceive themselves because they are foolish.

9Foolish people scorn making amends with Yahweh after sinning,

but Yahweh approves of upright people.

10Only miserable people know how miserable they are,

and joyful people cannot share what they feel with someone they do not know.

11The families of wicked people will die out,

but the families of upright people will thrive.

12People think they know the right way to behave,

but people who behave that way will ultimately die.

13People who are laughing may still be suffering,

and people who feel joyful may ultimately feel sad.

14People who refuse {to live righteously} will receive from Yahweh what they deserve;

and good people {will also receive from Yahweh} what they deserve.

15Naive people believe whatever people say,

but clever people think carefully about what they do.

16Wise people are afraid of {doing what is evil} and refuse to do what is evil,

but foolish people make themselves angry and are overconfident.

17People who quickly become angry act foolishly,

and people hate people who plan to do what is evil.

18Naive people will act foolishly,

but clever people will learn what they should know.

19Evil people will {respectfully} bow in front of good people,

and wicked people will bow at the doors {of the houses} where righteous people {dwell}.

20Even the people whom poor people know hate them,

but many people love rich people.

21Sinful people scorn the people they know,

but people who are kind to suffering people are happy.

22People who plan to act evilly surely act deceptively,

but people are faithful and trustworthy to people who plan to do what is good.

23Whenever people work hard, they will earn money,

but when people {only} talk, they will only remain poor.

24Wise people will acquire wealth,

but foolish people {only} act more foolishly because they are foolish.

25Truthful witnesses save people from dying,

but people who lie easily are deceptive.

26Strong people are confident because they reverently fear Yahweh.

Those people will protect their children.

27Reverently fearing Yahweh is like a spring that enables people to live for a long time.

It enables people to avoid what could kill them.

28Kings who rule over many people are glorious,

but rulers who have no people {to rule over} have nothing.

29People who do not become angry quickly understand a lot,

but people who become angry quickly show everyone how foolish they are.

30Feeling peaceful makes a person’s body healthy,

but envying others {makes a person’s body unhealthy, like something that} rots a person’s bones.

31People who make poor people suffer despise Yahweh, who made them,

but people who are kind to needy people respect Yahweh.

32Wicked people destroy themselves by doing evil things,

but righteous people feel safe {even} when they die.

33Understanding people think wisely,

and even foolish people know about what is wise.

34Acting righteously makes a country great,

but acting sinfully disgraces a people group.

35Insightful servants please their kings,

but kings are furious with disgraceful people.

151Replying gently to angry people will calm them,

but speaking harshly {to them} will make them angrier.

2What wise people say makes others appreciate what they should know,

but foolish people constantly say what is foolish.

3Yahweh sees everything that is happening;

he observes both evil people and good people.

4What people say soothingly is {like} a tree {with fruit} that keeps people alive,

but what people say deceitfully makes people despair.

5Foolish people detest what their fathers say to correct them,

but people who let others rebuke them are clever.

6Righteous people have houses that contain a lot of riches,

but what wicked people gain troubles them.

7What wise people say informs others of what they should know,

but what foolish people think does not do that.

8Yahweh detests what wicked people offer {to him},

but what upright people pray pleases him.

9Yahweh detests what wicked people do,

but he loves people who diligently try to act righteously.

10Yahweh will severely punish people who refuse to live righteously,

{and} people who hate other people correcting them will perish.

11Yahweh knows everything about the place where dead people are,

so he surely knows everything that everyone thinks!

12People who ridicule others despise anyone who corrects them;

they avoid wise people.

13People smile when they are happy,

but feeling sad can make people despair.

14Understanding people try to learn what they should know,

but foolish people satisfy themselves with what is foolish.

15What happens every day that suffering people live makes them wretched,

but cheerful people live like people who are always feasting.

16It is better for someone to have a few things while reverently fearing Yahweh

than for someone to have a lot of riches while worrying.

17It is better for someone to have a small meal where people love each other

than to have a large meal where people hate each other.

18People who easily become angry cause people to argue,

but people who do not become angry quickly will stop people from arguing.

19Lazy people live unproductively like {people that have} a thorny plant {blocking their paths},

but upright people live productively {like people who are walking on} a road that is easy to walk on.

20Wise children make their fathers happy,

but foolish children detest their mothers.

21People who are not wise enjoy acting foolishly,

but understanding people act rightly.

22What people plan fails when no one advises them,

but what people plan succeeds when many people advise them.

23People rejoice when they answer someone aptly.

It is so good to say something at the right time!

24How insightful people live causes them to live for a long time

in order for them to avoid going to the place where dead people are.

25Yahweh will destroy what proud people own,

but he protects the {few} things that widows own.

26Yahweh detests the evil things that people think,

but the pleasing things that people say are pure.

27People who gain wealth in an unjust manner trouble their families,

but people who refuse bribes will live {for a long time}.

28Righteous people think carefully about how to reply to people,

but wicked people constantly say what is evil.

29Yahweh does not listen to wicked people,

but he listens to what righteous people pray.

30People feel happy when they see someone smile,

{and} people feel healthy when they hear something good.

31People who listen when others rebuke them in a way that will keep them alive will become wise.

32People who refuse to let others correct them {act as if they} despise themselves,

but people who listen when others rebuke them think wisely.

33Reverently fearing Yahweh makes people wise,

and people must be humble before other people respect them.

161People plan what they want {to say},

but Yahweh determines how they will reply.

2People think that everything they do is right,

but Yahweh {rightly} evaluates what they think.

3Entrust what you do to Yahweh,

and he will make what you plan {to do} succeed.

4When Yahweh made everything, he planned what would happen to each thing.

He has even made wicked people for the time when he will punish them.

5Yahweh detests all proud people;

he will certainly punish them.

6People can atone for acting sinfully by being faithful and trustworthy.

People who reverently fear Yahweh will avoid doing what is evil.

7When Yahweh likes what people do,

he even causes their enemies to be peaceful with them.

8It is better {for someone} to have a few things while being righteous,

than {for someone} to have a lot of crops while being unjust.

9People plan what they want to do,

but Yahweh determines what they will {actually} do.

10{Ideally,} what kings say is from God,

{and} when kings judge, they surely speak justly.

11Yahweh made weighing instruments {for us} to use honestly.

Indeed, he made all the stones people carry in bags to use for weighing things.

12{Ideally,} kings detest people acting wickedly

because acting righteously causes kings to rule securely.

13{Ideally,} kings enjoy when people speak righteously.

Indeed, they love people who speak uprightly.

14When kings are angry, they cause people to die,

so wise people will appease them.

15When kings are happy, they let people live;

when they approve of people, it is as refreshing as rain in springtime.

16Becoming wise is better than having gold.

Indeed, it is better to choose to become understanding than to have silver.

17Upright people act in a way that avoids doing what is evil;

people who want to stay alive are careful about what they do.

18If people are proud, then something will destroy them.

Indeed, if people are arrogant, then something will ruin them.

19It is better to live humbly among poor people

than to {live proudly and} receive some of what proud people have taken from others.

20People who act prudently in a matter will succeed,

and people who trust in Yahweh are happy.

21People will call those who think wisely, “understanding ones,”

and pleasant things that people say cause others to learn.

22Being insightful is {like} a spring that enables insightful people to live for a long time,

but being foolish results in other people punishing foolish people.

23What wise people think causes them to speak insightfully,

and what those people say causes others to learn.

24The pleasing things that people say are {like} a honeycomb:

They cause people to feel pleasant and healthy.

25People think they know the right way to behave,

but people who behave that way will ultimately die.

26Being hungry helps working people work

because wanting to eat motivates people to keep on working.

27Worthless people plot how to hurt others;

the evil things they say harm others like fire burns {people}.

28Perverse people cause other people to argue with each other,

and people who gossip about others cause friends to stop being friends.

29Violent people tempt people whom they know {to sin},

and they guide them to behave wickedly.

30People who use their eyes to signal to others are planning to do something perverse;

people who use their lips to signal to others are about to do the evil thing {that they had planned to do}.

31Living for a long time is {honorable, like} a magnificent crown {on someone’s head};

people are able to live for a long time by living righteously.

32It is better to be someone who does not become angry quickly than to be powerful.

It is better to control oneself than to be {as powerful as} someone who conquers a city.

33People throw lots {in order to decide what to do},

but Yahweh decides whatever happens.

171It is better for someone to have a little stale food {to eat} while living peacefully

than for someone to live in a house where people frequently eat large meals while arguing with each other.

2An insightful slave will rule over his master’s disgraceful son.

People will consider that slave to be one of his master’s sons,

and he will inherit some of what his master’s sons inherit.

3People use crucibles and furnaces to test and refine silver and gold.

Yahweh tests what people are thinking in a similar manner.

4People who act evilly listen carefully when people speak what is sinful;

people who lie pay attention when people speak what destroys {others}.

5People who ridicule poor people despise Yahweh, who made them;

Yahweh will certainly punish people who rejoice when other people experience disastrous things.

6Old people are proud of their grandchildren,

and children are proud of their parents.

7It is not fitting for worthless people to speak eloquently.

It is even less fitting for royal officials to speak falsely!

8People who pay bribes think that bribes are magical;

{they think that} everything they do will be successful.

9People who want to love forgive people who wrong them,

but people who repeatedly mention how someone wronged them cause friends to stop being friends.

10Rebuking causes understanding people to learn

more than beating foolish people a hundred times {with a stick causes them to learn}.

11Evil people only want to rebel,

so a merciless messenger will come and punish them.

12It would be better to meet a female bear that is furious because someone stole her cubs

than to meet foolish people while they are acting foolishly!

13If people react to experiencing what is good by doing what is evil,

then what is evil will continually affect their families.

14When people start arguing with each other, it is as difficult to stop as it is to stop water that is leaking out of something,

so prevent yourself from arguing before you start to argue.

15There are people who acquit guilty people,

and there are people who condemn innocent people;

Yahweh detests both types of people.

16How useless it is for foolish people to try to pay money in order to become wise

when they are unable to think!

17A friend loves {you} all the time,

and relatives exist in order to help {other relatives} when disastrous things happen.

18People who do not think wisely agree to pay someone else’s loan

and even guarantee to pay that loan in front of people whom they know.

19People who love to sin {also} love to cause people to argue;

people who brag a lot cause others to destroy them.

20People who think deceitfully will never experience any good things,

and bad things will happen to people who speak deceitfully.

21Foolish people grieve their parents.

Indeed, worthless people will not cause their fathers to be joyful.

22People who feel happy will heal,

but depressed people will be unhealthy.

23People secretly bribe wicked judges

so that they judge unjustly.

24Understanding people concentrate on what is wise,

but foolish people cannot concentrate on anything.

25Foolish children grieve their fathers

and make their mothers miserable.

26Punishing innocent people is surely wrong,

{and} beating royal officials is {also} wrong.

27People who refrain from speaking {unnecessarily} are knowledgeable,

and people who remain calm are understanding people.

28People will think even foolish people are wise if those foolish people do not speak.

Indeed, people who refrain from speaking are understanding people.

181People who avoid other people only care about doing what they want to do.

They refuse to do anything that is wise.

2Foolish people hate {learning} what they should understand.

Instead, they only like to tell others what they think.

3People treat wicked people contemptuously,

and people scold people who act shamefully.

4What wise people say is as profound as a deep ocean.

{Wise people are like} a fountain or brook that flows abundantly with what is wise.

5It is very evil {for judges} to favor guilty people

in order to prevent judging innocent people justly.

6What foolish people say makes people argue,

and it makes people want to beat them.

7What foolish people say will ruin them.

Indeed, what they say will trouble them like a trap {troubles an animal}.

8People are eager to listen to what people who gossip say,

and what they say deeply affects those who hear it.

9People who are lazy when they work

are like people who destroy things.

10Yahweh is {like} a strong tower

that righteous people run into and are safe.

11What rich people own keeps them safe like walls keep cities safe;

they think what they own protects them as well as a high wall.

12If people think proudly, then something will destroy them;

people must be humble before other people respect them.

13It is foolish and shameful

for someone to reply to what a person has said before hearing it.

14How people feel can enable them to endure being sick.

However, it is very difficult to make a depressed person feel better!

15Understanding people learn what they should know.

Indeed, wise people try to learn what they should know.

16Giving something {to someone} can benefit the one who gives it;

doing so can enable that person to meet important people.

17People who state their cases first seem to be right

until people whom they know arrive and question them.

18Throwing lots {in order to decide something} can make people stop arguing,

it can also decide who is right between powerful people.

19It is more difficult to reconcile with a relative {whom you have} offended than {to conquer} a fortified city;

and when people argue, they avoid each other as if a castle’s strong gate were between them.

20What people say will satisfy them when they are hungry.

Indeed, what people say will satisfy them.

21What people say can cause people to die or remain alive.

And people who love to talk will experience the consequences {for what they say}.

22Men who marry get what is good

and Yahweh approves of them.

23Poor people plead for others to be merciful {to them}, but rich people reply {to them} rudely.

24Having {unreliable} friends will destroy a person,

but loving friends exist who are more loyal than brothers.

191It is better to be poor and behave honestly

than to speak deceitfully and be foolish.

2Furthermore, it is very bad for people to not know {what they should know};

people sin who act hastily.

3People who act foolishly destroy themselves,

yet they become furious with Yahweh {and blame him}.

4Wealthy people {easily} make many friends,

but poor people lose {even} the friends they have.

5Someone will surely punish lying witnesses.

Indeed, someone will surely punish people who lie easily.

6A lot of people want royal officials to favor them,

and {it seems like} everyone wants to be friends with generous people.

7All the relatives of poor people despise them,

and even their friends avoid them!

Although they call out {to them for help}, they do not {respond}.

8People who think wisely benefit themselves;

people who remember what they should understand will surely succeed.

9Someone will surely punish lying witnesses.

Indeed, people who lie easily will die.

10It is wrong for foolish people to live luxuriously,

and it is even worse for slaves to reign over princes!

11Insightful people do not get angry quickly,

and people show how honorable they are by forgiving {people who} sin {against them}.

12When kings are furious, they frighten people like the roaring of young lions {frightens people},

but when they approve of people, it is as refreshing as dew on plants.

13Foolish children destroy their fathers,

and when wives argue {with their husbands}, it is {as annoying as} constantly dripping water.

14People inherit houses and riches from their fathers,

but Yahweh {alone} gives {men} insightful wives.

15Lazy people sleep well,

but {such} idle people are {always} hungry.

16People who obey what others command them enable themselves to stay alive,

but people who do not care about what they do will die.

17Being kind to poor people is {like} loaning money to Yahweh;

he will reward anyone who does so.

18Correct your children while you still can;

and do not allow yourself to kill them.

19Very angry people will pay {for being angry};

if you rescue them {from what they must pay}, you will have to do so again and again.

20Pay attention to what people advise you {to do} and let people teach you

in order to become wise when you are about to die.

21People plan to do many things,

but {only} what Yahweh advises will succeed.

22People want others to be faithful,

and poor people are better than people who lie.

23Reverently fearing Yahweh causes people to live for a long time;

such people rest contently,

nothing will harm them.

24Lazy people put their hands in a dish {of food},

{but are so lazy that} they will not lift the food to their mouths.

25{If you} punish people who ridicule {others},

{then} naive people {who see you do that} will become sensible.

{If you} correct understanding people,

{then} they will learn what they should know.

26Children who act violently toward their fathers and chase away their mothers

are disgraceful and embarrassing.

27My child, if you stop listening to what people teach you,

then you will reject what you {already} know that people told you.

28Worthless witnesses scorn what is just,

and wicked people enjoy acting sinfully as if they were gulping down delicious food.

29Yahweh is ready to condemn people who ridicule {others},

and he is ready to beat fools on their backs.

201People who drink too much of what can intoxicate them ridicule and fight others;

all people who cannot walk properly because they drank too much of what can intoxicate them are very foolish.

2When kings are terrifyingly angry, they frighten people like the roaring of young lions {frightens people};

people who make kings angry cause themselves to die.

3It is honorable to cease arguing with other people,

but all foolish people are eager to argue with others.

4Lazy farmers do not plow {their fields} when they should,

so when it is time to harvest {crops}, they look {for crops in their fields}, but there are none.

5Discerning what people are thinking about advising {others} is {as difficult as} drawing water out of a deep {well},

but understanding people are able to do so.

6Many people claim to be faithful,

but very few people act faithfully!

7Righteous people behave honestly;

God will bless their children.

8{Ideally,} kings who sit on their thrones in order to judge {people}

discern anything that is evil and remove it {from their lands}.

9No one can truthfully say, “I do not think sinfully anymore; I do not sin anymore.”

10Yahweh detests {people dishonestly using} differing weights and measurements {to benefit themselves}.

11Even young people show people {who they are} by what they do;

how they act shows whether they are innocent and right.

12Yahweh has made both ears with which to hear and eyes with which to see.

13If you sleep a lot, you will become poor;

{but} if you stay awake {and work}, you will have plenty of food.

14Buyers claim that something is not good at all {when they are bargaining with you about its price}.

But {after they buy it,} they go and boast {to their friends about the good price they bought it for}.

15Gold and precious jewels are plentiful,

but the knowledgeable things that people say are extremely precious.

16Take the coats of people who promise to pay a loan for someone whom they do not know.

Indeed, hold onto the coats of people who do so for a foreigner.

17Food people get by deceiving {others} may taste sweet {to them},

but what eventually happens to them will be as unpleasant as having a mouth full of stones.

18What people plan succeeds when others advise them,

so let others advise you before you start fighting a war.

19People who walk around gossiping tell {others} what is secret,

so avoid people who speak carelessly.

20People who curse their parents

{will die like} an oil lamp that stops burning {oil} in a totally dark place.

21What people inherit hastily before the proper time

will ultimately not result in {Yahweh} blessing {them}.

22Do not say that you will harm someone who has harmed you.

Rather, wait for Yahweh {to resolve the matter}, so that he may vindicate you.

23Yahweh detests {people dishonestly using} differing weights {to benefit themselves}.

Indeed, {using} weighing instruments in order to deceive {others} is very bad.

24Yahweh directs what happens to powerful people.

So then, people surely cannot comprehend what will happen to them!

25It is dangerous for people to declare thoughtlessly that something is holy to Yahweh,

and then think about what they have done after they have done so.

26Wise kings remove wicked people {from their lands},

and {they punish them like farmers} crush grain under a threshing wheel.

27People’s spirits are {like} lamps that Yahweh has given them;

they help people discern everything that deeply affects them.

28Being faithful and trustworthy makes kings safe.

Indeed, being faithful enables them to rule securely.

29People admire young men because they are strong,

but people admire old men because they are wise.

30Severely beating people may stop them from acting evilly,

and hitting people {may change} what deeply affects them.

211Yahweh directs what kings think like {a farmer directs} streams

to bring water anywhere he wants {it to go}.

2People think that everything they do is right,

but Yahweh {rightly} evaluates what they think.

3Acting righteously and justly is more important to Yahweh

than sacrificing animals {to him}.

4Being proud and arrogant guide what wicked people do like a lamp {shows people where to go};

they are sinful.

5What diligent people plan will certainly profit them,

but all those who act too hastily will certainly become poor.

6When people gain wealth by speaking falsely,

that wealth quickly vanishes like mist {and what they do} will kill them.

7When wicked people act violently, they destroy themselves

because they refuse to act justly.

8Guilty people act perversely,

but innocent people act uprightly.

9It is better to live {alone} in a corner of a housetop

than to live inside a house with a wife who always argues {with you}.

10Wicked people strongly desire to act evilly,

they will not be merciful to the people they know.

11If you punish people who ridicule others, {then} naive people {who see you do that} will become wise,

and if you teach wise people, they will become {even more} knowledgeable.

12{Yahweh,} the Righteous One, knows the families of wicked people;

he destroys them.

13People who refuse to listen to poor people when they cry out {for help}

will also cry out {for help themselves}, but no one will help them.

14Secretly giving something to an angry person will stop them from being angry.

Indeed, secretly bribing a furious person will calm them down.

15Righteous people enjoy acting justly,

but acting justly terrifies people who act sinfully.

16People who stop behaving insightfully

will end up in the place where the spirits of dead people are together.

17People who love what is pleasurable will be poor.

Indeed, people who love {luxuries like} wine and olive oil will never be rich.

18Wicked people will suffer instead of righteous people,

and treacherous people {will suffer} in place of upright people.

19It is better to live {alone} in a deserted land

than {to live} with an argumentative and vexing wife.

20Wise people have precious riches and olive oil,

but foolish people waste everything that they have.

21People who diligently try to be righteous and faithful

will live {for a long time}, will be righteous, and people will respect them.

22Wise people conquer cities that mighty warriors are defending;

they pull down the walls that people {in those cities} believe will protect them.

23People who are careful about anything they say

avoid becoming distressed.

24People who ridicule others act presumptuously and arrogantly;

they behave furiously and presumptuously.

25Lazy people want what will kill them

because they refuse to work.

26Lazy people always want more things for themselves,

but righteous people generously give {what they have to others}.

27What wicked people offer {to Yahweh} is detestable;

it is even more {detestable} when they are offering something {to Yahweh} while intending to act wickedly!

28Witnesses who lie will die,

but when people who listen carefully speak, others will always remember {what they said}.

29Wicked people show how stubborn they are,

but upright people think about what they do.

30There is absolutely nothing that is wise, understanding, and advisable, but is {also} the opposite of what Yahweh wants.

31Soldiers prepare to fight,

but Yahweh determines who wins {that fight}.

221Being someone whom people respect is more important than being very wealthy.

Indeed, being someone whom others approve of is better than having silver and gold.

2Rich people and poor people have {at least} one thing in common:

Yahweh made both of them.

3Sensible people observe something dangerous happening and avoid it,

but naive people {ignorantly} do not avoid it and suffer {for doing so}.

4People who are humble, who reverently fear Yahweh,

will become rich.

People will respect them, and they will live {for a long time}.

5Deceptive people live {dangerously,} as if they were walking down a road covered with thorns and traps,

{but} people who want to stay alive avoid living that way.

6Teach children how to behave {properly},

so that when they become old, they will still continue to do so.

7Rich people reign over poor people,

and people who borrow {money} from others are slaves to the people who loaned them {money}.

8People who act unjustly will suffer for doing so,

and they will no longer be able to furiously oppress other people.

9Yahweh will bless generous people

because they give their own food to poor people.

10If you banish people who ridicule others, then people will stop arguing {with each other},

quarreling {with each other}, and shaming {each other}.

11People who love thinking purely

speak graciously and are companions of kings.

12Yahweh preserves what people should know,

but he makes what treacherous people say fail.

13Lazy people {do nothing because they} claim that there is a lion outside that will kill them in the street {if they go outside}.

14What adulterous women say is {as dangerous as} a deep hole;

those whom Yahweh is angry with will fall into it.

15Children inherently think foolishly,

but physically disciplining them will teach them to stop being foolish.

16People who oppress poor people in order to make more money for themselves

or who give things to rich people {in order to become rich} will only become poor.

17Listen carefully to what wise people have said;

consider carefully what I am teaching you!

18{Do this} because if you remember these sayings

and are always ready to repeat them {to others}, then you will be glad.

19I am teaching these sayings to you—yes, you—right now

so that you will trust Yahweh.

20I am indeed writing these 30 sayings

to advise and teach you.

21{I am writing them} in order to teach you what is true in trustworthy sayings,

and in order to answer those who sent you with trustworthy sayings.

22Do not steal from poor people just because they are poor;

and do not oppress suffering people in court.

23{Do not do these things} because Yahweh will defend those poor people when you dispute with them,

and he will kill the people who stole from them.

24Do not become friends with angry people.

Indeed, do not associate with people who easily become angry.

25{If you do so,} then you will act like them,

and you will endanger yourself like an animal caught in a trap.

26Stay away from those people who agree to pay loans for others.

{Indeed, stay away from those people} who guarantee to pay the loans of others.

27{For} if you cannot pay back {the loan},

{then} the person to whom you owe money will surely take away even your own bed {in order to pay back the loan}.

28Do not cheat people by moving the stones that their ancestors placed long ago

to mark the boundaries of their land.

29Consider this: People who work skillfully will serve kings

rather than serving unknown people.

231When you sit down to eat {a meal} with someone who rules over others,

pay attention to the food that is in front of you.

2Restrain yourself {from eating too much}

if you like eating a lot of food.

3Do not crave the {expensive} food that the ruler has

because that ruler is using that food to deceive you.

4Do not work so much that you exhaust yourself in order to become rich.

Be understanding enough to stop doing so.

5As soon as you look at that wealth, it will surely be gone!

{This is} because wealth certainly disappears quickly as if it had wings

and flew off into the sky like a fast bird.

6Do not eat food that stingy people {give you}.

Do not crave the expensive food that they have,

7because stingy people are always thinking about how much the food costs them.

They will tell you to eat and drink,

but they do not mean what they say.

8{When you realize this,} you will want to vomit what little food you ate.

You will have wasted the kind things you said {to them}.

9Do not directly address foolish people

because they will only despise the insightful things that you say.

10Do not cheat people by moving the old stones that mark the boundaries of their land.

Do not claim the land that belongs to {defenseless} orphans,

11because {Yahweh is} the one who redeems them (and he} is powerful.

He is the one who will defend them when they dispute with you.

12Consider carefully {what people say} when they correct you.

Indeed, listen carefully to what people teach you.

13Do not refuse to discipline your children.

If you physically punish them, they will not die.

14Physically punish your children,

so that you may prevent them from dying.

15My child, if you are wise,

then surely I myself will be very happy,

16and I will sincerely rejoice

when you say what is right.

17Do not envy sinful people;

instead always reverently fear Yahweh.

18{If you do so, then} you will surely have a {good} future,

and what you hope will happen will indeed occur!

19My child, listen {to me} so that you can become wise.

Make yourself think about behaving rightly.

20Stay away from drunkards and gluttons,

21because drunkards and gluttons will become poor.

They sleep so much that they will only have rags to wear.

22Pay attention to your father, who enabled you to exist,

and do not scorn your mother when she becomes old.

23Learn what is true and remember it.

Learn what is wise and instructive and what you should understand.

24Fathers of righteous people are very joyful.

Indeed, those who father wise people are happy because of them.

25So do what will make your parents happy!

Do what will make your mother joyful!

26My son, pay close attention to me!

Carefully observe what I do!

27{Do this} because prostitutes are as dangerous as a deep hole.

Indeed, adulterous women are as dangerous as a well you cannot escape from.

28These very women certainly wait {for men to seduce} like robbers {wait for people to rob}.

They cause many men to become unfaithful.

29These are the kind of people who are woeful, sorrowful, and quarrelsome,

who lament, get hurt for no reason,

and have red eyes:

30those people who drink too much wine

and are always looking around for wine {to drink} that someone has prepared.

31Do not {even} look with pleasure at wine, even though it is beautifully red, glistens in the cup,

and goes down your throat smoothly.

32Afterward the wine {only} harms you as if a poisonous snake had bitten you.

33{When you are drunk,} you will hallucinate,

and you will speak perversely.

34You will feel {dizzy} as if you were trying to sleep on a ship that the sea was tossing back and forth.

Indeed, you will feel as if you were trying to sleep while swaying at the top of a ship’s sails.

35{You will say,} “People hit me, but it did not hurt.

People beat me, but I did not feel it.

I wish I could be sober

so that I could find even more wine {to drink} again!”

241Do not envy evil people;

do not want to associate with them,

2because they plan to act violently,

and they talk about troubling people.

3People build houses by acting wisely,

they make houses stable by acting understandably.

4By acting knowledgeably, people fill the rooms {of those houses}

with all kinds of valuable and delightful riches.

5Wise people are strong,

and knowledgeable people make themselves more powerful,

6because letting people advise you will make you fight your war successfully,

and letting many people counsel you will rescue you {from losing the war}.

7Foolish people cannot understand what is wise;

they have nothing to say in court.

8{Some} people are always planning to act evilly;

other people refer to them as schemers.

9Foolish plans are sinful,

and people detest people who ridicule others.

10If you fail during distressful times,

then you are weak.

11Save people whom others are {unjustly} leading away to kill;

prevent them from staggering to {the place where} people will {unjustly} slaughter them!

12If you {falsely} claim that you did not know that those people were dying unjustly, then think about this:

Yahweh discerns what people think and surely understands!

He keeps you alive and surely knows!

He will surely make people receive what they deserve for what they have done!

13My child, eat honey because it tastes good,

and honey dripping from the comb tastes sweet.

14Be aware that what is wise is like honey for you.

If you become wise, then you will have a {good} future,

and what you hope will happen will indeed occur!

15Do not be like wicked people and hide in wait in order to attack the places where righteous people dwell.

Do not devastate the places where righteous people rest!

16{Do not do so} because righteous people can recover many times when disastrous things happen to them,

but disastrous things will destroy wicked people.

17Do not be happy when something disastrous happens to your adversaries.

Indeed, do not rejoice when that happens!

18If you do, then Yahweh will notice and disapprove,

so that he stops being angry with your enemies.

19Do not worry about people who do what is evil.

Do not be jealous of wicked people.

20{Do not do so} because evil people will not have {good} futures,

{but} wicked people {will merely die} like an oil lamp that stops burning {oil}.

21My child, reverently fear Yahweh and kings.

Avoid people who rebel {against either Yahweh or the king},

22because disastrous things will happen quickly to those people,

and no one knows how terribly both Yahweh and kings can destroy {others}! 23Here are more things that wise people have said:

It is very evil to favor someone when you judge.

24Many people will curse and people groups will hate

anyone who declares that any guilty person is innocent.

25However, people who condemn {guilty people} will prosper,

and Yahweh will bless them well.

26People who answer honestly show that they are true friends.

27Do the work you must do outside and prepare your fields

before you build your house.

28Do not testify against someone you know if you do not have a good reason {to do so}.

Do not speak deceitfully!

29Do not say, “I will do to him that same {bad} thing he did to me;

I will pay him back for what he did to me!”

30I walked by the land of a lazy person

and past the vineyard of someone who does not think wisely.

31And I saw that thistles and weeds were everywhere in that field and vineyard. Even the stone wall surrounding them had fallen down.

32When I saw {that}, I considered carefully {what I was seeing}. When I observed {that}, I learned {this}:

33{You say to yourself,} “Let me sleep just a little more!

Let me lay my hands {across my chest} in order to rest comfortably for a little while longer!”

34{Being so lazy} will result in you suddenly becoming poor and needy

as if a thief has attacked you.

251Here are more wise sayings said by Solomon that the scribes who served Hezekiah, the king of Judah, copied {from a scroll that Solomon had written}:

2God shows how glorious he is when he makes something difficult for people to understand.

But kings show how glorious they are when they explain something {that is difficult for people to understand}.

3As people cannot fully understand how high the sky is or how deep the earth is,

so they cannot fully understand what kings think.

4People who make things from metal must remove scum from silver

before they can make {that silver into} something.

5{In the same way,} people must remove wicked advisers from the presence of kings

before acting righteously causes kings to rule securely.

6Do not promote yourself in front of kings,

and do not pretend to be great.

7{Do not do so} because it is better if someone invites you to come closer {to a king},

than for someone to embarrass you in front of a royal official whom you have seen {by telling you to move away from a king}.

8Do not plead your case too quickly against someone you know.

If you do, then you will not know what to do when that person {wins the case and} embarrasses you!

9If you do indeed plead your case against someone you know,

then do not tell {others} what is secret about that person.

10If do you, then people may hear you and disgrace you,

and people will continue to speak badly about you.

11What someone says aptly

is {as delightful as} golden apples that someone has set in silver.

12When someone wisely rebukes someone who is willing to listen,

it is {as valuable as} a gold ring or jewelry made from the best gold.

13Reliable messengers are as refreshing to those who sent them as cold snow at the time when people harvest crops;

they refresh the people whom they serve.

14People who brag about giving something that they never gave

are as disappointing as clouds and wind that do not bring rain.

15People can persuade leaders by acting patiently,

and by speaking gently people can convince those who oppose them {to agree with them}.

16If you discover some wild honey, do not eat too much of it.

If you do, then you will become sick and vomit.

17{In the same way,} do not visit too often the houses of people you know.

If you do, then they may become weary of you or {even} hate you.

18People who lie when they testify against people they know

are {deadly, like} a club, sword, or piercing arrow.

19Trusting treacherous people during distressful times

is {as useless as having} a rotten tooth or a crippled foot.

20Singing to someone who is sad

is {as unhelpful as} taking a coat off of someone in cold weather

or pouring vinegar on soda.

21Feed your enemies if they are hungry;

give them something to drink if they are thirsty.

22{Do so} because by doing so you {will shame them, as if you} are pouring burning coals on top of them,

and Yahweh will reward you {for doing so}.

23When wind blows from the north, rain will fall.

In the same way, when people tell the secrets of others, people get angry.

24It is better to live {alone} in a corner of a housetop

than to live inside a house with a wife who always argues {with you}.

25When people hear something good from a faraway place,

it is as {refreshing as drinking} cold water when you are thirsty.

26When righteous people yield to wicked people,

it is {as bad as} a spring that people have made murky by walking in it or {as bad as} a polluted fountain.

27{As} it is very bad to eat too much honey;

so it is dishonorable to try to make people honor you.

28People who cannot control themselves

are {as defenseless as} a city that an army has broken into and knocked down its walls.

261Honoring foolish people is just as inappropriate

as snow {falling} in {hot} summer and rain {falling} during the time to harvest crops.

2When someone curses innocent people,

it is like birds that fly around and do not land {on those innocent people}.

3As people must whip horses and bridle donkeys {in order to guide them},

so people must physically punish foolish people {in order to guide them}.

4{Sometimes,} do not reply to foolish people according to their foolish way of thinking.

If you do, then you also will be foolish.

5{Sometimes,} reply to foolish people according to their foolish way of thinking.

If you do not, then they may think that they are wise.

6People who send foolish people to tell {someone else} something on their behalf

{harm themselves like} someone who cuts off his own feet or drinks what is harmful.

7{As} the legs of people who cannot walk are useless,

so are the sayings that foolish people say.

8Honoring foolish people is just {as useless}

as a harmless weapon.

9{As} a thistle that pierces the hand of a drunk person {hurts that person},

so are the sayings that foolish people say.

10People who employ foolish people or random strangers are {as dangerous}

as someone who injures all the people {near him} by shooting arrows {at them}.

11Foolish people who do the same foolish thing over and over again

are like dogs that eat what they have vomited up.

12Consider this: Foolish people are more likely to improve themselves

than people who {wrongly} think they are wise.

13Lazy people {do nothing because they} claim that there is a lion in the path

or in the midst of the streets.

14As doors swing on their hinges {and do not go anywhere},

so lazy people turn back and forth in their beds.

15Lazy people put their hands in a dish {of food},

{but} they are so lazy that they will not lift the food to their mouths.

16Lazy people {wrongly} think that they are wiser

than many people who answer discreetly.

17People who make themselves angry because of something not concerning them that other people are arguing about

are {as foolish as} people who cause dogs to bite them by pulling their ears when they walk by.

18-19People who trick people they know

and say that they were just joking are {as dangerous}

as a crazy person who {uses a bow to} shoot flaming darks or deadly arrows {at people}.

20Fires stop burning when they have nothing {to burn}.

In the same way, people stop arguing when no one is gossiping.

21{As} charcoal keeps coals burning and wood keeps fires burning,

so people who always argue keep other people arguing.

22People are eager to listen to what people who gossip say,

and what they say deeply affects those who hear it.

23What people fervently say while thinking evilly is {as deceptive as}

a cheap pot that someone has covered with a pretty coating.

24People who hate you will use what they say to hide what they feel,

but they are {really} thinking about how to betray you.

25Do not believe those people when they speak kindly to you,

because they are thinking many detestable things.

26Although those people prevent others from knowing that they hate you by deceiving them,

everyone will realize how wicked they are.

27People who dig pits to trap others will fall into those pits instead;

and people who try to crush others with stones will become crushed by those stones instead.

28Liars hate the people whom they hurt,

and flatterers cause disastrous things to happen.

271Do not brag about what {you think} will happen tomorrow,

because you do not know what will happen then.

2Do not praise yourself; let someone else praise you.

Indeed, let someone who does not know you praise you, not yourself.

3Stones and sand are heavy,

but how provocative fools are is like something that is heavier than both of them.

4Angry people are cruel and furious people are destructive,

but no one can resist jealous people!

5It is better to correct people openly, than to love them without them knowing that you do.

6Friends will be faithful to you by criticizing you {when necessary},

but enemies will deceive you by acting affectionately toward you.

7When people who have full stomachs see {on the ground} honey dripping from the comb, they step on it {because they are not hungry}.

but even bitter things taste sweet to hungry people {because they are so hungry}.

8People who stray from their homes

are like birds that stray from their nests.

9Just as fragrant oil and perfume make people feel happy,

so when your friends advise you sincerely, they show how kind they are.

10Do not abandon your friends or your father’s friends.

Do not go to the houses of your relatives when something disastrous happens to you.

{Rather,} it is better to go to a neighbor than to relatives who live far away.

11My child, act wisely and make me happy,

so that I will be able to reply to anyone who argues against me.

12Sensible people observe something dangerous happening and avoid it,

but naive people {ignorantly} do not avoid it and suffer {for doing so}.

13Take the coats of people who promise to pay a loan for someone whom they do not know.

Indeed, hold onto the coats of people who do so for a foreigner.

14People will think that someone they know is cursing them if that person speaks loudly to bless them early in the morning.

15A wife who always argues {with you} is as {annoying as}

constantly dripping water on a rainy day.

16It is as difficult to stop her {from arguing} as stopping the wind,

or catching oil in one hand.

17Just as iron can sharpen an iron {blade}, so too people can help people they know improve how they think.

18Just as people who take care of fruit trees will eat the fruit from those trees {as a result},

so too will masters honor their servants who guard them.

19When people look in water, the water reflects their faces.

In the same way, what people think reveals what kinds of people they are.

20Just as the place where dead people go never becomes full;

so people never stop wanting {something}.

21People use crucibles and furnaces to test and refine silver and gold.

In the same way, people test what kind of person someone is by saying good things about that person.

22If you were to crush a fool the way you would crush grain {into powder},

you would still not be able to stop that person from acting foolishly.

23Be fully aware of how your sheep are doing.

Indeed, consider carefully how your animals fare.

24{Do so} because riches will not last forever.

Even a king’s family will not rule forever!

25Harvest the grass and then you will see new grass.

Collect {and store} the plants that grow on the hillside.

26{If you do these things, then} you will have lambs with wool that you can clothe yourself with. You will also have male goats that you can sell for enough money to buy a field.

27You will even have female goats that produce enough milk for yourself, your family,

and your servant girls to drink.

281Wicked people run away even though no one is chasing them,

but righteous people are as brave as lions.

2When the people in a country sin, they have many leaders;

but when they have a truly knowledgeable ruler, they will last.

3Poor people who oppress other poor people

are {as destructive as} rain that destroys all the crops, so that there is nothing to eat.

4People who reject {Yahweh’s} laws say good things about wicked people;

but people who obey those laws oppose such wicked people.

5Evil people cannot comprehend what is just,

but people who desire to please Yahweh comprehend everything about it.

6It is better to be poor and act honestly

than to act dishonestly and be rich.

7People who obey {Yahweh’s} laws are discerning children,

but people who befriend gluttons disgrace their fathers.

8People who become wealthy by charging an unreasonably large amount of interest {from those to whom they loan money}

{unknowingly} collect that wealth to give it to people who are kind to poor people.

9Yahweh detests what people pray

if those people refuse to even listen to his laws.

10People who guide upright people to act evilly

will destroy themselves by what they do,

but people whom Yahweh does not blame {for acting wickedly} will receive what is good.

11Rich people may {wrongly} think that they are wise,

but discerning poor people will prove that those people are not {wise}.

12People celebrate when righteous people become powerful,

but people hide when wicked people become powerful.

13People who {try to} hide the sinful things that they do will never be successful,

but Yahweh will be merciful to people who confess the sinful things that they have done and stop doing them.

14People who always reverently fear Yahweh are happy,

but bad things happen to stubborn people.

15Wicked people who rule over poor people are {as dangerous as}

a roaring lion or attacking bear.

16Leaders who are not understanding severely oppress {other people},

{but} people who despise gaining wealth unjustly will live for a long time.

17People who murder others will keep running away {from those who would punish them} until they die.

Do not help them!

18Yahweh will rescue people whom he does not blame for how they act,

but people who act dishonestly will suddenly ruin themselves.

19People who work hard will have enough food {to eat},

but people who waste time doing worthless things will only be poor.

20Yahweh abundantly blesses faithful people,

but he will certainly punish people who are eager to be wealthy.

21Although it is very evil to favor someone,

some people will sin {by doing so} to get as little as a scrap of food.

22Although people who are eager to become rich are stingy,

they do not realize that they will become poor.

23People approve of someone who corrects them after that person does so

more than {they might approve of} someone who speaks flatteringly {to them}.

24People who rob their parents and say that doing so is not wrong

are as bad as murderers.

25Greedy people cause people to argue with each other,

but Yahweh will prosper people who trust him.

26People who trust themselves are foolish,

but people who act wisely are the ones who will escape {what is dangerous}.

27People who give poor people {what they need} will have all that they need,

but Yahweh abundantly curses people who ignore poor people.

28People hide when wicked people become powerful,

but when those wicked people die, there will be more and more righteous people.

291Some people become stubborn when other people correct them,

someone will destroy them instantly and they will not be able to recover.

2People are joyful when righteous people become numerous,

but people are miserable when wicked people rule {over them}.

3People who cherish what is wise make their fathers happy,

but people who have sex with prostitutes waste all their money.

4Kings make the people in their land succeed by acting justly,

but leaders who take money dishonestly ruin the people in their land.

5People who flatter people they know {are deceptive},

{they are like} people who try to trap others.

6Evil people endanger themselves by acting sinfully,

but righteous people sing joyfully and are happy.

7Righteous people care about the rights of poor people,

but wicked people do not care about them at all.

8People who mock others agitate people living in a city,

but wise people stop others from being angry.

9If wise people sue foolish people,

the foolish people will rage and sneer and not resolve anything.

10Murderers despise people whom Yahweh does not blame {for acting wickedly},

but upright people try to protect those people.

11Foolish people uncontrollably express everything that they feel,

but wise people control how they express what they feel.

12Leaders who believe the false things that people tell them

have only wicked servants.

13Poor people and the people who oppress {them} have {at least} one thing in common:

Yahweh is the one who caused them to live.

14Kings who judge poor people according to what is true

will always rule securely.

15If parents punish and correct their children, doing so can make those children wise;

but if parents let their children do whatever they want to do, then their children will disgrace them.

16People sin more when wicked people become numerous,

but righteous people will witness Yahweh destroy those wicked people.

17Discipline your children, so that they will make you feel peaceful

and will delight you.

18When Yahweh does not reveal anything {to his prophets}, then people do not control themselves,

but people who obey {Yahweh’s} laws are happy.

19You cannot correct servants by {only} speaking to them

because they will not respond to you, even if they understand {what you say}.

20Consider this: Foolish people are more likely to improve themselves

than people who speak thoughtlessly.

21If you give your servants everything they want when they are young,

then they will eventually be arrogant.

22People who easily become angry cause people to argue.

Indeed, angry people cause people to sin.

23People will humiliate proud people for being proud,

but people will honor humble people.

24People who help thieves only hurt themselves.

They hear that Yahweh will curse them {for not speaking what is true}, but they do not say anything.

25Being anxious is {as dangerous as} a trap,

but people who trust Yahweh will be safe.

26Many people want leaders to help them,

but Yahweh is the only one who does what is just for them.

27Righteous people detest unjust people,

but wicked people detest people who act uprightly.

301{These are} the sayings of Agur son of Jakeh, which Yahweh told him to say;

{these are what} Agur declared to Ithiel, even to Ithiel and Ucal:

2I am certainly less intelligent than other people.

Indeed, I do not understand as much as everyone else understands!

3I have never learned about what is wise,

nor do I know about {Yahweh,} the Holy One.

4Surely nobody has ever gone to heaven and returned to earth!

Surely nobody has ever controlled the wind!

Surely nobody has ever gathered the water for rain in the clouds!

Surely nobody has ever formed the boundaries of the earth!

{If such a person exists, then} what is his name? And what is the name of his son?

Surely you do not know {about such a person}!

5Everything that God says is true;

he is {like} a shield that protects people who trust him to protect them.

6Never claim that God has said something other than what he has {actually} said.

If you do that, then he will correct you and he will prove that you lied {about what he said}.

7I ask Yahweh for two things,

and ask that he give them to me before I die:

8{I ask that he} prevent me from being dishonest or speaking what is not true.

{I also ask that he} not let me become too poor or too rich,

{but} just provide the proper amount of food for me.

9If I become too rich, then I may reject Yahweh and claim that I do not know him.

Or if I become too poor, then I may rob {other people},

so that I dishonor my God.

10Never say bad things about servants to the people whom they serve.

If you do, then they will curse you, and people will hold you responsible {for what you said}.

11Some people frequently curse their parents.

12Some people think they are sinless,

but they are {actually guilty like} people who have not cleaned off their filth.

13Some people are extremely arrogant!

14Some people {harshly oppress poor people as if they} were animals who remove poor people from the world

by eating them up with very sharp teeth.

15{Greedy people are like} animals that suck blood and have two daughters.

{The names of both of them are} Give Me Some!

There are three, no, four things that always want more:

16the place where dead people are,

childless women,

soil that never receives enough water,

and fire, which always needs something to burn.

17People who ridicule their fathers,

and refuse to obey their mothers

{will die and} wild birds will pluck out their eyes,

and young scavenging birds will eat them.

18There are three, no, four things that are too amazing for me to comprehend:

19how birds fly in the air,

how snakes slither over rocks,

how ships sail in the middle of the ocean,

and how young men act {lovingly} with young women.

20Acting adulterously is {as easy} for adulterous women as

eating, wiping their mouths,

and claiming that they have not sinned at all.

21There are three, no, four things that {the people in} the world cannot tolerate:

22when slaves become rulers,

when fools have plenty of food to eat,

23when women whom people hate marry someone,

and when servant girls replace the wives of their masters.

24There are four creatures in the world that are small

but extremely wise:

25Although ants are weak insects,

during the right time they store their food {to eat during the winter}.

26Although hyraxes are weak animals,

they make their homes {among the rocks} on cliffs.

27Although locusts do not have a king,

they move in orderly groups like soldiers in an army.

28Although lizards are small enough to hold in your hands,

you can find them inside kings’ palaces.

29There are three, no, four things that look very impressive when they walk:

30lions, which are the most powerful animals

and never flee from anything,

31strutting male birds, male goats,

and kings whom people are afraid to rebel against.

32If you have acted foolishly by bragging about yourself,

or if you were plotting {to do what is evil},

then stop doing so immediately!

33{Stop doing so} because {doing so will cause bad things to happen to you,} just as churning milking turns it into butter,

squeezing a nose will make it bleed,

and making people angry causes them to fight.

311{These are} the sayings of King Lemuel; Yahweh had spoken these sayings that his mother had taught him:

2My son, whom I gave birth to

and whom I vowed {to dedicate to Yahweh}, listen to me!

3Do not exhaust yourself by having sex with women;

they can destroy kings.

4Lemuel, kings should certainly not drink wine,

and rulers should not want to drink what can intoxicate {them}.”

5If they do so, then they might forget the laws {that they have made}

and prevent all suffering people from getting what they legally deserve.

6Let dying people drink what can intoxicate {them},

and let miserable people drink wine.

7They can drink {what can intoxicate them} to forget that they are poor

and to completely forget what troubles them.

8Defend those who cannot speak {for themselves};

{defend} all those who are dying so that they get what they legally deserve.

9Defend, judge rightly,

and plead for suffering and poor people to get what they legally deserve.

10Virtuous and capable women are difficult to find!

This kind of woman is more valuable than precious jewels.

11Her husband completely trusts her,

and he will always gain many things {because of her}.

12Such a woman benefits her husband

for as long as she lives.

13She gets materials to make warm and cool clothing,

and she enjoys making that clothing.

14She is like merchant ships

because she brings her food to her home from distant places.

15She gets up before dawn in order to prepare food for her family

and some {food} for her female servants.

16She buys a field after planning carefully.

She uses some of what she earned by working to plant a vineyard.

17She vigorously prepares herself to work hard,

and she makes her arms strong {by working hard}.

18She knows that what she does is very profitable.

She works late into the night.

19She makes thread {for clothing} with her own hands.

20She helps poor people and suffering people.

21She is not worried that her family will be cold during cold weather

because her whole family has the best warm clothing.

22She makes her own blankets to cover beds.

She wears clothing made from expensive cloth.

23People respect such a woman’s husband at the {city} gates,

and he sits {there} with the {other} leaders of the city.

24This woman makes clothing and sells it.

She also sells belts to merchants.

25People notice how strong and dignified she is,

and she is cheerful about what will happen in the future.

26She speaks wisely,

and when she speaks, she teaches {others} to be faithfully kind.

27She carefully watches what happens in her household,

and she is never lazy.

28This woman’s children stand respectfully and declare that she lives happily.

Her husband says good things about her as well.

29He says to her, “Many women have acted virtuously and capably,

but you indeed have done better than them all!”

30Charming women {who are not good} can deceive people into thinking that they are good,

and beautiful women will not remain beautiful forever.

However, people will praise those women who reverently fear Yahweh.

31Give to such women what they have earned,

and praise them publicly for what they have done.