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(Let wise people listen {to these wise sayings} and learn more.

Indeed, {let these sayings} guide understanding people so that they know what to do.)

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.

7In order to become knowledgeable, a person must begin by deeply respecting Yahweh.

{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 then {people will admire and respect you;} it will be as if those teachings 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 their grave.

{Yes, we will 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 the things that 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 hide in wait, but they kill themselves.

Indeed, they hide so that they can suddenly attack, but they themselves die.

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

What they gained unjustly will kill them.

20Imagine that everything that is wise is a woman who calls out {to everyone} in public.

Imagine that this woman shouts {to people} in crowded places.

21Imagine that she calls out {to people} at the place where busy streets intersect.

Imagine that she speaks her {wise} words at the {crowded} entrance of the city gates.

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

You people who ridicule {others} have enjoyed ridiculing {others} 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!

Listen! I will tell you all that I am thinking.

Indeed, I will help you to understand what I have to say to you.

24I called 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 that 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{Yes,} 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{, I will ridicule you}!

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 look for me,

but they will not be able to find me.

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

Also, they have decided not to respect 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 carefully to what is wise,

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

3Yes, cry out {to God} for {him to show you} what you should perceive.

Call loudly {to God} for {him to teach you} what you should understand!

4Try to learn what is wise as eagerly as you would try to find silver.

Indeed, look for it as 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.

{If you do those things,} then you will be able to know 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—

all the best ways to behave.

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

and knowing {what is wise} will please you.

11Being able to choose wisely will make you safe.

Indeed, being able to understand {what is happening around you} will make you secure.

12{Being wise like this} will keep you from doing wicked things,

{and you will stay away} from people who speak perversely.

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

14They gladly do what is wrong.

They enjoy doing things that are perverse and evil.

15They behave deceptively.

Indeed, they act deviously.

16{Being discreet and insightful} will protect you {also} from adulterous women.

{Being discreet and insightful will 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 cause you to die.

Indeed, going with her is the same as going to the place where the spirits of dead people are.

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

He will no longer be able to live in a way that results in life with God.

20Therefore, behave like a good person.

Indeed, conduct yourself like a righteous person.

21This is important because {only} people who live uprightly will live in our land,

Indeed, it is the people who do not act wickedly who will stay in this land for a long time.

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

Be sure of this: 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 consider you an insightful person.

5Trust Yahweh completely,

and do not rely on what you understand.

6Let Yahweh lead you whenever you do anything.

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

7Do not think that you know what is best.

Instead, revere Yahweh and refuse to do what is evil.

8Doing so will make your body healthy.

Indeed, {doing so} will strengthen you from the inside.

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

and {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 completely 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 respond in that way} because Yahweh {only} reproves the people whom he loves,

just as a father reproves the children whom he cherishes.

13People who become wise are happy.

Indeed, the people who understand {Yahweh’s world are the ones who} are truly happy.

14{This is} because being wise benefits people more than silver {could benefit them}.

Indeed, being wise is worth more to people than having gold.

15Being wise is more valuable than precious jewels.

There is nothing that 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 allow you to live pleasantly.

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

18What is wise is {like} a tree {with fruit} that sustains the people who possess it,

People who are consistently wise live happily.

19Yahweh made the world through being wise.

Through being skillful, he made the sky and everything in it.

20Through knowing all things, Yahweh made water burst forth from deep {below the earth} and he made water fall from the clouds {above}.

21My child, always remember to do what is prudent and brings a good outcome.

Always be mindful to do those things.

22Doing so will give you a satisfying life

and people will honor and respect you.

23Doing what is prudent and good will {also} cause you to live safely.

They will keep you from making any serious mistakes.

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

You will 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 are with a friend {who needs something}, and you have it with you, do not tell that person,

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

29Do not plan to harm people that you interact with, because they live near you and they trust 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.

34When people ridicule {others}, it is Yahweh who ridicules them,

but he kindly helps those who are humble.

35People will honor wise people,

but people 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.

3When I was just a boy with my father,

{and} my mother’s 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!

5Learn what is wise and what you should understand!

Always remember and keep doing the things that I have said to you!

6Keep doing what is wise, because doing so will keep you safe.

Love doing what is wise, because being wise will protect you from harm.

7Being wise is the most important thing. {So} become wise!

{Even if} it costs you everything that you own, become a person who understands {God’s world}!

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 though you had an attractive wreath on your head.

Indeed, being wise will make you {honorable,} as though you were wearing 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 live in the right way.

12{If you follow my teaching,} nothing will hinder you {from succeeding}.

Indeed, if you attempt great things, you will do well.

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 behave in the way that evil people behave.

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 have done something evil {on that day};

{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} as people do who walk in the sunshine;

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

19{But} the way that wicked people live is {dangerous,} like people {who walk} in total darkness.

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

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

Listen carefully to what I say!

21Keep thinking about what I say!

Fully commit yourself to remembering such things!

22{Do this} because those who live according to my words will have good lives,

and their whole bodies will be healthy.

23More than anything else, be extremely careful about what you think and desire,

because those things 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.

26Plan carefully to do things in the right way.

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 will be able to choose wisely {what to do},

and {so that} you will know the {right} things to say.

3{Do this} because what adulterous women say seems delightful like the taste of honey.

Yes, their words are more soothing than how olive oil feels on your skin.

4However, after being with such a woman you will be 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 cause both of you to die.

Indeed, what she does {with you} will cause you to become a dead person.

6She does not want to do what will cause her to live well.

She does not realize that she {lives precariously like someone who} is walking on a broken 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, you will be giving the best efforts of your youth to others,

and a merciless person will take away {everything that you would gain 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 produced} when you were strong,

and an outsider 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.

14My people are close to considering me as someone who has wasted his life.”

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!

18{As a result,} may Yahweh bless your marriage {with children};

enjoy {sexually} the woman whom you married when you were young!

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

Let her breasts satisfy you always.

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 that they do are {like} ropes by which others can grab them.

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 meet,

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

2{if in this way} you have said things that you regret

{because} it would be very difficult for you {to fulfill} what you promised,

3then, my child, do this in order to save yourself {from having to pay back this loan}:

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

4Do not wait until tomorrow; {go immediately!}

do not allow yourself to 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, learn {something} from {watching} ants!

Consider what ants do so that you can be wise.

7Absolutely no one tells ants what to do.

8{Nevertheless,} they work hard all during the summer,

gathering and storing food {to eat during the winter}.

9{But} you lazy person, stop sleeping!

Wake up!

10{If 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!”

11Then {the result of being so lazy will be that} you will become poor and needy

just as surely as if a thief has robbed you.

12{I will describe for you what} worthless, sinful people {do. They} constantly deceive people by what they say.

13They make gestures, such as winking their eyes, signaling with their feet, and pointing their fingers {to communicate their evil plans to their friends}.

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 murdering a person who has not done anything wrong,

18someone planning ways to act sinfully,

someone eagerly looking for ways to act wickedly,

19someone who naturally lies when testifying,

and someone causing 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.

22The wise things that we have taught you will help you to know what you should do as you go about each day.

They will cause you to be safe when you sleep.

When you wake up {in the morning}, they will be what will continue to instruct you.

23{This is so} because what I have commanded {you} is {like} a lamp {that shows you your way}.

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 give you a good life.

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

{and to prevent you} from {believing} the seductive talk of immoral women.

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 may only cost you a cheap meal,

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

27A man cannot hold fire against his chest without burning his clothes!

28No one can walk on burning coals without blistering his feet!

29It is similar with anyone who has sex with another man’s wife.

People will certainly punish anyone who does that.

30People do not resent someone who steals if he only steals {food} because he is hungry.

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

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

32By contrast, a man who acts adulterously with a woman is not thinking.

By doing this, he destroys himself!

33{The woman’s husband} will injure him,

people will despise 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.

Carefully remember the things that I have commanded you.

2Do what I have commanded {you}, so that you will live {long and well}.

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

3Constantly remind yourself of the things that I have commanded you.

Memorize them!

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 on the path toward her house.

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

10Then I saw that 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 a man 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 many persuasive things;

by speaking seductively she allured him {into doing what she wanted him 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 unknowingly went to die} like a foolish person who lets others lead him by a chain to where they will punish him

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

{He was as foolish} as a bird flying quickly into a trap.

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

24So now, children, listen to what I say!

Carefully pay attention to what I have spoken to you!

25Do not desire to be with any adulterous woman.

Indeed, never go with one of them!

26{Do not do so} because they have ruined the lives of many men.

It would be difficult to count all of the men that they have caused to die!

27{Going to} an adulterous woman’s house is like choosing to become a dead person.

Those who enter her bedroom will die as a result.

81Imagine that there is a woman who represents everything that is wise. Surely such a woman calls out {to everyone}.

Indeed, imagine that this woman represents everything that people should understand.

Surely such a woman shouts {these things to people}.

2Imagine that this woman stands at the highest place next to the crowded crossroads {where everyone can hear her}.

3Imagine that this woman shouts loudly beside the gates at the entrance to a city.

4{Imagine that she proclaims:} “I am calling out to all of you!

I am speaking to all people!

5You naive people must learn to be prudent.

You foolish people must learn 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 honest.

I do not say anything that is false or that deceives {people}.

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 being wise is more valuable than having precious jewels.

Being wise is more valuable than anything that you can desire.

12I am what is wise. I am a close relative to what is prudent.

I enable people to know how to decide things intelligently.

13Everyone who reverently fears Yahweh hates what is evil.

I{, what is wise,} hate it when people are proud or arrogant.

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

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

I am what people need in order to understand how things truly are.

I strengthen people.

15I enable kings to rule {well}.

{I enable} rulers to make righteous laws.

16I enable princes and nobles to govern {well}.

{I enable} every royal official who judges righteously {to do so}.

17{I 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 property 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.

24Yahweh revealed me before the oceans existed

and before there were springs abounding with water.

25Yahweh revealed me before he made the mountains {and} before {he made} the hills.

26{Yahweh revealed me} before he made the land or the fields or the first particles of dirt on the earth.

27I was there when Yahweh made the sky,

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

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

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

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

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

{I was there} when Yahweh made the parts supporting the dry land.

30At that time I was {like} someone who was beside Yahweh, skillfully helping him to 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 obeys my teachings will be happy.

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

Think about what I teach you!

34People who listen to me will be happy.

People who are as eager to listen to me as if they were waiting {for me} at the door of my house every day

and watching for me to come out {will be happy}.

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

and Yahweh will approve of them.

36But those who refuse to be wise hurt themselves.

All those who hate to be wise {act like they are people who} would love to die.”

91Continue imagining that there is a woman who represents everything that is wise. Imagine that this woman has built her own {spacious} house

and made seven pillars {to support its roof}.

2{Imagine that she 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.

3Imagine that this woman has sent out her maids {to invite her dinner guests}.

Then she calls 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 {well}.

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 wise people, then they will become even wiser.

If you teach righteous people, then they will learn even more.

10If you want to be wise, you must start by revering Yahweh,

and {only} by knowing what is holy will you understand {which teachings are wise and true}.

11Surely being wise will cause you to live for many more years.

12Any wise person benefits himself from being wise,

just as anyone who ridicules {other people} will personally suffer 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 call out to the people who are walking past them.

{They call 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 more} 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 lazy 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 {sometimes} 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 are willing to obey the {good} things that people tell them to do,

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 others} hurt {people},

and people who speak foolishly destroy themselves.

11What righteous people say is like a spring that enables people to live long and well;

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

12When people hate others, they argue with each other;

but when people love others, they forgive people for the wrong things that they do.

13Discerning people say what is wise,

but someone must punish people who do not think wisely.

14Wise people continue to learn all that they can,

but when foolish people speak, they start to destroy things.

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

but poor people suffer much because they are poor.

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 hate {others} but pretend that they do not {hate them} 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 working harder will not make them to become wealthier.

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

but sensible people enjoy doing 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.

27People who revere Yahweh will live for a long time,

but wicked people will live for only a short time.

28What righteous people hope for will make them joyful,

but what wicked people hope for will not happen.

29Yahweh protects honest people like a fortress because they live the way that he directs people to live,

but not living that way destroys people who act sinfully.

30Righteous people will always be secure,

but wicked people will never live in our land.

31Righteous people say what is wise,

but Yahweh will stop people from speaking who speak perversely.

32Righteous people know good things to say,

but wicked people {continually} say things that are not true.

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

but it pleases him when people use correct weights {on their weighing instruments}.

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

but humble people are wise.

3Upright people know what to do because they are honest,

but being deceitful will ruin treacherous people.

4What people own will not help them when Yahweh punishes {wicked people},

but he will not kill those who live righteously.

5Being righteous will cause innocent people to live securely,

but being wicked will ruin those who act wickedly.

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

but desiring {bad} things will cause people who act treacherously to trap themselves.

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

they hoped that being strong would benefit them, but it will not.

8Yahweh rescues righteous people from becoming distressed;

but wicked people will become distressed instead.

9People who reject God ruin other people by what they say,

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 go around gossiping tell {others} what is secret,

but trustworthy people will keep a matter private.

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

but having many people to advise them will keep that group secure.

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

but people who avoid agreeing {to do such a thing} will be safe.

16People honor a gracious woman,

but cruel men {only} get wealth.

17People who are faithfully kind greatly benefit themselves,

but cruel people hurt themselves.

18People who act wickedly falsely believe that they have gained {something good},

but God truly rewards people who do what is right.

19People who truly act righteously will live {well},

but people who eagerly do what is evil will die.

20Yahweh detests people who think deceitfully,

but people who act blamelessly please him.

21It is certain that Yahweh will punish wicked people,

and that he will not punish those who belong to the righteous group.

22{It is as unsuitable for} a beautiful woman to refuse to act discreetly

{as it is for} a pig to have a gold ring in its snout.

23When righteous people get what they want, it results in only good things,

but when wicked people get what they hope for, it results in {Yahweh} being angry.

24Some people generously share {what they have with others} but they receive even more.

Other people keep more {of what they have} than they should keep, but they still become poor.

25People who generously bless others will prosper;

and people who generously give others what the others need will also receive everything that they need.

26People curse anyone who {selfishly} hoards grain {instead of selling it},

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

27If you sincerely want to do what is right, people will treat you well,

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

28People who depend on their money will not be successful,

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 say and do is {like} a tree {with fruit} that keeps people alive,

and people who persuade others {to be righteous} are wise.

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

but even more so, wicked, 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 do not become secure by acting wickedly,

but righteous people are {as secure 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.

5Righteous people plan {to treat people} fairly;

wicked people advise {people} in order to deceive {them}.

6What wicked people say {is like a trap that} kills people {who pass by};

but what upright people say will enable them to escape.

7Yahweh destroys wicked people and they disappear,

but the families of righteous people will continue.

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

but people will despise someone who thinks perversely.

9It is better to be a lowly person yet have a servant

than to think that you are important yet have no food.

10Righteous people care for their animals,

but even when wicked people {think that they} 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.

13The sinful things that wicked people say will destroy them,

but righteous people escape from trouble.

14The {good} things that people say {to others} will {also} satisfy them with what is good;

what people work hard to accomplish will {also} benefit them.

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

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

16People know immediately when foolish people are angry;

but smart people ignore it when someone disrespects them.

17People who naturally say what is true speak righteously,

but witnesses who say what is false 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 {usually} 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.

23Smart people do not reveal {all of} what they know,

but foolish people shout out foolish things.

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

but lazy people will become forced laborers.

25When people worry, they feel sad,

but when others speak kindly to them, it causes them to be cheerful again.

26Righteous people guide their friends {in the right way to live},

but by living wickedly, wicked people destroy themselves.

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

but people who work hard value their possessions.

28People who do what is righteous will live.

Indeed, people who do so will not die.

131Wise children pay attention when their fathers instruct them,

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

2The {good} things that people say are {like} good food to them,

and the violent things that treacherous people do are {like} food for them.

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

{but} people who speak carelessly destroy themselves.

4Lazy people want things very much and get very little,

but people who work hard will receive everything that they want.

5Righteous people detest speaking falsely,

but what wicked people do is 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 who act proudly cause people to argue,

but people who let others advise them cause people to be wise.

11Riches that people gain effortlessly will disappear,

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

12People despair when they do not receive what they have been hoping to receive,

but when people receive what they have been wanting to receive, they feel like they have everything that they need.

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

but God will reward those people who respect what he has commanded.

14What wise people teach continuously benefits people throughout their lives.

It enables people to avoid dangerous things that could kill them.

15People approve of people who are very insightful,

but treacherous people are stubborn in the way that they live.

16All clever people think carefully before they do something,

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

17Bad things happen to messengers who are not reliable,

but reliable messengers make people peaceful.

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

but people respect those who let other people rebuke them {for any bad behavior}.

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 suffer.

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 away {from them}.

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

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

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

but wicked people will be hungry.

141The wisest women help their families to thrive,

but foolish women ruin their families by {the foolish} things that they do.

2People who behave uprightly {show that they} greatly revere Yahweh,

but people who behave deceptively {show that they} detest Yahweh.

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

but what wise people say protects them.

4If a man has no oxen {to plow his field}, he does not need to put grain in their feedbox,

but if he has oxen, they will enable {him to produce} an abundant crop.

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 people who understand {what is right} learn things easily.

7If you associate with foolish people,

you will not learn {anything} from knowledgeable people.

8People who have good sense know that it is wise to understand {the consequences of} what they do,

but stupid people deceive {themselves and others}, which is foolish.

9Foolish people scorn people who make amends with Yahweh after sinning,

but Yahweh approves of people who do what is right.

10Only you truly know how miserable you are,

and only you truly know how joyful you are.

11The families of wicked people will die out,

but the families of upright people will thrive.

12There is a way to do things that is easy and convenient for people,

but in the end, doing things that way will cause them to 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 {from living that way};

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

15Naive people believe whatever people say,

but smart people think carefully about what they do.

16Wise people are careful and avoid doing things that annoy {others},

but foolish people confidently interfere {in other people’s business}.

17People who quickly become angry act foolishly,

and people hate those who plan to do evil things.

18Naive people only acquire foolish habits,

but the reward for clever people is what they know.

19{Some day} evil 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 friends of poor people despise them,

but rich people have many friends.

21It is sinful to despise your {poor} neighbors,

but God is pleased with those who do kind things for poor people.

22People who plan to act wickedly are surely doing the wrong thing with their lives,

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

23If people work hard, they will gain from it,

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

24A reward of being wise is to become rich,

but because stupid people are foolish, they {only} become more foolish.

25Truthful witnesses save people from dying,

but deceptive people tell lies {that cause harm to people}.

26People who revere Yahweh are completely confident {that he will protect them}.

Yahweh will also protect their children.

27Reverently fearing Yahweh is like having a refreshing spring that enables people to live well.

It enables people to avoid what could kill them.

28Kings who rule over many people are glorious,

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

29People who do not become angry quickly are very wise,

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 ridicule 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 are safe {even} when they die.

33Understanding people think wisely,

but when one is among foolish people what is wise is {especially} obvious.

34Acting righteously makes a country great,

but acting sinfully disgraces communities.

35Insightful servants please their kings,

but kings are furious with {servants} who act disgracefully.

151Replying gently to angry people will calm them,

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

2What wise people say makes others want to know more,

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 enables people to live well,

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 disrupts them.

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

but what foolish people think does not do that.

8Yahweh detests the sacrifices that wicked people offer {to him},

but he delights in the prayers of upright people.

9Yahweh detests what wicked people do,

but he loves people who diligently try to do what is right.

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

{and} people who refuse to let other people correct 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.

14Sensible people are always trying to learn more,

but foolish people satisfy themselves with what is foolish.

15People who suffer experience bad things every day,

but cheerful people live as though they are always feasting.

16Being poor while reverently fearing Yahweh

is better than being rich while worrying.

17It is better for someone to have a small meal of vegetables with people who love each other

than to have a large meal of good meat with people who hate each other.

18People who easily become angry cause people to argue,

but people who do not easily become angry will help people to be peaceful.

19Lazy people are {unproductive} like people walking through thorny plants,

but upright people are {productive} {like people} walking on a level road.

20Wise sons and daughters make their parents happy,

but any sons or daughters who detest their parents are foolish.

21People who are not wise enjoy acting foolishly,

but understanding people do what is right.

22People will not accomplish what they plan to do if there is no one to advise them {well},

but when many people advise them {well}, they will succeed.

23People rejoice when they answer someone aptly.

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

24Insightful people live in a way that causes their lives to become increasingly better,

in order for them to avoid living in a way that would result in dying.

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 {in a better way}.

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

but wicked people quickly say what is evil.

29Yahweh does not listen to {what} wicked people {request him to do},

but he listens {and responds} when righteous people pray {to him}.

30People feel happy when they see someone smile,

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

31People who begin to behave in a more life-giving way when others rebuke them {for behaving badly} show that they belong to the group of wise people.

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

but people who listen when others rebuke them think wisely.

33Revering Yahweh teaches people to be wise,

and people must be humble before other people can respect them.

161People plan what they want {to say},

but Yahweh determines how they will {actually} speak.

2People think that everything that they do is right,

but Yahweh knows why people do what they do.

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.

6Be loyal to Yahweh and faithfully obey him; if you do that, he will forgive you for having sinned.

People who revere Yahweh will avoid doing what is evil.

7When Yahweh approves of what people do,

he even causes their enemies to be peaceful with them.

8It is better {for someone} to have {just} 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.

10Kings speak for God;

when kings judge, they must {always} speak justly.

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

Indeed, he made all the stones in the {weighing} bag {so that we would use them honestly}.

12Kings {should} detest any wicked thing that people do

because acting righteously causes kings to rule securely.

13{Ideally,} kings enjoy hearing people speak honestly.

Indeed, they love people who say what is true.

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.

18Being proud causes people to destroy themselves.

Indeed, being arrogant causes people to ruin themselves.

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 people who speak pleasantly are able to teach others effectively.

22Being insightful allows a person to live well continually,

but foolish people can only teach others to be foolish.

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.

25There is a way to do things that is easy and convenient for people,

but in the end, doing things that way will cause them to 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 other people {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}.

31{The} gray hair {that old people have} is {like} an honorable crown {on their heads};

they achieve it 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 become the boss of a disgraceful son {of his master},

and that slave will inherit a portion {of his master’s property} along with his master’s sons.

3People put silver and gold into very hot furnaces {to burn out what is impure},

and Yahweh tests what people are thinking and desiring to do {in a similar manner}.

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

people who lie pay attention when people say things that destroy {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;

{by paying bribes, they think that} everything that they do will be successful.

9If you want people to love you, forgive them for the wrong things that they have done to you.

If you continue to remind them about those {wrong} things, they will no longer be your friends.

10Rebuking sensible people once causes them to learn

more than hitting foolish people a hundred times {causes them to learn}.

11Evil people only want to rebel,

so a merciless messenger will come and punish them.

12A mother bear who is furious because someone has stolen her cubs is dangerous,

but it can be more dangerous to confront a foolish person who is doing something foolish.

13If someone does bad things to people who have done good things to him,

then bad things will always happen to his family.

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

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 not experience good things,

and bad things will happen to people who speak deceitfully.

21Foolish people grieve their parents.

Indeed, worthless people will cause their parents to be very sad.

22Being cheerful helps the body to heal,

but being discouraged makes the body weak.

23Wicked people accept bribes that people give to them secretly,

so that they will decide matters unfairly.

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 very bad,

{and} flogging noble people {would be just as} wrong.

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

and people who can remain calm are {truly} wise.

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

Indeed, if fools refrain from speaking people will consider them to be insightful.

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.

Instead, they only want 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 {always saying wise things, like} a fountain that flows in a constant stream.

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 may cause them to die, as a trap {may cause an animal to die}.

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.

11Rich people think that what they own keeps them safe like walls keep cities safe;

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

12Before people ruin themselves, they have first become proud;

and before people will respect someone, that person must become humble.

13It is foolish and shameful

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

14When someone is inwardly strong, he can endure being sick.

However, when someone is inwardly weak and depressed, it is very difficult to make the person feel better!

15Understanding people are always learning more.

Indeed, wise people are always trying to learn more.

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 to remain alive.

So people who are skillful at talking will strongly influence what happens to themselves {and to others}.

22A man who marries a {good} wife will experience good things,

and Yahweh approves of them.

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

24Having companions {who only seem to be true friends} will destroy a person,

but there is a type of friend who loves us and is more loyal than any brother.

191It is better to be poor and behave honestly

than to speak deceitfully and be foolish.

2Furthermore, it is very bad for people to be enthusiastic {about doing something} while not knowing {anything about it};

people who act hastily do things wrong.

3People who act foolishly destroy themselves,

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

4Wealthy people {easily} make many friends,

but when people become poor, they 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 many people want to be friends with people who give gifts.

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 love to learn benefit themselves;

people who are consistently sensible 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 {for the people} as dew {is} 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 {God’s} commandments stay alive,

but people who do not care about {God’s} ways will die.

17Giving things to poor people is {like} loaning them to Yahweh;

he will reward anyone who does this.

18Discipline your children while {they are young and} you can expect them to learn {to live in the right way}.

{If you} do not {discipline them}, {it is as though you} want them to die.

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

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

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

If you do so, you will become wise for the rest of your life.

21People plan to do many things,

but {only} what Yahweh advises will succeed.

22People want others to consider them to be faithful.

It is better to be poor than to be someone who lies.

23Revering Yahweh causes people to live for a long time;

such people rest contentedly at night;

nothing will harm them.

24Some people are so lazy that even though they have put their hands in a dish {of food},

they will not even lift the food to their mouths.

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

{then} naive people {who see you do that} will learn to be sensible.

{If you} correct understanding people,

{then} they will know even more.

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

are disgraceful and embarrassing.

27My child, if you want to become stupid,

then stop listening to what people teach 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.

201Drinking a lot of intoxicating drink causes people to start ridiculing and fighting others;

becoming drunk is 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 {plow their fields}.

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

5Knowing what people are thinking and planning is {as difficult as} drawing water out of a deep {well},

but discerning people are able to do so.

6Many people claim that they are faithful individuals,

but very few people {actually} act faithfully!

7Righteous people live honestly;

their children are very fortunate.

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} both weights that differ and measurements that differ {to benefit themselves}.

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

how they act shows whether they are innocent and right {or not}.

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 the seller about its price}.

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

15Gold and precious jewels are plentiful,

but the knowledgeable things that people say are rare and 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 {because those people are not likely to repay those loans}.

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

but later what they have done will be {as unpleasant to them as having} a mouth full of rocks.

18When people give you good advice, {if you do what they suggest,} your plans will succeed.

Therefore, 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.

21If people inherit {property} hastily before the proper time,

they will ultimately not receive any blessing from it.

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 {even} to powerful people.

So then, no one can comprehend what will happen to him!

25It is dangerous for people to declare thoughtlessly that they will dedicate something to Yahweh,

and then later regret that they have promised to do that.

26Wise kings separate the wicked people from the good people

and then punish the wicked people severely.

27Just as the light of a lamp penetrates into and illuminates a dark place, the life-breath that Yahweh puts into each person penetrates into the person’s inner being.

That breath is like the presence of Yahweh, who sees everything that is inside a person.

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 have become wise.

30Flogging people for doing evil things can stop them from doing those evil things,

and hitting those people {on the outside} can change who they are on the inside.

211Yahweh directs what kings think as {a farmer directs} streams of water

to make them go wherever he wants {them to go}.

2People always think that what they do is right,

but Yahweh {rightly} evaluates why they do those things.

3Doing what is right and fair is more acceptable 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 doing that} will kill them.

7When wicked people act violently, they cause others to punish them for it

because they refuse to do what is right.

8Guilty people continually do what is wrong,

but innocent people do what is right.

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 do what is evil,

they will not be merciful to the people around them.

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.

12Righteous people are able to understand what the households of wicked people do;

they let the evil things that wicked people do happen to 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 him from being angry.

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

15Righteous people are glad when people judge justly,

but judging justly terrifies people who act sinfully.

16People who stop behaving sensibly

will {soon} go to the place where the spirits of dead people are.

17People who love what is pleasurable will be poor.

Indeed, people who indulge themselves in wine and rich food will never be wealthy.

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 desolate land

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

20Wise people store up precious riches and olive oil,

but foolish people waste everything that they have.

21People who diligently try to be righteous and faithful

will live {well}, will be righteous, and people will respect them.

22Wise people know how to conquer cities that mighty warriors are defending;

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

23People who are careful about what they say

avoid becoming distressed.

24People who ridicule others are proud and arrogant;

they behave furiously and presumptuously.

25Lazy people want {food}, but they will die

because they refuse to work.

26Lazy people always want more things for themselves,

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

27{Yahweh} detests the sacrifices that wicked people offer {to him};

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

28Witnesses who lie will die,

but when someone who listens carefully speaks, what he says will finish the matter.

29Wicked people pretend to know what they are doing,

but upright people think about what they do.

30Even the wisest and most knowledgeable counselor is nothing compared to Yahweh.

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 this in common:

Yahweh made all of them.

3Sensible people observe something dangerous happening and avoid it,

but naive people just keep going and suffer {for doing so}.

4People who are humble, who revere Yahweh,

will become rich, people will respect them, and they will live {long and well}.

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 become like 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 some of their own food to poor people.

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

condemning {each other}, and shaming {each other}.

11People who love being sincere and

speaking graciously are companions of kings.

12Yahweh preserves true sayings,

but he makes what treacherous people say fail.

13Lazy people {as an excuse to not work} 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 {that men could fall into};

those with whom Yahweh is angry will suffer from it.

15Children naturally 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 if you 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{Because} 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 {try to} talk to 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.

14In fact, if you physically punish your children,

you will prevent them from dying.

15My child, if you are wise,

then surely I myself will be very happy,

16and I will be deeply joyful

when you say what is right.

17Do not envy sinful people;

instead always revere 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 continue to honor 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, {becoming involved with} an adulterous woman is as dangerous as {falling into} a well that 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 let wine become overly attractive to you, even though it is beautifully red, glistens in the cup,

and goes down your throat smoothly.

32Afterward you will feel as terrible as if a poisonous snake has bitten you.

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

and you will imagine distorted things.

34You will feel {dizzy and sick} 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 doing bad things to people.

3People build households by acting wisely;

they make those households stable by acting sensibly.

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

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 {useful} to say in court.

8{Some} people are always planning to do evil things;

people refer to them as schemers.

9Foolish plans are sinful,

and people detest those who ridicule others.

10If you give up during distressful times,

then you are weak.

11Save people whom others are trying to kill;

save the ones who will certainly die unless you do something!

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

Yahweh knows exactly what you are thinking and he understands {what you are doing}!

He is the one who keeps you alive and he knows {everything about you}!

He will surely make people receive what they deserve for whatever they have done or not 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 envious 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.

24If anyone declares that a guilty person is innocent,

many people will curse him and whole people groups will hate him.

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 if you do not have a good reason {to do so},

and do not try to deceive people by what you say.

29Do not say, “I will do to him that same {bad} thing that 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{If 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!”

34Then {the result of being so lazy will be that} you will become poor and needy

just as surely as if a thief has robbed 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 that is 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 impurities from silver

before they can make {that silver into} something useful.

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

so that they can rule securely by being righteous.

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 sit in a place that is closer {to the king},

than for someone to embarrass you in front of a royal official whom you have seen {by telling you to sit farther away from the 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,

{settle it between yourselves and} do not tell {others} any secret about that person.

10If you do {tell a secret}, then the people who hear you may shame you {for it},

and people will speak badly about you from then on.

11When someone says something that is very appropriate to a situation,

it is {as delightful as seeing} golden apples in a setting of silver.

12When a wise person 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 send them as cold snow would be {refreshing} during the {summer} harvest time;

they refresh the people whom they serve.

14People who brag about giving something but then do not give it

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

15People can persuade leaders by being patient,

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 from it and vomit.

17{In the same way,} do not visit too often the houses of your friends.

If you do, then they may feel that they have had too much of you and {even} hate you.

18People who lie when they testify against other people

are {deadly, as if they had attacked them with} a club, a sword, or a piercing arrow.

19Trusting treacherous people during distressful times

is {like trying to eat with} a rotten tooth or {trying to walk with} a crippled foot.

20Singing songs 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} were pouring burning coals on top of them,

and Yahweh will reward you {for doing so}.

23When wind blows from the north, that produces rain.

{Similarly,} when people tell the secrets {of others}, {that produces} angry people.

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 one is 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 not good to eat too much honey;

{so it is not} honorable 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.

2Just as a bird will fly by {and not land on you},

so a curse will not harm you if you are innocent.

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}.

4Do not reply to foolish people according to their foolish way of thinking.

If you do, then you also will be foolish.

5Reply to foolish people according to their foolish way of thinking.

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

6Anyone who asks a foolish person to take a message to someone

is {doing something as foolish as} cutting off his own feet or drinking poison.

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.

9A drunken person picks up a thorn {and it will hurt someone},

{in the same way} a foolish person says a proverb {that can only be harmful}.

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

as someone who randomly shoots arrows at people.

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 learn

than people who {wrongly} think that they are {already} wise.

13Lazy people claim that there is a lion in the path

or in the midst of the streets {so that they can stay inside their houses and do nothing}.

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.

16A {typical} lazy person {wrongly} thinks that he is wiser

than several people who answer intelligently.

17People who make themselves angry because of an argument that does not concern them

are {as foolish as} people who grab the ears of a dog that is passing by.

18-19People who trick others

and then say that they were just joking are {as dangerous}

as a crazy person who shoots deadly flaming 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.

23People who fervently say {that they are your friend} while thinking about doing evil things {to you}

{are as deceptive as} a {cheap} clay pot that someone has made to look like silver.

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 deceive others by pretending that they do not hate you,

When people gather together, they will discover how wicked those people 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 will do} tomorrow,

because you do not know what will happen then.

2Do not praise yourself; let someone else praise you.

Indeed, let other people praise you, not yourself.

3Stones and sand are heavy,

but fools are so annoying that they are harder to bear than either of those.

4Angry people are cruel and furious people are destructive,

but no one can withstand jealous people!

5It is better to correct people openly, than to love them without showing them that you love them.

6Friends will be faithful to you by criticizing you {when necessary},

but enemies will deceive you by acting affectionately toward you.

7When people have full stomachs, they do not want to eat {even} honey.

But when people are hungry, {even} bitter things taste sweet to them.

8People who stray from their homes

are like birds that stray from their nests.

9Fragrant oil and perfume make people feel happy,

but having a friend who advises you sincerely is even better.

10Do not ignore your friends or your father’s friends.

Do not {think that you must} go to the house of a relative when something disastrous happens to you.

{Rather,} it is better to go to a nearby neighbor than to relatives who live far away.

11My child, make me happy by becoming wise.

Then 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.

14If you rise early in the morning and loudly call out a blessing to your neighbor {while he is still sleeping}, he will consider it to be a curse{, not a blessing}.

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.

17{We can use} one iron tool to sharpen another iron tool; {similarly,} when one person shares what he is thinking, it can help another person to think more clearly.

18Just as people who take care of fruit trees will also eat the fruit from those trees,

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 {things}.

21People use crucibles and furnaces to test and refine silver and gold.

In the same way, people can know what kind of person someone is {by how he reacts} when people praise him.

22If you were to crush a fool the way that you would crush grain {into powder},

you would still not be able to find any part of him that is not foolish.

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 will continually have {new} leaders;

but when they have a truly knowledgeable ruler, then they will have a {stable} government that will last.

3A poor person who oppresses other poor people

is {as destructive as} rain that washes away {the crops}, leaving 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 honest

than to be dishonest and rich.

7Young people who obey {Yahweh’s} laws are wise,

but young people who carouse with gluttons disgrace their fathers.

8Money that people gain by charging an unreasonably large amount of interest {from those to whom they loan money}

will {eventually} belong to someone who is kind to poor people.

9Yahweh detests hearing prayers from people

who refuse to obey 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 tend to think that they are wise,

but perceptive poor people can tell whether or not this is true.

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 constantly examine how they are thinking and behaving are happy,

but bad things will happen to people who become uncaring about those things.

15Wicked people who rule over poor people are {as dangerous as}

a roaring lion or attacking bear.

16Leaders who are not sensible 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 who continually do what is right,

but people who behave dishonestly will ruin themselves in the end.

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 unfairly favor one person over another,

some people will sin {by doing so} to get even a small bribe.

22People who are eager to become rich are greedy.

They do not realize that they will become poor.

23Afterward, people appreciate someone who has corrected them

more than {they appreciate} someone who has spoken flatteringly {to them}.

24People who rob their parents and say that doing so is not wrong

are as bad as thieves.

25Greedy people cause people to argue with each other,

but Yahweh will prosper people who trust him.

26People who trust in 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 there are many who will curse 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 remain stubborn even though other people often correct them;

but someday something will destroy them quickly, and they will not be able to recover.

2People are joyful when righteous people become influential,

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 others

are really just preparing to exploit them in some way

6Evil people endanger themselves by acting sinfully,

but righteous people sing joyfully and are happy.

7Righteous people know that they should treat poor people justly,

but wicked people do not {even} understand that they should know {this}.

8People who mock others agitate people throughout a city,

but wise people enable others to remain calm.

9If wise people dispute with foolish people,

the foolish people will become angry and sneer and not resolve anything.

10Murderers despise people who always try to do what is right,

but righteous people try to protect them.

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 causes both of 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 rule over them,

but {someday} Yahweh will destroy those wicked people, and righteous people will see it happen.

17If you discipline your children, then you will no longer feel worried {about their behavior}

and they will make you very happy.

18When the people {of a nation} do not have messages from Yahweh {through his prophets}, then they 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 do what you say even though they understand {what you say}.

20Consider this: Foolish people are more likely to do well in life

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 many people to sin.

23People will humiliate proud people for being proud,

but people will honor those who are humble.

24People who take a share of a thief’s spoils greatly endanger themselves;

They hear that Yahweh will curse them {for not testifying to what they know}, but they do not say anything {about the crime}.

25Being anxious is {as dangerous as walking into} a trap,

but Yahweh will protect people who trust in him.

26Many {people} want leaders to help them,

but Yahweh is the {only} one who {surely} does for them what is just.

27Righteous people detest unjust people,

and wicked people detest people who do the right thing.

301{These are} the sayings of Agur son of Jakeh, which Yahweh told him to say;

{these are what} Agur declared to both Ithiel and Ucal:

2I am certainly less intelligent than other people.

Indeed, I do not understand as much as everyone else understands!

3I have not learned how to become wise,

nor do I know {much} about {Yahweh,} the Holy One.

4{But I will say this:} Surely 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!

You do not know the name of any such person, or the name of his son.

Therefore, you {also} do not know {much}!

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}.

7{God,} I ask you to do two things;

please do them for me before I die:

8{Please} prevent me from being dishonest or speaking what is not true.

{Please} do not let me become too poor or too rich,

{but} just provide the proper amount of food for me.

9Because if I become rich, I might say that I do not know you and that I do not need you;

and if I become poor,

I might dishonor you by stealing things.

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 disrespect their parents.

12Some people think that they are sinless,

but they have committed disgusting sins, {like} people who have covered themselves with excrement.

13Some people are very proud!

They think that they are better than other people. 14Some people are very cruel toward others;

they harshly oppress and destroy poor people

as fierce animals attack and eat other animals.

15{Greedy people are like} the offspring of leeches

{because they} always want other people to give them more.

There are three, even four things that always want more:

16the place where dead people are,

childless women,

soil that never receives enough water,

and fire that keeps consuming more.

17People who ridicule their fathers,

and refuse to obey their mothers

deserve to {die

and} have wild animals eat their {dead} bodies.

18There are three, even four things, that are too amazing for me to comprehend:

19how a bird flies in the air,

how a snake slithers over a rock,

how a ship sails in the middle of the ocean,

and how a young man loves a young woman.

20Acting adulterously is {as easy} for adulterous women as

eating and wiping their mouths.

Afterward, they claim that they have not sinned at all.

21There are three, even four, things that {the people in} the world cannot tolerate:

22what slaves do who become rulers,

what worthless people do when they have plenty of food to eat,

23what women whom people hate do when they marry someone,

and what servant girls do who replace the wives of their masters.

24There are four creatures in the world that are small

but extremely wise:

25Although ants are not strong,

they store up their food during the summer {so that they have it to eat during the winter}.

26Although hyraxes are {also} not strong,

they are able to make their homes {high up in the rocks} on cliffs.

27Although locusts do not have a king,

they move in orderly groups like soldiers in an army.

28Although anyone can {easily} catch lizards in his hands,

they can freely enter into kings’ palaces.

29There are three, even 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 just as churning milk produces butter,

and squeezing a nose produces blood,

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 and dignitaries should not {constantly} drink wine,

or {greatly} desire to drink what can intoxicate {them}.

5{They must not do this} so that they do not 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 whom others are threatening to kill 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 clothing for both warm and cool weather,

and she enjoys making that clothing.

14She is like merchant ships

because she brings food to her home from distant places.

15She gets up before dawn in order to prepare food for her family

and to prepare some {food} for her female servants.

16She carefully evaluates a field and then buys it.

{Then} she uses some of what she earned by working to plant a vineyard {in it}.

17She keeps her body strong,

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 generously helps people who are poor and suffering.

21She is not worried that her family will be cold during cold weather

because her whole family has the best 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,

when 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 faithful and 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 well.

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 be beautiful for only a short time.

However, people will {always} praise those women who reverently fear Yahweh.

31Give to such women what they have earned,

and praise them publicly for what they have done.