Yahweh Is the Maker of All
A agood name is to be chosen over great wealth,
Favor is better than silver and gold.
2 The rich and the poor meet together in this—
Yahweh is the aMaker of them all.
3 A aprudent man sees evil and hides,
But the simple pass on, and are punished.
4 The reward of humility—the fear of Yahweh—
Is riches, glory, and life.
5 aThorns and snares are in the way of the crooked;
He who keeps his soul will be far from them.
6 aTrain up a child according to his way,
Even when he is old he will not depart from it.
7 The arich rules over the poor,
And the borrower is the slave of the lender.
8 He who asows unrighteousness will reap iniquity,
And the brod of his fury will end.
9 He who is agenerous will be blessed,
For he bgives from his food to the poor.
10 aDrive out the scoffer, and strife will go out,
Even contention and disgrace will cease.
11 He who loves apurity of heart
And bgrace on his lips, the king is his friend.
12 The eyes of Yahweh guard knowledge,
But He subverts the words of the treacherous one.
13 The asluggard says, “There is a lion outside;
I will be killed in the streets!”
14 The mouth of astrange women is a deep pit;
He who is bcursed of Yahweh will fall into it.
15 Folly is bound up in the heart of a child;
The arod of discipline will remove it far from him.
16 He awho oppresses the poor to make more for himself
Or who gives to the rich bwill only come to lack.
17 aIncline your ear and hear the words of the wise,
And set your heart on my knowledge;
18 For it will be apleasant if you keep them within you,
That they may be established on your lips.
19 So that your atrust may be in Yahweh,
I have made you know today, even you.
20 Have I not written to you aexcellent things
Of counsels and knowledge,
21 To make you aknow the veracity of the words of truth
That you may brespond with the words of truth to him who sent you?
22 aDo not rob the poor because he is poor,
And do not bcrush the afflicted at the gate;
23 For Yahweh will aplead their case
And rob the soul of those who rob them.
24 Do not befriend a man of anger;
And do not come along with a man of agreat wrath,
25 Lest you alearn his ways
And take on a snare against your soul.
26 Do not be among those who astrike hands in pledge,
Among those who become guarantors for debts.
27 If you have nothing with which to pay,
Why should he atake your bed from under you?
28 aDo not move the ancient boundary
Which your fathers made.
29 Do you see a man skilled in his work?
He will astand before kings;
He will not stand before obscure men.
The Fear of Yahweh
When you sit down to dine with a ruler,
Understand well what is before you,
2 So you should put a knife to your throat
If you are a aman of appetite.
3 Do not adesire his delicacies,
For it is bread of falsehood.
4 aDo not weary yourself to gain wealth,
bBecause of your understanding, cease!
5 Do you make your eyes fly up to see it? But it is not there!
Because ait certainly makes itself wings
Like an eagle that flies toward the heavens.
6 aDo not eat the bread of a bselfish man,
And do not desire his delicacies;
7 For as he calculates in his soul, so he is.
“Eat and drink!” he says to you,
But ahis heart is not with you.
8 You will avomit up the morsel you have eaten,
And you will corrupt your pleasant words.
9 aDo not speak in the hearing of a fool,
For he will bdespise the insight of your speech.
10 Do not move the ancient boundary
And do not acome into the fields of the orphans,
11 For their aRedeemer is strong;
bHe will plead their case against you.
12 Bring your heart to discipline
And your ears to words of knowledge.
13 aDo not withhold discipline from the child,
Although you strike him with the rod, he will not die.
14 You shall strike him with the rod
And adeliver his soul from Sheol.
15 My son, if your heart is awise,
My own heart also will be glad;
16 And my inmost being will exult
When your lips speak aupright things.
17 aDo not let your heart be jealous of sinners,
But be zealous in the bfear of Yahweh always.
18 Surely there is a afuture,
And your bhope will not be cut off.
19 You, my son, listen and abe wise,
And bdirect your heart in the way.
20 Do not be with aheavy drinkers of wine,
Or with bgluttonous eaters of meat;
21 For the aheavy drinker and the glutton will come to poverty,
And bdrowsiness will clothe them with rags.
22 aListen to your father who begot you,
And bdo not despise your mother when she is old.
23 aBuy truth, and do not sell it,
Get wisdom and discipline and understanding.
24 The father of the righteous will greatly rejoice,
And ahe who begets a wise son will be glad in him.
25 Let your afather and your mother be glad,
And let her rejoice who gave birth to you.
26 aGive your heart to me, my son,
And let your eyes bdelight in my ways.
27 For a harlot is a adeep pit
And a bforeign woman is a narrow well.
28 Surely she alies in wait as a robber,
And adds to the treacherous among men.
29 Who has awoe? Who has sorrow?
Who has contentions? Who has complaining?
Who has wounds without cause?
Who has redness of eyes?
30 Those who alinger long over wine,
Those who go to search out bmixed wine.
31 Do not look on the wine when it glistens red,
When it sparkles in the cup,
When it agoes down smoothly;
32 At the end—like a serpent it abites,
And like a bviper it stings.
33 Your eyes will see strange things
And your heart will aspeak perverse things.
34 And you will be like one who lies down in the heart of the sea,
Or like one who lies down on the top of a mast.
35 “They astruck me, but I did not become ill;
They beat me, but I did not know it.
When shall I awake?
I will bseek yet another.”
My Son, Fear Yahweh
Do not be ajealous of evil men,
And do not desire to bbe with them;
2 For their heart meditates on adestruction,
And their lips btalk of mischief.
3 aBy wisdom a house is built,
And by discernment it is firmly established;
4 And by knowledge the rooms are afilled
With all precious and pleasant riches.
5 A awise man is strong,
And a man of knowledge strengthens his power.
6 For aby guidance you will make war,
And bin abundance of counselors there is salvation.
7 Wisdom is atoo exalted for an ignorant fool,
He does not open his mouth bin the gate.
8 One who adeliberately thinks to do evil,
Men will call a schemer.
9 The ascheming of folly is sin,
And the scoffer is an abomination to men.
10 If you aare slack in the day of trouble,
Your strength is in trouble.
11 aDeliver those who are being taken away to death,
And those who are stumbling to the slaughter, Oh hold them back.
12 If you say, “Behold, we did not know this,”
Does not He awho weighs the hearts bunderstand?
And cdoes not He who dguards your soul know?
And will not He erender to man according to his work?
13 Eat ahoney, my son, for it is good,
Indeed, the bhoney from the comb is sweet to your taste;
14 Know that awisdom is thus for your soul;
If you find it, then there will be a bfuture,
And your hope will not be cut off.
15 aDo not lie in wait, O wicked man, against the abode of the righteous;
Do not destroy his resting place;
16 For a arighteous man falls seven times, and rises again,
But the bwicked will stumble in calamity.
17 When your enemy falls, ado not be glad,
And when he stumbles, do not let your heart rejoice;
18 Lest Yahweh see it and it be evil in His eyes,
And turn His anger away from him.
19 aDo not fret because of evildoers
Do not be bjealous of the wicked;
20 For athere will be no bfuture for the evil one;
The clamp of the wicked will go out.
21 My son, afear Yahweh and the king;
Do not associate with those who change,
22 For suddenly their adisaster will rise,
And who knows the upheaval that comes from both of them?
23 These also are asayings of the wise.
To bshow partiality in judgment is not good.
24 He awho says to the wicked, “You are righteous,”
bPeoples will curse him, nations will be indignant with him;
25 But ato those who reprove the wicked, it will be pleasant,
And a good blessing will come upon them.
26 He kisses the lips
Who responds with right words.
27 Establish your work outside
And amake it ready for yourself in the field;
And afterwards, you shall build your house.
28 Do not be a awitness against your neighbor without cause,
Nor bdeceive with your lips.
29 aDo not say, “As he did to me so I shall do to him;
I will render to the man according to his work.”
30 I passed by the field of the sluggard
And by the vineyard of the man alacking a heart of wisdom,
31 And behold, it was completely aovergrown with thistles;
bNettles have covered its surface,
And its stone cwall has been torn down.
32 And I beheld, I set my heart upon it;
I saw, I received discipline.
33 “aA little sleep, a little slumber,
A little folding of the hands to rest,”
34 Then your poverty will come as a robber
And your want like an armed man.
Analogies of Wisdom
These also are aproverbs of Solomon which the men of Hezekiah, king of Judah, transcribed.
2 It is the glory of God to aconceal a matter,
But the glory of bkings is to search out a matter.
3 As the heavens for height and the earth for depth,
So the heart of kings is unsearchable.
4 Take away the adross from the silver,
And there comes out a vessel for the bsmith;
5 Take away the awicked before the king,
And his bthrone will be established in righteousness.
6 Do not promote your majesty in the presence of the king,
And in the place of great men do not stand;
7 For ait is better that it be said to you, “Come up here,”
Than for you to be placed lower in the presence of a noble,
Whom your eyes have seen.
8 Do not go out ahastily to plead your case;
Lest, what will you do in the end,
When your neighbor humiliates you?
9 aPlead your case with your neighbor,
And bdo not reveal the secret of another,
10 Lest he who hears it bring disgrace upon you,
And the bad report about you will not turn away.
11 Like apples of gold in settings of silver
Is a aword spoken in right circumstances.
12 Like an aearring of gold and an bornament of cfine gold
Is a wise reprover to a dlistening ear.
13 Like the cold of snow in the time of harvest
Is a afaithful envoy to those who send him,
For he refreshes the soul of his masters.
14 Like aclouds and bwind without rain
Is a man who boasts of his gifts falsely.
15 aWhen one is slow to anger, a ruler may be persuaded,
And a soft tongue breaks the bone.
16 Have you afound honey? Eat only enough for you,
Lest you have more than your fill and vomit it.
17 Let your foot rarely be in your neighbor’s house,
Lest he have more than his fill of you and hate you.
18 Like a club and a asword and a sharp barrow
Is a man who bears cfalse witness against his neighbor.
19 Like an aching tooth and a slipping foot
Is trust in a atreacherous man in a day of distress.
20 Like one who takes off a garment on a cold day, or like vinegar on soda,
Is he who sings songs to an aching heart.
21 aIf your enemy is hungry, give him food to eat;
And if he is thirsty, give him water to drink;
22 For you will heap burning coals on his head,
And aYahweh will repay you.
23 The north wind brings forth rain,
And a atongue of secrets, an indignant face.
24 It is abetter to live in a corner of the roof
Than in a house shared with a contentious woman.
25 Like cold water to a weary soul,
So is a agood report from a distant land.
26 Like a amuddied spring and a corrupted well
Is a righteous man shaking before the wicked.
27 To eat too much honey is not good,
Nor is it glory to asearch out one’s own glory.
28 Like a acity that is broken into and without a wall
Is a man bwithout restraint over his spirit.