Proverbs 23–26

1When you sit to eat with a ruler, consider diligently what is before you;

2put a knife to your throat if you are a man given to appetite.

3Don’t be desirous of his dainties, since they are deceitful food.

4Don’t weary yourself to be rich. In your wisdom, show restraint.

5Why do you set your eyes on that which is not? For it certainly sprouts wings like an eagle and flies in the sky.

6Don’t eat the food of him who has a stingy eye, and don’t crave his delicacies,

7for as he thinks about the cost, so he is. “Eat and drink!” he says to you, but his heart is not with you.

8You will vomit up the morsel which you have eaten and waste your pleasant words.

9Don’t speak in the ears of a fool, for he will despise the wisdom of your words.

10Don’t move the ancient boundary stone. Don’t encroach on the fields of the fatherless,

11for their Defender is strong. He will plead their case against you.

12Apply your heart to instruction, and your ears to the words of knowledge.

13Don’t withhold correction from a child. If you punish him with the rod, he will not die.

14Punish him with the rod, and save his soul from Sheol.

15My son, if your heart is wise, then my heart will be glad, even mine.

16Yes, my heart will rejoice when your lips speak what is right.

17Don’t let your heart envy sinners, but rather fear Yahweh all day long.

18Indeed surely there is a future hope, and your hope will not be cut off.

19Listen, my son, and be wise, and keep your heart on the right path!

20Don’t be among ones drinking too much wine, or those who gorge themselves on meat;

21for the drunkard and the glutton shall become poor; and drowsiness clothes them in rags.

22Listen to your father who gave you life, and don’t despise your mother when she is old.

23Buy the truth, and don’t sell it. Get wisdom, discipline, and understanding.

24The father of the righteous has great joy. Whoever fathers a wise child delights in him.

25Let your father and your mother be glad! Let her who bore you rejoice!

26My son, give me your heart; and let your eyes keep in my ways.

27For a prostitute is a deep pit; and a wayward wife is a narrow well.

28Yes, she lies in wait like a robber, and increases the unfaithful among men.

29Who has woe? Who has sorrow? Who has strife? Who has complaints? Who has needless bruises? Who has bloodshot eyes?

30Those who stay long at the wine; those who go to seek out mixed wine.

31Don’t look at the wine when it is red, when it sparkles in the cup, when it goes down smoothly.

32In the end, it bites like a snake, and poisons like a viper.

33Your eyes will see strange things, and your mind will imagine confusing things.

34Yes, you will be as he who lies down in the middle of the sea, or as he who lies on top of the rigging:

35“They hit me, and I was not hurt! They beat me, and I don’t feel it! When will I wake up? I can do it again. I will look for more.”

1Don’t be envious of evil men, neither desire to be with them;

2for their hearts plot violence and their lips talk about mischief.

3Through wisdom a house is built; by understanding it is established;

4by knowledge the rooms are filled with all rare and beautiful treasure.

5A wise man has great power. A knowledgeable man increases strength,

6for by wise guidance you wage your war, and victory is in many advisors.

7Wisdom is too high for a fool. He doesn’t open his mouth in the gate.

8One who plots to do evil will be called a schemer.

9The schemes of folly are sin. The mocker is detested by men.

10If you falter in the time of trouble, your strength is small.

11Rescue those who are being led away to death! Indeed, hold back those who are staggering to the slaughter!

12If you say, “Behold, we didn’t know this,” doesn’t he who weighs the hearts consider it? He who keeps your soul, doesn’t he know it? Shall he not give to every man according to his work?

13My son, eat honey, for it is good, the droppings of the honeycomb, which are sweet to your taste;

14so you shall know wisdom to be to your soul. If you have found it, then there will be a reward: Your hope will not be cut off.

15Don’t lay in wait, wicked man, against the habitation of the righteous. Don’t destroy his resting place;

16for a righteous man falls seven times and rises up again, but the wicked are overthrown by calamity.

17Don’t rejoice when your enemy falls. Don’t let your heart be glad when he is overthrown,

18lest Yahweh see it, and it displease him, and he turn away his wrath from him.

19Don’t fret yourself because of evildoers, neither be envious of the wicked;

20for there will be no reward to the evil man. The lamp of the wicked will be snuffed out.

21My son, fear Yahweh and the king. Don’t join those who are rebellious,

22for their calamity will rise suddenly. Who knows what destruction may come from them both?

23These also are sayings of the wise: To show partiality in judgment is not good.

24He who says to the wicked, “You are righteous,” peoples will curse him, and nations will abhor him—

25but it will go well with those who convict the guilty, and a rich blessing will come on them.

26An honest answer is like a kiss on the lips.

27Prepare your work outside, and get your fields ready. Afterwards, build your house.

28Don’t be a witness against your neighbor without cause. Don’t deceive with your lips.

29Don’t say, “I will do to him as he has done to me; I will repay the man according to his work.”

30I went by the field of the sluggard, by the vineyard of the man void of understanding.

31Behold, it was all grown over with thorns. Its surface was covered with nettles, and its stone wall was broken down.

32Then I saw, and considered well. I saw, and received instruction:

33a little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to sleep,

34so your poverty will come as a robber and your want as an armed man.

1These also are proverbs of Solomon, which the men of Hezekiah king of Judah copied out.

2It is the glory of God to conceal a thing, but the glory of kings is to search out a matter.

3As the heavens for height, and the earth for depth, so the hearts of kings are unsearchable.

4Take away the dross from the silver, and material comes out for the refiner.

5Take away the wicked from the king’s presence, and his throne will be established in righteousness.

6Don’t exalt yourself in the presence of the king, or claim a place among great men;

7for it is better that it be said to you, “Come up here,” than that you should be put lower in the presence of the prince, whom your eyes have seen.

8Don’t be hasty in bringing charges to court. What will you do in the end when your neighbor shames you?

9Debate your case with your neighbor, and don’t betray the confidence of another,

10lest one who hears it put you to shame, and your bad reputation never depart.

11A word fitly spoken is like apples of gold in settings of silver.

12As an earring of gold, and an ornament of fine gold, so is a wise reprover to an obedient ear.

13As the cold of snow in the time of harvest, so is a faithful messenger to those who send him; for he refreshes the soul of his masters.

14As clouds and wind without rain, so is he who boasts of gifts deceptively.

15By patience a ruler is persuaded. A soft tongue breaks the bone.

16Have you found honey? Eat as much as is sufficient for you, lest you eat too much, and vomit it.

17Let your foot be seldom in your neighbor’s house, lest he be weary of you, and hate you.

18A man who gives false testimony against his neighbor is like a club, a sword, or a sharp arrow.

19Confidence in someone unfaithful in time of trouble is like a bad tooth or a lame foot.

20As one who takes away a garment in cold weather, or vinegar on soda, so is one who sings songs to a heavy heart.

21If your enemy is hungry, give him food to eat. If he is thirsty, give him water to drink;

22for you will heap coals of fire on his head, and Yahweh will reward you.

23The north wind produces rain; so a backbiting tongue brings an angry face.

24It is better to dwell in the corner of the housetop than to share a house with a contentious woman.

25Like cold water to a thirsty soul, so is good news from a far country.

26Like a muddied spring and a polluted well, so is a righteous man who gives way before the wicked.

27It is not good to eat much honey, nor is it honorable to seek one’s own honor.

28Like a city that is broken down and without walls is a man whose spirit is without restraint.

1Like snow in summer, and as rain in harvest, so honor is not fitting for a fool.

2Like a fluttering sparrow, like a darting swallow, so the undeserved curse doesn’t come to rest.

3A whip is for the horse, a bridle for the donkey, and a rod for the back of fools!

4Don’t answer a fool according to his folly, lest you also be like him.

5Answer a fool according to his folly, lest he be wise in his own eyes.

6One who sends a message by the hand of a fool is cutting off feet and drinking violence.

7Like the legs of the lame that hang loose, so is a parable in the mouth of fools.

8As one who binds a stone in a sling, so is he who gives honor to a fool.

9Like a thorn bush that goes into the hand of a drunkard, so is a parable in the mouth of fools.

10As an archer who wounds all, so is he who hires a fool or he who hires those who pass by.

11As a dog that returns to his vomit, so is a fool who repeats his folly.

12Do you see a man wise in his own eyes? There is more hope for a fool than for him.

13The sluggard says, “There is a lion in the road! A fierce lion roams the streets!”

14As the door turns on its hinges, so does the sluggard on his bed.

15The sluggard buries his hand in the dish. He is too lazy to bring it back to his mouth.

16The sluggard is wiser in his own eyes than seven men who answer with discretion.

17Like one who grabs a dog’s ears is one who passes by and meddles in a quarrel not his own.

18Like a madman who shoots torches, arrows, and death,

19is the man who deceives his neighbor and says, “Am I not joking?”

20For lack of wood a fire goes out. Without gossip, a quarrel dies down.

21As coals are to hot embers, and wood to fire, so is a contentious man to kindling strife.

22The words of a whisperer are as dainty morsels, they go down into the innermost parts.

23Like silver dross on an earthen vessel are the lips of a fervent one with an evil heart.

24A malicious man disguises himself with his lips, but he harbors evil in his heart.

25When his speech is charming, don’t believe him, for there are seven abominations in his heart.

26His malice may be concealed by deception, but his wickedness will be exposed in the assembly.

27Whoever digs a pit shall fall into it. Whoever rolls a stone, it will come back on him.

28A lying tongue hates those it hurts; and a flattering mouth works ruin.