Proverbs, Chapters 22-24, verses 7-34: BIBLE, New International Version == BIBLE-CENTER

Proverbs, Chapter 22, verses 7-29

⁷ The rich rule over the poor,
and the borrower is servant to the lender.

⁸ He who sows wickedness reaps trouble,
and the rod of his fury will be destroyed.

⁹ A generous man will himself be blessed,
for he shares his food with the poor.

¹⁰ Drive out the mocker, and out goes strife;
quarrels and insults are ended.

¹¹ He who loves a pure heart and whose speech is gracious
will have the king for his friend.

¹² The eyes of the LORD keep watch over knowledge,
but he frustrates the words of the unfaithful.

¹³ The sluggard says, "There is a lion outside!"
or, "I will be murdered in the streets!"

¹⁴ The mouth of an adulteress is a deep pit;
he who is under the LORD's wrath will fall into it.

¹⁵ Folly is bound up in the heart of a child,
but the rod of discipline will drive it far from him.

¹⁶ He who oppresses the poor to increase his wealth
and he who gives gifts to the rich-both come to poverty.

¹⁷ Pay attention and listen to the sayings of the wise;
apply your heart to what I teach,

¹⁸ for it is pleasing when you keep them in your heart
and have all of them ready on your lips.

¹⁹ So that your trust may be in the LORD ,
I teach you today, even you.

²⁰ Have I not written thirty² sayings for you,
sayings of counsel and knowledge,

²¹ teaching you true and reliable words,
so that you can give sound answers
to him who sent you?

²² Do not exploit the poor because they are poor
and do not crush the needy in court,

²³ for the LORD will take up their case
and will plunder those who plunder them.

²⁴ Do not make friends with a hot-tempered man,
do not associate with one easily angered,

²⁵ or you may learn his ways
and get yourself ensnared.

²⁶ Do not be a man who strikes hands in pledge
or puts up security for debts;

²⁷ if you lack the means to pay,
your very bed will be snatched from under you.

²⁸ Do not move an ancient boundary stone
set up by your forefathers.

²⁹ Do you see a man skilled in his work?
He will serve before kings;
he will not serve before obscure men.

Proverbs, Chapter 23

¹ When you sit to dine with a ruler,
note well what¹ is before you,

² and put a knife to your throat
if you are given to gluttony.

³ Do not crave his delicacies,
for that food is deceptive.

⁴ Do not wear yourself out to get rich;
have the wisdom to show restraint.

⁵ Cast but a glance at riches, and they are gone,
for they will surely sprout wings
and fly off to the sky like an eagle.

⁶ Do not eat the food of a stingy man,
do not crave his delicacies;

⁷ for he is the kind of man
who is always thinking about the cost.²
"Eat and drink," he says to you,
but his heart is not with you.

⁸ You will vomit up the little you have eaten
and will have wasted your compliments.

⁹ Do not speak to a fool,
for he will scorn the wisdom of your words.

¹⁰ Do not move an ancient boundary stone
or encroach on the fields of the fatherless,

¹¹ for their Defender is strong;
he will take up their case against you.

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

¹³ Do not withhold discipline from a child;
if you punish him with the rod, he will not die.

¹⁴ Punish him with the rod
and save his soul from death.³

¹⁵ My son, if your heart is wise,
then my heart will be glad;

¹⁶ my inmost being will rejoice
when your lips speak what is right.

¹⁷ Do not let your heart envy sinners,
but always be zealous for the fear of the LORD .

¹⁸ There is surely a future hope for you,
and your hope will not be cut off.

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

²⁰ Do not join those who drink too much wine
or gorge themselves on meat,

²¹ for drunkards and gluttons become poor,
and drowsiness clothes them in rags.

²² Listen to your father, who gave you life,
and do not despise your mother when she is old.

²³ Buy the truth and do not sell it;
get wisdom, discipline and understanding.

²⁴ The father of a righteous man has great joy;
he who has a wise son delights in him.

²⁵ May your father and mother be glad;
may she who gave you birth rejoice!

²⁶ My son, give me your heart
and let your eyes keep to my ways,

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

²⁸ Like a bandit she lies in wait,
and multiplies the unfaithful among men.

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

³⁰ Those who linger over wine,
who go to sample bowls of mixed wine.

³¹ Do not gaze at wine when it is red,
when it sparkles in the cup,
when it goes down smoothly!

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

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

³⁴ You will be like one sleeping on the high seas,
lying on top of the rigging.

³⁵ "They hit me," you will say, "but I'm not hurt!
They beat me, but I don't feel it!
When will I wake up
so I can find another drink?"

Proverbs, Chapter 24

¹ Do not envy wicked men,
do not desire their company;

² for their hearts plot violence,
and their lips talk about making trouble.

³ By wisdom a house is built,
and through understanding it is established;

⁴ through knowledge its rooms are filled
with rare and beautiful treasures.

⁵ A wise man has great power,
and a man of knowledge increases strength;

⁶ for waging war you need guidance,
and for victory many advisers.

⁷ Wisdom is too high for a fool;
in the assembly at the gate he has nothing to say.

⁸ He who plots evil
will be known as a schemer.

⁹ The schemes of folly are sin,
and men detest a mocker.

¹⁰ If you falter in times of trouble,
how small is your strength!

¹¹ Rescue those being led away to death;
hold back those staggering toward slaughter.

¹² If you say, "But we knew nothing about this,"
does not he who weighs the heart perceive it?
Does not he who guards your life know it?
Will he not repay each person according to what he has done?

¹³ Eat honey, my son, for it is good;
honey from the comb is sweet to your taste.

¹⁴ Know also that wisdom is sweet to your soul;
if you find it, there is a future hope for you,
and your hope will not be cut off.

¹⁵ Do not lie in wait like an outlaw against a righteous man's house,
do not raid his dwelling place;

¹⁶ for though a righteous man falls seven times, he rises again,
but the wicked are brought down by calamity.

¹⁷ Do not gloat when your enemy falls;
when he stumbles, do not let your heart rejoice,

¹⁸ or the LORD will see and disapprove
and turn his wrath away from him.

¹⁹ Do not fret because of evil men
or be envious of the wicked,

²⁰ for the evil man has no future hope,
and the lamp of the wicked will be snuffed out.

²¹ Fear the LORD and the king, my son,
and do not join with the rebellious,

²² for those two will send sudden destruction upon them,
and who knows what calamities they can bring?

²³ These also are sayings of the wise:

²⁴ Whoever says to the guilty, "You are innocent"-
peoples will curse him and nations denounce him.

²⁵ But it will go well with those who convict the guilty,
and rich blessing will come upon them.

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

²⁷ Finish your outdoor work
and get your fields ready;
after that, build your house.

²⁸ Do not testify against your neighbor without cause,
or use your lips to deceive.

²⁹ Do not say, "I'll do to him as he has done to me;
I'll pay that man back for what he did."

³⁰ I went past the field of the sluggard,
past the vineyard of the man who lacks judgment;

³¹ thorns had come up everywhere,
the ground was covered with weeds,
and the stone wall was in ruins.

³² I applied my heart to what I observed
and learned a lesson from what I saw:

³³ A little sleep, a little slumber,
a little folding of the hands to rest-

³⁴ and poverty will come on you like a bandit
and scarcity like an armed man.¹


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