Proverbs 22-24
New International Reader's Version
22 You should want a good name more than you want great riches.
To be highly respected is better than having silver or gold.
2 The Lord made rich people and poor people.
That’s what they have in common.
3 Wise people see danger and go to a safe place.
But childish people keep going and suffer for it.
4 Being humble comes from having respect for the Lord.
This will bring you wealth and honor and life.
5 Thorns and traps lie in the paths of evil people.
But those who value their lives stay far away from them.
6 Start children off on the right path.
And even when they are old, they will not turn away from it.
7 Rich people rule over those who are poor.
Borrowers are slaves to lenders.
8 Anyone who plants evil gathers a harvest of trouble.
Their power to treat others badly will be destroyed.
9 Those who give freely will be blessed.
That’s because they share their food with those who are poor.
10 If you drive away those who make fun of others, fighting also goes away.
Arguing and unkind words will stop.
11 A person who has a pure and loving heart and speaks kindly
will be a friend of the king.
12 The eyes of the Lord keep watch over knowledge.
But he does away with the words of those who aren’t faithful.
13 People who don’t want to work say, “There’s a lion outside!”
Or they say, “I’ll be murdered if I go out into the streets!”
14 The mouth of a woman who commits adultery is like a deep pit.
Any man the Lord is angry with falls into it.
15 Children are going to do foolish things.
But correcting them will drive that foolishness far away.
16 You might treat poor people badly or give gifts to rich people.
Trying to get rich in these ways will instead make you poor.
30 Sayings of Wise People
Saying 1
17 Pay attention and listen to the sayings of wise people.
Apply your heart to the sayings I teach.
18 It is pleasing when you keep them in your heart.
Have all of them ready on your lips.
19 You are the one I am teaching today.
That’s because I want you to trust in the Lord.
20 I have written 30 sayings for you.
They will give you knowledge and good advice.
21 I am teaching you to be honest and to speak the truth.
Then you can give honest reports to those you serve.
Saying 2
22 Don’t take advantage of poor people just because they are poor.
Don’t treat badly those who are in need by taking them to court.
23 The Lord will stand up for them in court.
He will require the lives of people who have taken the lives of those in need.
Saying 3
24 Don’t be a friend of a person who has a bad temper.
Don’t go around with a person who gets angry easily.
25 You might learn their habits.
And then you will be trapped by them.
Saying 4
26 Don’t agree to pay for what someone else owes.
And don’t agree to pay their bills for them.
27 If you don’t have the money to pay,
your bed will be taken right out from under you!
Saying 5
28 Don’t move old boundary stones
set up by your people of long ago.
Saying 6
29 Do you see someone who does good work?
That person will serve kings.
That person won’t serve officials of lower rank.
Saying 7
23 When you sit down to eat with a ruler,
look carefully at what’s in front of you.
2 Put a knife to your throat
if you like to eat too much.
3 Don’t long for his fancy food.
It can fool you.
Saying 8
4 Don’t wear yourself out to get rich.
Don’t trust how wise you think you are.
5 When you take even a quick look at riches, they are gone.
They grow wings and fly away into the sky like an eagle.
Saying 9
6 Don’t eat the food of anyone who doesn’t want to share it.
Don’t long for his fancy food.
7 He is the kind of person
who is always thinking about how much it costs.
“Eat and drink,” he says to you.
But he doesn’t mean it.
8 You will throw up what little you have eaten.
You will have wasted your words of praise.
Saying 10
9 Don’t speak to foolish people.
They will laugh at your wise words.
Saying 11
10 Don’t move old boundary stones.
Don’t try to take over the fields of children whose fathers have died.
11 That’s because the God who guards them is strong.
He will stand up for them in court against you.
Saying 12
12 Apply your heart to what you are taught.
Listen carefully to words of knowledge.
Saying 13
13 Don’t hold back correction from a child.
If you correct them, they won’t die.
14 So correct them.
Then you will save them from death.
Saying 14
15 My son, if your heart is wise,
my heart will be very glad.
16 Deep down inside, I will be happy
when you say what is right.
Saying 15
17 Do not long for what sinners have.
But always show great respect for the Lord.
18 There really is hope for you in days to come.
So your hope will not be cut off.
Saying 16
19 My son, listen and be wise.
Set your heart on the right path.
20 Don’t join those who drink too much wine.
Don’t join those who stuff themselves with meat.
21 Those who drink or eat too much will become poor.
If they sleep too much, they’ll have to wear rags.
Saying 17
22 Listen to your father, who gave you life.
Don’t hate your mother when she is old.
23 Buy the truth and don’t sell it.
Get wisdom, instruction and understanding as well.
24 The father of a godly child is very happy.
A man who has a wise son is glad.
25 May your father and mother be glad.
May the woman who gave birth to you be joyful.
Saying 18
26 My son, give me your heart.
May you be happy living the way you see me live.
27 An unfaithful wife is like a deep pit.
A wife who commits adultery is like a narrow well.
28 She hides and waits like a thief.
She causes many men to sin.
Saying 19
29 Who has trouble? Who has sorrow?
Who argues? Who has problems?
Who has wounds for no reason? Who has red eyes?
30 Those who spend too much time with wine.
Or those who like to taste wine mixed with spices.
31 Don’t look at wine when it is red.
Don’t look at it when it bubbles in the cup.
And don’t look at it when it goes down smoothly.
32 In the end it bites like a snake.
It bites like a poisonous serpent.
33 Your eyes will see strange sights.
Your mind will imagine weird things.
34 You will feel like someone sleeping on the ocean.
You will think you are lying among the ropes in a boat.
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?”
Saying 20
24 Do not want what evil people have.
Don’t long to be with them.
2 In their hearts they plan to hurt others.
With their lips they talk about making trouble.
Saying 21
3 By wisdom a house is built.
Through understanding it is made secure.
4 Through knowledge its rooms are filled
with priceless and beautiful things.
Saying 22
5 Wise people have success by means of great power.
Those who have knowledge gather strength.
6 If you go to war, you surely need guidance.
If you want to win, you need many good advisers.
Saying 23
7 Wisdom is too high for foolish people.
They shouldn’t speak when people meet at the city gate to conduct business.
Saying 24
8 Anyone who thinks up sinful things to do
will be known as one who plans evil.
9 Foolish plans are sinful.
People hate those who make fun of others.
Saying 25
10 If you grow weak when trouble comes,
your strength is very small!
11 Save those who are being led away to death.
Hold back those who are about to be killed.
12 Don’t say, “But we didn’t know anything about this.”
Doesn’t the God who knows what you are thinking see it?
Doesn’t the God who guards your life know it?
He will pay back everyone for what they have done.
Saying 26
13 Eat honey, my son, because it is good.
Honey from a honeycomb has a sweet taste.
14 I want you to know that wisdom is like honey for you.
If you find it, there is hope for you tomorrow.
So your hope will not be cut off.
Saying 27
15 Don’t hide and wait like a burglar near a godly person’s house.
Don’t rob their home.
16 Even if godly people fall down seven times, they always get up.
But those who are evil trip and fall when trouble comes.
Saying 28
17 Don’t be happy when your enemy falls.
When he trips, don’t let your heart be glad.
18 The Lord will see it, but he won’t be pleased.
He might turn his anger away from your enemy.
Saying 29
19 Don’t be upset because of evil people.
Don’t long for what sinners have.
20 Tomorrow evil people won’t have any hope.
The lamps of sinners will be blown out.
Saying 30
21 My son, have respect for the Lord and the king.
Don’t join with officials who disobey them.
22 The Lord and the king will suddenly destroy them.
Who knows what trouble those two can bring?
More Sayings of Wise People
23 Here are more sayings of wise people.
Taking sides in court is not good.
24 A curse will fall on those who say the guilty are not guilty.
Nations will ask for bad things to happen to them.
People will speak against them.
25 But it will go well with those who sentence guilty people.
Rich blessings will come to them.
26 An honest answer
is like a kiss on the lips.
27 Put your outdoor work in order.
Get your fields ready.
After that, build your house.
28 Don’t be a witness against your neighbor for no reason.
Would you use your lips to tell lies?
29 Don’t say, “I’ll do to them what they have done to me.
I’ll get even with them for what they did.”
30 I went past the field of someone who didn’t want to work.
I went past the vineyard of someone who didn’t have any sense.
31 Thorns had grown up everywhere.
The ground was covered with weeds.
The stone wall had fallen down.
32 I applied my heart to what I observed.
I learned a lesson from what I saw.
33 You might sleep a little or take a little nap.
You might even fold your hands and rest.
34 Then you would be poor, as if someone had robbed you.
You would have little, as if someone had stolen from you.
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