Proverbs 22-24

New International Version

22 A good name is more desirable than great riches;
to be esteemed is better than silver or gold.^(A)

²Rich and poor have this in common:
The Lord is the Maker of them all.^(B)

³The prudent see danger and take refuge,^(C)
but the simple keep going and pay the penalty.^(D)

⁴Humility is the fear of the Lord;
its wages are riches and honor^(E) and life.^(F)

⁵In the paths of the wicked are snares and pitfalls,^(G)
but those who would preserve their life stay far from them.

⁶Start^(H) children off on the way they should go,^(I)
and even when they are old they will not turn from it.^(J)

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

⁸Whoever sows injustice reaps calamity,^(K)
and the rod they wield in fury will be broken.^(L)

⁹The generous will themselves be blessed,^(M)
for they share their food with the poor.^(N)

¹⁰Drive out the mocker, and out goes strife;
quarrels and insults are ended.^(O)

¹¹One who loves a pure heart and who speaks with grace
will have the king for a friend.^(P)

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

¹³The sluggard says, “There’s a lion outside!^(Q)
I’ll be killed in the public square!”

¹⁴The mouth of an adulterous woman is a deep pit;^(R)
a man who is under the Lord’s wrath falls into it.^(S)

¹⁵Folly is bound up in the heart of a child,
but the rod of discipline will drive it far away.^(T)

¹⁶One who oppresses the poor to increase his wealth
and one who gives gifts to the rich—both come to poverty.

Thirty Sayings of the Wise

Saying 1

¹⁷Pay attention^(U) and turn your ear to the sayings of the wise;^(V)
    apply your heart to what I teach,^(W)
¹⁸for it is pleasing when you keep them in your heart
    and have all of them ready on your lips.
¹⁹So that your trust may be in the Lord,
    I teach you today, even you.
²⁰Have I not written thirty sayings for you,
    sayings of counsel and knowledge,
²¹teaching you to be honest and to speak the truth,^(X)
    so that you bring back truthful reports
    to those you serve?

Saying 2

²²Do not exploit the poor^(Y) because they are poor
and do not crush the needy in court,^(Z)
²³for the Lord will take up their case^(AA)
and will exact life for life.^(AB)

Saying 3

²⁴Do not make friends with a hot-tempered person,
do not associate with one easily angered,
²⁵or you may learn their ways
and get yourself ensnared.^(AC)

Saying 4

²⁶Do not be one who shakes hands in pledge^(AD)
or puts up security for debts;
²⁷if you lack the means to pay,
your very bed will be snatched from under you.^(AE)

Saying 5

²⁸Do not move an ancient boundary stone^(AF)
set up by your ancestors.

Saying 6

²⁹Do you see someone skilled^(AG) in their work?
They will serve^(AH) before kings;^(AI)
they will not serve before officials of low rank.

Saying 7

23 When you sit to dine with a ruler,
    note well what^[a] is before you,
²and put a knife to your throat
    if you are given to gluttony.
³Do not crave his delicacies,^(AJ)
    for that food is deceptive.

Saying 8

⁴Do not wear yourself out to get rich;
    do not trust your own cleverness.
⁵Cast but a glance at riches, and they are gone,^(AK)
    for they will surely sprout wings
    and fly off to the sky like an eagle.^(AL)

Saying 9

⁶Do not eat the food of a begrudging host,
    do not crave his delicacies;^(AM)
⁷for he is the kind of person
    who is always thinking about the cost.^[b]
“Eat and drink,” he says to you,
    but his heart is not with you.
⁸You will vomit up the little you have eaten
    and will have wasted your compliments.

Saying 10

⁹Do not speak to fools,
for they will scorn your prudent words.^(AN)

Saying 11

¹⁰Do not move an ancient boundary stone^(AO)
or encroach on the fields of the fatherless,
¹¹for their Defender^(AP) is strong;^(AQ)
he will take up their case against you.^(AR)

Saying 12

¹²Apply your heart to instruction^(AS)
and your ears to words of knowledge.

Saying 13

¹³Do not withhold discipline from a child;
if you punish them with the rod, they will not die.
¹⁴Punish them with the rod
and save them from death.^(AT)

Saying 14

¹⁵My son, if your heart is wise,
then my heart will be glad indeed;
¹⁶my inmost being will rejoice
when your lips speak what is right.^(AU)

Saying 15

¹⁷Do not let your heart envy^(AV) sinners,
but always be zealous for the fear of the Lord.
¹⁸There is surely a future hope for you,
and your hope will not be cut off.^(AW)

Saying 16

¹⁹Listen, my son,^(AX) and be wise,
    and set your heart on the right path:
²⁰Do not join those who drink too much wine^(AY)
    or gorge themselves on meat,
²¹for drunkards and gluttons become poor,^(AZ)
    and drowsiness clothes them in rags.

Saying 17

²²Listen to your father, who gave you life,
    and do not despise your mother when she is old.^(BA)
²³Buy the truth and do not sell it—
    wisdom, instruction and insight as well.^(BB)
²⁴The father of a righteous child has great joy;
    a man who fathers a wise son rejoices in him.^(BC)
²⁵May your father and mother rejoice;
    may she who gave you birth be joyful!^(BD)

Saying 18

²⁶My son,^(BE) give me your heart
    and let your eyes delight in my ways,^(BF)
²⁷for an adulterous woman is a deep pit,^(BG)
    and a wayward wife is a narrow well.
²⁸Like a bandit she lies in wait^(BH)
    and multiplies the unfaithful among men.

Saying 19

²⁹Who has woe? Who has sorrow?
    Who has strife? Who has complaints?
    Who has needless bruises? Who has bloodshot eyes?
³⁰Those who linger over wine,^(BI)
    who go to sample bowls of mixed wine.
³¹Do not gaze at 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 sights,
    and your mind will imagine confusing things.
³⁴You 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?”^(BJ)

Saying 20

24 Do not envy^(BK) the wicked,
do not desire their company;
²for their hearts plot violence,^(BL)
and their lips talk about making trouble.^(BM)

Saying 21

³By wisdom a house is built,^(BN)
and through understanding it is established;
⁴through knowledge its rooms are filled
with rare and beautiful treasures.^(BO)

Saying 22

⁵The wise prevail through great power,
and those who have knowledge muster their strength.
⁶Surely you need guidance to wage war,
and victory is won through many advisers.^(BP)

Saying 23

⁷Wisdom is too high for fools;
in the assembly at the gate they must not open their mouths.

Saying 24

⁸Whoever plots evil
will be known as a schemer.
⁹The schemes of folly are sin,
and people detest a mocker.

Saying 25

¹⁰If you falter in a time of trouble,
    how small is your strength!^(BQ)
¹¹Rescue those being led away to death;
    hold back those staggering toward slaughter.^(BR)
¹²If you say, “But we knew nothing about this,”
    does not he who weighs^(BS) the heart perceive it?
Does not he who guards your life know it?
    Will he not repay^(BT) everyone according to what they have done?^(BU)

Saying 26

¹³Eat honey, my son, for it is good;
    honey from the comb is sweet to your taste.
¹⁴Know also that wisdom is like honey for you:
    If you find it, there is a future hope for you,
    and your hope will not be cut off.^(BV)

Saying 27

¹⁵Do not lurk like a thief near the house of the righteous,
do not plunder their dwelling place;
¹⁶for though the righteous fall seven times, they rise again,
but the wicked stumble when calamity strikes.^(BW)

Saying 28

¹⁷Do not gloat^(BX) when your enemy falls;
when they stumble, do not let your heart rejoice,^(BY)
¹⁸or the Lord will see and disapprove
and turn his wrath away from them.^(BZ)

Saying 29

¹⁹Do not fret^(CA) because of evildoers
or be envious of the wicked,
²⁰for the evildoer has no future hope,
and the lamp of the wicked will be snuffed out.^(CB)

Saying 30

²¹Fear the Lord and the king,^(CC) my son,
and do not join with rebellious officials,
²²for those two will send sudden destruction^(CD) on them,
and who knows what calamities they can bring?

Further Sayings of the Wise

²³These also are sayings of the wise:^(CE)

To show partiality^(CF) in judging is not good:^(CG)
²⁴Whoever says to the guilty, “You are innocent,”^(CH)
will be cursed by peoples and denounced by nations.
²⁵But it will go well with those who convict the guilty,
and rich blessing will come on them.

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

²⁷Put your outdoor work in order
and get your fields ready;
after that, build your house.

²⁸Do not testify against your neighbor without cause^(CI)—
would you use your lips to mislead?
²⁹Do not say, “I’ll do to them as they have done to me;
I’ll pay them back for what they did.”^(CJ)

³⁰I went past the field of a sluggard,^(CK)
    past the vineyard of someone who has no sense;
³¹thorns had come up everywhere,
    the ground was covered with weeds,
    and the stone wall was in ruins.
³²I applied my heart to what I observed
    and learned a lesson from what I saw:
³³A little sleep, a little slumber,
    a little folding of the hands to rest^(CL)—
³⁴and poverty will come on you like a thief
    and scarcity like an armed man.^(CM)

Footnotes

Proverbs 23:1 Or who
Proverbs 23:7 Or for as he thinks within himself, / so he is; or for as he puts on a feast, / so he is

Acts 25

New International Version

Paul’s Trial Before Festus

25 Three days after arriving in the province, Festus^(A) went up from Caesarea^(B) to Jerusalem, ²where the chief priests and the Jewish leaders appeared before him and presented the charges against Paul.^(C) ³They requested Festus, as a favor to them, to have Paul transferred to Jerusalem, for they were preparing an ambush to kill him along the way.^(D) ⁴Festus answered, “Paul is being held^(E) at Caesarea,^(F) and I myself am going there soon. ⁵Let some of your leaders come with me, and if the man has done anything wrong, they can press charges against him there.”

⁶After spending eight or ten days with them, Festus went down to Caesarea. The next day he convened the court^(G) and ordered that Paul be brought before him.^(H) ⁷When Paul came in, the Jews who had come down from Jerusalem stood around him. They brought many serious charges against him,^(I) but they could not prove them.^(J)

⁸Then Paul made his defense: “I have done nothing wrong against the Jewish law or against the temple^(K) or against Caesar.”

⁹Festus, wishing to do the Jews a favor,^(L) said to Paul, “Are you willing to go up to Jerusalem and stand trial before me there on these charges?”^(M)

¹⁰Paul answered: “I am now standing before Caesar’s court, where I ought to be tried. I have not done any wrong to the Jews,^(N) as you yourself know very well. ¹¹If, however, I am guilty of doing anything deserving death, I do not refuse to die. But if the charges brought against me by these Jews are not true, no one has the right to hand me over to them. I appeal to Caesar!”^(O)

¹²After Festus had conferred with his council, he declared: “You have appealed to Caesar. To Caesar you will go!”

Festus Consults King Agrippa

¹³A few days later King Agrippa and Bernice arrived at Caesarea^(P) to pay their respects to Festus. ¹⁴Since they were spending many days there, Festus discussed Paul’s case with the king. He said: “There is a man here whom Felix left as a prisoner.^(Q) ¹⁵When I went to Jerusalem, the chief priests and the elders of the Jews brought charges against him^(R) and asked that he be condemned.

¹⁶“I told them that it is not the Roman custom to hand over anyone before they have faced their accusers and have had an opportunity to defend themselves against the charges.^(S) ¹⁷When they came here with me, I did not delay the case, but convened the court the next day and ordered the man to be brought in.^(T) ¹⁸When his accusers got up to speak, they did not charge him with any of the crimes I had expected. ¹⁹Instead, they had some points of dispute^(U) with him about their own religion^(V) and about a dead man named Jesus who Paul claimed was alive. ²⁰I was at a loss how to investigate such matters; so I asked if he would be willing to go to Jerusalem and stand trial there on these charges.^(W) ²¹But when Paul made his appeal to be held over for the Emperor’s decision, I ordered him held until I could send him to Caesar.”^(X)

²²Then Agrippa said to Festus, “I would like to hear this man myself.”

He replied, “Tomorrow you will hear him.”^(Y)

Paul Before Agrippa^(Z)

²³The next day Agrippa and Bernice^(AA) came with great pomp and entered the audience room with the high-ranking military officers and the prominent men of the city. At the command of Festus, Paul was brought in. ²⁴Festus said: “King Agrippa, and all who are present with us, you see this man! The whole Jewish community^(AB) has petitioned me about him in Jerusalem and here in Caesarea, shouting that he ought not to live any longer.^(AC) ²⁵I found he had done nothing deserving of death,^(AD) but because he made his appeal to the Emperor^(AE) I decided to send him to Rome. ²⁶But I have nothing definite to write to His Majesty about him. Therefore I have brought him before all of you, and especially before you, King Agrippa, so that as a result of this investigation I may have something to write. ²⁷For I think it is unreasonable to send a prisoner on to Rome without specifying the charges against him.”

New International Version (NIV)

Proverbs 22-24 New International Version