Category: Proverbs

[1:1] The proverbs of Solomon, son of David and king of Israel.

[1:2] Here are proverbs that will help you recognize wisdom and good advice, and understand sayings with deep meaning.

[1:3] They can teach you how to live intelligently and how to be honest, just, and fair.

[1:4] They can make an inexperienced person clever and teach young people how to be resourceful.

[1:5] These proverbs can even add to the knowledge of the wise and give guidance to the educated,

[1:6] so that they can understand the hidden meanings of proverbs and the problems that the wise raise.

[1:7] To have knowledge, you must first have reverence for the Lord. Stupid people have no respect for wisdom and refuse to learn.

[1:8] My child, pay attention to what your father and mother tell you.

[1:9] Their teaching will improve your character as a handsome turban or a necklace improves your appearance.

[1:10] My child, when sinners tempt you, don't give in.

[1:11] Suppose they say, “Come on; let's find someone to kill! Let's attack some innocent people for the fun of it!

[1:12] They may be alive and well when we find them, but they'll be dead when we're through with them!

[1:13] We'll find all kinds of riches and fill our houses with loot!

[1:14] Come and join us, and we'll all share what we steal.”

[1:15] My child, don't go with people like that. Stay away from them.

[1:16] They can't wait to do something bad. They're always ready to kill.

[1:17] It does no good to spread a net when the bird you want to catch is watching,

[1:18] but people like that are setting a trap for themselves, a trap in which they will die.

[1:19] Robbery always claims the life of the robber—this is what happens to anyone who lives by violence.

[1:20] Listen! Wisdom is calling out in the streets and marketplaces,

[1:21] calling loudly at the city gates and wherever people come together:

[1:22] “Foolish people! How long do you want to be foolish? How long will you enjoy making fun of knowledge? Will you never learn?

[1:23] Listen when I reprimand you; I will give you good advice and share my knowledge with you.

[1:24] I have been calling you, inviting you to come, but you would not listen. You paid no attention to me.

[1:25] You have ignored all my advice and have not been willing to let me correct you.

[1:26] So when you get into trouble, I will laugh at you. I will make fun of you when terror strikes—

[1:27] when it comes on you like a storm, bringing fierce winds of trouble, and you are in pain and misery.

[1:28] Then you will call for wisdom, but I will not answer. You may look for me everywhere, but you will not find me.

[1:29] You have never had any use for knowledge and have always refused to obey the Lord.

[1:30] You have never wanted my advice or paid any attention when I corrected you.

[1:31] So then, you will get what you deserve, and your own actions will make you sick.

[1:32] Inexperienced people die because they reject wisdom. Stupid people are destroyed by their own lack of concern.

[1:33] But whoever listens to me will have security. He will be safe, with no reason to be afraid.”

[2:1] My child, learn what I teach you and never forget what I tell you to do.

[2:2] Listen to what is wise and try to understand it.

[2:3] Yes, beg for knowledge; plead for insight.

[2:4] Look for it as hard as you would for silver or some hidden treasure.

[2:5] If you do, you will know what it means to fear the Lord and you will succeed in learning about God.

[2:6] It is the Lord who gives wisdom; from him come knowledge and understanding.

[2:7] He provides help and protection for those who are righteous and honest.

[2:8] He protects those who treat others fairly, and guards those who are devoted to him.

[2:9] If you listen to me, you will know what is right, just, and fair. You will know what you should do.

[2:10] You will become wise, and your knowledge will give you pleasure.

[2:11] Your insight and understanding will protect you

[2:12] and prevent you from doing the wrong thing. They will keep you away from people who stir up trouble by what they say—

[2:13] those who have abandoned a righteous life to live in the darkness of sin,

[2:14] those who find pleasure in doing wrong and who enjoy senseless evil,

[2:15] unreliable people who cannot be trusted.

[2:16] You will be able to resist any immoral woman who tries to seduce you with her smooth talk,

[2:17] who is faithless to her own husband and forgets her sacred vows.

[2:18] If you go to her house, you are traveling the road to death. To go there is to approach the world of the dead.

[2:19] No one who visits her ever comes back. He never returns to the road to life.

[2:20] So you must follow the example of good people and live a righteous life.

[2:21] Righteous people—people of integrity—will live in this land of ours.

[2:22] But God will snatch the wicked from the land and pull sinners out of it like plants from the ground.

[3:1] My child, don't forget what I teach you. Always remember what I tell you to do.

[3:2] My teaching will give you a long and prosperous life.

[3:3] Never let go of loyalty and faithfulness. Tie them around your neck; write them on your heart.

[3:4] If you do this, both God and people will be pleased with you.

[3:5] Trust in the Lord with all your heart. Never rely on what you think you know.

[3:6] Remember the Lord in everything you do, and he will show you the right way.

[3:7] Never let yourself think that you are wiser than you are; simply obey the Lord and refuse to do wrong.

[3:8] If you do, it will be like good medicine, healing your wounds and easing your pains.

[3:9] Honor the Lord by making him an offering from the best of all that your land produces.

[3:10] If you do, your barns will be filled with grain, and you will have too much wine to store it all.

[3:11] My child, when the Lord corrects you, pay close attention and take it as a warning.

[3:12] The Lord corrects those he loves, as parents correct a child of whom they are proud.

[3:13] Happy is anyone who becomes wise—who comes to have understanding.

[3:14] There is more profit in it than there is in silver; it is worth more to you than gold.

[3:15] Wisdom is more valuable than jewels; nothing you could want can compare with it.

[3:16] Wisdom offers you long life, as well as wealth and honor.

[3:17] Wisdom can make your life pleasant and lead you safely through it.

[3:18] Those who become wise are happy; wisdom will give them life.

[3:19] The Lord created the earth by his wisdom; by his knowledge he set the sky in place.

[3:20] His wisdom caused the rivers to flow and the clouds to give rain to the earth.

[3:21] My child, hold on to your wisdom and insight. Never let them get away from you.

[3:22] They will provide you with life—a pleasant and happy life.

[3:23] You can go safely on your way and never even stumble.

[3:24] You will not be afraid when you go to bed, and you will sleep soundly through the night.

[3:25] You will not have to worry about sudden disasters, such as come on the wicked like a storm.

[3:26] The Lord will keep you safe. He will not let you fall into a trap.

[3:27] Whenever you possibly can, do good to those who need it.

[3:28] Never tell your neighbors to wait until tomorrow if you can help them now.

[3:29] Don't plan anything that will hurt your neighbors; they live beside you, trusting you.

[3:30] Don't argue with others for no reason when they have never done you any harm.

[3:31] Don't be jealous of violent people or decide to act as they do,

[3:32] because the Lord hates people who do evil, but he takes righteous people into his confidence.

[3:33] The Lord puts a curse on the homes of the wicked, but blesses the homes of the righteous.

[3:34] He has no use for conceited people, but shows favor to those who are humble.

[3:35] Wise people will gain an honorable reputation, but stupid people will only add to their own disgrace.

[4:1] My children, listen to what your father teaches you. Pay attention, and you will have understanding.

[4:2] What I am teaching you is good, so remember it all.

[4:3] When I was only a little boy, my parents' only son,

[4:4] my father would teach me. He would say, “Remember what I say and never forget it. Do as I tell you, and you will live.

[4:5] Get wisdom and insight! Do not forget or ignore what I say.

[4:6] Do not abandon wisdom, and she will protect you; love her, and she will keep you safe.

[4:7] Getting wisdom is the most important thing you can do. Whatever else you get, get insight.

[4:8] Love wisdom, and she will make you great. Embrace her, and she will bring you honor.

[4:9] She will be your crowning glory.”

[4:10] Listen to me, my child. Take seriously what I am telling you, and you will live a long life.

[4:11] I have taught you wisdom and the right way to live.

[4:12] Nothing will stand in your way if you walk wisely, and you will not stumble when you run.

[4:13] Always remember what you have learned. Your education is your life—guard it well.

[4:14] Do not go where evil people go. Do not follow the example of the wicked.

[4:15] Don't do it! Keep away from evil! Refuse it and go on your way.

[4:16] Wicked people cannot sleep unless they have done something wrong. They lie awake unless they have hurt someone.

[4:17] Wickedness and violence are like food and drink to them.

[4:18] The road the righteous travel is like the sunrise, getting brighter and brighter until daylight has come.

[4:19] The road of the wicked, however, is dark as night. They fall, but cannot see what they have stumbled over.

[4:20] My child, pay attention to what I say. Listen to my words.

[4:21] Never let them get away from you. Remember them and keep them in your heart.

[4:22] They will give life and health to anyone who understands them.

[4:23] Be careful how you think; your life is shaped by your thoughts.

[4:24] Never say anything that isn't true. Have nothing to do with lies and misleading words.

[4:25] Look straight ahead with honest confidence; don't hang your head in shame.

[4:26] Plan carefully what you do, and whatever you do will turn out right.

[4:27] Avoid evil and walk straight ahead. Don't go one step off the right way.

[5:1] My child, pay attention and listen to my wisdom and insight.

[5:2] Then you will know how to behave properly, and your words will show that you have knowledge.

[5:3] The lips of another man's wife may be as sweet as honey and her kisses as smooth as olive oil,

[5:4] but when it is all over, she leaves you nothing but bitterness and pain.

[5:5] She will take you down to the world of the dead; the road she walks is the road to death.

[5:6] She does not stay on the road to life; but wanders off, and does not realize what is happening.

[5:7] Now listen to me, sons, and never forget what I am saying.

[5:8] Keep away from such a woman! Don't even go near her door!

[5:9] If you do, others will gain the respect that you once had, and you will die young at the hands of merciless people.

[5:10] Yes, strangers will take all your wealth, and what you have worked for will belong to someone else.

[5:11] You will lie groaning on your deathbed, your flesh and muscles being eaten away,

[5:12] and you will say, “Why would I never learn? Why would I never let anyone correct me?

[5:13] I wouldn't listen to my teachers. I paid no attention to them.

[5:14] And suddenly I found myself publicly disgraced.”

[5:15] Be faithful to your own wife and give your love to her alone.

[5:16] Children that you have by other women will do you no good.

[5:17] Your children should grow up to help you, not strangers.

[5:18] So be happy with your wife and find your joy with the woman you married—

[5:19] pretty and graceful as a deer. Let her charms keep you happy; let her surround you with her love.

[5:20] Son, why should you give your love to another woman? Why should you prefer the charms of another man's wife?

[5:21] The Lord sees everything you do. Wherever you go, he is watching.

[5:22] The sins of the wicked are a trap. They get caught in the net of their own sin.

[5:23] They die because they have no self-control. Their utter stupidity will send them to their graves.

[6:1] My child, have you promised to be responsible for someone else's debts?

[6:2] Have you been caught by your own words, trapped by your own promises?

[6:3] Well then, my child, you are in that person's power, but this is how to get out of it: hurry to him, and beg him to release you.

[6:4] Don't let yourself go to sleep or even stop to rest.

[6:5] Get out of the trap like a bird or a deer escaping from a hunter.

[6:6] Lazy people should learn a lesson from the way ants live.

[6:7] They have no leader, chief, or ruler,

[6:8] but they store up their food during the summer, getting ready for winter.

[6:9] How long is the lazy man going to lie around? When is he ever going to get up?

[6:10] “I'll just take a short nap,” he says; “I'll fold my hands and rest a while.”

[6:11] But while he sleeps, poverty will attack him like an armed robber.

[6:12] Worthless, wicked people go around telling lies.

[6:13] They wink and make gestures to deceive you,

[6:14] all the while planning evil in their perverted minds, stirring up trouble everywhere.

[6:15] Because of this, disaster will strike them without warning, and they will be fatally wounded. – A proud look, – a lying tongue, – hands that kill innocent people, – a mind that thinks up wicked plans, – feet that hurry off to do evil, – a witness who tells one lie after another, – and someone who stirs up trouble among friends.

[7:6] Once I was looking out the window of my house,

[7:7] and I saw many inexperienced young men, but noticed one foolish fellow in particular.

[7:8] He was walking along the street near the corner where a certain woman lived. He was passing near her house

[7:9] in the evening after it was dark.

[7:10] And then she met him; she was dressed like a prostitute and was making plans.

[7:11] She was a bold and shameless woman who always walked the streets

[7:12] or stood waiting at a corner, sometimes in the streets, sometimes in the marketplace.

[7:13] She threw her arms around the young man, kissed him, looked him straight in the eye, and said,

[7:14] “I made my offerings today and have the meat from the sacrifices.

[7:15] So I came out looking for you. I wanted to find you, and here you are!

[7:16] I've covered my bed with sheets of colored linen from Egypt.

[7:17] I've perfumed it with myrrh, aloes, and cinnamon.

[7:18] Come on! Let's make love all night long. We'll be happy in each other's arms.

[7:19] My husband isn't at home. He's on a long trip.

[7:20] He took plenty of money with him and won't be back for two weeks.”

[7:21] So she tempted him with her charms, and he gave in to her smooth talk.

[7:22] Suddenly he was going with her like an ox on the way to be slaughtered, like a deer prancing into a trap

[7:23] where an arrow would pierce its heart. He was like a bird going into a net—he did not know that his life was in danger.

[7:24] Now then, sons, listen to me. Pay attention to what I say.

[7:25] Do not let such a woman win your heart; don't go wandering after her.

[7:26] She has been the ruin of many men and caused the death of too many to count.

[7:27] If you go to her house, you are on the way to the world of the dead. It is a shortcut to death.