The Overthrow of Nineveh

¹One who scatters advancesagainst you, O Nineveh.Guard the fortress!Watch the road!Brace yourselves!Summon all your strength!

²For the LORD will restore the splendor of Jacoblike the splendor of Israel,though destroyers have laid them wasteand ruined the branches of their vine.

³The shields of his mighty men are red;the valiant warriors are dressed in scarlet.The fittings of the chariots flash like fireon the day they are prepared,and the spears of cypresshave been brandished.

⁴The chariots dash through the streets;they rush around the plazas,appearing like torches,darting about like lightning.

⁵He summons his nobles;they stumble as they advance.They race to its wall;the protective shield is set in place.

⁶The river gates are thrown openand the palace collapses.

⁷It is decreed that the city be exiledand carried away;her maidservants moan like doves,and beat upon their breasts.

⁸Nineveh has been like a pool of waterthroughout her days,but now it is draining away.“Stop! Stop!” they cry,but no one turns back.

⁹“Plunder the silver!Plunder the gold!”There is no end to the treasure,an abundance of every precious thing.

¹⁰She is emptied!Yes, she is desolate and laid waste!Hearts melt, knees knock,bodies tremble, and every face grows pale!

¹¹Where is the lions’ lairor the feeding ground of the young lions,where the lion and lioness prowled with their cubs,with nothing to frighten them away?

¹²The lion mauled enough for its cubsand strangled prey for the lioness.It filled its dens with the kill,and its lairs with mauled prey.

¹³“Behold, I am against you,”declares the LORD of Hosts.“I will reduce your chariots to cinders,and the sword will devour your young lions.I will cut off your prey from the earth,and the voices of your messengerswill no longer be heard.”

Wisdom and Folly

¹As dead flies bring a stench to the perfumer’s oil,so a little folly outweighs wisdom and honor.

²A wise man’s heart inclines to the right,but the heart of a fool to the left.

³Even as the fool walks along the road, his sense is lacking,and he shows everyone that he is a fool.

⁴If the ruler’s temper flares against you, do not abandon your post,for calmness lays great offenses to rest.

⁵There is an evil I have seen under the sun—an error that proceeds from the ruler:

⁶Folly is appointed to great heights,but the rich sit in lowly positions.

⁷I have seen slaves on horseback,while princes go on foot like slaves.

⁸He who digs a pit may fall into it,and he who breaches a wall may be bitten by a snake.

⁹The one who quarries stones may be injured by them,and he who splits logs endangers himself.

¹⁰If the axe is dull and the blade unsharpened,more strength must be exerted,but skill produces success.

¹¹If the snake bites before it is charmed,there is no profit for the charmer.

¹²The words of a wise man’s mouth are gracious,but the lips of a fool consume him.

¹³The beginning of his talk is folly,and the end of his speech is evil madness.

¹⁴Yet the fool multiplies words.No one knows what is coming,and who can tell him what will come after him?

¹⁵The toil of a fool wearies him,for he does not know the way to the city.

¹⁶Woe to you, O land whose king is a youth,and whose princes feast in the morning.

¹⁷Blessed are you, O land whose king is a son of nobles,and whose princes feast at the proper time—for strength and not for drunkenness.

¹⁸Through laziness the roof caves in,and in the hands of the idle, the house leaks.

¹⁹A feast is prepared for laughter, and wine makes life merry,but money is the answer for everything.

²⁰Do not curse the king even in your thoughts,or curse the rich even in your bedroom,for a bird of the air may carry your words,and a winged creature may report your speech.

Job Prepares for Death

¹“My spirit is broken; my days are extinguished;the grave awaits me.

²Surely mockers surround me,and my eyes must gaze at their rebellion.

³Give me, I pray, the pledge You demand.Who else will be my guarantor?

⁴You have closed their minds to understanding;therefore You will not exalt them.

⁵If a man denounces his friends for a price,the eyes of his children will fail.

⁶He has made me a byword among the people,a man in whose face they spit.

⁷My eyes have grown dim with grief,and my whole body is but a shadow.

⁸The upright are appalled at this,and the innocent are stirred against the godless.

⁹Yet a righteous one holds to his way,and the one with clean hands grows stronger.

¹⁰But come back and try again, all of you.For I will not find a wise man among you.

¹¹My days have passed; my plans are broken off—even the desires of my heart.

¹²They have turned night into day,making light seem near in the face of darkness.

¹³If I look for Sheol as my home,if I spread out my bed in darkness,

¹⁴and say to corruption, ‘You are my father,’and to the worm, ‘My mother,’ or ‘My sister,’

¹⁵where then is my hope?Who can see any hope for me?

¹⁶Will it go down to the gates of Sheol?Will we go down together into the dust?”

Solomon’s Proverbs: The Wise Son

¹The proverbs of Solomon:A wise son brings joy to his father,but a foolish son grief to his mother.

²Ill-gotten treasures profit nothing,but righteousness brings deliverance from death.

³The LORD does not let the righteous go hungry,but He denies the craving of the wicked.

⁴Idle hands make one poor,but diligent hands bring wealth.

⁵He who gathers in summer is a wise son,but he who sleeps during harvest is a disgraceful son.

⁶Blessings are on the head of the righteous,but the mouth of the wicked conceals violence.

⁷The memory of the righteous is a blessing,but the name of the wicked will rot.

⁸A wise heart will receive commandments,but foolish lips will come to ruin.

⁹He who walks in integrity walks securely,but he who perverts his ways will be found out.

¹⁰He who winks the eye causes grief,and foolish lips will come to ruin.

¹¹The mouth of the righteous is a fountain of life,but the mouth of the wicked conceals violence.

¹²Hatred stirs up dissension,but love covers all transgressions.

¹³Wisdom is found on the lips of the discerning,but a rod is for the back of him who lacks judgment.

¹⁴The wise store up knowledge,but the mouth of the fool invites destruction.

¹⁵The wealth of the rich man is his fortified city,but poverty is the ruin of the poor.

¹⁶The labor of the righteous leads to life,but the gain of the wicked brings punishment.

¹⁷Whoever heeds instruction is on the path to life,but he who ignores reproof goes astray.

¹⁸The one who conceals hatred has lying lips,and whoever spreads slander is a fool.

¹⁹When words are many, sin is unavoidable,but he who restrains his lips is wise.

²⁰The tongue of the righteous is choice silver,but the heart of the wicked has little worth.

²¹The lips of the righteous feed many,but fools die for lack of judgment.

²²The blessing of the LORD enriches,and He adds no sorrow to it.

²³The fool delights in shameful conduct,but a man of understanding has wisdom.

²⁴What the wicked man dreads will overtake him,but the desire of the righteous will be granted.

²⁵When the whirlwind passes, the wicked are no more,but the righteous are secure forever.

²⁶Like vinegar to the teeth and smoke to the eyes,so is the slacker to those who send him.

²⁷The fear of the LORD prolongs life,but the years of the wicked will be cut short.

²⁸The hope of the righteous is joy,but the expectations of the wicked will perish.

²⁹The way of the LORD is a refuge to the upright,but destruction awaits those who do evil.

³⁰The righteous will never be shaken,but the wicked will not inhabit the land.

³¹The mouth of the righteous brings forth wisdom,but a perverse tongue will be cut out.

³²The lips of the righteous know what is fitting,but the mouth of the wicked is perverse.