Do Not Boast about Tomorrow

¹Do not boast about tomorrow,for you do not know what a day may bring.

²Let another praise you, and not your own mouth—a stranger, and not your own lips.

³A stone is heavy and sand is a burden,but aggravation from a fool outweighs them both.

⁴Wrath is cruel and anger is like a flood,but who can withstand jealousy?

⁵Better an open rebukethan love that is concealed.

⁶The wounds of a friend are faithful,but the kisses of an enemy are deceitful.

⁷The soul that is full loathes honey,but to a hungry soul, any bitter thing is sweet.

⁸Like a bird that strays from its nestis a man who wanders from his home.

⁹Oil and incense bring joy to the heart,and the counsel of a friend is sweetness to the soul.

¹⁰Do not forsake your friend or your father’s friend,and do not go to your brother’s housein the day of your calamity;better a neighbor nearbythan a brother far away.

¹¹Be wise, my son, and bring joy to my heart,so that I can answer him who taunts me.

¹²The prudent see danger and take cover,but the simple keep going and pay the penalty.

¹³Take the garment of him who posts security for a stranger;get collateral if it is for a foreigner.

¹⁴If one blesses his neighbor with a loud voice early in the morning,it will be counted to him as a curse.

¹⁵A constant dripping on a rainy dayand a contentious woman are alike—

¹⁶restraining her is like holding back the windor grasping oil with one’s right hand.

¹⁷As iron sharpens iron,so one man sharpens another.

¹⁸Whoever tends a fig tree will eat its fruit,and he who looks after his master will be honored.

¹⁹As water reflects the face,so the heart reflects the true man.

²⁰Sheol and Abaddonare never satisfied;so the eyes of man are never satisfied.

²¹A crucible for silver and a furnace for gold,but a man is tested by the praise accorded him.

²²Though you grind a fool like grain with mortar and a pestle,yet his folly will not depart from him.

²³Be sure to know the state of your flocks,and pay close attention to your herds;

²⁴for riches are not forever,nor does a crown endure to every generation.

²⁵When hay is removed and new growth appearsand the grass from the hills is gathered,

²⁶the lambs will provide you with clothing,and the goats with the price of a field.

²⁷You will have plenty of goats’ milk to feed you—food for your householdand nourishment for your maidservants.

True Riches

Saying 7

¹When you sit down to dine with a ruler,consider carefully what is set before you,

²and put a knife to your throatif you possess a great appetite.

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

Saying 8

⁴Do not wear yourself out to get rich;be wise enough to restrain yourself.

⁵When you glance at wealth, it disappears,for it makes wings for itselfand flies like an eagle to the sky.

Saying 9

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

⁷for he is keeping track,inwardly counting the cost.“Eat and drink,” he says to you,but his heart is not with you.

⁸You will vomit up what little you have eatenand waste your pleasant words.

Saying 10

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

Saying 11

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

¹¹for their Redeemer is strong;He will take up their case against you.

Saying 12

¹²Apply your heart to instructionand your ears to words of knowledge.

Saying 13

¹³Do not withhold discipline from a child;although you strike him with a rod, he will not die.

¹⁴Strike him with a rod,and you will deliver his soul from Sheol.

Saying 14

¹⁵My son, if your heart is wise,my own heart will indeed rejoice.

¹⁶My inmost beingwill rejoicewhen your lips speak what is right.

Saying 15

¹⁷Do not let your heart envy sinners,but always continue in the fear of the LORD.

¹⁸For surely there is a future,and your hope will not be cut off.

Saying 16

¹⁹Listen, my son, and be wise,and guide your heart on the right course.

²⁰Do not join those who drink too much wineor gorge themselves on meat.

²¹For the drunkard and the glutton will come to poverty,and drowsiness will clothe them in rags.

Saying 17

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

²³Invest in truth and never sell it—in wisdom and instruction and understanding.

²⁴The father of a righteous man will greatly rejoice,and he who fathers a wise son will delight in him.

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

Saying 18

²⁶My son, give me your heart,and let your eyes delight in my ways.

²⁷For a prostitute is a deep pit,and an adulteressis a narrow well.

²⁸Like a robber she lies in waitand multiplies the faithless among men.

Saying 19

²⁹Who has woe? Who has sorrow?Who has contentions? Who has complaints?Who has needless wounds? Who has bloodshot eyes?

³⁰Those who linger over wine,who go to taste mixed drinks.

³¹Do not gaze at wine while it is red,when it sparkles in the cupand goes down smoothly.

³²In the end it bites like a snakeand stings like a viper.

³³Your eyes will see strange things,and your mind will utter perversities.

³⁴You will be like one sleeping on the high seasor lying on the top of a mast:

³⁵“They struck me, but I feel no pain!They beat me, but I did not know it!When can I wake upto search for another drink?”

A Good Name

¹A good name is more desirable than great riches;favor is better than silver and gold.

²The rich and the poor have this in common:The LORD is Maker of them all.

³The prudent see danger and take cover,but the simple keep going and suffer the consequences.

⁴The rewards of humility and the fear of the LORDare wealth and honor and life.

⁵Thorns and snares lie on the path of the perverse;he who guards his soul stays far from them.

⁶Train up a child in the way he should go,and when he is old he will not depart from it.

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

⁸He who sows injustice will reap disaster,and the rod of his fury will be destroyed.

⁹A generous manwill be blessed,for he shares his bread with the poor.

¹⁰Drive out the mocker, and conflict will depart;even quarreling and insults will cease.

¹¹He who loves a pure heart and gracious lipswill have the king for a friend.

¹²The LORD’s eyes keep watch over knowledge,but He frustrates the words of the faithless.

¹³The slacker says, “There is a lion outside!I will be slain in the streets!”

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

¹⁵Foolishness is bound up in the heart of a child,but the rod of discipline drives it far from him.

¹⁶Oppressing the poor to enrich oneself or giving gifts to the richwill surely lead to poverty.

Thirty Sayings of the Wise

Saying 1

¹⁷Incline your ear and hear the words of the wise—apply your mind to my knowledge—

¹⁸for it is pleasing when you keep them within youand they are constantly on your lips.

¹⁹So that your trust may be in the LORD,I instruct you today—yes, you.

²⁰Have I not written for you thirty sayingsabout counsel and knowledge,

²¹to show you true and reliable words,that you may soundly answer those who sent you?

Saying 2

²²Do not rob a poor man because he is poor,and do not crush the afflicted at the gate,

²³for the LORD will take up their caseand will plunder those who rob them.

Saying 3

²⁴Do not make friends with an angry man,and do not associate with a hot-tempered man,

²⁵or you may learn his waysand entangle yourself in a snare.

Saying 4

²⁶Do not be one who gives pledges,who puts up security for debts.

²⁷If you have nothing with which to pay,why should your bed be taken from under you?

Saying 5

²⁸Do not move an ancient boundary stonewhich your fathers have placed.

Saying 6

²⁹Do you see a man skilled in his work?He will be stationed in the presence of kings;he will not stand before obscure men.

A Father’s Instruction

¹Listen, my sons, to a father’s instruction;pay attention and gain understanding.

²For I give you sound teaching;do not abandon my directive.

³When I was a son to my father,tender and the only child of my mother,

⁴he taught me and said,“Let your heart lay hold of my words;keep my commands and you will live.

⁵Get wisdom, get understanding;do not forget my words or turn from them.

⁶Do not forsake wisdom, and she will preserve you;love her, and she will guard you.

⁷Wisdom is supreme; so acquire wisdom.And whatever you may acquire,gain understanding.

⁸Prize her, and she will exalt you;if you embrace her, she will honor you.

⁹She will set a garland of grace on your head;she will present you with a crown of beauty.”

¹⁰Listen, my son, and receive my words,and the years of your life will be many.

¹¹I will guide you in the way of wisdom;I will lead you on straight paths.

¹²When you walk, your steps will not be impeded;when you run, you will not stumble.

¹³Hold on to instruction; do not let go.Guard it, for it is your life.

¹⁴Do not set foot on the path of the wickedor walk in the way of evildoers.

¹⁵Avoid it; do not travel on it.Turn from it and pass on by.

¹⁶For they cannot sleepunless they do evil;they are deprived of slumberuntil they make someone fall.

¹⁷For they eat the bread of wickednessand drink the wine of violence.

¹⁸The path of the righteous is like the first gleam of dawn,shining brighter and brighter until midday.

¹⁹But the way of the wicked is like the darkest gloom;they do not know what makes them stumble.

²⁰My son, pay attention to my words;incline your ear to my sayings.

²¹Do not lose sight of them;keep them within your heart.

²²For they are life to those who find them,and health to the whole body.

²³Guard your heart with all diligence,for from it flow springs of life.

²⁴Put away deception from your mouth;keep your lips from perverse speech.

²⁵Let your eyes look forward;fix your gaze straight ahead.

²⁶Make a level path for your feet,and all your ways will be sure.

²⁷Do not swerve to the right or to the left;turn your feet away from evil.