17

1Better is a dry morsel with quietness,

than a house full of feasting with strife.

2A servant who deals wisely will rule over a son who causes shame,

and shall have a part in the inheritance among the brothers.

3The refining pot is for silver, and the furnace for gold,

but Yahweh tests the hearts.

4An evildoer heeds wicked lips.

A liar gives ear to a mischievous tongue.

5Whoever mocks the poor reproaches his Maker.

He who is glad at calamity shall not be unpunished.

6Children’s children are the crown of old men;

the glory of children is their parents.

7Excellent speech isn’t fitting for a fool,

much less do lying lips fit a prince.

8A bribe is a precious stone in the eyes of him who gives it;

wherever he turns, he prospers.

9He who covers an offense promotes love;

but he who repeats a matter separates best friends.

10A rebuke enters deeper into one who has understanding

than a hundred lashes into a fool.

11An evil man seeks only rebellion;

therefore a cruel messenger shall be sent against him.

12Let a bear robbed of her cubs meet a man,

rather than a fool in his folly.

13Whoever rewards evil for good,

evil shall not depart from his house.

14The beginning of strife is like breaching a dam,

therefore stop contention before quarreling breaks out.

15He who justifies the wicked, and he who condemns the righteous,

both of them alike are an abomination to Yahweh.

16Why is there money in the hand of a fool to buy wisdom,

since he has no understanding?

17A friend loves at all times;

and a brother is born for adversity.

18A man void of understanding strikes hands,

and becomes collateral in the presence of his neighbor.

19He who loves disobedience loves strife.

One who builds a high gate seeks destruction.

20One who has a perverse heart doesn’t find prosperity,

and one who has a deceitful tongue falls into trouble.

21He who becomes the father of a fool grieves.

The father of a fool has no joy.

22A cheerful heart makes good medicine,

but a crushed spirit dries up the bones.

23A wicked man receives a bribe in secret,

to pervert the ways of justice.

24Wisdom is before the face of one who has understanding,

but the eyes of a fool wander to the ends of the earth.

25A foolish son brings grief to his father,

and bitterness to her who bore him.

26Also to punish the righteous is not good,

nor to flog officials for their integrity.

27He who spares his words has knowledge.

He who is even tempered is a man of understanding.

28Even a fool, when he keeps silent, is counted wise.

When he shuts his lips, he is thought to be discerning.

18

1A man who isolates himself pursues selfishness,

and defies all sound judgment.

2A fool has no delight in understanding,

but only in revealing his own opinion.

3When wickedness comes, contempt also comes,

and with shame comes disgrace.

4The words of a man’s mouth are like deep waters.

The fountain of wisdom is like a flowing brook.

5To be partial to the faces of the wicked is not good,

nor to deprive the innocent of justice.

6A fool’s lips come into strife,

and his mouth invites beatings.

7A fool’s mouth is his destruction,

and his lips are a snare to his soul.

8The words of a gossip are like dainty morsels:

they go down into a person’s innermost parts.

9One who is slack in his work

is brother to him who is a master of destruction.

10Yahweh’s name is a strong tower:

the righteous run to him, and are safe.

11The rich man’s wealth is his strong city,

like an unscalable wall in his own imagination.

12Before destruction the heart of man is proud,

but before honor is humility.

13He who answers before he hears,

that is folly and shame to him.

14A man’s spirit will sustain him in sickness,

but a crushed spirit, who can bear?

15The heart of the discerning gets knowledge.

The ear of the wise seeks knowledge.

16A man’s gift makes room for him,

and brings him before great men.

17He who pleads his cause first seems right—

until another comes and questions him.

18The lot settles disputes,

and keeps strong ones apart.

19A brother offended is more difficult than a fortified city.

Disputes are like the bars of a fortress.

20A man’s stomach is filled with the fruit of his mouth.

With the harvest of his lips he is satisfied.

21Death and life are in the power of the tongue;

those who love it will eat its fruit.

22Whoever finds a wife finds a good thing,

and obtains favor of Yahweh.

23The poor plead for mercy,

but the rich answer harshly.

24A man of many companions may be ruined,

but there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother.

19

1Better is the poor who walks in his integrity

than he who is perverse in his lips and is a fool.

2It isn’t good to have zeal without knowledge,

nor being hasty with one’s feet and missing the way.

3The foolishness of man subverts his way;

his heart rages against Yahweh.

4Wealth adds many friends,

but the poor is separated from his friend.

5A false witness shall not be unpunished.

He who pours out lies shall not go free.

6Many will entreat the favor of a ruler,

and everyone is a friend to a man who gives gifts.

7All the relatives of the poor shun him;

how much more do his friends avoid him!

He pursues them with pleas, but they are gone.

8He who gets wisdom loves his own soul.

He who keeps understanding shall find good.

9A false witness shall not be unpunished.

He who utters lies shall perish.

10Delicate living is not appropriate for a fool,

much less for a servant to have rule over princes.

11The discretion of a man makes him slow to anger.

It is his glory to overlook an offense.

12The king’s wrath is like the roaring of a lion,

but his favor is like dew on the grass.

13A foolish son is the calamity of his father.

A wife’s quarrels are a continual dripping.

14House and riches are an inheritance from fathers,

but a prudent wife is from Yahweh.

15Slothfulness casts into a deep sleep.

The idle soul shall suffer hunger.

16He who keeps the commandment keeps his soul,

but he who is contemptuous in his ways shall die.

17He who has pity on the poor lends to Yahweh;

he will reward him.

18Discipline your son, for there is hope;

don’t be a willing party to his death.

19A hot-tempered man must pay the penalty,

for if you rescue him, you must do it again.

20Listen to counsel and receive instruction,

that you may be wise in your latter end.

21There are many plans in a man’s heart,

but Yahweh’s counsel will prevail.

22That which makes a man to be desired is his kindness.

A poor man is better than a liar.

23The fear of Yahweh leads to life, then contentment;

he rests and will not be touched by trouble.

24The sluggard buries his hand in the dish;

he will not so much as bring it to his mouth again.

25Flog a scoffer, and the simple will learn prudence;

rebuke one who has understanding, and he will gain knowledge.

26He who robs his father and drives away his mother

is a son who causes shame and brings reproach.

27If you stop listening to instruction, my son,

you will stray from the words of knowledge.

28A corrupt witness mocks justice,

and the mouth of the wicked gulps down iniquity.

29Penalties are prepared for scoffers,

and beatings for the backs of fools.

20

1Wine is a mocker and beer is a brawler.

Whoever is led astray by them is not wise.

2The terror of a king is like the roaring of a lion.

He who provokes him to anger forfeits his own life.

3It is an honor for a man to keep aloof from strife,

but every fool will be quarreling.

4The sluggard will not plow by reason of the winter;

therefore he shall beg in harvest, and have nothing.

5Counsel in the heart of man is like deep water,

but a man of understanding will draw it out.

6Many men claim to be men of unfailing love,

but who can find a faithful man?

7A righteous man walks in integrity.

Blessed are his children after him.

8A king who sits on the throne of judgment

scatters away all evil with his eyes.

9Who can say, “I have made my heart pure.

I am clean and without sin?”

10Differing weights and differing measures,

both of them alike are an abomination to Yahweh.

11Even a child makes himself known by his doings,

whether his work is pure, and whether it is right.

12The hearing ear, and the seeing eye,

Yahweh has made even both of them.

13Don’t love sleep, lest you come to poverty.

Open your eyes, and you shall be satisfied with bread.

14“It’s no good, it’s no good,” says the buyer;

but when he is gone his way, then he boasts.

15There is gold and abundance of rubies,

but the lips of knowledge are a rare jewel.

16Take the garment of one who puts up collateral for a stranger;

and hold him in pledge for a wayward woman.

17Fraudulent food is sweet to a man,

but afterwards his mouth is filled with gravel.

18Plans are established by advice;

by wise guidance you wage war!

19He who goes about as a tale-bearer reveals secrets;

therefore don’t keep company with him who opens wide his lips.

20Whoever curses his father or his mother,

his lamp shall be put out in blackness of darkness.

21An inheritance quickly gained at the beginning

won’t be blessed in the end.

22Don’t say, “I will pay back evil.”

Wait for Yahweh, and he will save you.

23Yahweh detests differing weights,

and dishonest scales are not pleasing.

24A man’s steps are from Yahweh;

how then can man understand his way?

25It is a snare to a man to make a rash dedication,

then later to consider his vows.

26A wise king winnows out the wicked,

and drives the threshing wheel over them.

27The spirit of man is Yahweh’s lamp,

searching all his innermost parts.

28Love and faithfulness keep the king safe.

His throne is sustained by love.

29The glory of young men is their strength.

The splendor of old men is their gray hair.

30Wounding blows cleanse away evil,

and beatings purge the innermost parts.