The poor are always ruled over by the rich,
so don’t borrow and put yourself under their power.
Whoever sows sin reaps weeds,
and bullying anger sputters into nothing.
Generous hands are blessed hands
because they give bread to the poor.
Kick out the troublemakers and things will quiet down;
you need a break from bickering and griping!
GOD loves the pure-hearted and well-spoken;
good leaders also delight in their friendship.
GOD guards knowledge with a passion,
but he’ll have nothing to do with deception.
The loafer says, “There’s a lion on the loose!
If I go out I’ll be eaten alive!”
The mouth of a whore is a bottomless pit;
you’ll fall in that pit if you’re on the outs with GOD.
Young people are prone to foolishness and fads;
the cure comes through tough-minded discipline.
Exploit the poor or glad-hand the rich—whichever,
you’ll end up the poorer for it.
THE THIRTY PRECEPTS OF THE SAGES
Don’t Move Back the Boundary Lines
Listen carefully to my wisdom;
take to heart what I can teach you.
You’ll treasure its sweetness deep within;
you’ll give it bold expression in your speech.
To make sure your foundation is trust in GOD,
I’m laying it all out right now just for you.
I’m giving you thirty sterling principles—
tested guidelines to live by.
Believe me—these are truths that work,
and will keep you accountable
to those who sent you.
001
Don’t walk on the poor just because they’re poor,
and don’t use your position to crush the weak,
Because GOD will come to their defense;
the life you took, he’ll take from you and give back to them.
002
Don’t hang out with angry people;
don’t keep company with hotheads.
Bad temper is contagious—
don’t get infected.
003
Don’t gamble on the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow,
hocking your house against a lucky chance.
The time will come when you have to pay up;
you’ll be left with nothing but the shirt on your back.
004
Don’t stealthily move back the boundary lines
staked out long ago by your ancestors.
005
Observe people who are good at their work—
skilled workers are always in demand and admired;
they don’t take a backseat to anyone.
Restrain Yourself
006
023
When you go out to dinner with an influential person,
mind your manners:
Don’t gobble your food,
don’t talk with your mouth full.
And don’t stuff yourself;
bridle your appetite.
007
Don’t wear yourself out trying to get rich;
restrain yourself!
Riches disappear in the blink of an eye;
wealth sprouts wings
and flies off into the wild blue yonder.
008
Don’t accept a meal from a tightwad;
don’t expect anything special.
He’ll be as stingy with you as he is with himself;
he’ll say, “Eat! Drink!” but won’t mean a word of it.
His miserly serving will turn your stomach
when you realize the meal’s a sham.
009
Don’t bother talking sense to fools;
they’ll only poke fun at your words.
010
Don’t stealthily move back the boundary lines
or cheat orphans out of their property,
For they have a powerful Advocate
who will go to bat for them.
011
Give yourselves to disciplined instruction;
open your ears to tested knowledge.
012
Don’t be afraid to correct your young ones;
a spanking won’t kill them.
A good spanking, in fact, might save them
from something worse than death.
013
Dear child, if you become wise,
I’ll be one happy parent.
My heart will dance and sing
to the tuneful truth you’ll speak.
014
Don’t for a minute envy careless rebels;
soak yourself in the Fear-of-GOD—
That’s
where your future lies.
Then
you won’t be left with an armload of nothing.
015
Oh listen, dear child—become wise;
point your life in the right direction.
Don’t drink too much wine and get drunk;
don’t eat too much food and get fat.
Drunks and gluttons will end up on skid row,
in a stupor and dressed in rags.
Buy Wisdom, Education, Insight
016
Listen with respect to the father who raised you,
and when your mother grows old, don’t neglect her.
Buy truth—don’t sell it for love or money;
buy wisdom, buy education, buy insight.
Parents rejoice when their children turn out well;
wise children become proud parents.
So make your father happy!
Make your mother proud!
017
Dear child, I want your full attention;
please do what I show you.
A whore is a bottomless pit;
a loose woman can get you in deep trouble fast.
She’ll take you for all you’ve got;
she’s worse than a pack of thieves.
018
Who are the people who are always crying the blues?
Who do you know who reeks of self-pity?
Who keeps getting beat up for no reason at all?
Whose eyes are bleary and bloodshot?
It’s those who spend the night with a bottle,
for whom drinking is serious business.
Don’t judge wine by its label,
or its bouquet, or its full-bodied flavor.
Judge it rather by the hangover it leaves you with—
the splitting headache, the queasy stomach.
Do you really prefer seeing double,
with your speech all slurred,
Reeling and seasick,
drunk as a sailor?
“They hit me,” you’ll say, “but it didn’t hurt;
they beat on me, but I didn’t feel a thing.
When I’m sober enough to manage it,
bring me another drink!”
Intelligence Outranks Muscle
019
024
Don’t envy bad people;
don’t even want to be around them.
All they think about is causing a disturbance;
all they talk about is making trouble.
020
It takes wisdom to build a house,
and understanding to set it on a firm foundation;
It takes knowledge to furnish its rooms
with fine furniture and beautiful draperies.
021
It’s better to be wise than strong;
intelligence outranks muscle any day.
Strategic planning is the key to warfare;
to win, you need a lot of good counsel.
022
Wise conversation is way over the head of fools;
in a serious discussion they haven’t a clue.
023
The person who’s always cooking up some evil
soon gets a reputation as prince of rogues.
Fools incubate sin;
cynics desecrate beauty.
Rescue the Perishing
024
If you fall to pieces in a crisis,
there wasn’t much to you in the first place.
025
Rescue the perishing;
don’t hesitate to step in and help.
If you say, “Hey, that’s none of my business,”
will that get you off the hook?
Someone is watching you closely, you know—
Someone not impressed with weak excuses.
026
Eat honey, dear child—it’s good for you—
and delicacies that melt in your mouth.
Likewise knowledge,
and wisdom for your soul—
Get that and your future’s secured,
your hope is on solid rock.
027
Don’t interfere with good people’s lives;
don’t try to get the best of them.
No matter how many times you trip them up,
God-loyal people don’t stay down long;
Soon they’re up on their feet,
while the wicked end up flat on their faces.
028
Don’t laugh when your enemy falls;
don’t crow over his collapse.
GOD might see, and become very provoked,
and then take pity on his plight.
029
Don’t bother your head with braggarts
or wish you could succeed like the wicked.
Those people have no future at all;
they’re headed down a dead-end street.
030
Fear GOD, dear child—respect your leaders;
don’t be defiant or mutinous.
Without warning your life can turn upside down,
and who knows how or when it might happen?
MORE SAYINGS OF THE WISE
An Honest Answer
It’s wrong, very wrong,
to go along with injustice.
Whoever whitewashes the wicked
gets a black mark in the history books,
But whoever exposes the wicked
will be thanked and rewarded.
An honest answer
is like a warm hug.
First plant your fields;
then
build your barn.
Don’t talk about your neighbors behind their backs—
no slander or gossip, please.
Don’t say to anyone, “I’ll get back at you for what you did to me.
I’ll make you pay for what you did!”
One day I walked by the field of an old lazybones,
and then passed the vineyard of a lout;
They were overgrown with weeds,
thick with thistles, all the fences broken down.
I took a long look and pondered what I saw;
the fields preached me a sermon and I listened:
“A nap here, a nap there, a day off here, a day off there,
sit back, take it easy—do you know what comes next?
Just this: You can look forward to a dirt-poor life,
with poverty as your permanent houseguest!”
FURTHER WISE SAYINGS OF SOLOMON
The Right Word at the Right Time
025
There are also these proverbs of Solomon,
collected by scribes of Hezekiah, king of Judah.
God delights in concealing things;
scientists delight in discovering things.
Like the horizons for breadth and the ocean for depth,
the understanding of a good leader is broad and deep.
Remove impurities from the silver
and the silversmith can craft a fine chalice;
Remove the wicked from leadership
and authority will be credible and God-honoring.
Don’t work yourself into the spotlight;
don’t push your way into the place of prominence.
It’s better to be promoted to a place of honor
than face humiliation by being demoted.
Don’t jump to conclusions—there may be
a perfectly good explanation for what you just saw.
In the heat of an argument,
don’t betray confidences;
Word is sure to get around,
and no one will trust you.
The right word at the right time
is like a custom-made piece of jewelry,
And a wise friend’s timely reprimand
is like a gold ring slipped on your finger.
Reliable friends who do what they say
are like cool drinks in sweltering heat—refreshing!
Like billowing clouds that bring no rain
is the person who talks big but never produces.
Patient persistence pierces through indifference;
gentle speech breaks down rigid defenses.
A Person Without Self-Control
When you’re given a box of candy, don’t gulp it all down;
eat too much chocolate and you’ll make yourself sick;
And when you find a friend, don’t outwear your welcome;
show up at all hours and he’ll soon get fed up.
Anyone who tells lies against the neighbors
in court or on the street is a loose cannon.
Trusting a double-crosser when you’re in trouble
is like biting down on an abscessed tooth.
Singing light songs to the heavyhearted
is like pouring salt in their wounds.
If you see your enemy hungry, go buy him lunch;
if he’s thirsty, bring him a drink.
Your generosity will surprise him with goodness,
and GOD will look after you.