23
Proverbs

Sayings of the Wise: Practical Moral Instruction (part 2)

Proverbs 23:32-24:34
32Its end is like a serpent that bites, and like a viper it pierces. 33Your eyes will see strange things, and your heart will speak perversities. 34You will become like one lying down in the heart of the sea and like one lying down at the head of a mast. 35They struck me, yet I was not weakened; they beat me, yet I did not know it. When shall I awake? I will seek it again.
Chapter 24
1Do not be jealous of men of harm, and do not desire to be with them. 2For violence their heart mutters, and trouble their lips speak. 3By wisdom a house is built, and by understanding it is established. 4By knowledge the chambers are filled with every precious and pleasant substance. 5A wise man is strong, and a man of knowledge strengthens strength. 6For by counsel you wage war for yourself, and deliverance comes by an abundance of advisers. 7Wisdom is too high for a fool; he does not open his mouth in the gate. 8Whoever devises evil will be called a master of plots. 9The scheme of folly is sin, and a mocker is an abomination to man. 10If you slacken in the day of distress, your strength becomes narrow. 11Rescue those being taken to death, and hold back those staggering to slaughter—if you hold back. 12For you say, "Behold, we did not know this." Does he who weighs hearts not discern? He who guards your soul knows, and he will repay each man according to his work. 13Eat honey, my son, for it is good, and the honeycomb is sweet upon your palate. 14Know wisdom for your soul: if you find it, there is a future, and your hope will not be cut off. 15Do not lie in wait for the righteous in the pasture of the wicked, and do not ruin his resting place. 16For though the righteous falls seven times, he rises again, but the wicked stumble into harm. 17Do not rejoice when your enemy falls, and do not let your heart exult when he stumbles. 18Lest the LORD see it and it be evil in his eyes, and he turn his anger away from him. 19Do not be incensed at evildoers; do not be jealous of the wicked. 20For there will be no future for the evil; the lamp of the wicked will be put out. 21Fear the LORD and the king, my son, and do not associate with those who change. 22For suddenly their calamity will arise, and who knows the disaster of both? 23These things also belong to the wise: partiality in judgment is not good. 24He who says to the wicked, "You are righteous"—peoples will curse him; nations will denounce him. 25Those who rebuke will find favor, and a good blessing will come upon them. 26Lips kiss him who returns straightforward words. 27Prepare your work outside, and make it ready in the field; afterward build your house. 28Do not be a witness against your neighbor without cause, and do not deceive with your lips. 29Do not say, "I will do to him as he has done to me; I will repay each man according to his work." 30I passed by the field of a sluggard and by the vineyard of a man lacking heart. 31And behold, it had all come up in thorns; nettles covered its face, and its stone wall was overthrown. 32Then I saw and set my heart upon it; I looked and took discipline. 33A little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to lie down, 34And your poverty will come like a robber, and your need like an armed man.
Tap a verse