Proverbs 29-31

Proverbs 29

¹A man hating sharp words and making his heart hard, will suddenly be broken and will not be made well again.

²When the upright have power, the people are glad; when an evil man is ruler, grief comes on the people.

³A man who is a lover of wisdom is a joy to his father: but he who goes in the company of loose women is a waster of wealth.

⁴A king, by right rule, makes the land safe; but one full of desires makes it a waste.

⁵A man who says smooth things to his neighbour is stretching out a net for his steps.

⁶In the steps of an evil man there is a net for him, but the upright man gets away quickly and is glad.

⁷The upright man gives attention to the cause of the poor: the evil-doer gives no thought to it.

⁸Men of pride are the cause of violent acts in a town, but by wise men wrath is turned away.

⁹If a wise man goes to law with a foolish man, he may be angry or laughing, but there will be no rest.

¹⁰Men of blood are haters of the good man, and evil-doers go after his soul.

¹¹A foolish man lets out all his wrath, but a wise man keeps it back quietly.

¹²If a ruler gives attention to false words, all his servants are evil-doers.

¹³The poor man and his creditor come face to face: the Lord gives light to their eyes equally.

¹⁴The king who is a true judge in the cause of the poor, will be safe for ever on the seat of his power.

¹⁵The rod and sharp words give wisdom: but a child who is not guided is a cause of shame to his mother.

¹⁶When evil men are in power, wrongdoing is increased; but the upright will have pleasure when they see their downfall.

¹⁷Give your son training, and he will give you rest; he will give delight to your soul.

¹⁸Where there is no vision, the people are uncontrolled; but he who keeps the law will be happy.

¹⁹A servant will not be trained by words; for though the sense of the words is clear to him, he will not give attention.

²⁰Have you seen a man who is quick with his tongue? There is more hope for a foolish man than for him.

²¹If a servant is gently cared for from his early years, he will become a cause of sorrow in the end.

²²An angry man is the cause of fighting, and a man given to wrath does much wrong.

²³A man's pride will be the cause of his fall, but he who has a gentle spirit will get honour.

²⁴A man who takes part with a thief has hate for his soul; he is put under oath, but says nothing.

²⁵The fear of man is a cause of danger: but whoever puts his faith in the Lord will have a safe place on high.

²⁶The approval of a ruler is desired by great numbers: but the decision in a man's cause comes from the Lord.

²⁷An evil man is disgusting to the upright, and he who is upright is disgusting to evil-doers.

Proverbs 30

¹The words of Agur, the son of Jakeh, from Massa. The man says: I am full of weariness, O God, I am full of weariness; O God, I have come to an end:

²For I am more like a beast than any man, I have no power of reasoning like a man:

³I have not got wisdom by teaching, so that I might have the knowledge of the Holy One.

⁴Who has gone up to heaven and come down? who has taken the winds in his hands, prisoning the waters in his robe? by whom have all the ends of the earth been fixed? what is his name, and what is his son's name, if you are able to say?

⁵Every word of God is tested: he is a breastplate to those who put their faith in him.

⁶Make no addition to his words, or he will make clear your error, and you will be seen to be false.

⁷I have made request to you for two things; do not keep them from me before my death:

⁸Put far from me all false and foolish things: do not give me great wealth or let me be in need, but give me only enough food:

⁹For fear that if I am full, I may be false to you and say, Who is the Lord? or if I am poor, I may become a thief, using the name of my God wrongly.

¹⁰Do not say evil of a servant to his master, or he will put a curse on you, and you will get into trouble.

¹¹There is a generation who put a curse on their father, and do not give a blessing to their mother.

¹²There is a generation who seem to themselves to be free from sin, but are not washed from their unclean ways.

¹³There is a generation, O how full of pride are their eyes! O how their brows are lifted up!

¹⁴There is a generation whose teeth are like swords, their strong teeth like knives, for the destruction of the poor from the earth, and of those who are in need from among men.

¹⁵The night-spirit has two daughters, Give, give. There are three things which are never full, even four which never say, Enough:

¹⁶The underworld, and the woman without a child; the earth which never has enough water, and the fire which never says, Enough.

¹⁷The eye which makes sport of a father, and sees no value in a mother when she is old will be rooted out by the ravens of the valley, and be food for the young eagles.

¹⁸There are three things, the wonder of which overcomes me, even four things outside my knowledge:

¹⁹The way of an eagle in the air; the way of a snake on a rock; the way of a ship in the heart of the sea; and the way of a man with a girl.

²⁰This is the way of a false wife; she takes food, and, cleaning her mouth, says, I have done no wrong.

²¹For three things the earth is moved, and there are four which it will not put up with:

²²A servant when he becomes a king; a man without sense when his wealth is increased;

²³A hated woman when she is married; and a servant-girl who takes the place of her master's wife.

²⁴There are four things which are little on the earth, but they are very wise:

²⁵The ants are a people not strong, but they put by a store of food in the summer;

²⁶The conies are only a feeble people, but they make their houses in the rocks;

²⁷The locusts have no king, but they all go out in bands;

²⁸You may take the lizard in your hands, but it is in kings' houses.

²⁹There are three things whose steps are good to see, even four whose goings are fair:

³⁰The lion, which is strongest among beasts, not turning from his way for any;

³¹The war-horse, and the he-goat, and the king when his army is with him.

³²If you have done foolishly in lifting yourself up, or if you have had evil designs, put your hand over your mouth.

³³The shaking of milk makes butter, and the twisting of the nose makes blood come: so the forcing of wrath is a cause of fighting.

Proverbs 31

¹The words of Lemuel, king of Massa: the teaching which he had from his mother.

²What am I to say to you, O Lemuel, my oldest son? and what, O son of my body? and what, O son of my oaths?

³Do not give your strength to women, or your ways to that which is the destruction of kings.

⁴It is not for kings, O Lemuel, it is not for kings to take wine, or for rulers to say, Where is strong drink?

⁵For fear that through drinking they may come to have no respect for the law, wrongly judging the cause of those who are in trouble.

⁶Give strong drink to him who is near to destruction, and wine to him whose soul is bitter:

⁷Let him have drink, and his need will go from his mind, and the memory of his trouble will be gone.

⁸Let your mouth be open for those who have no voice, in the cause of those who are ready for death.

⁹Let your mouth be open, judging rightly, and give right decisions in the cause of the poor and those in need.

¹⁰Who may make discovery of a woman of virtue? For her price is much higher than jewels.

¹¹The heart of her husband has faith in her, and he will have profit in full measure.

¹²She does him good and not evil all the days of her life.

¹³She gets wool and linen, working at the business of her hands.

¹⁴She is like the trading-ships, getting food from far away.

¹⁵She gets up while it is still night, and gives meat to her family, and their food to her servant-girls.

¹⁶After looking at a field with care, she gets it for a price, planting a vine-garden with the profit of her work.

¹⁷She puts a band of strength round her, and makes her arms strong.

¹⁸She sees that her marketing is of profit to her: her light does not go out by night.

¹⁹She puts her hands to the cloth-working rod, and her fingers take the wheel.

²⁰Her hands are stretched out to the poor; yes, she is open-handed to those who are in need.

²¹She has no fear of the snow for her family, for all those in her house are clothed in red.

²²She makes for herself cushions of needlework; her clothing is fair linen and purple.

²³Her husband is a man of note in the public place, when he takes his seat among the responsible men of the land.

²⁴She makes linen robes and gets a price for them, and traders take her cloth bands for a price.

²⁵Strength and self-respect are her clothing; she is facing the future with a smile.

²⁶Her mouth is open to give out wisdom, and the law of mercy is on her tongue.

²⁷She gives attention to the ways of her family, she does not take her food without working for it.

²⁸Her children get up and give her honour, and her husband gives her praise, saying,

²⁹Unnumbered women have done well, but you are better than all of them.

³⁰Fair looks are a deceit, and a beautiful form is of no value; but a woman who has the fear of the Lord is to be praised.

³¹Give her credit for what her hands have made: let her be praised by her works in the public place.