Wisdom Is Strength
Study note
Do not be jealous of evil people. Wisdom builds a house and fills it with treasures. A wise person is strong. Do not give up when times are hard, because that reveals how little strength you actually have.
1 Do not look at people who do evil and wish you could be like them. Do not want to be part of their circle. Be not thou envious against evil men, neither desire to be with them.
2 All they think about is how to hurt people, and all they talk about is how to start trouble. For their heart studieth destruction, and their lips talk of mischief.
3 It takes wisdom to build a home, and it takes understanding to make it solid. Through wisdom is an house builded; and by understanding it is established:
4 Knowledge is what fills every room with things that are beautiful and valuable. And by knowledge shall the chambers be filled with all precious and pleasant riches.
5 Wisdom makes a person powerful, and knowledge keeps making them stronger. A wise man is strong; yea, a man of knowledge increaseth strength.
6 Smart planning is how you win battles. Having plenty of good advisors is how you lock in the win. For by wise counsel thou shalt make thy war: and in multitude of counsellors there is safety.
7 Wisdom is completely out of a fool's reach. When important discussions happen at the city gate, they have nothing to contribute. Wisdom is too high for a fool: he openeth not his mouth in the gate.
8 Anyone who spends their time planning how to do evil earns the name of troublemaker. He that deviseth to do evil shall be called a mischievous person.
9 The plots a fool cooks up are sinful, and a mocker is someone that everybody finds repulsive. The thought of foolishness is sin: and the scorner is an abomination to men.
10 If you crumble when things get difficult, it proves your strength was never very deep. If thou faint in the day of adversity, thy strength is small.
Rescue the Innocent and Seek Wisdom
Study note
If you can rescue someone being led away to death, do not say you did not know about it. God knows. Wisdom is as sweet as honey to the soul. A righteous person falls seven times and gets back up, but the wicked are brought down by disaster. Do not celebrate when your enemy falls, because the Lord may see it and turn His anger away from them.
11 Step in and save people who are being dragged off to die. Grab hold of those who are stumbling toward destruction. If thou forbear to deliver them that are drawn unto death, and those that are ready to be slain;
12 If you say, Behold, we knew it not; does not he that ponders the heart consider it? and he that keeps your soul, does not he know it? and shall not he render to every man according to his works? If thou sayest, Behold, we knew it not; doth not he that pondereth the heart consider it? and he that keepeth thy soul, doth not he know it? and shall not he render to every man according to his works?
13 My child, eat honey because it is good for you. Honey straight from the comb is delightfully sweet. My son, eat thou honey, because it is good; and the honeycomb, which is sweet to thy taste:
14 Understand that wisdom does the same thing for your soul. Once you find it, you have a bright future ahead of you, and your hope will remain solid. So shall the knowledge of wisdom be unto thy soul: when thou hast found it, then there shall be a reward, and thy expectation shall not be cut off.
15 Do not lurk around the home of a righteous person looking for ways to attack them. Do not destroy the place where they find rest. Lay not wait, O wicked man, against the dwelling of the righteous; spoil not his resting place:
16 A righteous person may get knocked down seven times, but they get back up every time. The wicked, though, stumble once when trouble comes and they stay down. For a just man falleth seven times, and riseth up again: but the wicked shall fall into mischief.
17 When someone who has been against you falls, do not throw a party. When they stumble, do not let your heart celebrate. Rejoice not when thine enemy falleth, and let not thine heart be glad when he stumbleth:
18 If you do, the Lord will see it. He might stop punishing them because your reaction displeases him. Lest the LORD see it, and it displease him, and he turn away his wrath from him.
More Words of the Wise
Study note
A second short collection begins here. Do not worry about evildoers, because the wicked have no future. Fear the Lord and the king, and do not associate with rebels, because disaster from both can come suddenly.
19 Do not get worked up about the things evildoers get away with. Do not be envious of wicked people. Fret not thyself because of evil men, neither be thou envious at the wicked;
20 Evil people have no future waiting for them. The light they live by will be snuffed out. For there shall be no reward to the evil man; the candle of the wicked shall be put out.
21 My child, honor the Lord and respect the king. Stay away from people who are rebellious. My son, fear thou the LORD and the king: and meddle not with them that are given to change:
22 Disaster from both God and the king can come without warning. No one can predict the devastation those two can bring. For their calamity shall rise suddenly; and who knoweth the ruin of them both?
Justice, Honesty, and Hard Work
Study note
Showing favoritism in judging is not good. An honest answer is as welcome as a kiss on the lips. Get your outside work done first, then build your house. Do not testify against your neighbor without cause, and do not seek revenge.
23 Here are more wise sayings. Playing favorites when you are judging someone is never acceptable. These things also belong to the wise. It is not good to have respect of persons in judgment.
24 If you let a guilty person go by saying, "You did nothing wrong," whole nations will curse you and peoples will blame you. He that saith unto the wicked, Thou art righteous; him shall the people curse, nations shall abhor him:
25 But things will go very well for anyone who holds guilty people accountable. Rich blessings will flow to them. But to them that rebuke him shall be delight, and a good blessing shall come upon them.
26 Giving a straight, honest answer is one of the warmest things you can do for someone. Every man shall kiss his lips that giveth a right answer.
27 Handle your outdoor responsibilities first and get your fields ready to produce. Then turn your attention to building your house. Prepare thy work without, and make it fit for thyself in the field; and afterwards build thine house.
28 Do not speak against your neighbor when you have no good reason, and do not use your words to mislead. Be not a witness against thy neighbour without cause; and deceive not with thy lips.
29 Do not say, "They did it to me, so I am going to do it right back to them. I am going to give them exactly what they deserve." Say not, I will do so to him as he hath done to me: I will render to the man according to his work.
The Lazy Person's Overgrown Field
Study note
The chapter ends with a vivid story: the author walked past the field of a lazy person and saw it completely overgrown with thorns and weeds, with its stone wall broken down. The lesson was clear: a little extra sleep, a little folding of the hands, and poverty comes like a robber.
30 One day I walked past the field of a lazy person and by the vineyard of someone with no common sense. I went by the field of the slothful, and by the vineyard of the man void of understanding;
31 Thorns had taken over everything. Weeds blanketed the ground. The stone wall around it had collapsed. And, lo, it was all grown over with thorns, and nettles had covered the face thereof, and the stone wall thereof was broken down.
32 I stood there looking at it and let it teach me a lesson. What I saw, I took to heart. Then I saw, and considered it well: I looked upon it, and received instruction.
33 Just a bit more sleep, just a bit more rest, just a bit more lying around doing nothing, Yet a little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to sleep:
34 and poverty will jump you like a mugger, and need will assault you like an armed attacker. So shall thy poverty come as one that travelleth; and thy want as an armed man.