Do Not Envy

Saying 20

¹ Do not envy wicked men

or desire their company;

² for their hearts devise violence,

and their lips declare trouble.

Saying 21

³ By wisdom a house is built

and by understanding it is established;

⁴ through knowledge its rooms are filled

with every precious and beautiful treasure.

Saying 22

⁵ A wise man is strong,

and a man of knowledge enhances his strength.

⁶ Only with sound guidance should you wage war,

and victory lies in a multitude of counselors.

Saying 23

⁷ Wisdom is too high for a fool;

he does not open his mouth in the meeting place.

Saying 24

⁸ He who plots evil

will be called a schemer^*.

⁹ A foolish scheme is sin,

and a mocker is detestable to men.

Saying 25

¹⁰ If you faint in the day of distress,

how small is your strength!

¹¹ Rescue those being led away to death,

and restrain those stumbling toward the slaughter.

¹² If you say, “Behold, we did not know about this,”

does not He who weighs hearts consider it?

Does not the One who guards your life know?

Will He not repay a man according to his deeds?

Saying 26

¹³ Eat honey, my son, for it is good,

and the honeycomb is sweet to your taste.

¹⁴ Know therefore that wisdom is sweet to your soul.

If you find it, there is a future for you,

and your hope will never be cut off.

Saying 27

¹⁵ Do not lie in wait, O wicked man, near the dwelling of the righteous;

do not destroy his resting place.

¹⁶ For though a righteous man may fall seven times, he still gets up;

but the wicked stumble in bad times.

Saying 28

¹⁷ Do not gloat when your enemy falls,

and do not let your heart rejoice when he stumbles,

¹⁸ or the LORD will see and disapprove,

and turn His wrath away from him.

Saying 29

¹⁹ Do not fret over evildoers,

and do not be envious of the wicked.

²⁰ For the evil man has no future;

the lamp of the wicked will be extinguished.

Saying 30

²¹ My son, fear the LORD and the king,

and do not associate with the rebellious^*.

²² For they will bring sudden destruction.

Who knows what ruin they can bring?

Further Sayings of the Wise

²³ These also are sayings of the wise:

To show partiality in judgment

is not good.

²⁴ Whoever tells the guilty, “You are innocent”—

peoples will curse him, and nations will denounce him;

²⁵ but it will go well with those who convict the guilty,

and rich blessing will come upon them.

²⁶ An honest answer given

is like a kiss^* on the lips.

²⁷ Complete your outdoor work and prepare your field;

after that, you may build your house.

²⁸ Do not testify against your neighbor without cause,

and do not deceive with your lips.

²⁹ Do not say, “I will do to him as he has done to me;

I will repay the man according to his work.”

³⁰ I went past the field of a slacker

and by the vineyard of a man lacking judgment.

³¹ Thorns had grown up everywhere,

thistles had covered the ground,

and the stone wall was broken down.

³² I observed and took it to heart;

I looked and received instruction:

³³ A little sleep, a little slumber,

a little folding of the hands to rest,

³⁴ and poverty will come upon you like a robber,

and need like a bandit.