New American Standard Bible 1995

New Living Translation

1Do not be envious of evil men, Nor desire to be with them;

1Don’t envy evil people or desire their company.

2For their minds devise violence, And their lips talk of trouble.

2For their hearts plot violence, and their words always stir up trouble.

3By wisdom a house is built, And by understanding it is established;

3A house is built by wisdom and becomes strong through good sense.

4And by knowledge the rooms are filled With all precious and pleasant riches.

4Through knowledge its rooms are filled with all sorts of precious riches and valuables.

5A wise man is strong, And a man of knowledge increases power.

5The wise are mightier than the strong, and those with knowledge grow stronger and stronger.

6For by wise guidance you will wage war, And in abundance of counselors there is victory.

6So don’t go to war without wise guidance; victory depends on having many advisers.

7Wisdom is too exalted for a fool, He does not open his mouth in the gate.

7Wisdom is too lofty for fools. Among leaders at the city gate, they have nothing to say.

8One who plans to do evil, Men will call a schemer.

8A person who plans evil will get a reputation as a troublemaker.

9The devising of folly is sin, And the scoffer is an abomination to men.

9The schemes of a fool are sinful; everyone detests a mocker.

10If you are slack in the day of distress, Your strength is limited.

10If you fail under pressure, your strength is too small.

11Deliver those who are being taken away to death, And those who are staggering to slaughter, Oh hold them back.

11Rescue those who are unjustly sentenced to die; save them as they stagger to their death.

12If you say, "See, we did not know this," Does He not consider it who weighs the hearts? And does He not know it who keeps your soul? And will He not render to man according to his work?

12Don’t excuse yourself by saying, “Look, we didn’t know.” For God understands all hearts, and he sees you. He who guards your soul knows you knew. He will repay all people as their actions deserve.

13My son, eat honey, for it is good, Yes, the honey from the comb is sweet to your taste;

13My child, eat honey, for it is good, and the honeycomb is sweet to the taste.

14Know that wisdom is thus for your soul; If you find it, then there will be a future, And your hope will not be cut off.

14In the same way, wisdom is sweet to your soul. If you find it, you will have a bright future, and your hopes will not be cut short.

15Do not lie in wait, O wicked man, against the dwelling of the righteous; Do not destroy his resting place;

15Don’t wait in ambush at the home of the godly, and don’t raid the house where the godly live.

16For a righteous man falls seven times, and rises again, But the wicked stumble in time of calamity.

16The godly may trip seven times, but they will get up again. But one disaster is enough to overthrow the wicked.

17Do not rejoice when your enemy falls, And do not let your heart be glad when he stumbles;

17Don’t rejoice when your enemies fall; don’t be happy when they stumble.

18Or the LORD will see it and be displeased, And turn His anger away from him.

18For the LORD will be displeased with you and will turn his anger away from them.

19Do not fret because of evildoers Or be envious of the wicked;

19Don’t fret because of evildoers; don’t envy the wicked.

20For there will be no future for the evil man; The lamp of the wicked will be put out.

20For evil people have no future; the light of the wicked will be snuffed out.

21My son, fear the LORD and the king; Do not associate with those who are given to change,

21My child, fear the LORD and the king. Don’t associate with rebels,

22For their calamity will rise suddenly, And who knows the ruin that comes from both of them?

22for disaster will hit them suddenly. Who knows what punishment will come from the LORD and the king? More Sayings of the Wise

23These also are sayings of the wise. To show partiality in judgment is not good.

23Here are some further sayings of the wise: It is wrong to show favoritism when passing judgment.

24He who says to the wicked, "You are righteous," Peoples will curse him, nations will abhor him;

24A judge who says to the wicked, “You are innocent,” will be cursed by many people and denounced by the nations.

25But to those who rebuke the wicked will be delight, And a good blessing will come upon them.

25But it will go well for those who convict the guilty; rich blessings will be showered on them.

26He kisses the lips Who gives a right answer.

26An honest answer is like a kiss of friendship.

27Prepare your work outside And make it ready for yourself in the field; Afterwards, then, build your house.

27Do your planning and prepare your fields before building your house.

28Do not be a witness against your neighbor without cause, And do not deceive with your lips.

28Don’t testify against your neighbors without cause; don’t lie about them.

29Do not say, "Thus I shall do to him as he has done to me; I will render to the man according to his work."

29And don’t say, “Now I can pay them back for what they’ve done to me! I’ll get even with them!”

30I passed by the field of the sluggard And by the vineyard of the man lacking sense,

30I walked by the field of a lazy person, the vineyard of one with no common sense.

31And behold, it was completely overgrown with thistles; Its surface was covered with nettles, And its stone wall was broken down.

31I saw that it was overgrown with nettles. It was covered with weeds, and its walls were broken down.

32When I saw, I reflected upon it; I looked, and received instruction.

32Then, as I looked and thought about it, I learned this lesson:

33"A little sleep, a little slumber, A little folding of the hands to rest,"

33A little extra sleep, a little more slumber, a little folding of the hands to rest—

34Then your poverty will come as a robber And your want like an armed man.

34then poverty will pounce on you like a bandit; scarcity will attack you like an armed robber.

New American Standard Bible Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation, La Habra, Calif. All rights reserved. For Permission to Quote Information visit //www.lockman.org

Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.