The Living Bible (205 page)
Authors: Inc. Tyndale House Publishers
Tags: #BIBLES / Other Translations / Text
Follow my advice, my son; always keep it in mind and stick to it.
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Obey me and live! Guard my words as your most precious possession.
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Write them down,
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and also keep them deep within your heart.
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Love wisdom like a sweetheart; make her a beloved member of your family.
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Let her hold you back from affairs with other women—from listening to their flattery.
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I was looking out the window of my house one day
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and saw a simpleminded lad, a young man lacking common sense,
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walking at twilight down the street to the house of this wayward girl, a prostitute.
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She approached him, saucy and pert, and dressed seductively.
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She was the brash, coarse type, seen often in the streets and markets, soliciting at every corner for men to be her lovers.
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She put her arms around him and kissed him, and with a saucy look she said, “I was just coming to look for you and here you are!
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Come home with me, and I’ll fix you a wonderful dinner,
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and after that—well, my bed is spread with lovely, colored sheets of finest linen imported from Egypt, perfumed with myrrh, aloes, and cinnamon.
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Come on, let’s take our fill of love until morning,
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for my husband is away on a long trip.
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He has taken a wallet full of money with him and won’t return for several days.”
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So she seduced him with her pretty speech, her coaxing and her wheedling, until he yielded to her. He couldn’t resist her flattery.
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He followed her as an ox going to the butcher or as a stag that is trapped,
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waiting to be killed with an arrow through its heart. He was as a bird flying into a snare, not knowing the fate awaiting it there.
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Listen to me, young men, and not only listen but obey;
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don’t let your desires get out of hand; don’t let yourself think about her. Don’t go near her; stay away from where she walks, lest she tempt you and seduce you.
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For she has been the ruin of multitudes—a vast host of men have been her victims.
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If you want to find the road to hell, look for her house.
Can’t you hear the voice of wisdom? She is standing at the city gates and at every fork in the road, and at the door of every house. Listen to what she says:
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“Listen, men!” she calls. “How foolish and naive you are! Let me give you understanding. O foolish ones, let me show you common sense!
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Listen to me! For I have important information for you. Everything I say is right and true, for I hate lies and every kind of deception.
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My advice is wholesome and good. There is nothing of evil in it.
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My words are plain and clear to anyone with half a mind—if it is only open!
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My instruction is far more valuable than silver or gold.”
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For the value of wisdom is far above rubies; nothing can be compared with it.
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Wisdom and good judgment live together, for wisdom knows where to discover knowledge and understanding.
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If anyone respects and fears God, he will hate evil. For wisdom hates pride, arrogance, corruption, and deceit of every kind.
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“I, Wisdom, give good advice and common sense. Because of my strength, kings reign in power, and rulers make just laws.
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I love all who love me. Those who search for me shall surely find me.
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Unending riches, honor, justice, and righteousness are mine to distribute.
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My gifts are better than the purest gold or sterling silver!
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My paths are those of justice and right.
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Those who love and follow me are indeed wealthy. I fill their treasuries.
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The Lord formed me in the beginning, before he created anything else.
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From ages past, I am. I existed before the earth began.
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I lived before the oceans were created, before the springs bubbled forth their waters onto the earth,
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before the mountains and the hills were made.
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Yes, I was born before God made the earth and fields and the first handfuls of soil.
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“I was there when he established the heavens and formed the great springs in the depths of the oceans. I was there when he set the limits of the seas and gave them his instructions not to spread beyond their boundaries. I was there when he made the blueprint for the earth and oceans.
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I was the craftsman at his side. I was his constant delight, rejoicing always in his presence.
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And how happy I was with what he created—his wide world and all his family of mankind!
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And so, young men, listen to me, for how happy are all who follow my instructions.
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“Listen to my counsel—oh, don’t refuse it—and be wise.
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Happy is the man who is so anxious to be with me that he watches for me daily at my gates, or waits for me outside my home!
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For whoever finds me finds life and wins approval from the Lord.
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But the one who misses me has injured himself irreparably. Those who refuse me show that they love death.”
Wisdom has built a palace supported on seven pillars,
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and has prepared a great banquet, and mixed the wines,
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and sent out her maidens inviting all to come. She calls from the busiest intersections in the city,
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“Come, you simple ones without good judgment;
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come to wisdom’s banquet and drink the wines that I have mixed.
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Leave behind your foolishness and begin to live; learn how to be wise.”
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If you rebuke a mocker, you will only get a smart retort; yes, he will snarl at you. So don’t bother with him; he will only hate you for trying to help him. But a wise man, when rebuked, will love you all the more.
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Teach a wise man, and he will be the wiser; teach a good man, and he will learn more.
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For the reverence and fear of God are basic to all wisdom. Knowing God results in every other kind of understanding.
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“I, Wisdom, will make the hours of your day more profitable and the years of your life more fruitful.”
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Wisdom is its own reward, and if you scorn her, you hurt only yourself.
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A prostitute is loud and brash and never has enough of lust and shame.
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She sits at the door of her house or stands at the street corners of the city,
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whispering to men going by and to those minding their own business.
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“Come home with me,” she urges simpletons.
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“Stolen melons
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are the sweetest; stolen apples
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taste the best!”
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But they don’t realize that her former guests are now citizens of hell.
Happy is the man with a level-headed son; sad the mother of a rebel.
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Ill-gotten gain brings no lasting happiness; right living does.
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The Lord will not let a good man starve to death, nor will he let the wicked man’s riches continue forever.
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Lazy men are soon poor; hard workers get rich.
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A wise youth makes hay while the sun shines, but what a shame to see a lad who sleeps away his hour of opportunity.
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The good man is covered with blessings from head to foot, but an evil man inwardly curses his luck.
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We all have happy memories of good men gone to their reward, but the names of wicked men stink after them.
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The wise man is glad to be instructed, but a self-sufficient fool falls flat on his face.
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A good man has firm footing, but a crook will slip and fall.
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Winking at sin leads to sorrow; bold reproof leads to peace.
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There is living truth in what a good man says, but the mouth of the evil man is filled with curses.
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Hatred stirs old quarrels, but love overlooks insults.
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Men with common sense are admired
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as counselors; those without it are beaten as servants.
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A wise man holds his tongue. Only a fool blurts out everything he knows; that only leads to sorrow and trouble.
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The rich man’s wealth is his only strength. The poor man’s poverty is his only
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curse.
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The good man’s earnings advance the cause of righteousness. The evil man squanders his on sin.
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Anyone willing to be corrected is on the pathway to life. Anyone refusing has lost his chance.
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To hide hatred is to be a liar; to slander is to be a fool.
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Don’t talk so much. You keep putting your foot in your mouth. Be sensible and turn off the flow!
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When a good man speaks, he is worth listening to, but the words of fools are a dime a dozen.
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A godly man gives good advice, but a rebel is destroyed by lack of common sense.
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The Lord’s blessing is our greatest wealth. All our work adds nothing to it!
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A fool’s fun is being bad; a wise man’s fun is being wise!
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The wicked man’s fears will all come true and so will the good man’s hopes.
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Disaster strikes like a cyclone and the wicked are whirled away. But the good man has a strong anchor.
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A lazy fellow is a pain to his employers—like smoke in their eyes or vinegar that sets the teeth on edge.
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Reverence for God adds hours to each day;
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so how can the wicked expect a long, good life?
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The hope of good men is eternal happiness; the hopes of evil men are all in vain.
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God protects the upright but destroys the wicked.
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The good shall never lose God’s blessings, but the wicked shall lose everything.
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The good man gives wise advice, but the liar’s counsel is shunned.
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The upright speak what is helpful; the wicked speak rebellion.