The Living Bible (210 page)
Authors: Inc. Tyndale House Publishers
Tags: #BIBLES / Other Translations / Text
When dining with a rich man,
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be on your guard and don’t stuff yourself, though it all tastes so good; for he is trying to bribe you, and no good is going to come of his invitation.
4-5
Don’t weary yourself trying to get rich. Why waste your time? For riches can disappear as though they had the wings of a bird!
6-8
Don’t associate with evil men; don’t long for their favors and gifts. Their kindness is a trick; they want to use you as their pawn. The delicious food they serve will turn sour in your stomach, and you will vomit it and have to take back your words of appreciation for their “kindness.”
9
Don’t waste your breath on a rebel. He will despise the wisest advice.
10-11
Don’t steal the land of defenseless orphans by moving their ancient boundary marks, for their Redeemer is strong; he himself will accuse you.
12
Don’t refuse to accept criticism; get all the help
*
you can.
13-14
Don’t fail to correct your children; discipline won’t hurt them! They won’t die if you use a stick on them! Punishment will keep them out of hell.
15-16
My son, how I will rejoice if you become a man of common sense. Yes, my heart will thrill to your thoughtful, wise words.
17-18
Don’t envy evil men but continue to reverence the Lord all the time, for surely you have a wonderful future ahead of you. There is hope for you yet!
19-21
O my son, be wise and stay in God’s paths; don’t carouse with drunkards and gluttons, for they are on their way to poverty. And remember that too much sleep clothes a man with rags.
22
Listen to your father’s advice and don’t despise an old mother’s experience.
23
Get the facts at any price, and hold on tightly to all the good sense you can get.
24-25
The father of a godly man has cause for joy—what pleasure a wise son is! So give your parents joy!
26-28
O my son, trust my advice—stay away from prostitutes. For a prostitute is a deep and narrow grave. Like a robber, she waits for her victims as one after another become unfaithful to their wives.
29-30
Whose heart is filled with anguish and sorrow? Who is always fighting and quarreling? Who is the man with bloodshot eyes and many wounds? It is the one who spends long hours in the taverns, trying out new mixtures.
31
Don’t let the sparkle and the smooth taste of strong wine deceive you.
32
For in the end it bites like a poisonous serpent; it stings like an adder.
33
You will see hallucinations and have delirium tremens, and you will say foolish, silly things that would embarrass you no end when sober.
34
You will stagger like a sailor tossed at sea, clinging to a swaying mast.
35
And afterwards you will say, “I didn’t even know it when they beat me up. . . . Let’s go and have another drink!”
Don’t envy godless men; don’t even enjoy their company.
2
For they spend their days plotting violence and cheating.
3-4
Any enterprise is built by wise planning, becomes strong through common sense, and profits wonderfully by keeping abreast of the facts.
5
A wise man is mightier than a strong man. Wisdom is mightier than strength.
6
Don’t go to war without wise guidance; there is safety in many counselors.
7
Wisdom is too much for a rebel. He’ll not be chosen as a counselor!
8
To plan evil is as wrong as doing it.
9
The rebel’s schemes are sinful, and the mocker is the scourge of all mankind.
10
You are a poor specimen if you can’t stand the pressure of adversity.
11-12
Rescue those who are unjustly sentenced to death; don’t stand back and let them die. Don’t try to disclaim responsibility by saying you didn’t know about it. For God, who knows all hearts, knows yours, and he knows you knew! And he will reward everyone according to his deeds.
13-14
My son, honey whets the appetite and so does wisdom! When you enjoy becoming wise, there is hope for you! A bright future lies ahead!
15-16
O evil man, leave the upright man alone and quit trying to cheat him out of his rights. Don’t you know that this good man, though you trip him up seven times, will each time rise again? But one calamity is enough to lay you low.
17
Do not rejoice when your enemy meets trouble. Let there be no gladness when he falls—
18
for the Lord may be displeased with you and stop punishing him!
19-20
Don’t envy the wicked. Don’t covet his riches. For the evil man has no future; his light will be snuffed out.
21-22
My son, watch your step before the Lord and the king, and don’t associate with radicals. For you will go down with them to sudden disaster, and who knows where it all will end?
23
It is wrong to sentence the poor and let the rich go free.
24
He who says to the wicked, “You are innocent,” shall be cursed by many people of many nations;
25
but blessings shall be showered on those who rebuke sin fearlessly.
26
It is an honor to receive a frank reply.
27
Develop your business first before building your house.
28-29
Don’t testify spitefully against an innocent neighbor. Why lie about him? Don’t say, “Now I can pay him back for all his meanness to me!”
30-31
I walked by the field of a certain lazy fellow and saw that it was overgrown with thorns; it was covered with weeds, and its walls were broken down.
32-33
Then, as I looked, I learned this lesson:
“A little extra sleep,
A little more slumber,
A little folding of the hands to rest”
34
means that poverty will break in upon you suddenly like a robber and violently like a bandit.
These proverbs of Solomon
*
were discovered and copied by the aides of King Hezekiah
*
of Judah:
2-3
It is God’s privilege to conceal things, and the king’s privilege to discover and invent. You cannot understand the height of heaven, the size of the earth, or all that goes on in the king’s mind!
4-5
When you remove dross from silver, you have sterling ready for the silversmith. When you remove corrupt men from the king’s court, his reign will be just and fair.
6-7
Don’t demand an audience with the king as though you were some powerful prince. It is better to wait for an invitation rather than to be sent back to the end of the line, publicly disgraced!
8-10
Don’t be hotheaded and rush to court! You may start something you can’t finish and go down before your neighbor in shameful defeat. So discuss the matter with him privately. Don’t tell anyone else, lest he accuse you of slander and you can’t withdraw what you said.
11
Timely advice is as lovely as gold apples in a silver basket.
12
It is a badge of honor to accept valid criticism.
13
A faithful employee is as refreshing as a cool day
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in the hot summertime.
14
One who doesn’t give the gift he promised is like a cloud blowing over a desert without dropping any rain.
15
Be patient and you will finally win, for a soft tongue can break hard bones.
16
Do you like honey? Don’t eat too much of it, or it will make you sick!
17
Don’t visit your neighbor too often, or you will outwear your welcome!
18
Telling lies about someone is as harmful as hitting him with an ax, or wounding him with a sword, or shooting him with a sharp arrow.
19
Putting confidence in an unreliable man is like chewing with a sore tooth, or trying to run on a broken foot.
20
Being happy-go-lucky around a person whose heart is heavy is as bad as stealing his jacket in cold weather or rubbing salt in his wounds.
*
21-22
If your enemy is hungry, give him food! If he is thirsty, give him something to drink! This will make him feel ashamed of himself, and God will reward you.
23
As surely as a wind from the north brings cold,
*
just as surely a retort causes anger!
24
It is better to live in a corner of an attic than in a beautiful home with a cranky, quarrelsome woman.
25
Good news from far away is like cold water to the thirsty.
26
If a godly man compromises with the wicked, it is like polluting a fountain or muddying a spring.
27
Just as it is harmful to eat too much honey, so also it is bad for men to think about all the honors they deserve!
28
A man without self-control is as defenseless as a city with broken-down walls.