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¹Do not be ⚓envious of evil men,
Nor desire to be with them;
²For their heart devises violence,
And their lips talk of troublemaking.
³Through wisdom a house is built,
And by understanding it is established;
⁴By knowledge the rooms are filled
With all precious and pleasant riches.
⁵⚓A wise man is strong,
Yes, a man of knowledge increases strength;
⁶⚓For by wise counsel you will wage your own war,
And in a multitude of counselors there is safety.
⁷⚓Wisdom is too lofty for a fool;
He does not open his mouth in the gate.
⁸He who ⚓plots to do evil
Will be called a schemer.
⁹The devising of foolishness is sin,
And the scoffer is an abomination to men.
¹⁰If you ⚓faint in the day of adversity,
Your strength is small.
¹¹⚓Deliver those who are drawn toward death,
And hold back those stumbling to the slaughter.
¹²If you say, “Surely we did not know this,”
Does not ⚓He who weighs the hearts consider it?
He who keeps your soul, does He not know it?
And will He not render to each man ⚓according to his deeds?
¹³My son, ⚓eat honey because it is good,
And the honeycomb which is sweet to your taste;
¹⁴⚓So shall the knowledge of wisdom be to your soul;
If you have found it, there is a prospect,
And your hope will not be cut off.
¹⁵Do not lie in wait, O wicked man, against the dwelling of the righteous;
Do not plunder his resting place;
¹⁶⚓For a righteous man may fall seven times
And rise again,
⚓But the wicked shall fall by calamity.
¹⁷⚓Do not rejoice when your enemy falls,
And do not let your heart be glad when he stumbles;
¹⁸Lest the Lord see it, and it displease Him,
And He turn away His wrath from him.
¹⁹⚓Do not fret because of evildoers,
Nor be envious of the wicked;
²⁰For there will be no prospect for the evil man;
The lamp of the wicked will be put out.
²¹My son, ⚓fear the Lord and the king;
Do not associate with those given to change;
²²For their calamity will rise suddenly,
And who knows the ruin those two can bring?

Further Sayings of the Wise

²³These things also belong to the wise:
⚓It is not good to show partiality in judgment.
²⁴⚓He who says to the wicked, “You are righteous,”
Him the people will curse;
Nations will abhor him.
²⁵But those who rebuke the wicked will have ⚓delight,
And a good blessing will come upon them.
²⁶He who gives a right answer kisses the lips.
²⁷⚓Prepare your outside work,
Make it fit for yourself in the field;
And afterward build your house.
²⁸⚓Do not be a witness against your neighbor without cause,
For would you deceive with your lips?
²⁹⚓Do not say, “I will do to him just as he has done to me;
I will render to the man according to his work.”
³⁰I went by the field of the lazy man,
And by the vineyard of the man devoid of understanding;
³¹And there it was, ⚓all overgrown with thorns;
Its surface was covered with nettles;
Its stone wall was broken down.
³²When I saw it, I considered it well;
I looked on it and received instruction:
³³⚓A little sleep, a little slumber,
A little folding of the hands to rest;
³⁴⚓So shall your poverty come like a prowler,
And your need like an armed man.