1Do not envy evil people, and do not desire to be with them,
2for their heart plots violence, and their lips speak trouble.
3By wisdom a house is built, and by understanding it is established;
4and by knowledge the rooms are filled with all precious and pleasant wealth.
5A wise man is strong, and a man of knowledge fortifies power.
6For by wise guidance you shall make war for yourself, and victory comes through an abundance of counselors.
7Wisdom is too high for a fool; in the gate he does not open his mouth.
8One who plots to do evil, him they will call a master of schemes.
9The scheming of folly is sin, and the scoffer is an abomination to humankind.
10If you slack off in the day of distress, your strength is narrow.
11Rescue those being taken to death, and those staggering to slaughter—hold them back!
12If you say, ‘Look, we did not know this,’ does not the one who weighs hearts perceive it? And the one who guards your life—he knows; and he repays a person according to his deeds.
13Eat honey, my son, for it is good, and the honeycomb’s drip is sweet on your palate.
14So know wisdom for your life: if you find it, then there is a future, and your hope will not be cut off.
15Do not lie in wait, O wicked one, against the dwelling of the righteous; do not devastate his resting place.
16For the righteous falls seven times and rises again, but the wicked stumble into disaster.
17When your enemy falls, do not rejoice, and when he stumbles, let your heart not exult,
18lest Yahweh see and it be evil in his eyes, and he turn his anger away from him.
19Do not fret over evildoers; do not envy the wicked,
20for there will be no future for the evil one; the lamp of the wicked will be snuffed out.
21Fear Yahweh, my son, and the king; do not associate with those who change,
22for suddenly their disaster will arise, and the ruin of them both—who knows?
23These also are for the wise: to show partiality in judgment is not good.
24Whoever says to the wicked, ‘You are righteous,’ peoples will curse him, nations will denounce him;
25but for those who reprove it will go well, and a good blessing will come upon them.
26He kisses the lips who gives a straightforward answer.
27Prepare your work outside, and make it ready for yourself in the field; afterward you shall build your house.
28Do not be a witness against your neighbor without cause; would you deceive with your lips?
29Do not say, ‘As he did to me, so I will do to him; I will repay the man according to his deeds.’
30By the field of a lazy man I passed, and by the vineyard of a person lacking heart,
31And behold, it had all grown up with thorns; its surface was covered with nettles, and its stone wall was broken down.
32Then I looked, I myself set my heart to it; I saw, I took instruction.
33A little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to lie down—
34and your poverty will come marching in, and your want like an armed man.
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