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1 Do not envy evil men or desire to be with them,
2 for their heart devises violence, and their lips speak of harm.
3 By wisdom a house is built, and by understanding it is established.
4 By knowledge its rooms are filled with every precious and pleasant treasure.
5 A wise man is strong, and a man of knowledge increases strength.
6 For by wise guidance you wage war, and in an abundance of counselors there is victory.
7 Wisdom is too high for a fool;
at the gate he does not open his mouth.
8 Whoever plans to do evil will be called a schemer.
9 The schemes of folly are sin, and a scoffer is an abomination to people.
10 If you falter in the day of distress, your strength is small.
11 Rescue those being taken away to death;
hold back those stumbling toward slaughter.
12 If you say, “Look, we did not know this,” does not the one who weighs hearts understand?
Does not the one who guards your life know?
Will he not repay each person according to his work?
13 Eat honey, my son, for it is good;
honey from the comb is sweet to your taste.
14 Know that wisdom is like this for your soul: If you find it, there is a future, and your hope will not be cut off.
15 Do not lie in wait, O wicked man, against the home of the righteous;
do not plunder his resting place.
16 For a righteous person falls seven times and rises again, but the wicked stumble in calamity.
17 Do not rejoice when your enemy falls, and do not let your heart be glad when he stumbles,
18 lest the LORD see it and be displeased, and turn his anger away from him.
19 Do not fret because of evildoers or envy the wicked,
20 for the evil man has no future;
the lamp of the wicked will be put out.
21 My son, fear the LORD and the king;
do not associate with those who rebel,
22 for their calamity will rise suddenly, and who knows the ruin of them both?
23 These also are sayings of the wise: To show partiality in judgment is not good.
24 Whoever says to the wicked, “You are righteous,” will be cursed by peoples and denounced by nations.
25 But those who rebuke him will have delight, and a good blessing will come upon them.
26 An honest answer is a kiss on the lips.
27 Prepare your work outside and get it ready for yourself in the field;
afterward build your house.
28 Do not be a witness against your neighbor without cause.
Would you deceive with your lips?
29 Do not say, “I will do to him as he has done to me;
I will repay the man according to his work.”
30 I passed by the field of a sluggard, by the vineyard of a man who lacked sense,
31 and there it was, all overgrown with thorns;
nettles covered its surface, and its stone wall was broken down.
32 I saw it and took it to heart;
I looked and received instruction.
33 A little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to rest,
34 and your poverty will come like a prowler, your need like an armed man.