30 Wise Sayings (continued)

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24 Don’t be jealous of evil people. Don’t even want to be around them. ²In their hearts they plan to do evil. All they talk about is making trouble.

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³Good homes are built on wisdom and understanding. ⁴And knowledge fills the rooms with rare and beautiful treasures.

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⁵Wisdom makes a man more powerful. Knowledge gives a man strength. ⁶You must make careful plans before you start a war. If you want to win, you must have many good advisers.

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⁷Foolish people can’t understand wisdom. And when people are discussing important things, the foolish person can say nothing.

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⁸If you are always planning trouble, then people will know that you are a person who makes trouble. {And they will not listen to you.} ⁹The things that a foolish person plans to do are sin. People hate a person who thinks he is better than other people.

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¹⁰If you are weak during times of trouble, then you really are weak.

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¹¹If people are planning to kill a person, then you must try to save him. ¹²You can’t say, “It’s none of my business.” The Lord knows everything. And he knows why you do things. The Lord watches you. He knows. And the Lord will reward you for the things you do.

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¹³My son, eat honey. It is good. Honey from the honeycomb* is sweet. ¹⁴In the same way, wisdom is good for your soul. If you have wisdom, then you will have hope, and your hope will never end.

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¹⁵Don’t be like a thief that wants to steal from a good person or take away his home. ¹⁶If a good man falls seven times, he will always stand again. But evil people will always be defeated by trouble.

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¹⁷Don’t be happy when your enemy has troubles. Don’t be happy when he falls. ¹⁸If you do, the Lord will see this, and the Lord will not be happy with you. Then the Lord might help your enemy.

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¹⁹Don’t let evil people cause you worry. And don’t be jealous of evil people. ²⁰Those evil people have no hope. Their light will become dark.

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²¹Son, respect the Lord and the king. And don’t join with the people that are against them. ²²Why? Because men like that can quickly be destroyed. You don’t know how much trouble God and the king can make for their enemies.

More Wise Sayings

²³These are the words of wise men: A judge must be fair. He must not support a person simply because he knows him. ²⁴People will turn against a judge that tells a guilty person that he can go free. Even people from other nations will say bad things against that judge. ²⁵But if a judge punishes a guilty person, then all the people will be happy with him. ²⁶An honest answer is something that makes all people happy—it is like a kiss on the lips. ²⁷Don’t build your house before you plant your fields. Make sure that you are prepared to grow food before you build a place to live. ²⁸Don’t speak against someone without a good reason. And don’t tell lies. ²⁹Don’t say, “He hurt me, so I will do the same to him. I will punish him for the things he did to me.” ³⁰I walked past a field that belonged to a lazy man. I walked by a field of grapes that belonged to a person who was not wise. ³¹Weeds were growing everywhere in those fields. Worthless plants were growing on the ground. And the wall around the fields was broken and falling down. ³²I looked at this and I thought about it. Then I learned a lesson from these things: ³³a little sleep, a little rest, folding your arms, and taking a nap. ³⁴These things will make you poor very quickly. You will have nothing, as if a thief broke in and took everything away.

honeycomb The wax nest that bees use for storing honey.

More Wise Sayings from Solomon

25 These are some more wise sayings of Solomon. These words were copied by servants of Hezekiah, king of Judah: ²God has the right to hide things that he does not want us to know about. But a king is honored for the things he says. ³The sky is high above and the ground is under us. It is the same with the minds of kings. We can’t understand them. ⁴If you take the worthless things from silver and make it pure, then a worker can make beautiful things. ⁵In the same way, if you take evil advisers away from a king, then goodness will make his kingdom strong. ⁶Don’t brag about yourself before a king. Don’t say that you are a famous person. ⁷It is much better for the king to invite you himself. But if you invite yourself, then you might be embarrassed in front of other people. ⁸Don’t be too quick to tell a judge about something you saw. If another person proves that you are wrong, then you will be embarrassed. ⁹If you and another person can’t agree, then decide among yourselves what to do. And don’t tell about another person’s secret. ¹⁰If you do, then you will be ashamed. And you will never lose that bad name. ¹¹Saying the right thing at the right time is like a golden apple in a silver setting. ¹²If a wise person gives you a warning, it is worth more than gold rings or jewelry made from the finest gold. ¹³A messenger that can be trusted is worth much to the people who send him. He is like cool water during the hot days of harvest. ¹⁴People who promise to give gifts, but never give them, are like clouds and wind that bring no rain. ¹⁵Patient talk can make any person change his thinking, even a ruler. Gentle talk is very powerful. ¹⁶Honey is good, but don’t eat too much of it. If you do, then you will be sick. ¹⁷In the same way, don’t go into your neighbor’s home too often. If you do, then he will begin to hate you. ¹⁸A person who does not tell the truth is dangerous. He is like a club, or a sword, or a sharp arrow. ¹⁹Never depend on a liar during times of trouble. That person is like a hurting tooth or a crippled foot. {He hurts you when you need him most.} ²⁰Singing happy songs to a sad person is like taking away his clothes when he is cold. It is like mixing soda and vinegar. ²¹If your enemy is hungry, give him food to eat. If your enemy is thirsty, give him water to drink. ²²If you do this, then you will make him ashamed. It is like putting burning coals on his head. And the Lord will reward you because you were good to your enemy. ²³The wind that blows from the north brings rain. And in the same way, gossip brings anger. ²⁴It is better to live in a small corner of the attic* than to share the house with a woman that is always arguing. ²⁵Good news from a faraway place is like a cool drink of water when you are hot and thirsty. ²⁶If a good person becomes weak and follows an evil person, it is the same as good water that has become dirty. ²⁷If you eat too much honey it is not good for you. In the same way, don’t try to get too much honor for yourself. ²⁸A person that can’t control himself is like a city without walls to protect it.

attic A small room above the main rooms of a house. Literally, “roof.” The roofs of houses in ancient Israel were flat and were often used as extra rooms.