2  It is the glory of God to ⁿconceal things,

but the glory of kings is to ^osearch things out.

3  As the heavens for height, and the earth for depth,

so the heart of kings is ^punsearchable.

4  Take away ^qthe dross from the silver,

and ^rthe smith has material for a vessel;

5  take away ^sthe wicked from the presence of the king,

and his ^tthrone will be established in righteousness.

6  Do not put yourself forward in the king’s presence

or stand in the place of the great,

7  for ^uit is better to be told, “Come up here,”

than to be put lower in the presence of a noble.

What your eyes have seen

8  ^wdo not hastily bring into court,¹

for² what will you do in the end,

when your neighbor puts you to shame?

9  ^xArgue your case with your neighbor himself,

and do not reveal another’s secret,

10  lest he who hears you bring shame upon you,

and your ill repute have no end.

11  ^yA word fitly spoken

is like apples of gold in a setting of silver.

12  Like ^za gold ring or an ornament of gold

is a wise reprover to ^aa listening ear.

13  Like the cold of snow in the time of harvest

is ^ba faithful messenger to those who send him;

he refreshes the soul of his masters.

14  Like ^cclouds and wind without rain

is a man who ^dboasts of a gift he does not give.

15  With ^epatience a ruler may be persuaded,

and a soft tongue will break a bone.

16  If you have ^ffound honey, eat ^gonly enough for you,

lest you have your fill of it and vomit it.

17  Let your foot be seldom in your neighbor’s house,

lest he have his fill of you and hate you.

18  A man who ^hbears false witness against his neighbor

is like a war club, or ⁱa sword, or a sharp arrow.

19  Trusting in a treacherous man in time of trouble

is like a bad tooth or a foot that slips.

20  Whoever ^jsings songs to a heavy heart

is like one who takes off a garment on a cold day,

and like vinegar on soda.

21  ^kIf your enemy is hungry, give him bread to eat,

and if he is thirsty, give him water to drink,

22  for you will heap ^lburning coals on his head,

and the Lord will reward you.

23  The north wind brings forth rain,

and a backbiting tongue, angry looks.

24  ^mIt is better to live in a corner of the housetop

than in a house shared with a quarrelsome wife.

25  Like cold water to ⁿa thirsty soul,

so is ^ogood news from a far country.

26  Like ^pa muddied spring or a polluted fountain

is a righteous man who gives way before the wicked.

27  It is ^qnot good to eat much honey,

nor is it glorious to ^rseek one’s own glory.³

28  A man ^swithout self-control

is like ^ta city broken into and left without walls.

1  Like snow in summer or ^urain in harvest,

so ^vhonor is ^wnot fitting for a fool.

2  Like ^xa sparrow in its flitting, like a swallow in its flying,

^ya curse that is causeless does not alight.

3  ^zA whip for the horse, a bridle for the donkey,

and ^aa rod for the back of fools.

4  ^bAnswer not a fool according to his folly,

lest you be like him yourself.

5  ^cAnswer a fool according to his folly,

lest he be ^dwise in his own eyes.

6  Whoever sends a message by the hand of a fool

cuts off his own feet and ^edrinks violence.

7  Like a lame man’s legs, which hang useless,

is a proverb in the mouth of fools.

8  Like one who binds the stone in the sling

is ^fone who gives honor to a fool.

9  Like ^ga thorn that goes up into the hand of a drunkard

is a proverb in the mouth of fools.

10  Like an archer who wounds everyone

is one who hires a passing fool or drunkard.⁴

11  Like ^ha dog that returns to his vomit

is ⁱa fool who repeats his folly.

12  Do you see a man who is ^jwise in his own eyes?

^kThere is more hope for a fool than for him.

13  ^lThe sluggard says, “There is a lion in the road!

There is a lion in the streets!”

14  As a door turns on its hinges,

so does a sluggard on his bed.

15  ^mThe sluggard buries his hand in the dish;

it wears him out to bring it back to his mouth.

16  The sluggard is ^jwiser in his own eyes

ⁿthan seven men who can answer sensibly.

17  Whoever meddles in a quarrel not his own

is like one who takes a passing dog by the ears.

18  Like a madman who throws ^ofirebrands, arrows, and death

19  is the man who deceives his neighbor

and says, “I am only joking!”

20  For lack of wood the fire goes out,

and where there is no ^pwhisperer, ^qquarreling ceases.

21  As charcoal to hot embers and wood to fire,

so is ^ra quarrelsome man for kindling strife.

22  ^sThe words of ^pa whisperer are like delicious morsels;

they go down into the inner parts of the body.

23  ^tLike the ^uglaze⁵ covering an earthen vessel

are fervent lips with an evil heart.

24  Whoever hates disguises himself with his lips

and harbors deceit in his heart;

25  ^vwhen he speaks graciously, believe him not,

for there are ^wseven abominations in his heart;

26  though his hatred be covered with deception,

his wickedness will be exposed in the assembly.

27  ^xWhoever digs a pit will fall into it,

and a stone will come back on him who starts it rolling.

28  A lying tongue hates its victims,

and a flattering mouth works ruin.

1  Truly God is good to ^cIsrael,

to those who are ^dpure in heart.

2  But as for me, my feet had almost stumbled,

my steps had nearly slipped.

3  ^eFor I was ^fenvious of the arrogant

when I saw the ^gprosperity of the wicked.

4  For they have no pangs until death;

their bodies are fat and sleek.

5  They are not in trouble as others are;

they are not ^hstricken like the rest of mankind.

6  Therefore pride is ⁱtheir necklace;

violence covers them as ^ja garment.

7  Their ^keyes swell out through fatness;

their hearts overflow with follies.

8  They scoff and ^lspeak with malice;

loftily they threaten oppression.

9  They set their mouths against the heavens,

and their tongue struts through the earth.

10  Therefore his people turn back to them,

and find ^mno fault in them.¹

11  And they say, ⁿ“How can God know?

Is there knowledge in the Most High?”

12  Behold, these are the wicked;

always at ease, they ^oincrease in riches.

13  All in vain have I ^pkept my heart clean

and ^qwashed my hands in innocence.

14  For all the day long I have been ^hstricken

and ^rrebuked ^severy morning.

15  If I had said, “I will speak thus,”

I would have betrayed ^tthe generation of your children.

16  But when I thought how to understand this,

it seemed to me ^ua wearisome task,

17  until I went into ^vthe sanctuary of God;

then I discerned their ^wend.

18  Truly you set them in ^xslippery places;

you make them fall to ruin.

19  How they are destroyed ^yin a moment,

swept away utterly by ^zterrors!

20  Like ^aa dream when one awakes,

O Lord, when ^byou rouse yourself, you despise them as phantoms.

21  When my soul was embittered,

when I was pricked in heart,

22  I was ^cbrutish and ignorant;

I was like ^da beast toward you.

23  Nevertheless, I am continually with you;

you ^ehold my right hand.

24  You ^fguide me with your counsel,

and afterward you will ^greceive me to glory.

25  ^hWhom have I in heaven but you?

And there is nothing on earth that I desire besides you.

26  ⁱMy flesh and my heart may fail,

but God is ^jthe strength² of my heart and my ^kportion ^lforever.

27  For behold, those who are ^mfar from you shall perish;

you put an end to everyone who is ⁿunfaithful to you.

28  But for me it is good to ^obe near God;

I have made the Lord God my ^prefuge,

that I may ^qtell of all your works.