Hope in Yahweh and He Will Save You

1Wine is a mocker, strong drink a brawler,

And whoever is led astray by it is not wise.

2The terror of a king is like the roar of a lion;

He who provokes him to anger sins against his own soul.

3It is a glory for a man to cease quarreling,

But any ignorant fool will break out in dispute.

4The sluggard does not plow from winter on,

So he [†]begs during the harvest and has nothing.

5Counsel in the heart of a man is like deep water,

But a man of discernment draws it out.

6Many a man will call out his own lovingkindness,

But a faithful man, who can find?

7A righteous man who walks in his integrity—

How blessed are his sons after him.

8A king who sits on the throne of justice

[†]Disperses all evil with his eyes.

9Who can say, “I have kept my heart pure,

I am clean from my sin”?

10[†]Differing weights and differing measures,

Both of them are an abomination to Yahweh.

11It is by his deeds that a young man makes himself known

If his conduct is pure and right.

12The hearing ear and the seeing eye,

Yahweh has made both of them.

13Do not love sleep, lest you become poor;

Open your eyes, and you will be satisfied with [†]food.

14“Bad, bad,” says the buyer,

But when he goes his way, then he boasts.

15There is gold, and an abundance of pearls;

But the lips of knowledge are a more precious vessel.

16Take his garment when he becomes a guarantor for a stranger;

And for foreigners, hold him in pledge.

17Bread obtained by lying is sweet to a man,

But afterward his mouth will be filled with gravel.

18[†]Thoughts are established by counsel,

So make war by guidance.

19He who goes about as a slanderer reveals secrets,

Therefore do not associate with [†]one of loose lips.

20He who curses his father or his mother,

His lamp will go out in the [†]midst of darkness.

21An inheritance gained hurriedly at the beginning

In the end will not be blessed.

22Do not say, “I will repay evil”;

Hope in Yahweh, and He will save you.

23[†]Differing weights are an abomination to Yahweh,

And a deceitful balance is not good.

24The steps of a man are from Yahweh,

How then can man understand his way?

25It is a trap for a man to say rashly, “It is holy!”

And after the vows to make inquiry.

26A wise king winnows the wicked,

And turns the threshing wheel over them.

27The [†]breath of man is the lamp of Yahweh,

Searching all the [†]innermost parts of his body.

28Lovingkindness and truth will guard the king,

And he upholds his throne by lovingkindness.

29The honor of young men is their strength,

And the [†]majesty of old men is their gray hair.

30Stripes that wound scour away evil,

And strokes reach the [†]innermost parts of the body.