19 Better the poor whose walk is blameless
than a fool whose lips are perverse.

² Desire without knowledge is not good−
how much more will hasty feet miss the way!

³ A person’s own folly leads to their ruin,
yet their heart rages against the Lord.

⁴ Wealth attracts many friends,
but even the closest friend of the poor person deserts them.

⁵ A false witness will not go unpunished,
and whoever pours out lies will not go free.

⁶ Many curry favor with a ruler,
and everyone is the friend of one who gives gifts.

⁷ The poor are shunned by all their relatives−
how much more do their friends avoid them!
Though the poor pursue them with pleading,
they are nowhere to be found.^[a]

⁸ The one who gets wisdom loves life;
the one who cherishes understanding will soon prosper.

⁹ A false witness will not go unpunished,
and whoever pours out lies will perish.

¹⁰ It is not fitting for a fool to live in luxury−
how much worse for a slave to rule over princes!

¹¹ A person’s wisdom yields patience;
it is to one’s glory to overlook an offense.

¹² A king’s rage is like the roar of a lion,
but his favor is like dew on the grass.

¹³ A foolish child is a father’s ruin,
and a quarrelsome wife is like
the constant dripping of a leaky roof.

¹⁴ Houses and wealth are inherited from parents,
but a prudent wife is from the Lord.

¹⁵ Laziness brings on deep sleep,
and the shiftless go hungry.

¹⁶ Whoever keeps commandments keeps their life,
but whoever shows contempt for their ways will die.

¹⁷ Whoever is kind to the poor lends to the Lord,
and he will reward them for what they have done.

¹⁸ Discipline your children, for in that there is hope;
do not be a willing party to their death.

¹⁹ A hot-tempered person must pay the penalty;
rescue them, and you will have to do it again.

²⁰ Listen to advice and accept discipline,
and at the end you will be counted among the wise.

²¹ Many are the plans in a person’s heart,
but it is the Lord’s purpose that prevails.

²² What a person desires is unfailing love^[b];
better to be poor than a liar.

²³ The fear of the Lord leads to life;
then one rests content, untouched by trouble.

²⁴ A sluggard buries his hand in the dish;
he will not even bring it back to his mouth!

²⁵ Flog a mocker, and the simple will learn prudence;
rebuke the discerning, and they will gain knowledge.

²⁶ Whoever robs their father and drives out their mother
is a child who brings shame and disgrace.

²⁷ Stop listening to instruction, my son,
and you will stray from the words of knowledge.

²⁸ A corrupt witness mocks at justice,
and the mouth of the wicked gulps down evil.

²⁹ Penalties are prepared for mockers,
and beatings for the backs of fools.

² But as for me, my feet had almost slipped;
I had nearly lost my foothold.
³ For I envied the arrogant
when I saw the prosperity of the wicked.

⁴ They have no struggles;
their bodies are healthy and strong.^[a]
5 They are free from common human burdens;
they are not plagued by human ills.
⁶ Therefore pride is their necklace;
they clothe themselves with violence.
⁷ From their callous hearts comes iniquity^[b];
their evil imaginations have no limits.
⁸ They scoff, and speak with malice;
with arrogance they threaten oppression.
⁹ Their mouths lay claim to heaven,
and their tongues take possession of the earth.
¹⁰ Therefore their people turn to them
and drink up waters in abundance.^[c]
11 They say, "How would God know?
Does the Most High know anything?"

¹² This is what the wicked are like−
always free of care, they go on amassing wealth.

¹³ Surely in vain I have kept my heart pure
and have washed my hands in innocence.
¹⁴ All day long I have been afflicted,
and every morning brings new punishments.

¹⁵ If I had spoken out like that,
I would have betrayed your children.
¹⁶ When I tried to understand all this,
it troubled me deeply
¹⁷ till I entered the sanctuary of God;
then I understood their final destiny.

¹⁸ Surely you place them on slippery ground;
you cast them down to ruin.
¹⁹ How suddenly are they destroyed,
completely swept away by terrors!
²⁰ They are like a dream when one awakes;
when you arise, Lord,
you will despise them as fantasies.

²¹ When my heart was grieved
and my spirit embittered,
²² I was senseless and ignorant;
I was a brute beast before you.

²³ Yet I am always with you;
you hold me by my right hand.
²⁴ You guide me with your counsel,
and afterward you will take me into glory.
²⁵ Whom have I in heaven but you?
And earth has nothing I desire besides you.
²⁶ My flesh and my heart may fail,
but God is the strength of my heart
and my portion forever.

²⁷ Those who are far from you will perish;
you destroy all who are unfaithful to you.
²⁸ But as for me, it is good to be near God.
I have made the Sovereign Lord my refuge;
I will tell of all your deeds.

⁴ Your foes roared in the place where you met with us;
they set up their standards as signs.
⁵ They behaved like men wielding axes
to cut through a thicket of trees.
⁶ They smashed all the carved paneling
with their axes and hatchets.
⁷ They burned your sanctuary to the ground;
they defiled the dwelling place of your Name.
⁸ They said in their hearts, "We will crush them completely!"
They burned every place where God was worshiped in the land.

⁹ We are given no signs from God;
no prophets are left,
and none of us knows how long this will be.
¹⁰ How long will the enemy mock you, God?
Will the foe revile your name forever?
¹¹ Why do you hold back your hand, your right hand?
Take it from the folds of your garment and destroy them!

¹² But God is my King from long ago;
he brings salvation on the earth.

¹³ It was you who split open the sea by your power;
you broke the heads of the monster in the waters.
¹⁴ It was you who crushed the heads of Leviathan
and gave it as food to the creatures of the desert.
¹⁵ It was you who opened up springs and streams;
you dried up the ever-flowing rivers.
¹⁶ The day is yours, and yours also the night;
you established the sun and moon.
¹⁷ It was you who set all the boundaries of the earth;
you made both summer and winter.

¹⁸ Remember how the enemy has mocked you, Lord,
how foolish people have reviled your name.
¹⁹ Do not hand over the life of your dove to wild beasts;
do not forget the lives of your afflicted people forever.
²⁰ Have regard for your covenant,
because haunts of violence fill the dark places of the land.
²¹ Do not let the oppressed retreat in disgrace;
may the poor and needy praise your name.
²² Rise up, O God, and defend your cause;
remember how fools mock you all day long.
²³ Do not ignore the clamor of your adversaries,
the uproar of your enemies, which rises continually.