The Sayings of the Wise Train Us to Fear the Lord

22:17 Incline your ear and listen to the words of the wise, and apply your heart to my instruction. 22:18 For it is pleasing if you keep these sayings within you, and they are ready on your lips. 22:19 So that your confidence may be in the Lord, I am making them known to you today – even you. 22:20 Have I not written thirty sayings for you, sayings of counsel and knowledge, 22:21 to show you true and reliable words, so that you may give accurate answers to those who sent you? 22:22 Do not exploit a poor person because he is poor and do not crush the needy in court, 22:23 for the Lord will plead their case and will rob those who are robbing them. 22:24 Do not make friends with an angry person, and do not associate with a wrathful person, 22:25 lest you learn his ways and entangle yourself in a snare. 22:26 Do not be one who strikes hands in pledge or who puts up security for debts. 22:27 If you do not have enough to pay, your bed will be taken right out from under you! 22:28 Do not move an ancient boundary stone which was put in place by your ancestors. 22:29 Do you see a person skilled in his work? He will take his position before kings; he will not take his position before obscure people. 23:1 When you sit down to eat with a ruler, consider carefully what is before you, 23:2 and put a knife to your throat if you possess a large appetite. 23:3 Do not crave that ruler’s delicacies, for that food is deceptive. 23:4 Do not wear yourself out to become rich; be wise enough to restrain yourself. 23:5 When you gaze upon riches, they are gone, for they surely make wings for themselves, and fly off into the sky like an eagle! 23:6 Do not eat the food of a stingy person, do not crave his delicacies; 23:7 for he is like someone calculating the cost in his mind. “Eat and drink,” he says to you, but his heart is not with you; 23:8 you will vomit up the little bit you have eaten, and will have wasted your pleasant words. 23:9 Do not speak in the ears of a fool, for he will despise the wisdom of your words. 23:10 Do not move an ancient boundary stone, or take over the fields of the fatherless, 23:11 for their Protector is strong; he will plead their case against you. 23:12 Apply your heart to instruction and your ears to the words of knowledge. 23:13 Do not withhold discipline from a child; even if you strike him with the rod, he will not die. 23:14 If you strike him with the rod, you will deliver him from death. 23:15 My child, if your heart is wise, then my heart also will be glad; 23:16 my soul will rejoice when your lips speak what is right. 23:17 Do not let your heart envy sinners, but rather be zealous in fearing the Lord all the time. 23:18 For surely there is a future, and your hope will not be cut off. 23:19 Listen, my child, and be wise, and guide your heart on the right way. 23:20 Do not spend time among drunkards, among those who eat too much meat, 23:21 because drunkards and gluttons become impoverished, and drowsiness clothes them with rags. 23:22 Listen to your father who begot you, and do not despise your mother when she is old. 23:23 Acquire truth and do not sell it – wisdom, and discipline, and understanding. 23:24 The father of a righteous person will rejoice greatly; whoever fathers a wise child will have joy in him. 23:25 May your father and your mother have joy; may she who bore you rejoice. 23:26 Give me your heart, my son, and let your eyes observe my ways; 23:27 for a prostitute is like a deep pit; a harlot is like a narrow well. 23:28 Indeed, she lies in wait like a robber, and increases the unfaithful among men. 23:29 Who has woe? Who has sorrow? Who has contentions? Who has complaints? Who has wounds without cause? Who has dullness of the eyes? 23:30 Those who linger over wine, those who go looking for mixed wine. 23:31 Do not look on the wine when it is red, when it sparkles in the cup, when it goes down smoothly. 23:32 Afterward it bites like a snake, and stings like a viper. 23:33 Your eyes will see strange things, and your mind will speak perverse things. 23:34 And you will be like one who lies down in the midst of the sea, and like one who lies down on the top of the rigging. 23:35 You will say, “They have struck me, but I am not harmed! They beat me, but I did not know it! When will I awake? I will look for another drink.” 24:1 Do not envy evil people, do not desire to be with them; 24:2 for their hearts contemplate violence, and their lips speak harm. 24:3 By wisdom a house is built, and through understanding it is established; 24:4 by knowledge its rooms are filled with all kinds of precious and pleasing treasures. 24:5 A wise warrior is strong, and a man of knowledge makes his strength stronger; 24:6 for with guidance you wage your war, and with numerous advisers there is victory. 24:7 Wisdom is unattainable for a fool; in court he does not open his mouth. 24:8 The one who plans to do evil will be called a scheming person. 24:9 A foolish scheme is sin, and the scorner is an abomination to people. 24:10 If you faint in the day of trouble, your strength is small! 24:11 Deliver those being taken away to death, and hold back those slipping to the slaughter. 24:12 If you say, “But we did not know about this,” does not the one who evaluates hearts consider? Does not the one who guards your life know? Will he not repay each person according to his deeds? 24:13 Eat honey, my child, for it is good, and honey from the honeycomb is sweet to your taste. 24:14 Likewise, know that wisdom is sweet to your soul; if you find it, you will have a future, and your hope will not be cut off. 24:15 Do not lie in wait like the wicked against the place where the righteous live; do not assault his home. 24:16 Although a righteous person may fall seven times, he gets up again, but the wicked will be brought down by calamity. 24:17 Do not rejoice when your enemy falls, and when he stumbles do not let your heart rejoice, 24:18 lest the Lord see it, and be displeased, and turn his wrath away from him. 24:19 Do not fret because of evil people or be envious of wicked people, 24:20 for the evil person has no future, and the lamp of the wicked will be extinguished. 24:21 Fear the Lord, my child, as well as the king, and do not associate with rebels, 24:22 for suddenly their destruction will overtake them, and who knows the ruinous judgment both the Lord and the king can bring?

Scripture quoted by permission. Quotations designated (NET) are from the NET Bible®, copyright ©1996, 2019 by Biblical Studies Press, L.L.C. All rights reserved.

This passage teaches hearers to listen well, keep wisdom in the heart, and live with reverence for the Lord. It warns against exploiting the poor, joining angry or foolish people, chasing wealth, craving rich food, dishonesty, sexual sin, drunkenness, envy, and rebellion. It also praises discipline, honest work, wise counsel, justice for the weak, and steady hope for the righteous.

The sayings begin by calling the learner to listen closely and keep the words within. Wisdom is not meant to stay on the lips only. It must shape the heart and the life. The goal is confidence in the Lord and true words that give right answers.

Many of the sayings warn against wrong paths. Do not crush the poor. Do not join yourself to angry people. Do not overreach for wealth or debt. Do not move boundary stones. Do not desire the ruler’s food, the stingy man’s table, the fool’s company, the drunkard’s feast, or the prostitute’s trap. Wine and gluttony lead to shame and ruin. Evil people may look strong for a time, but their end is judgment.

The passage also honors wisdom in the home and in public life. Children should hear father and mother. Parents should use discipline for good, not harm. The righteous should rescue those being led to death and should not hide behind excuses. Wisdom builds a house, strengthens a worker, guides a soldier, and gives lasting hope. Even when the righteous fall, they rise again. The wise therefore fear the Lord, avoid rebels, and trust that God sees and repays every deed.

• Wisdom begins with listening, inward attention, and confidence in the Lord.
• The poor and needy must not be exploited, because the Lord defends them.
• Anger, debt, greed, drunkenness, gluttony, lust, envy, and rebellion destroy life.
• Parents should teach and discipline their children for their good.
• Wisdom is practical skill for speech, work, family life, justice, and self-control.
• The righteous may fall, but they rise again under God’s care.
• The wicked have no lasting future, but fear of the Lord leads to hope.

• Listen to the words of the wise and apply your heart to instruction.
• Do not exploit the poor or crush the needy in court.
• Do not make friends with an angry person.
• Do not pledge security for debts you cannot pay.
• Do not move ancient boundary stones.
• Do not wear yourself out to become rich.
• Do not eat the food of a stingy person.
• Do not speak wisdom to a fool in a way that he will only despise.
• Do not withhold discipline from a child.
• Do not envy sinners, but fear the Lord.
• Do not spend time among drunkards and gluttons.
• Do not let your heart envy evil people.
• Deliver those being led to death.
• Do not rejoice when your enemy falls.
• Fear the Lord and the king, and do not associate with rebels.

This passage belongs to covenant life under the Lord’s rule in Israel. It shows that God cares about justice, family order, honest speech, and mercy for the weak. The sayings do not tell the story of a new event, but they form God’s people for wise and faithful life. They also point forward to the need for a truly wise king and a people shaped by the fear of the Lord.

Believers should receive instruction humbly and let it shape their choices. They should guard their hearts from greed, anger, sexual sin, alcohol abuse, and envy. They should honor parents, practice loving discipline in the home, protect the vulnerable, and seek wise counsel. They should not treat proverbs like rigid formulas, but as true wisdom for ordinary life under God.

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