Women living for Him
Chapter 21
1The king's heart is in the hand of the LORD, as the rivers of water: he turneth it whithersoever he will.
2Every way of a man is right in his own eyes: but the LORD pondereth the hearts.
3To do justice and judgment is more acceptable to the LORD than sacrifice.
4An high look, and a proud heart, and the plowing of the wicked, is sin.
5The thoughts of the diligent tend only to plenteousness; but of every one that is hasty only to want.
6The getting of treasures by a lying tongue is a vanity tossed to and fro of them that seek death.
7The robbery of the wicked shall destroy them; because they refuse to do judgment.
8The way of man is froward and strange: but as for the pure, his work is right.
9It is better to dwell in a corner of the housetop, than with a brawling woman in a wide house.
10The soul of the wicked desireth evil: his neighbour findeth no favour in his eyes.
11When the scorner is punished, the simple is made wise: and when the wise is instructed, he receiveth knowledge.
12The righteous man wisely considereth the house of the wicked: but God overthroweth the wicked for their wickedness.
13Whoso stoppeth his ears at the cry of the poor, he also shall cry himself, but shall not be heard.
14A gift in secret pacifieth anger: and a reward in the bosom strong wrath.
15It is joy to the just to do judgment: but destruction shall be to the workers of iniquity.
16The man that wandereth out of the way of understanding shall remain in the congregation of the dead.
17He that loveth pleasure shall be a poor man: he that loveth wine and oil shall not be rich.
18The wicked shall be a ransom for the righteous, and the transgressor for the upright.
19It is better to dwell in the wilderness, than with a contentious and an angry woman.
20There is treasure to be desired and oil in the dwelling of the wise; but a foolish man spendeth it up.
21He that followeth after righteousness and mercy findeth life, righteousness, and honour.
22A wise man scaleth the city of the mighty, and casteth down the strength of the confidence thereof.
23Whoso keepeth his mouth and his tongue keepeth his soul from troubles.
24Proud and haughty scorner is his name, who dealeth in proud wrath.
25The desire of the slothful killeth him; for his hands refuse to labour.
26He coveteth greedily all the day long: but the righteous giveth and spareth not.
27The sacrifice of the wicked is abomination: how much more, when he bringeth it with a wicked mind?
28A false witness shall perish: but the man that heareth speaketh constantly.
29A wicked man hardeneth his face: but as for the upright, he directeth his way.
30There is no wisdom nor understanding nor counsel against the LORD.
31The horse is prepared against the day of battle: but safety is of the LORD.
Chapter 22
1A good name is rather to be chosen than great riches, and loving favour rather than silver and gold.
2The rich and poor meet together: the LORD is the maker of them all.
3A prudent man foreseeth the evil, and hideth himself: but the simple pass on, and are punished.
4By humility and the fear of the LORD are riches, and honour, and life.
5Thorns and snares are in the way of the froward: he that doth keep his soul shall be far from them.
6Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it.
7The rich ruleth over the poor, and the borrower is servant to the lender.
8He that soweth iniquity shall reap vanity: and the rod of his anger shall fail.
9He that hath a bountiful eye shall be blessed; for he giveth of his bread to the poor.
10Cast out the scorner, and contention shall go out; yea, strife and reproach shall cease.
11He that loveth pureness of heart, for the grace of his lips the king shall be his friend.
12The eyes of the LORD preserve knowledge, and he overthroweth the words of the transgressor.
13The slothful man saith, There is a lion without, I shall be slain in the streets.
14The mouth of strange women is a deep pit: he that is abhorred of the LORD shall fall therein.
15Foolishness is bound in the heart of a child; but the rod of correction shall drive it far from him.
16He that oppresseth the poor to increase his riches, and he that giveth to the rich, shall surely come to want.
17Bow down thine ear, and hear the words of the wise, and apply thine heart unto my knowledge.
18For it is a pleasant thing if thou keep them within thee; they shall withal be fitted in thy lips.
19That thy trust may be in the LORD, I have made known to thee this day, even to thee.
20Have not I written to thee excellent things in counsels and knowledge,
21That I might make thee know the certainty of the words of truth; that thou mightest answer the words of truth to them that send unto thee?
22Rob not the poor, because he is poor: neither oppress the afflicted in the gate:
23For the LORD will plead their cause, and spoil the soul of those that spoiled them.
24Make no friendship with an angry man; and with a furious man thou shalt not go:
25Lest thou learn his ways, and get a snare to thy soul.
26Be not thou one of them that strike hands, or of them that are sureties for debts.
27If thou hast nothing to pay, why should he take away thy bed from under thee?
28Remove not the ancient landmark, which thy fathers have set.
29Seest thou a man diligent in his business? he shall stand before kings; he shall not stand before mean men.
Chapter 23
1When thou sittest to eat with a ruler, consider diligently what is before thee:
2And put a knife to thy throat, if thou be a man given to appetite.
3Be not desirous of his dainties: for they are deceitful meat.
4Labour not to be rich: cease from thine own wisdom.
5Wilt thou set thine eyes upon that which is not? for riches certainly make themselves wings; they fly away as an eagle toward heaven.
6Eat thou not the bread of him that hath an evil eye, neither desire thou his dainty meats:
7For as he thinketh in his heart, so is he: Eat and drink, saith he to thee; but his heart is not with thee.
8The morsel which thou hast eaten shalt thou vomit up, and lose thy sweet words.
9Speak not in the ears of a fool: for he will despise the wisdom of thy words.
10Remove not the old landmark; and enter not into the fields of the fatherless:
11For their redeemer is mighty; he shall plead their cause with thee.
12Apply thine heart unto instruction, and thine ears to the words of knowledge.
13Withhold not correction from the child: for if thou beatest him with the rod, he shall not die.
14Thou shalt beat him with the rod, and shalt deliver his soul from hell.
15My son, if thine heart be wise, my heart shall rejoice, even mine.
16Yea, my reins shall rejoice, when thy lips speak right things.
17Let not thine heart envy sinners: but be thou in the fear of the LORD all the day long.
18For surely there is an end; and thine expectation shall not be cut off.
19Hear thou, my son, and be wise, and guide thine heart in the way.
20Be not among winebibbers; among riotous eaters of flesh:
21For the drunkard and the glutton shall come to poverty: and drowsiness shall clothe a man with rags.
22Hearken unto thy father that begat thee, and despise not thy mother when she is old.
23Buy the truth, and sell it not; also wisdom, and instruction, and understanding.
24The father of the righteous shall greatly rejoice: and he that begetteth a wise child shall have joy of him.
25Thy father and thy mother shall be glad, and she that bare thee shall rejoice.
26My son, give me thine heart, and let thine eyes observe my ways.
27For a whore is a deep ditch; and a strange woman is a narrow pit.
28She also lieth in wait as for a prey, and increaseth the transgressors among men.
29Who hath woe? who hath sorrow? who hath contentions? who hath babbling? who hath wounds without cause? who hath redness of eyes?
30They that tarry long at the wine; they that go to seek mixed wine.
31Look not thou upon the wine when it is red, when it giveth his colour in the cup, when it moveth itself aright.
32At the last it biteth like a serpent, and stingeth like an adder.
33Thine eyes shall behold strange women, and thine heart shall utter perverse things.
34Yea, thou shalt be as he that lieth down in the midst of the sea, or as he that lieth upon the top of a mast.
35They have stricken me, shalt thou say, and I was not sick; they have beaten me, and I felt it not: when shall I awake? I will seek it yet again.
Chapter 24
1Be not thou envious against evil men, neither desire to be with them.
2For their heart studieth destruction, and their lips talk of mischief.
3Through wisdom is an house builded; and by understanding it is established:
4And by knowledge shall the chambers be filled with all precious and pleasant riches.
5A wise man is strong; yea, a man of knowledge increaseth strength.
6For by wise counsel thou shalt make thy war: and in multitude of counsellors there is safety.
7Wisdom is too high for a fool: he openeth not his mouth in the gate.
8He that deviseth to do evil shall be called a mischievous person.
9The thought of foolishness is sin: and the scorner is an abomination to men.
10If thou faint in the day of adversity, thy strength is small.
11If thou forbear to deliver them that are drawn unto death, and those that are ready to be slain;
12If thou sayest, Behold, we knew it not; doth not he that pondereth the heart consider it? and he that keepeth thy soul, doth not he know it? and shall not he render to every man according to his works?
13My son, eat thou honey, because it is good; and the honeycomb, which is sweet to thy taste:
14So shall the knowledge of wisdom be unto thy soul: when thou hast found it, then there shall be a reward, and thy expectation shall not be cut off.
15Lay not wait, O wicked man, against the dwelling of the righteous; spoil not his resting place:
16For a just man falleth seven times, and riseth up again: but the wicked shall fall into mischief.
17Rejoice not when thine enemy falleth, and let not thine heart be glad when he stumbleth:
18Lest the LORD see it, and it displease him, and he turn away his wrath from him.
19Fret not thyself because of evil men, neither be thou envious at the wicked;
20For there shall be no reward to the evil man; the candle of the wicked shall be put out.
21My son, fear thou the LORD and the king: and meddle not with them that are given to change:
22For their calamity shall rise suddenly; and who knoweth the ruin of them both?
23These things also belong to the wise. It is not good to have respect of persons in judgment.
24He that saith unto the wicked, Thou art righteous; him shall the people curse, nations shall abhor him:
25But to them that rebuke him shall be delight, and a good blessing shall come upon them.
26Every man shall kiss his lips that giveth a right answer.
27Prepare thy work without, and make it fit for thyself in the field; and afterwards build thine house.
28Be not a witness against thy neighbour without cause; and deceive not with thy lips.
29Say not, I will do so to him as he hath done to me: I will render to the man according to his work.
30I went by the field of the slothful, and by the vineyard of the man void of understanding;
31And, lo, it was all grown over with thorns, and nettles had covered the face thereof, and the stone wall thereof was broken down.
32Then I saw, and considered it well: I looked upon it, and received instruction.
33Yet a little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to sleep:
34So shall thy poverty come as one that travelleth; and thy want as an armed man.
Chapter 25
1These are also proverbs of Solomon, which the men of Hezekiah king of Judah copied out.
2It is the glory of God to conceal a thing: but the honour of kings is to search out a matter.
3The heaven for height, and the earth for depth, and the heart of kings is unsearchable.
4Take away the dross from the silver, and there shall come forth a vessel for the finer.
5Take away the wicked from before the king, and his throne shall be established in righteousness.
6Put not forth thyself in the presence of the king, and stand not in the place of great men:
7For better it is that it be said unto thee, Come up hither; than that thou shouldest be put lower in the presence of the prince whom thine eyes have seen.
8Go not forth hastily to strive, lest thou know not what to do in the end thereof, when thy neighbour hath put thee to shame.
9Debate thy cause with thy neighbour himself; and discover not a secret to another:
10Lest he that heareth it put thee to shame, and thine infamy turn not away.
11A word fitly spoken is like apples of gold in pictures of silver.
12As an earring of gold, and an ornament of fine gold, so is a wise reprover upon an obedient ear.
13As the cold of snow in the time of harvest, so is a faithful messenger to them that send him: for he refresheth the soul of his masters.
14Whoso boasteth himself of a false gift is like clouds and wind without rain.
15By long forbearing is a prince persuaded, and a soft tongue breaketh the bone.
16Hast thou found honey? eat so much as is sufficient for thee, lest thou be filled therewith, and vomit it.
17Withdraw thy foot from thy neighbour's house; lest he be weary of thee, and so hate thee.
18A man that beareth false witness against his neighbour is a maul, and a sword, and a sharp arrow.
19Confidence in an unfaithful man in time of trouble is like a broken tooth, and a foot out of joint.
20As he that taketh away a garment in cold weather, and as vinegar upon nitre, so is he that singeth songs to an heavy heart.
21If thine enemy be hungry, give him bread to eat; and if he be thirsty, give him water to drink:
22For thou shalt heap coals of fire upon his head, and the LORD shall reward thee.
23The north wind driveth away rain: so doth an angry countenance a backbiting tongue.
24It is better to dwell in the corner of the housetop, than with a brawling woman and in a wide house.
25As cold waters to a thirsty soul, so is good news from a far country.
26A righteous man falling down before the wicked is as a troubled fountain, and a corrupt spring.
27It is not good to eat much honey: so for men to search their own glory is not glory.
28He that hath no rule over his own spirit is like a city that is broken down, and without walls.
Chapter 26
1As snow in summer, and as rain in harvest, so honour is not seemly for a fool.
2As the bird by wandering, as the swallow by flying, so the curse causeless shall not come.
3A whip for the horse, a bridle for the ass, and a rod for the fool's back.
4Answer not a fool according to his folly, lest thou also be like unto him.
5Answer a fool according to his folly, lest he be wise in his own conceit.
6He that sendeth a message by the hand of a fool cutteth off the feet, and drinketh damage.
7The legs of the lame are not equal: so is a parable in the mouth of fools.
8As he that bindeth a stone in a sling, so is he that giveth honour to a fool.
9As a thorn goeth up into the hand of a drunkard, so is a parable in the mouth of fools.
10The great God that formed all things both rewardeth the fool, and rewardeth transgressors.
11As a dog returneth to his vomit, so a fool returneth to his folly.
12Seest thou a man wise in his own conceit? there is more hope of a fool than of him.
13The slothful man saith, There is a lion in the way; a lion is in the streets.
14As the door turneth upon his hinges, so doth the slothful upon his bed.
15The slothful hideth his hand in his bosom; it grieveth him to bring it again to his mouth.
16The sluggard is wiser in his own conceit than seven men that can render a reason.
17He that passeth by, and meddleth with strife belonging not to him, is like one that taketh a dog by the ears.
18As a mad man who casteth firebrands, arrows, and death,
19So is the man that deceiveth his neighbour, and saith, Am not I in sport?
20Where no wood is, there the fire goeth out: so where there is no talebearer, the strife ceaseth.
21As coals are to burning coals, and wood to fire; so is a contentious man to kindle strife.
22The words of a talebearer are as wounds, and they go down into the innermost parts of the belly.
23Burning lips and a wicked heart are like a potsherd covered with silver dross.
24He that hateth dissembleth with his lips, and layeth up deceit within him;
25When he speaketh fair, believe him not: for there are seven abominations in his heart.
26Whose hatred is covered by deceit, his wickedness shall be shewed before the whole congregation.
27Whoso diggeth a pit shall fall therein: and he that rolleth a stone, it will return upon him.
28A lying tongue hateth those that are afflicted by it; and a flattering mouth worketh ruin.
Chapter 27
1Boast not thyself of to morrow; for thou knowest not what a day may bring forth.
2Let another man praise thee, and not thine own mouth; a stranger, and not thine own lips.
3A stone is heavy, and the sand weighty; but a fool's wrath is heavier than them both.
4Wrath is cruel, and anger is outrageous; but who is able to stand before envy?
5Open rebuke is better than secret love.
6Faithful are the wounds of a friend; but the kisses of an enemy are deceitful.
7The full soul loatheth an honeycomb; but to the hungry soul every bitter thing is sweet.
8As a bird that wandereth from her nest, so is a man that wandereth from his place.
9Ointment and perfume rejoice the heart: so doth the sweetness of a man's friend by hearty counsel.
10Thine own friend, and thy father's friend, forsake not; neither go into thy brother's house in the day of thy calamity: for better is a neighbour that is near than a brother far off.
11My son, be wise, and make my heart glad, that I may answer him that reproacheth me.
12A prudent man foreseeth the evil, and hideth himself; but the simple pass on, and are punished.
13Take his garment that is surety for a stranger, and take a pledge of him for a strange woman.
14He that blesseth his friend with a loud voice, rising early in the morning, it shall be counted a curse to him.
15A continual dropping in a very rainy day and a contentious woman are alike.
16Whosoever hideth her hideth the wind, and the ointment of his right hand, which bewrayeth itself.
17Iron sharpeneth iron; so a man sharpeneth the countenance of his friend.
18Whoso keepeth the fig tree shall eat the fruit thereof: so he that waiteth on his master shall be honoured.
19As in water face answereth to face, so the heart of man to man.
20Hell and destruction are never full; so the eyes of man are never satisfied.
21As the fining pot for silver, and the furnace for gold; so is a man to his praise.
22Though thou shouldest bray a fool in a mortar among wheat with a pestle, yet will not his foolishness depart from him.
23Be thou diligent to know the state of thy flocks, and look well to thy herds.
24For riches are not for ever: and doth the crown endure to every generation?
25The hay appeareth, and the tender grass sheweth itself, and herbs of the mountains are gathered.
26The lambs are for thy clothing, and the goats are the price of the field.
27And thou shalt have goats' milk enough for thy food, for the food of thy household, and for the maintenance for thy maidens.
Chapter 28
1The wicked flee when no man pursueth: but the righteous are bold as a lion.
2For the transgression of a land many are the princes thereof: but by a man of understanding and knowledge the state thereof shall be prolonged.
3A poor man that oppresseth the poor is like a sweeping rain which leaveth no food.
4They that forsake the law praise the wicked: but such as keep the law contend with them.
5Evil men understand not judgment: but they that seek the LORD understand all things.
6Better is the poor that walketh in his uprightness, than he that is perverse in his ways, though he be rich.
7Whoso keepeth the law is a wise son: but he that is a companion of riotous men shameth his father.
8He that by usury and unjust gain increaseth his substance, he shall gather it for him that will pity the poor.
9He that turneth away his ear from hearing the law, even his prayer shall be abomination.
10Whoso causeth the righteous to go astray in an evil way, he shall fall himself into his own pit: but the upright shall have good things in possession.
11The rich man is wise in his own conceit; but the poor that hath understanding searcheth him out.
12When righteous men do rejoice, there is great glory: but when the wicked rise, a man is hidden.
13He that covereth his sins shall not prosper: but whoso confesseth and forsaketh them shall have mercy.
14Happy is the man that feareth alway: but he that hardeneth his heart shall fall into mischief.
15As a roaring lion, and a ranging bear; so is a wicked ruler over the poor people.
16The prince that wanteth understanding is also a great oppressor: but he that hateth covetousness shall prolong his days.
17A man that doeth violence to the blood of any person shall flee to the pit; let no man stay him.
18Whoso walketh uprightly shall be saved: but he that is perverse in his ways shall fall at once.
19He that tilleth his land shall have plenty of bread: but he that followeth after vain persons shall have poverty enough.
20A faithful man shall abound with blessings: but he that maketh haste to be rich shall not be innocent.
21To have respect of persons is not good: for for a piece of bread that man will transgress.
22He that hasteth to be rich hath an evil eye, and considereth not that poverty shall come upon him.
23He that rebuketh a man afterwards shall find more favour than he that flattereth with the tongue.
24Whoso robbeth his father or his mother, and saith, It is no transgression; the same is the companion of a destroyer.
25He that is of a proud heart stirreth up strife: but he that putteth his trust in the LORD shall be made fat.
26He that trusteth in his own heart is a fool: but whoso walketh wisely, he shall be delivered.
27He that giveth unto the poor shall not lack: but he that hideth his eyes shall have many a curse.
28When the wicked rise, men hide themselves: but when they perish, the righteous increase.
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