Tag Archives: Bill Cloud

1 The Lord detests the use of dishonest scales,
    but he delights in accurate weights.

² Pride leads to disgrace,
    but with humility comes wisdom.

³ Honesty guides good people;
    dishonesty destroys treacherous people.

⁴ Riches won’t help on the day of judgment,
    but right living can save you from death.

⁵ The godly are directed by honesty;
    the wicked fall beneath their load of sin.

⁶ The godliness of good people rescues them;
    the ambition of treacherous people traps them.

⁷ When the wicked die, their hopes die with them,
    for they rely on their own feeble strength.

⁸ The godly are rescued from trouble,
    and it falls on the wicked instead.

⁹ With their words, the godless destroy their friends,
    but knowledge will rescue the righteous.

¹⁰ The whole city celebrates when the godly succeed;
    they shout for joy when the wicked die.

¹¹ Upright citizens are good for a city and make it prosper,
    but the talk of the wicked tears it apart.

¹² It is foolish to belittle one’s neighbor;
    a sensible person keeps quiet.

¹³ A gossip goes around telling secrets,
    but those who are trustworthy can keep a confidence.

¹⁴ Without wise leadership, a nation falls;
    there is safety in having many advisers.

¹⁵ There’s danger in putting up security for a stranger’s debt;
    it’s safer not to guarantee another person’s debt.

¹⁶ A gracious woman gains respect,
    but ruthless men gain only wealth.

¹⁷ Your kindness will reward you,
    but your cruelty will destroy you.

¹⁸ Evil people get rich for the moment,
    but the reward of the godly will last.

¹⁹ Godly people find life;
    evil people find death.

²⁰ The Lord detests people with crooked hearts,
    but he delights in those with integrity.

²¹ Evil people will surely be punished,
    but the children of the godly will go free.

²² A beautiful woman who lacks discretion
    is like a gold ring in a pig’s snout.

²³ The godly can look forward to a reward,
    while the wicked can expect only judgment.

²⁴ Give freely and become more wealthy;
    be stingy and lose everything.

²⁵ The generous will prosper;
    those who refresh others will themselves be refreshed.

²⁶ People curse those who hoard their grain,
    but they bless the one who sells in time of need.

²⁷ If you search for good, you will find favor;
    but if you search for evil, it will find you!

²⁸ Trust in your money and down you go!
    But the godly flourish like leaves in spring.

²⁹ Those who bring trouble on their families inherit the wind.
    The fool will be a servant to the wise.

³⁰ The seeds of good deeds become a tree of life;
    a wise person wins friends.^[a]

³¹ If the righteous are rewarded here on earth,
    what will happen to wicked sinners?^[b]

⁴ Love wisdom like a sister;
    make insight a beloved member of your family.
⁵ Let them protect you from an affair with an immoral woman,
    from listening to the flattery of a promiscuous woman.

⁶ While I was at the window of my house,
    looking through the curtain,
⁷ I saw some naive young men,
    and one in particular who lacked common sense.
⁸ He was crossing the street near the house of an immoral woman,
    strolling down the path by her house.
⁹ It was at twilight, in the evening,
    as deep darkness fell.
¹⁰ The woman approached him,
    seductively dressed and sly of heart.
¹¹ She was the brash, rebellious type,
    never content to stay at home.
¹² She is often in the streets and markets,
    soliciting at every corner.
¹³ She threw her arms around him and kissed him,
    and with a brazen look she said,
¹⁴ “I’ve just made my peace offerings
    and fulfilled my vows.
¹⁵ You’re the one I was looking for!
    I came out to find you, and here you are!
¹⁶ My bed is spread with beautiful blankets,
    with colored sheets of Egyptian linen.
¹⁷ I’ve perfumed my bed
    with myrrh, aloes, and cinnamon.
¹⁸ Come, let’s drink our fill of love until morning.
    Let’s enjoy each other’s caresses,
¹⁹ for my husband is not home.
    He’s away on a long trip.
²⁰ He has taken a wallet full of money with him
    and won’t return until later this month.^[b]”

²¹ So she seduced him with her pretty speech
    and enticed him with her flattery.
²² He followed her at once,
    like an ox going to the slaughter.
He was like a stag caught in a trap,^[c]
23     awaiting the arrow that would pierce its heart.
He was like a bird flying into a snare,
    little knowing it would cost him his life.

²⁴ So listen to me, my sons,
    and pay attention to my words.
²⁵ Don’t let your hearts stray away toward her.
    Don’t wander down her wayward path.
²⁶ For she has been the ruin of many;
    many men have been her victims.
²⁷ Her house is the road to the grave.^[d]
    Her bedroom is the den of death.

⁶ Take a lesson from the ants, you lazybones.
    Learn from their ways and become wise!
⁷ Though they have no prince
    or governor or ruler to make them work,
⁸ they labor hard all summer,
    gathering food for the winter.
⁹ But you, lazybones, how long will you sleep?
    When will you wake up?
¹⁰ A little extra sleep, a little more slumber,
    a little folding of the hands to rest—
¹¹ then poverty will pounce on you like a bandit;
    scarcity will attack you like an armed robber.

¹² What are worthless and wicked people like?
    They are constant liars,
¹³ signaling their deceit with a wink of the eye,
    a nudge of the foot, or the wiggle of fingers.
¹⁴ Their perverted hearts plot evil,
    and they constantly stir up trouble.
¹⁵ But they will be destroyed suddenly,
    broken in an instant beyond all hope of healing.

¹⁶ There are six things the Lord hates—
    no, seven things he detests:
¹⁷ haughty eyes,
    a lying tongue,
    hands that kill the innocent,
¹⁸ a heart that plots evil,
    feet that race to do wrong,
¹⁹ a false witness who pours out lies,
    a person who sows discord in a family.

²⁰ My son, obey your father’s commands,
    and don’t neglect your mother’s instruction.
²¹ Keep their words always in your heart.
    Tie them around your neck.
²² When you walk, their counsel will lead you.
    When you sleep, they will protect you.
    When you wake up, they will advise you.
²³ For their command is a lamp
    and their instruction a light;
their corrective discipline
    is the way to life.
²⁴ It will keep you from the immoral woman,
    from the smooth tongue of a promiscuous woman.
²⁵ Don’t lust for her beauty.
    Don’t let her coy glances seduce you.
²⁶ For a prostitute will bring you to poverty,^[b]
    but sleeping with another man’s wife will cost you your life.
²⁷ Can a man scoop a flame into his lap
    and not have his clothes catch on fire?
²⁸ Can he walk on hot coals
    and not blister his feet?
²⁹ So it is with the man who sleeps with another man’s wife.
    He who embraces her will not go unpunished.

³⁰ Excuses might be found for a thief
    who steals because he is starving.
³¹ But if he is caught, he must pay back seven times what he stole,
    even if he has to sell everything in his house.
³² But the man who commits adultery is an utter fool,
    for he destroys himself.
³³ He will be wounded and disgraced.
    His shame will never be erased.
³⁴ For the woman’s jealous husband will be furious,
    and he will show no mercy when he takes revenge.
³⁵ He will accept no compensation,
    nor be satisfied with a payoff of any size.

² Their purpose is to teach people wisdom and discipline,
    to help them understand the insights of the wise.
³ Their purpose is to teach people to live disciplined and successful lives,
    to help them do what is right, just, and fair.
⁴ These proverbs will give insight to the simple,
    knowledge and discernment to the young.

⁵ Let the wise listen to these proverbs and become even wiser.
    Let those with understanding receive guidance
⁶ by exploring the meaning in these proverbs and parables,
    the words of the wise and their riddles.

⁷ Fear of the Lord is the foundation of true knowledge,
    but fools despise wisdom and discipline.

¹⁰ My child, if sinners entice you,
    turn your back on them!
¹¹ They may say, “Come and join us.
    Let’s hide and kill someone!
    Just for fun, let’s ambush the innocent!
¹² Let’s swallow them alive, like the grave^[b];
    let’s swallow them whole, like those who go down to the pit of death.
¹³ Think of the great things we’ll get!
    We’ll fill our houses with all the stuff we take.
¹⁴ Come, throw in your lot with us;
    we’ll all share the loot.”

¹⁵ My child, don’t go along with them!
    Stay far away from their paths.
¹⁶ They rush to commit evil deeds.
    They hurry to commit murder.
¹⁷ If a bird sees a trap being set,
    it knows to stay away.
¹⁸ But these people set an ambush for themselves;
    they are trying to get themselves killed.
¹⁹ Such is the fate of all who are greedy for money;
    it robs them of life.

²⁴ “I called you so often, but you wouldn’t come.
    I reached out to you, but you paid no attention.
²⁵ You ignored my advice
    and rejected the correction I offered.
²⁶ So I will laugh when you are in trouble!
    I will mock you when disaster overtakes you—
²⁷ when calamity overtakes you like a storm,
    when disaster engulfs you like a cyclone,
    and anguish and distress overwhelm you.

²⁸ “When they cry for help, I will not answer.
    Though they anxiously search for me, they will not find me.
²⁹ For they hated knowledge
    and chose not to fear the Lord.
³⁰ They rejected my advice
    and paid no attention when I corrected them.
³¹ Therefore, they must eat the bitter fruit of living their own way,
    choking on their own schemes.
³² For simpletons turn away from me—to death.
    Fools are destroyed by their own complacency.
³³ But all who listen to me will live in peace,
    untroubled by fear of harm.”