Poetry

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1 The king's heart is in the hand of the LORD;
he directs it like a watercourse wherever he pleases.

The kings heart is in the Lord's hand
And all that it plans is by his command.
Where he wants it to go, that is where it will flow,
For he directs it just like every river below.


2 All a man's ways seem right to him,
but the LORD weighs the heart.

Everything a man does seems right to him,
But a man is not aware that his light is dim,
And he does not know what his motives might be.
God weighs the heart; there is nothing he does not see.

3 To do what is right and just
is more acceptable to the LORD than sacrifice.

Giving to God a sacrifice does not increase God's treasure.
People doing what is right and just does add to his pleasure.

4 Haughty eyes and a proud heart,
the lamp of the wicked, are sin!

Haughty eyes and a proud heart,
Offend God right from the start.
These wicked things are hidden within,
But God clearly labels them sin.


5 The plans of the diligent lead to profit
as surely as haste leads to poverty.

He who carries out a well laid plan will profit taste,
But on the other hand its true, haste does make waste.

6 A fortune made by a lying tongue
is a fleeting vapor and a deadly snare.

A man who can lie well can make good money,
But the end of this man is bad, and not funny,
For his money will flee and be a deadly snare,
For God will not his grace with this man share.

7 The violence of the wicked will drag them away,
for they refuse to do what is right.

The violence of the wicked will drag them away,
For they are totally blind to a better way.
They wander like blind men in the night,
For they refuse to do what is wise and right.

8 The way of the guilty is devious,
but the conduct of the innocent is upright.

The way of the guilty is devious,
For their mind is ever mischievous,
But the way of the innocent is a pleasant sight,
For they have their focus on what is upright.

9 Better to live on a corner of the roof
than share a house with a quarrelsome wife.

Better to live on the roof top corner,
Than to be inside like a constant mourner,
For terrible it is to live in perpetual strife
With an ever angry quarrelsome wife.

10 The wicked man craves evil;
his neighbor gets no mercy from him.

The wicked man has no time for others,
For the evil he craves his whole life smothers,
And nothing else matters but doing more sin,
And he cannot wait for more evil to begin.

11 When a mocker is punished, the simple gain wisdom;
when a wise man is instructed, he gets knowledge.

When a mocker is punished, the simple see it and are wiser.
When a wise man is taught, he treasures it up like money to a miser.
He absorbs all he hears like a student in college,
And he thereby progresses in his growth in knowledge.

12 The Righteous One [b] takes note of the house of the wicked
and brings the wicked to ruin.

When the house of the wicked is by the righteous spotted,
He will focus his fight there until its evil effects are rotted.
Every weapon at his disposal will be employed,
Until all of its evil influences are completely destroyed.

13 If a man shuts his ears to the cry of the poor,
he too will cry out and not be answered.

If a man shuts his ears to the cry of the poor,
And when they come knocking, will not open the door,
He is truly a man without a prayer,
For when he cries out, there will be no one there.

14 A gift given in secret soothes anger,
and a bribe concealed in the cloak pacifies great wrath.

When a conflict from your side a friend has driven,
His anger can be smoothed when a gift is given,
And though its not wise to always follow this path,
A secret bribe can sometimes be useful to pacify wrath.

15 When justice is done, it brings joy to the righteous
but terror to evildoers.

When justice is done, then joy is ever near,
For the righteous will join in praise and cheer,
But those who choose evil as their career,
Have every reason to live in terror and fear.

16 A man who strays from the path of understanding
comes to rest in the company of the dead.

When a man from the path of understanding strays,
He is heading for nothing but disastrous days.
He thinks he knows what is up ahead,
But he comes to rest in the company of the dead.

17 He who loves pleasure will become poor;
whoever loves wine and oil will never be rich.

If all you ever live for is more and more pleasure,
You will never end up with any lasting treasure,
For those who are in love with their wine and oil,
Will always be poor in spite of their toil.

18 The wicked become a ransom for the righteous,
and the unfaithful for the upright.

The wicked make plans the righteous to hurt,
But they end up with their face in the dirt,
And the unfaithful try to put the upright down,
But they, instead, are the ones in misery found.

19 Better to live in a desert
than with a quarrelsome and ill-tempered wife.

It is better to live in the desert, so miserable, hot, and bare,
Than to live with a wife with whom you have nothing to share.
If she is always fighting, and is almost always mad,
Living with her makes you perpetually sad,
And so the desert, after all, doesn't seem so bad.

20 In the house of the wise are stores of choice food and oil,
but a foolish man devours all he has.

The wise prepare for the future, making good use of their toil,
For they think ahead, and store up choice food and oil,
But the foolish man does not plan, but eats all his food today,
And when the storms of life hit, he's the one that really has to pay.


21 He who pursues righteousness and love
finds life, prosperity [c] and honor.

When you pursue a life of righteousness and love,
You have the full favor of your God up above,
And all the good things of life will come your way,
And you will live the good life day after day.

22 A wise man attacks the city of the mighty
and pulls down the stronghold in which they trust.

A wise man goes to battle with that mighty city
Where people put their trust in what is a pity.
He has compassion for them, and fight he must,
As he pulls down their idols in which they trust.

23 He who guards his mouth and his tongue
keeps himself from calamity.

The man who really wants to be free,
And escape from all of life's calamity,
Has to control his tongue and his mouth,
Or his life will soon be heading south.

24 The proud and arrogant man-"Mocker" is his name;
he behaves with overweening pride.

Mocker is the name of the arrogant and proud;
It is not a name you want to hear out loud.
Nor do you want any with that name by your side,
For it represents an overweening pride.

25 The sluggard's craving will be the death of him,
because his hands refuse to work.

The lazy man's craving for nothing but rest
Will cause him to lose all that is for his best,
And because his hands refuse to work,
He will die the death of a poor sad jerk.

26 All day long he craves for more,
but the righteous give without sparing.

All day long the lazy craves for more,
Because he keeps nothing in store.
The righteous because of the way they live,
Always have something they can give.

27 The sacrifice of the wicked is detestable—
how much more so when brought with evil intent!

It is detestable when the wicked bring sacrifice,
For their motive is evil and never nice.
They come hoping they can God entice,
To support and bless their lives of vice.

28 A false witness will perish,
and whoever listens to him will be destroyed forever.

A false witness will certainly perish,
And so let not his words ever cherish,
For those who listen and who do not from him sever,
Will be destroyed along with him forever and ever.

29 A wicked man puts up a bold front,
but an upright man gives thought to his ways.

A wicked man puts up a bold front,
But its all an act and a clever stunt.
The upright man gives thought to his ways,
For the thoughtful plan is the one that pays.

30 There is no wisdom, no insight, no plan
that can succeed against the LORD.

The road to success is easy to find,
For just love God with all your mind.
If you try wisdom, insight and a plan,
You will end up as an also ran,
For none of these things can ever succeed,
As all of the Proverbs are fully agreed.
No human weapon can ever win a war
Against the Lord whom all must adore.

31 The horse is made ready for the day of battle,
but victory rests with the LORD.

Men choose get ready for battle by preparing the horse,
But we all know the victory is in God's hand, of course,
So we lean not on our human resources alone,
But on our heavenly resource; Almighty God on his throne.

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