Poetry

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1 Do not envy wicked men,
do not desire their company;
2 for their hearts plot violence,
and their lips talk about making trouble.

Do not envy wicked men,
Or hang out in their den.
You must all plans with them boycott,
For violence is all they desire to plot.
Their talk is always of making trouble,
So flee from their company on the double.

3 By wisdom a house is built,
and through understanding it is established;
4 through knowledge its rooms are filled
with rare and beautiful treasures.

It takes wisdom and understanding to get a house built right,
And even more so to make the interior a beautiful sight.
Only great knowledge can fill it with treasures so rare,
That visitors will stand in awe as in wonder they stare.

5 A wise man has great power,
and a man of knowledge increases strength;

We all know a wise man has great power,
And his knowledge increases it by the hour

6 for waging war you need guidance,
and for victory many advisers.

That leader is not too bright a man,
If he goes to war without a plan.
So he needs advisers to lay it out,
So he understands what it's all about.
If they are truly wise he'll see,
His troops return in victory.

7 Wisdom is too high for a fool;
in the assembly at the gate he has nothing to say.

Wisdom is too high for a fool,
Especially one that's not gone to school.
When everyone assembled at the gate one day,
This unlearned fool had nothing to say.

8 He who plots evil
will be known as a schemer.

The world is full of all kinds of dreamer,
But he who plots evil is known as a schemer.

9 The schemes of folly are sin,
and men detest a mocker.

The schemes of folly are sin,
And they reveal the corruption within.
A mocker is one all men detest,
For their folly can the mind infest.

10 If you falter in times of trouble,
how small is your strength!

If you falter when times alter,
And trouble comes your way,
You not exactly like Gibraltar,
But rather, weak as new mowed hay.

11 Rescue those being led away to death;
hold back those staggering toward slaughter.

Rescue the perishing, and care for the dying,
This is the universal compassionate heart crying.
Masses of people are always staggering to their death,
And we need to cry out to stop it with every breath.

12 If you say, "But we knew nothing about this,"
does not he who weighs the heart perceive it?
Does not he who guards your life know it?
Will he not repay each person according to what he has done?

It is folly to shout it, we knew nothing about it,
For God perceives what is true in your heart,
And if you know it, and do nothing about it,
Judgment day will reveal just who played a part.
For God will repay for what each person has done,
And if you are truly wise, you will be one.

13 Eat honey, my son, for it is good;
honey from the comb is sweet to your taste.

The wise man recommends that his son eat honey,
For it is good to the taste, and it costs little money.
The best is from the comb, it is so sweet to your taste,
So you will eat it all, and let none go to waste.

14 Know also that wisdom is sweet to your soul;
if you find it, there is a future hope for you,
and your hope will not be cut off.

It is not just your body, but the soul that loves sweet,
And when it tastes wisdom, it is one of life's treats.
If you find this wisdom, your future looks bright,
So be always looking for wisdom both day and night.

15 Do not lie in wait like an outlaw against a righteous man's house,
do not raid his dwelling place;

A man's home is his castle, so leave it alone,
And do not like an outlaw lie in wait with a stone.
Dare not let his home be an object of raid,
For God demands that honor to the righteous be paid.

16 for though a righteous man falls seven times, he rises again,
but the wicked are brought down by calamity.

For though a righteous man falls seven times,
He doesn't stay down, but he rises and climes.
But the wicked by calamity brought down,
Tend to stay where they lay, flat on the ground.

17 Do not gloat when your enemy falls;
when he stumbles, do not let your heart rejoice,
18 or the LORD will see and disapprove
and turn his wrath away from him.

When your enemy falls it is no time to gloat,
For the time may come when you're in the same boat,
And if you rejoice, it will get the Lord's goat,
And away from your enemy God's wrath will float.

19 Do not fret because of evil men
or be envious of the wicked,
20 for the evil man has no future hope,
and the lamp of the wicked will be snuffed out.

Let not evil men make you fret,
And envy not their eternal debt,
For the evil man has no future hope,
For his judgment has an eternal scope,
His lamp of life well be snuffed out,
And the righteous with joy will shout.

21 Fear the LORD and the king, my son,
and do not join with the rebellious,

My son, fear the Lord and the king,
And never join a gang of rebels ring.
Let your religion and politics always agree,
And from all rebellious movements, flee.

22 for those two will send sudden destruction upon them,
and who knows what calamities they can bring?
Further Sayings of the Wise

The Lord and the king will send sudden destruction,
On these rebellious people who will not heed instruction.
There is no way of telling what a terrible thing
Will come upon rebels from and angry king.

23 These also are sayings of the wise:
To show partiality in judging is not good:

The wise are always saying, do what's right as you should,
And treat all alike, for favoritism in judging is not good.

24 Whoever says to the guilty, "You are innocent"—
peoples will curse him and nations denounce him.
25 But it will go well with those who convict the guilty,
and rich blessing will come upon them.

“You are innocent” when said to the guilty is a pronouncement,
That will bring curses on the judge, and international denouncement.
But when the guilty are rightly convicted,
Rich blessings on the judge will not be restricted.

26 An honest answer
is like a kiss on the lips.

An honest answer brings a sense of bliss,
Like a lover's lips giving you a kiss.
It makes you feel trusted and secure,
Knowing it comes from a heart that's pure.

27 Finish your outdoor work
and get your fields ready;
after that, build your house.

Be sure to focus you work on first things first.
If you start all wrong, your work will be cursed.
Nature won't wait, so get your fields ready,
Then you can build your house slow and steady.

28 Do not testify against your neighbor without cause,
or use your lips to deceive.
29 Do not say, "I'll do to him as he has done to me;
I'll pay that man back for what he did."

Don't say bad things against a neighbor without cause,
Nor deceive with your lips: such things are loaded with flaws.
Do unto others as you would have them do unto you,
This teaching of Jesus we see in this proverb too.
Don't say, “I'll do to him as he has done to me.”
From the folly of revenge set your spirit free.
Work with your neighbor, and give it awhile,
And seek by God's guidance to reconcile.


30 I went past the field of the sluggard,
past the vineyard of the man who lacks judgment;
31 thorns had come up everywhere,
the ground was covered with weeds,
and the stone wall was in ruins.

I explored the field and vineyard of the lazy man,
And what I saw as my eye over it all did scan,
Was a mess of thorns, and weeds everywhere,
And a stone wall totally our of repair.

32 I applied my heart to what I observed
and learned a lesson from what I saw:
33 A little sleep, a little slumber,
a little folding of the hands to rest-
34 and poverty will come on you like a bandit
and scarcity like an armed man.

I gave it some thought to learn from what I saw,
And figured out there are lessons I could draw.
If your every day life is all about sleeping and getting rested,
You are just begging nature to make your life poor and detested.
You are just saying, “Come rob me, and take all you can.”
For that is the end result of being a crazy lazy man.

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