The Wise Sayings of Solomon
An Honest Life Is Immortal
1Wise son, glad father;
stupid son, sad mother.
2Ill-gotten gain gets you nowhere;
an honest life is immortal.
3
God won’t starve an honest soul,
but he frustrates the appetites of the wicked.
4Sloth makes you poor;
diligence brings wealth.
5Make hay while the sun shines—that’s smart;
go fishing during harvest—that’s stupid.
6Blessings accrue on a good and honest life,
but the mouth of the wicked is a dark cave of abuse.
7A good and honest life is a blessed memorial;
a wicked life leaves a rotten stench.
8A wise heart takes orders;
an empty head will come unglued.
9Honesty lives confident and carefree,
but Shifty is sure to be exposed.
10An evasive eye is a sign of trouble ahead,
but an open, face-to-face meeting results in peace.
11The mouth of a good person is a deep, life-giving well,
but the mouth of the wicked is a dark cave of abuse.
12Hatred starts fights,
but love pulls a quilt over the bickering.
13You’ll find wisdom on the lips of a person of insight,
but the shortsighted needs a slap in the face.
14The wise accumulate knowledge—a true treasure;
know-it-alls talk too much—a sheer waste.
The Road to Life Is a Disciplined Life
15The wealth of the rich is their security;
the poverty of the indigent is their ruin.
16The wage of a good person is exuberant life;
an evil person ends up with nothing but sin.
17The road to life is a disciplined life;
ignore correction and you’re lost for good.
18Liars secretly hoard hatred;
fools openly spread slander.
19The more talk, the less truth;
the wise measure their words.
20The speech of a good person is worth waiting for;
the blabber of the wicked is worthless.
21The talk of a good person is rich fare for many,
but chatterboxes die of an empty heart.
Fear-of-God Expands Your Life
22
God’s blessing makes life rich;
nothing we do can improve on God.
23An empty-head thinks mischief is fun,
but a mindful person relishes wisdom.
24The nightmares of the wicked come true;
what the good people desire, they get.
25When the storm is over, there’s nothing left of the wicked;
good people, firm on their rock foundation, aren’t even fazed.
26A lazy employee will give you nothing but trouble;
it’s vinegar in the mouth, smoke in the eyes.
27The Fear-of-God expands your life;
a wicked life is a puny life.
28The aspirations of good people end in celebration;
the ambitions of bad people crash.
29
God is solid backing to a well-lived life,
but he calls into question a shabby performance.
30Good people last—they can’t be moved;
the wicked are here today, gone tomorrow.
31A good person’s mouth is a clear fountain of wisdom;
a foul mouth is a stagnant swamp.
32The speech of a good person clears the air;
the words of the wicked pollute it.
THE MESSAGE. Copyright © 1993, 2002, 2018 by Eugene H. Peterson. All rights reserved. Used by permission of NavPress, represented by Tyndale House Publishers.