Daily Wisdom Plan

¹These are other proverbs of Solomon that the officials of King Hezekiah of Judah copied.

²It is the glory of God to conceal things, but the glory of kings is to search things out.

³Like the heavens for height, like the earth for depth, so the mind of kings is unsearchable.

⁴Take away the dross from the silver, and the smith has material for a vessel;

⁵take away the wicked from the presence of the king, and his throne will be established in righteousness.

⁶Do not put yourself forward in the king’s presence or stand in the place of the great;

⁷for it is better to be told, “Come up here,” than to be put lower in the presence of a noble. What your eyes have seen

⁸do not hastily bring into court; for what will you do in the end, when your neighbor puts you to shame?

⁹Argue your case with your neighbor directly, and do not disclose another’s secret;

¹⁰or else someone who hears you will bring shame upon you, and your ill repute will have no end.

¹¹A word fitly spoken is like apples of gold in a setting of silver.

¹²Like a gold ring or an ornament of gold is a wise rebuke to a listening ear.

¹³Like the cold of snow in the time of harvest are faithful messengers to those who send them; they refresh the spirit of their masters.

¹⁴Like clouds and wind without rain is one who boasts of a gift never given.

¹⁵With patience a ruler may be persuaded, and a soft tongue can break bones.

¹⁶If you have found honey, eat only enough for you, or else, having too much, you will vomit it.

¹⁷Let your foot be seldom in your neighbor’s house, otherwise the neighbor will become weary of you and hate you.

¹⁸Like a war club, a sword, or a sharp arrow is one who bears false witness against a neighbor.

¹⁹Like a bad tooth or a lame foot is trust in a faithless person in time of trouble.

²⁰Like vinegar on a wound is one who sings songs to a heavy heart. Like a moth in clothing or a worm in wood, sorrow gnaws at the human heart.

²¹If your enemies are hungry, give them bread to eat; and if they are thirsty, give them water to drink;

²²for you will heap coals of fire on their heads, and the LORD will reward you.

²³The north wind produces rain, and a backbiting tongue, angry looks.

²⁴It is better to live in a corner of the housetop than in a house shared with a contentious wife.

²⁵Like cold water to a thirsty soul, so is good news from a far country.

²⁶Like a muddied spring or a polluted fountain are the righteous who give way before the wicked.

²⁷It is not good to eat much honey, or to seek honor on top of honor.

²⁸Like a city breached, without walls, is one who lacks self-control.

¹Like snow in summer or rain in harvest, so honor is not fitting for a fool.

²Like a sparrow in its flitting, like a swallow in its flying, an undeserved curse goes nowhere.

³A whip for the horse, a bridle for the donkey, and a rod for the back of fools.

⁴Do not answer fools according to their folly, or you will be a fool yourself.

⁵Answer fools according to their folly, or they will be wise in their own eyes.

⁶It is like cutting off one’s foot and drinking down violence, to send a message by a fool.

⁷The legs of a disabled person hang limp; so does a proverb in the mouth of a fool.

⁸It is like binding a stone in a sling to give honor to a fool.

⁹Like a thornbush brandished by the hand of a drunkard is a proverb in the mouth of a fool.

¹⁰Like an archer who wounds everybody is one who hires a passing fool or drunkard.

¹¹Like a dog that returns to its vomit is a fool who reverts to his folly.

¹²Do you see persons wise in their own eyes? There is more hope for fools than for them.

¹³The lazy person says, “There is a lion in the road! There is a lion in the streets!”

¹⁴As a door turns on its hinges, so does a lazy person in bed.

¹⁵The lazy person buries a hand in the dish, and is too tired to bring it back to the mouth.

¹⁶The lazy person is wiser in self-esteem than seven who can answer discreetly.

¹⁷Like somebody who takes a passing dog by the ears is one who meddles in the quarrel of another.

¹⁸Like a maniac who shoots deadly firebrands and arrows,

¹⁹so is one who deceives a neighbor and says, “I am only joking!”

²⁰For lack of wood the fire goes out, and where there is no whisperer, quarreling ceases.

²¹As charcoal is to hot embers and wood to fire, so is a quarrelsome person for kindling strife.

²²The words of a whisperer are like delicious morsels; they go down into the inner parts of the body.

²³Like the glaze covering an earthen vessel are smooth lips with an evil heart.

²⁴An enemy dissembles in speaking while harboring deceit within;

²⁵when an enemy speaks graciously, do not believe it, for there are seven abominations concealed within;

²⁶though hatred is covered with guile, the enemy’s wickedness will be exposed in the assembly.

²⁷Whoever digs a pit will fall into it, and a stone will come back on the one who starts it rolling.

²⁸A lying tongue hates its victims, and a flattering mouth works ruin.

¹Do not boast about tomorrow, for you do not know what a day may bring.

²Let another praise you, and not your own mouth — a stranger, and not your own lips.

³A stone is heavy, and sand is weighty, but a fool’s provocation is heavier than both.

⁴Wrath is cruel, anger is overwhelming, but who is able to stand before jealousy?

⁵Better is open rebuke than hidden love.

⁶Well meant are the wounds a friend inflicts, but profuse are the kisses of an enemy.

⁷The sated appetite spurns honey, but to a ravenous appetite even the bitter is sweet.

⁸Like a bird that strays from its nest is one who strays from home.

⁹Perfume and incense make the heart glad, but the soul is torn by trouble.

¹⁰Do not forsake your friend or the friend of your parent; do not go to the house of your kindred in the day of your calamity. Better is a neighbor who is nearby than kindred who are far away.

¹¹Be wise, my child, and make my heart glad, so that I may answer whoever reproaches me.

¹²The clever see danger and hide; but the simple go on, and suffer for it.

¹³Take the garment of one who has given surety for a stranger; seize the pledge given as surety for foreigners.

¹⁴Whoever blesses a neighbor with a loud voice, rising early in the morning, will be counted as cursing.

¹⁵A continual dripping on a rainy day and a contentious wife are alike;

¹⁶to restrain her is to restrain the wind or to grasp oil in the right hand.

¹⁷Iron sharpens iron, and one person sharpens the wits of another.

¹⁸Anyone who tends a fig tree will eat its fruit, and anyone who takes care of a master will be honored.

¹⁹Just as water reflects the face, so one human heart reflects another.

²⁰Sheol and Abaddon are never satisfied, and human eyes are never satisfied.

²¹The crucible is for silver, and the furnace is for gold, so a person is tested by being praised.

²²Crush a fool in a mortar with a pestle along with crushed grain, but the folly will not be driven out.

²³Know well the condition of your flocks, and give attention to your herds;

²⁴for riches do not last forever, nor a crown for all generations.

²⁵When the grass is gone, and new growth appears, and the herbage of the mountains is gathered,

²⁶the lambs will provide your clothing, and the goats the price of a field;

²⁷there will be enough goats’ milk for your food, for the food of your household and nourishment for your servant-girls.