The Berean Pursuit
A good name is more desirable than great riches;
favor is better than silver and gold.
The rich and the poor have this in common:
The LORD is Maker of them all.
The prudent see danger and take cover,
but the simple keep going and suffer the consequences.
The rewards of humility and the fear of the LORD
are wealth and honor and life.
Thorns and snares lie on the path of the perverse;
he who guards his soul stays far from them.
Train up a child in the way he should go,
and when he is old he will not depart from it.
The rich rule over the poor,
and the borrower is slave to the lender.
He who sows injustice will reap disaster,
and the rod of his fury will be destroyed.
A generous man will be blessed,
for he shares his bread with the poor.
Drive out the mocker, and conflict will depart;
even quarreling and insults will cease.
He who loves a pure heart and gracious lips
will have the king for a friend.
The LORD's eyes keep watch over knowledge,
but He frustrates the words of the faithless.
The slacker says, "There is a lion outside!
I will be slain in the streets!"
The mouth of an adulteress is a deep pit;
he who is under the wrath of the LORD will fall into it.
Foolishness is bound up in the heart of a child,
but the rod of discipline drives it far from him.
Oppressing the poor to enrich oneself or giving gifts to the rich
will surely lead to poverty.
Incline your ear and hear the words of the wise-
apply your mind to my knowledge-
for it is pleasing when you keep them within you
and they are constantly on your lips.
So that your trust may be in the LORD,
I instruct you today-yes, you.
Have I not written for you thirty sayings
about counsel and knowledge,
to show you true and reliable words,
that you may soundly answer those who sent you?
Do not rob a poor man because he is poor,
and do not crush the afflicted at the gate,
for the LORD will take up their case
and will plunder those who rob them.
Do not make friends with an angry man,
and do not associate with a hot-tempered man,
or you may learn his ways
and entangle yourself in a snare.
Do not be one who gives pledges,
who puts up security for debts.
If you have nothing with which to pay,
why should your bed be taken from under you?
Do not move an ancient boundary stone
which your fathers have placed.
Do you see a man skilled in his work?
He will be stationed in the presence of kings;
he will not stand before obscure men.
When you sit down to dine with a ruler,
consider carefully what is set before you,
and put a knife to your throat
if you possess a great appetite.
Do not crave his delicacies,
for that food is deceptive.
Do not wear yourself out to get rich;
be wise enough to restrain yourself.
When you glance at wealth, it disappears,
for it makes wings for itself
and flies like an eagle to the sky.
Do not eat the bread of a stingy man,
and do not crave his delicacies;
for he is keeping track,
inwardly counting the cost.
"Eat and drink," he says to you,
but his heart is not with you.
You will vomit up what little you have eaten
and waste your pleasant words.
Do not speak to a fool,
for he will despise the wisdom of your words.
Do not move an ancient boundary stone
or encroach on the fields of the fatherless,
for their Redeemer is strong;
He will take up their case against you.
Apply your heart to instruction
and your ears to words of knowledge.
Do not withhold discipline from a child;
although you strike him with a rod, he will not die.
Strike him with a rod,
and you will deliver his soul from Sheol.
My son, if your heart is wise,
my own heart will indeed rejoice.
My inmost being will rejoice
when your lips speak what is right.
Do not let your heart envy sinners,
but always continue in the fear of the LORD.
For surely there is a future,
and your hope will not be cut off.
Listen, my son, and be wise,
and guide your heart on the right course.
Do not join those who drink too much wine
or gorge themselves on meat.
For the drunkard and the glutton will come to poverty,
and drowsiness will clothe them in rags.
Listen to your father who gave you life,
and do not despise your mother when she is old.
Invest in truth and never sell it-
in wisdom and instruction and understanding.
The father of a righteous man will greatly rejoice,
and he who fathers a wise son will delight in him.
May your father and mother be glad,
and may she who gave you birth rejoice!
My son, give me your heart,
and let your eyes delight in my ways.
For a prostitute is a deep pit,
and an adulteress is a narrow well.
Like a robber she lies in wait
and multiplies the faithless among men.
Who has woe? Who has sorrow?
Who has contentions? Who has complaints?
Who has needless wounds? Who has bloodshot eyes?
Those who linger over wine,
who go to taste mixed drinks.
Do not gaze at wine while it is red,
when it sparkles in the cup
and goes down smoothly.
In the end it bites like a snake
and stings like a viper.
Your eyes will see strange things,
and your mind will utter perversities.
You will be like one sleeping on the high seas
or lying on the top of a mast:
"They struck me, but I feel no pain!
They beat me, but I did not know it!
When can I wake up
to search for another drink?"
Praise the LORD, all you nations!
Extol Him, all you peoples!
For great is His loving devotion toward us,
and the faithfulness of the LORD endures forever.
Hallelujah!