ምሳሌ 22

¹A good reputation is worth choosing over great wealth; \q being well regarded is better than silver and gold. ²Rich and poor alike share one thing: \q the LORD is the maker of them all. ³Sensible people see danger coming and take cover, \q but the naive walk straight into it and suffer for it. ⁴Humility and the fear of the LORD bring their reward: \q riches, honor, and life. ⁵Thorns and traps lie on the road of the crooked; \q whoever values their life stays well away from them. ⁶Start children off on the way they should go, \q and even when they are old they will not leave it.^{a 7}The rich lord it over the poor, \q and whoever borrows becomes the lender’s slave. ⁸Those who sow injustice will reap disaster, \q and the rod they swing in anger will fail.^{b 9}Generous people will be blessed, \q because they share their food with the poor. ¹⁰Throw out the mocker, and conflict goes too; \q quarrels and insults come to an end. ¹¹Whoever loves a pure heart \q and speaks with grace will have the king for a friend. ¹²The eyes of the LORD keep watch over knowledge, \q but he brings the words of the faithless to nothing. ¹³The lazy one says, “A lion is out there! \q I will be murdered in the open street!” ¹⁴The talk of forbidden women is a deep pit; \q anyone the LORD is angry with will fall into it. ¹⁵Foolishness is tied fast to a child’s heart, \q but the rod of discipline will drive it far away.^{c 16}Whoever exploits the poor to get rich, \q or hands gifts to the rich, will only end up in need.^{d 17}Bend your ear and hear what the wise have said, \q and set your mind on the knowledge I give,^{e 18}for it is good to keep them deep inside you, \q every one of them ready on your lips. ¹⁹I am teaching you today, yes, you, \q so that you will put your trust in the LORD. ²⁰Have I not written you thirty sayings \q full of counsel and knowledge,^{f 21}to teach you what is right and reliable, \q so that you can bring back a true answer to those who send you?

Thirty sayings of the wise

²²Do not rob the poor just because they are poor, \q and do not crush the needy in court, ²³for the LORD will take up their cause \q and take the life of those who plunder them. ²⁴Do not make friends with someone hot-tempered, \q and do not keep company with those quick to rage, ²⁵or you may learn their ways \q and set a trap for your own life. ²⁶Do not be one of those who shake hands on a pledge \q and guarantee other people’s loans. ²⁷If you cannot pay, \q why let them take even the bed you sleep on? ²⁸Do not shift the old boundary stone \q that your ancestors put in place. ²⁹Do you see someone who is skilled at their work? \q They will serve kings, not people of no account.