21
1 My son, have you sinned?
Add no more to it;
and ask forgiveness for your past sins.
2 Flee from sin as from the face of a serpent;
for if you draw near, it will bite you.
Its teeth are lion’s teeth,
slaying men’s souls.
3 All iniquity is as a two-edged sword.
Its stroke has no healing.
4 Terror and violence will lay waste riches.
So the house of an arrogant man will be laid waste.
5 Supplication from a poor man’s mouth reaches to the ears of* Gr. him. God,
and his judgement comes speedily.
6 One who hates reproof is in the path of the sinner.
He who fears the Lord will turn again in his heart.
7 He who is mighty in tongue is known far away;
but the man of understanding knows when he slips.
8 He who builds his house with other men’s money
is like one who gathers stones for his own tomb.
9 The congregation of wicked men is as a bundle of tow
with a flame of fire at the end of them.
10 The way of sinners is paved with stones;
and at the end of it is the pit of Hades.
11 He who keeps the law becomes master of its intent.
The end of the fear of the Lord is wisdom.
12 He who is not clever will not be instructed.
There is a cleverness which makes bitterness abound.
13 The knowledge of a wise man will be made to abound as a flood,
and his counsel as a fountain of life.
14 The inward parts of a fool are like a broken vessel.
He will hold no knowledge.
15 If a man of knowledge hears a wise word,
he will commend it and add to it.
The wanton man hears it, and it displeases him,
so he puts it away behind his back.
16 The discourse of a fool is like a burden in the way,
but grace will be found on the lips of the wise.
17 The mouth of the prudent man will be sought for in the congregation.
They will ponder his words in their heart.
18 As a house that is destroyed, so is wisdom to a fool.
The knowledge of an unwise man is † Gr. unexamined words. talk without sense.
19 Instruction is as fetters on the feet of an unwise man,
and as manacles on the right hand.
20 A fool lifts up his voice with laughter,
but a clever man smiles quietly.
21 Instruction is to a prudent man as an ornament of gold,
and as a bracelet upon his right arm.
22 The foot of a fool rushes into a house,
but a man of experience will be ashamed of entering.
23 A foolish man peers into the door of a house,
but a man who is instructed will stand outside.
24 It is a lack of instruction in a man to listen at a door,
but a prudent man will be grieved with the disgrace.
25 ‡ The text seems to be uncertain. The lips of strangers will be grieved at these things,
but the words of prudent men will be weighed in the balance.
26 The heart of fools is in their mouth,
but the mouth of wise men is their heart.
27 When the ungodly curses Satan,
he curses his own soul.
28 A whisperer defiles his own soul,
and will be hated wherever he travels.