Pro 22:17-24:22 | ESV | STEP | Incline your ear , and hear the words of the wise , and apply your heart to my knowledge ,

17 ^aIncline your ear, and hear ^bthe words of the wise,
^cand apply your heart to my knowledge,
18 for it will be pleasant if you keep them within you,
if all of them are ready on your lips.
19 That your trust may be in the Lord,
I have made them known to you today, even to you.
20 Have I not written for you ^dthirty sayings
of counsel and knowledge,
21 to ^emake you know what is right and true,
that you may give a true answer to those who sent you?
22 ^fDo not rob the poor, because he is poor,
or ^gcrush the afflicted at ^hthe gate,
23 for ⁱthe Lord will plead their cause
and rob of life those who rob them.
24 Make no friendship with a man given to anger,
nor go with a wrathful man,
25 lest you learn his ways
and entangle yourself in a snare.
26 Be not one of those who ^jgive pledges,
who put up security for debts.
27 If you have nothing with which to pay,
why should ^kyour bed be taken from under you?
28 Do not move the ancient ^llandmark
that your fathers have set.
29 Do you see a man skillful in his work?
He will ^mstand before kings;
he will not stand before obscure men.

Proverbs 23

1 When you sit down to eat with a ruler,
observe carefully what ^{▼▼Or who} is before you,
2 and put a knife to your throat
if you are given to appetite.
3 ^oDo not desire his delicacies,
for they are deceptive food.
4 ^pDo not toil to acquire wealth;
^qbe discerning enough to desist.
5 When your eyes light on it, it is gone,
^rfor suddenly it sprouts wings,
flying like an eagle toward heaven.
6 ^sDo not eat the bread of a man who is ^tstingy; ^{▼▼Hebrew whose eye is evil}
^vdo not desire his delicacies,
7 for he is like one who is inwardly calculating. ^{▼▼Or for as he calculates in his soul, so is he}
“Eat and drink!” he says to you,
but his ^xheart is not with you.
8 You will vomit up the morsels that you have eaten,
and waste your pleasant words.
9 Do not speak in the hearing of a fool,
for he will despise the good sense of your words.
10 ^yDo not move an ancient landmark
or enter the fields of the fatherless,
11 for their ^zRedeemer is strong;
he will ^aaplead their cause against you.
12 Apply your heart to instruction
and your ear to words of knowledge.
13 Do not withhold ^abdiscipline from a child;
^acif you strike him with a rod, he will not die.
14 If you strike him with the rod,
you will ^adsave his soul from Sheol.
15 ^aeMy son, if your heart is wise,
my heart too will be glad.
16 My ^afinmost being ^{▼▼Hebrew My kidneys} will exult
when your lips speak ^ahwhat is right.
17 Let not your heart ^aienvy sinners,
but continue in ^ajthe fear of the Lord all the day.
18 Surely ^akthere is a future,
and your ^alhope will not be cut off.
19 Hear, my son, and ^ambe wise,
and ^andirect your heart in the way.
20 Be not among ^aodrunkards ^{▼▼Hebrew those who drink too much wine}
or among ^aqgluttonous eaters of meat,
21 for the drunkard and the glutton will come to poverty,
and ^arslumber will clothe them with rags.
22 ^asListen to your father who gave you life,
^atand do not despise your mother when she is old.
23 ^auBuy truth, and do not sell it;
buy wisdom, instruction, and understanding.
24 ^avThe father of the righteous will greatly rejoice;
he who fathers a wise son will be glad in him.
25 ^awLet your father and mother be glad;
let ^axher who bore you rejoice.
26 My son, give me your heart,
and let your eyes observe ^{▼▼Or delight in} my ways.
27 For a prostitute is ^aza deep pit;
^baan adulteress ^{▼▼Hebrew a foreign woman} is a narrow ^bcwell.
28 ^bdShe lies in wait like a robber
and increases the traitors among mankind.
29 ^beWho has woe? Who has sorrow?
Who has strife? Who has complaining?
Who has ^bfwounds without cause?
Who has ^bgredness of eyes?
30 Those who ^bhtarry long over wine;
those who go to try ^bimixed wine.
31 Do not look at wine when it is red,
when it sparkles in the cup
and goes down smoothly.
32 In the end it ^bjbites like a serpent
and stings like an adder.
33 Your eyes will see strange things,
and your heart utter ^bkperverse things.
34 You will be like one who lies down in the midst of the sea,
like one who lies on the top of a mast. ^{▼▼Or of the rigging}
35 “They ^bmstruck me,” you will say, ^{▼▼Hebrew lacks you will say} “but I was not hurt;
they beat me, but I did not feel it.
When shall I awake?
I ^bomust have another drink.”

Proverbs 24:1-22

1 Be not ^bpenvious of evil men,
nor desire to be ^bqwith them,
2 for their hearts ^brdevise violence,
and their lips ^bstalk of trouble.
3 By ^btwisdom a house is built,
and by understanding it is established;
4 by knowledge the rooms are filled
with all ^buprecious and pleasant riches.
5 ^bvA wise man is full of strength,
and a man of knowledge enhances his might,
6 for by ^bwwise guidance you can wage your war,
and in ^bxabundance of counselors there is victory.
7 Wisdom is ^bytoo high for a fool;
in ^bzthe gate he does not open his mouth.
8 Whoever ^caplans to do evil
will be called a schemer.
9 ^cbThe devising ^{▼▼Or scheming} of folly is sin,
and ^cdthe scoffer is an abomination to mankind.
10 If you ^cefaint in the day of adversity,
your strength is small.
11 ^cfRescue those who are being taken away to death;
hold back those who are stumbling to the slaughter.
12 If you say, “Behold, we did not know this,”
^cgdoes not he who ^chweighs the heart perceive it?
Does not he who ^cikeeps watch over your soul know it,
and will he not repay man ^cjaccording to his work?
13 My son, ^ckeat honey, for it is good,
and ^clthe drippings of the honeycomb are sweet to your taste.
14 Know that wisdom is such to your soul;
if you find it, there will be ^cma future,
and your hope will not be cut off.
15 ^cnLie not in wait as a wicked man against the dwelling of the righteous;
do no violence to his home;
16 ^cofor the righteous falls ^cpseven times and rises again,
but ^cqthe wicked stumble in times of calamity.
17 ^crDo not rejoice when your enemy falls,
and let not your heart be glad when he stumbles,
18 lest the Lord see it and be displeased,
and turn away his anger from him.
19 ^csFret not yourself because of evildoers,
and be not ^ctenvious of the wicked,
20 for the evil man has no ^cufuture;
^cvthe lamp of the wicked will be put out.
21 My son, ^cwfear the Lord and the king,
and do not join with those who do otherwise,
22 for disaster will arise suddenly from them,
and who knows the ruin that will come from them both?