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A stoppered clay wine jar and one plain clay cup at rest on a flat roadside stone, an empty pale road running away behind them at first light.

The sayings of the wise

Proverbs 23

The table, the money, the cup: what looks best up close is often what costs the most.

35 verses≈ 4 minBSB

Images are artistic interpretations.

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Where we are

  1. 1–7The father's talksWhy the book exists, then a father to his son
  2. 8–9Wisdom callsHer house and Folly's
  3. 10–22:16Solomon's sayingsTwo lines at a time
  4. 22:17–24The sayings of the wiseThirty sayings, and a few moreChapter 23
  5. 25–29Hezekiah's collectionMore of Solomon, copied out later
  6. 30AgurNumbered sayings from a weary man
  7. 31LemuelA mother's words, and the noble wife

Saying 7

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.

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Saying 8

Do not wear yourself out to get rich; be wise enough to restrain yourself.

A small heap of silver rings and rough ingots on a rock ledge as a great eagle lifts off beside it, one wing filling the frame.

When you glance at wealth, it disappears,

for it makes wings for itself

and flies like an eagle to the sky.

Saying 9

Early morning where two terraced fields meet: a rough, lichen-patched upright stone stands at the corner, plowed earth on one side and young barley on the other, a dry-stone wall running away from it.

Sayings

What to leave alone

  1. Money

    The stingy host

    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.

  2. Wisdom

    Wisdom wasted on a fool

    Do not speak to a fool,

    for he will despise the wisdom of your words.

  3. Justice

    The Redeemer of the fatherless

    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.

  4. Wisdom

    Apply your heart

    Apply your heart to instruction

    and your ears to words of knowledge.

Live it

Take it home

What are you wearing yourself out for? If it took wing tomorrow, what would be left?

Saying 13

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.

Saying 14

Sayings

A father to his son

  1. Family

    A father’s gladness

    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.

  2. The LORD

    Envy no sinner

    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.

  3. Wisdom

    Guide your heart

    Listen, my son, and be wise,

    and guide your heart on the right course.

  4. Temptation

    Wine, meat and rags

    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.

always continue in the fear of the LORD

Question

Quick question

A fatherless family and a field with an old boundary stone. It looks like the easiest theft in the world.

Why leave the fields of the fatherless alone?

Saying 17

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!

Saying 18

Looking straight down a deep, narrow stone-lined well from its rim, rope grooves worn in the lip, the shaft falling into blackness.

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.

Saying 19

A stoppered clay wine jar and one plain clay cup at rest on a flat roadside stone, an empty pale road running away behind them at first light.

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.

0:14

Narrated by Bob Souer · BSB audio, public domain

“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?”

Pray

Clear eyes

Ask God for clear eyes, to see where a thing ends and not only how it starts. Pray for anyone you know who is caught, and if that is you, ask for the courage to tell someone and ask for help.

You’ve experienced

Proverbs 23

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A verse to carry with you

Invest in truth and never sell it—in wisdom and instruction and understanding.

Proverbs 23:23

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