The Wise Sayings of Solomon

An Honest Life Is Immortal

Wise son, glad father;

stupid son, sad mother.

² Ill-gotten gain gets you nowhere;

an honest life is immortal.

³ God won’t starve an honest soul,

but he frustrates the appetites of the wicked.

⁴ Sloth makes you poor;

diligence brings wealth.

⁵ Make hay while the sun shines—that’s smart;

go fishing during harvest—that’s stupid.

⁶ Blessings accrue on a good and honest life,

but the mouth of the wicked is a dark cave of abuse.

⁷ A good and honest life is a blessed memorial;

a wicked life leaves a rotten stench.

⁸ A wise heart takes orders;

an empty head will come unglued.

⁹ Honesty lives confident and carefree,

but Shifty is sure to be exposed.

¹⁰ An evasive eye is a sign of trouble ahead,

but an open, face-to-face meeting results in peace.

¹¹ The mouth of a good person is a deep, life-giving well,

but the mouth of the wicked is a dark cave of abuse.

¹² Hatred starts fights,

but love pulls a quilt over the bickering.

¹³ You’ll find wisdom on the lips of a person of insight,

but the shortsighted needs a slap in the face.

¹⁴ The wise accumulate knowledge—a true treasure;

know-it-alls talk too much—a sheer waste.

The Road to Life Is a Disciplined Life

¹⁵ The wealth of the rich is their bastion;

the poverty of the indigent is their ruin.

¹⁶ The wage of a good person is exuberant life;

an evil person ends up with nothing but sin.

¹⁷ The road to life is a disciplined life;

ignore correction and you’re lost for good.

¹⁸ Liars secretly hoard hatred;

fools openly spread slander.

¹⁹ The more talk, the less truth;

the wise measure their words.

²⁰ The speech of a good person is worth waiting for;

the blabber of the wicked is worthless.

²¹ The talk of a good person is rich fare for many,

but chatterboxes die of an empty heart.

Fear-of-God Expands Your Life

²² God’s blessing makes life rich;

nothing we do can improve on God.

²³ An empty-head thinks mischief is fun,

but a mindful person relishes wisdom.

²⁴ The nightmares of the wicked come true;

what the good people desire, they get.

²⁵ When the storm is over, there’s nothing left of the wicked;

good people, firm on their rock foundation, aren’t even fazed.

²⁶ A lazy employee will give you nothing but trouble;

it’s vinegar in the mouth, smoke in the eyes.

²⁷ The Fear-of-God expands your life;

a wicked life is a puny life.

²⁸ The aspirations of good people end in celebration;

the ambitions of bad people crash.

²⁹ God is solid backing to a well-lived life,

but he calls into question a shabby performance.

³⁰ Good people last—they can’t be moved;

the wicked are here today, gone tomorrow.

³¹ A good person’s mouth is a clear fountain of wisdom;

a foul mouth is a stagnant swamp.

³² The speech of a good person clears the air;

the words of the wicked pollute it.