124:1 Mit 3:31-32; 23:17-18Usiwaonee wivu watu waovu,
usitamani ushirika nao;
224:2 Za 2:1; 10:7; Isa 32:6; 55:7-8; 59:7; 65:2; Hos 4:1kwa maana mioyo yao hupanga mambo ya jeuri,
nayo midomo yao husema juu ya kuleta madhara.
324:3 Mit 14:1Kwa hekima nyumba hujengwa,
nayo kwa njia ya ufahamu huimarishwa
424:4 Mit 8:21kwa njia ya maarifa vyumba vyake hujazwa
vitu vya thamani na vya kupendeza.
524:5 Mit 21:22Mtu mwenye hekima ana uwezo mkubwa,
naye mtu mwenye maarifa huongeza nguvu,
624:6 Mit 11:14; Lk 14:31kwa kufanya vita unahitaji uongozi
na kwa ushindi washauri wengi.
724:7 Za 10:5; Mit 14:6Hekima i juu mno kwa mpumbavu,
katika kusanyiko langoni
hana lolote la kusema.
824:8 Rum 1:30Yeye apangaye mabaya
atajulikana kama mtu wa hila.
924:9 Mwa 6:5; Za 119:113; Mt 9:4; Mdo 8:22; 2Kor 10:524:9 Mwa 6:5; Mdo 8:22; 2Kor 10:5Mipango ya upumbavu ni dhambi,
watu huchukizwa na mwenye dhihaka.
1024:10 Yer 51:46; Ebr 12:3Ukikata tamaa wakati wa taabu,
jinsi gani nguvu zako ni kidogo!
1124:11 Isa 58:6-7; 1Yn 3:16; Za 82:4Okoa wale wanaoongozwa kwenye kifo;
wazuie wote wanaojikokota
kuelekea machinjoni.
1224:12 Za 139:2; Mit 16:24; 21:2; Yer 32:19; Mt 16:24Kama mkisema, “Lakini hatukujua lolote kuhusu hili,”
je, yule apimaye mioyo halitambui hili?
Je, yule awalindaye maisha yenu halijui hili?
Je, hatamlipa kila mtu kulingana na aliyotenda?
1324:13 Wim 5:1Ule asali mwanangu, kwa kuwa ni nzuri;
asali kutoka kwenye sega ni tamu kwa kuonja.
1424:14 Za 119:103; Mit 16:24; 23:18Ujue pia kwamba hekima ni tamu kwa nafsi yako,
kama ukiipata, kuna matumaini kwako ya siku zijazo,
nalo tumaini lako halitakatiliwa mbali.
1524:15 Za 10:9, 10Usivizie kama haramia afanyavyo ili kuyashambulia
makao ya mwenye haki,
wala usiyavamie makazi yake,
1624:16 Ay 5:19; Mik 7:8; Za 34:19Kwa maana ingawa mtu mwenye haki huanguka mara saba, huinuka tena,
lakini waovu huangushwa chini na maafa.
1724:17 Oba 1:12; Ay 31:29Usitazame kwa kufurahia adui yako aangukapo;
wakati ajikwaapo,
usiruhusu moyo wako ushangilie.
1824:18 Ay 31:29Bwana asije akaona na kuchukia
akaiondoa ghadhabu yake mbali naye.
1924:19 Za 37:1Usikasirike kwa sababu ya watu wabaya
wala usiwaonee wivu waovu,
2024:20 Ay 18:5; Mit 13:9; Isa 3:11kwa maana mtu mbaya hana tumaini la siku zijazo,
nayo taa ya waovu itazimwa.
2124:21 Rum 13:1-7; 1Pet 2:17Mwanangu, mche Bwana na mfalme,
wala usijiunge na waasi,
2224:22 Za 73:19kwa maana hao wawili watatuma maangamizi ya ghafula juu yao,
naye ni nani ajuaye maafa wawezayo kuleta?
Misemo Zaidi Ya Wenye Hekima
2324:23 Kut 18:16; Law 19:15; 2Nya 19:7; Za 72:2; Yer 22:16; Yn 7:24Hii pia ni misemo ya wenye hekima:
Kuonyesha upendeleo katika hukumu si vyema:
2424:24 Isa 5:23; Mit 17:15Yeyote amwambiaye mwenye hatia,
“Wewe huna hatia,”
Kabila zitamlaani
na mataifa yatamkana.
25Bali itakuwa vyema kwa wale watakaowatia hatiani wenye hatia,
nazo baraka tele zitawajilia juu yao.
26Jawabu la uaminifu
ni kama busu la midomoni.
2724:27 1Fal 5:17, 18; Lk 14:28Maliza kazi zako za nje,
nawe uweke mashamba yako tayari,
baada ya hayo, jenga nyumba yako.
2824:28 Za 7:4; Efe 4:25Usishuhudie dhidi ya jirani yako bila sababu,
au kutumia midomo yako kudanganya.
2924:29 Mit 20:22; Rum 12:17; Mt 5:39Usiseme, “Nitamtenda kama alivyonitenda mimi;
nitamlipiza mtu yule kwa kile alichonitendea.”
3024:30 Mit 6:6-11; 26:13-16Nilipita karibu na shamba la mvivu,
karibu na shamba la mizabibu la mtu asiye na akili,
3124:31 Yer 4:3; Ebr 6:8miiba ilikuwa imeota kila mahali,
ardhi ilikuwa imefunikwa na magugu, na
ukuta wa mawe ulikuwa umebomoka.
32Nikatafakari moyoni mwangu lile nililoliona,
nami nikajifunza somo kutokana na niliyoyaona:
3324:33 Mit 6:10Bado kulala kidogo, kusinzia kidogo,
bado kukunja mikono kidogo upate kupumzika:
3424:34 Mit 10:4; Mhu 10:18hivyo umaskini utakuja juu yako kama mnyangʼanyi,
na kupungukiwa kutakujia kama mtu mwenye silaha.
Saying 20
1Do not envy the wicked,
do not desire their company;
2for their hearts plot violence,
and their lips talk about making trouble.
Saying 21
3By wisdom a house is built,
and through understanding it is established;
4through knowledge its rooms are filled
with rare and beautiful treasures.
Saying 22
5The wise prevail through great power,
and those who have knowledge muster their strength.
6Surely you need guidance to wage war,
and victory is won through many advisers.
Saying 23
7Wisdom is too high for fools;
in the assembly at the gate they must not open their mouths.
Saying 24
8Whoever plots evil
will be known as a schemer.
9The schemes of folly are sin,
and people detest a mocker.
Saying 25
10If you falter in a time of trouble,
how small is your strength!
11Rescue those being led away to death;
hold back those staggering toward slaughter.
12If you say, “But we knew nothing about this,”
does not he who weighs the heart perceive it?
Does not he who guards your life know it?
Will he not repay everyone according to what they have done?
Saying 26
13Eat honey, my son, for it is good;
honey from the comb is sweet to your taste.
14Know also that wisdom is like honey for you:
If you find it, there is a future hope for you,
and your hope will not be cut off.
Saying 27
15Do not lurk like a thief near the house of the righteous,
do not plunder their dwelling place;
16for though the righteous fall seven times, they rise again,
but the wicked stumble when calamity strikes.
Saying 28
17Do not gloat when your enemy falls;
when they stumble, do not let your heart rejoice,
18or the Lord will see and disapprove
and turn his wrath away from them.
Saying 29
19Do not fret because of evildoers
or be envious of the wicked,
20for the evildoer has no future hope,
and the lamp of the wicked will be snuffed out.
Saying 30
21Fear the Lord and the king, my son,
and do not join with rebellious officials,
22for those two will send sudden destruction on them,
and who knows what calamities they can bring?
Further Sayings of the Wise
23These also are sayings of the wise:
To show partiality in judging is not good:
24Whoever says to the guilty, “You are innocent,”
will be cursed by peoples and denounced by nations.
25But it will go well with those who convict the guilty,
and rich blessing will come on them.
26An honest answer
is like a kiss on the lips.
27Put your outdoor work in order
and get your fields ready;
after that, build your house.
28Do not testify against your neighbor without cause—
would you use your lips to mislead?
29Do not say, “I’ll do to them as they have done to me;
I’ll pay them back for what they did.”
30I went past the field of a sluggard,
past the vineyard of someone who has no sense;
31thorns had come up everywhere,
the ground was covered with weeds,
and the stone wall was in ruins.
32I applied my heart to what I observed
and learned a lesson from what I saw:
33A little sleep, a little slumber,
a little folding of the hands to rest—
34and poverty will come on you like a thief
and scarcity like an armed man.
