Read the Bible

Do not Envy

Saying 20

¹ Do not envy wicked men or desire their company;² for their hearts devise violence, and their lips declare trouble.

Saying 21

³ By wisdom a house is built and by understanding it is established;⁴ through knowledge its rooms are filled with every precious and beautiful treasure.

Saying 22

Saying 23

⁷ Wisdom is too high for a fool; he does not open his mouth in the meeting place.

Saying 24

Saying 25

¹⁰ If you faint in the day of distress, how small is your strength!

¹¹ Rescue those being led away to death, and restrain those stumbling toward the slaughter.¹² If you say, “Behold, we did not know about this,” does not He who weighs hearts consider it? Does not the One who guards your life know? Will He not repay a man according to his deeds?

Saying 26

¹³ Eat honey, my son, for it is good, and the honeycomb is sweet to your taste.¹⁴ Know therefore that wisdom is sweet to your soul. If you find it, there is a future for you, and your hope will never be cut off.

Saying 27

¹⁵ Do not lie in wait, O wicked man, near the dwelling of the righteous; do not destroy his resting place.¹⁶ For though a righteous man falls seven times, he will get up, but the wicked will stumble into ruin.

Saying 28

¹⁷ Do not gloat when your enemy falls, and do not let your heart rejoice when he stumbles,¹⁸ or the LORD will see and disapprove, and turn His wrath away from him.

Saying 29

¹⁹ Do not fret over evildoers, and do not be envious of the wicked.²⁰ For the evil man has no future; the lamp of the wicked will be extinguished.

Saying 30

²¹ My son, fear the LORD and the king, and do not associate with the rebellious.²² For those two will bring sudden destruction; who knows what ruin they can bring?

Further Sayings of the Wise

²³ These also are sayings of the wise: To show partiality in judgment is not good.²⁴ Whoever tells the guilty, “You are innocent”—peoples will curse him, and nations will denounce him;²⁵ but it will go well with those who convict the guilty, and rich blessing will come upon them.²⁶ An honest answer given is like a kiss on the lips.

²⁷ Complete your outdoor work, and prepare your field; after that, you can build your house.

²⁸ Do not testify against your neighbor without cause, and do not deceive with your lips.²⁹ Do not say, “I will do to him as he has done to me; I will repay the man according to his work.”

³⁰ I went past the field of a slacker and by the vineyard of a man lacking judgment.³¹ Thorns had grown up everywhere, thistles had covered the ground, and the stone wall was broken down.³² I observed and took it to heart; I looked and received instruction:³³ A little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to rest,³⁴ and poverty will come upon you like a robber, and need like a bandit.