Read the Bible

¹ Don't be jealous of crooks
    or want to be their friends.
² All they think about
and talk about
    is violence and cruelty.

³ Use wisdom and understanding
    to establish your home;
⁴     let good sense fill the rooms
    with priceless treasures.

⁵ Wisdom brings strength,
    and knowledge gives power.
⁶ Battles are won
by listening to advice
    and making a lot of plans.

⁷ Wisdom is too much for fools!
    Their advice is no good.

⁸ No one but troublemakers
    think up trouble.
⁹ Everyone hates senseless fools
    who think up ways to sin.

¹⁰ Don't give up and be helpless
    in times of trouble.

¹¹ Don't fail to rescue those
    who are doomed to die.
¹²     Don't say, "I didn't know it!"
    God can read your mind.
He watches each of us
    and knows our thoughts.
    And God will pay us back
    for what we do.

¹³ Honey is good for you,
my children,
    and it tastes sweet.
¹⁴ Wisdom is like honey
    for your life—
    if you find it,
    your future is bright.

¹⁵ Don't be a cruel person
who attacks good people
    and hurts their families.
¹⁶ Even if good people
fall seven times,
    they will get back up.
But when trouble strikes
the wicked,
    that's the end of them.

¹⁷ Don't be happy
to see your enemies trip
    and fall down.
¹⁸ The Lord will find out
    and be unhappy.
    Then he will stop
    being angry with them.

¹⁹ Don't let evil people
worry you
    or make you jealous.
²⁰ They will soon be gone
    like the flame of a lamp
    that burns out.

²¹ My children, you must respect
    the Lord and the king,
and you must not make friends
with anyone
    who rebels
    against either of them.
²² Who knows what sudden disaster
    the Lord or a ruler
    might bring?

²³ Here are some more sayings
    that make good sense:
    When you judge,
    you must be fair.
²⁴ If you let the guilty
    go free,
    people of all nations
    will hate and curse you.
²⁵ But if you punish the guilty,
    things will go well for you,
    and you will prosper.
²⁶ Giving an honest answer
is a sign
    of true friendship.
²⁷ Get your fields ready
    and plant your crops
    before starting a home.
²⁸ Don't accuse anyone
    who isn't guilty.
Don't ever tell a lie
²⁹ or say to someone,
    "I'll get even with you!"

³⁰ I once walked by the field
and the vineyard
    of a lazy fool.
³¹ Thorns and weeds
    were everywhere,
    and the stone wall
    had fallen down.
³² When I saw this,
    it taught me a lesson:
³³ Sleep a little. Doze a little.
    Fold your hands
    and twiddle your thumbs.
³⁴ Suddenly poverty hits you
    and everything is gone!