Study Desk

Exploit the poor or glad-hand the rich—whichever, you'll end up the poorer for it. Listen carefully to my wisdom; take to heart what I can teach you. You'll treasure its sweetness deep within; you'll give it bold expression in your speech. To make sure your foundation is trust in God , I'm laying it all out right now just for you. I'm giving you thirty sterling principles— tested guidelines to live by. Believe me—these are truths that work, and will keep you accountable to those who sent you. 1 Don't walk on the poor just because they're poor, and don't use your position to crush the weak, Because God will come to their defense; the life you took, he'll take from you and give back to them. 2 Don't hang out with angry people; don't keep company with hotheads. Bad temper is contagious— don't get infected. 3 Don't gamble on the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow, hocking your house against a lucky chance. The time will come when you have to pay up; you'll be left with nothing but the shirt on your back. 4 Don't stealthily move back the boundary lines staked out long ago by your ancestors. 5 Observe people who are good at their work— skilled workers are always in demand and admired; they don't take a backseat to anyone.

3 Don't gamble on the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow, hocking your house against a lucky chance. The time will come when you have to pay up; you'll be left with nothing but the shirt on your back.

8 Don't accept a meal from a tightwad; don't expect anything special. He'll be as stingy with you as he is with himself; he'll say, "Eat! Drink!" but won't mean a word of it. His miserly serving will turn your stomach when you realize the meal's a sham.

18 Who are the people who are always crying the blues? Who do you know who reeks of self-pity? Who keeps getting beat up for no reason at all? Whose eyes are bleary and bloodshot? It's those who spend the night with a bottle, for whom drinking is serious business. Don't judge wine by its label, or its bouquet, or its full-bodied flavor. Judge it rather by the hangover it leaves you with— the splitting headache, the queasy stomach. Do you really prefer seeing double, with your speech all slurred, Reeling and seasick, drunk as a sailor? "They hit me," you'll say, "but it didn't hurt; they beat on me, but I didn't feel a thing. When I'm sober enough to manage it, bring me another drink!"

30 Fear God , dear child—respect your leaders; don't be defiant or mutinous. Without warning your life can turn upside down, and who knows how or when it might happen? It's wrong, very wrong, to go along with injustice. Whoever whitewashes the wicked gets a black mark in the history books, But whoever exposes the wicked will be thanked and rewarded. An honest answer is like a warm hug. First plant your fields; then build your barn. Don't talk about your neighbors behind their backs— no slander or gossip, please. Don't say to anyone, "I'll get back at you for what you did to me. I'll make you pay for what you did!" One day I walked by the field of an old lazybones, and then passed the vineyard of a lout; They were overgrown with weeds, thick with thistles, all the fences broken down. I took a long look and pondered what I saw; the fields preached me a sermon and I listened: "A nap here, a nap there, a day off here, a day off there, sit back, take it easy—do you know what comes next? Just this: You can look forward to a dirt-poor life, with poverty as your permanent houseguest!"

Whoever whitewashes the wicked gets a black mark in the history books, But whoever exposes the wicked will be thanked and rewarded.

Like billowing clouds that bring no rain is the person who talks big but never produces.

A shiftless sluggard puts his fork in the pie, but is too lazy to lift it to his mouth.

We're blasted by anger and swamped by rage, but who can survive jealousy?

When the country is in chaos, everybody has a plan to fix it— But it takes a leader of real understanding to straighten things out.

Get as rich as you want through cheating and extortion, But eventually some friend of the poor is going to give it all back to them.

The rich think they know it all, but the poor can see right through them.

When good people are promoted, everything is great, but when the bad are in charge, watch out!

Among leaders who lack insight, abuse abounds, but for one who hates corruption, the future is bright.

A grasping person stirs up trouble, but trust in God brings a sense of well-being.

When corruption takes over, good people go underground, but when the crooks are thrown out, it's safe to come out.

For people who hate discipline and only get more stubborn, There'll come a day when life tumbles in and they break, but by then it'll be too late to help them.

When good people run things, everyone is glad, but when the ruler is bad, everyone groans.

If you love wisdom, you'll delight your parents, but you'll destroy their trust if you run with whores.

When degenerates take charge, crime runs wild, but the righteous will eventually observe their collapse.