Proverbs 28
28
If You Desert God’s Law
1The wicked are edgy with guilt, ready to run off
even when no one’s after them;
Honest people are relaxed and confident,
bold as lions.
2When the country is in chaos,
everybody has a plan to fix it—
But it takes a leader of real understanding
to straighten things out.
3The wicked who oppress the poor
are like a hailstorm that beats down the harvest.
4If you desert God’s law, you’re free to embrace depravity;
if you love God’s law, you fight for it tooth and nail.
5Justice makes no sense to the evilminded;
those who seek God know it inside and out.
6It’s better to be poor and direct
than rich and crooked.
7Practice God’s law—get a reputation for wisdom;
hang out with a loose crowd—embarrass your family.
8Get 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.
9God has no use for the prayers
of the people who won’t listen to him.
10Lead good people down a wrong path
and you’ll come to a bad end;
do good and you’ll be rewarded for it.
11The rich think they know it all,
but the poor can see right through them.
12When good people are promoted, everything is great,
but when the bad are in charge, watch out!
13You can’t whitewash your sins and get by with it;
you find mercy by admitting and leaving them.
14A tenderhearted person lives a blessed life;
a hardhearted person lives a hard life.
15Lions roar and bears charge—
and the wicked lord it over the poor.
16Among leaders who lack insight, abuse abounds,
but for one who hates corruption, the future is bright.
17A murderer haunted by guilt
is doomed—there’s no helping him.
18Walk straight—live well and be saved;
a devious life is a doomed life.
Doing Great Harm in Seemingly Harmless Ways
19Work your garden—you’ll end up with plenty of food;
play and party—you’ll end up with an empty plate.
20Committed and persistent work pays off;
get-rich-quick schemes are ripoffs.
21Playing favorites is always a bad thing;
you can do great harm in seemingly harmless ways.
22A miser in a hurry to get rich
doesn’t know that he’ll end up broke.
23In the end, serious reprimand is appreciated
far more than bootlicking flattery.
24Anyone who robs father and mother
and says, “So, what’s wrong with that?”
is worse than a pirate.
25A grasping person stirs up trouble,
but trust in God brings a sense of well-being.
26If you think you know it all, you’re a fool for sure;
real survivors learn wisdom from others.
27Be generous to the poor—you’ll never go hungry;
shut your eyes to their needs, and run a gauntlet of curses.
28When corruption takes over, good people go underground,
but when the crooks are thrown out, it’s safe to come out.
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Proverbs 28: MSG
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THE MESSAGE: The Bible in Contemporary Language copyright © 1993, 2002, 2018 by Eugene H. Peterson. All rights reserved. Used by permission of NavPress. Represented by Tyndale House Publishers.
Proverbs 28
28
1 The wicked flee, but no one pursues,
but the righteous is bold like a lion.
2By the rebellion of a land, her rulers increase,
but by a person of intelligence who knows justice, it will last.
3A man who is poor and oppresses the impoverished
is a beating rain that leaves#Literally “and there is” no food.
4Those who forsake instruction will praise the wicked,
but they who guard instruction will struggle against them.
5Men of evil do not understand justice,
but seekers of Yahweh understand completely.#Or “everything”
6Better to be poor and walking in one’s integrity
than to be crooked of ways when one is rich.
7He who keeps instruction is a child of understanding,
but the companion of gluttons will shame his father.
8He who augments his wealth with interest and with usury
gathers it for him who is kind to the poor.
9He who turns his ear from listening to instruction,
even his prayer is an abomination.
10He who misleads the upright onto the way of evil,
into his pits he will fall.
But as for the blameless, they will inherit good.
11A man of wealth is wise in his own eyes,
but the intelligent poor sees through him.
12When the righteous triumphs, great is the glory,
but with the rising of the wicked, a person will be hidden.
13He who conceals his transgression will not prosper,
but he who confesses and forsakes will obtain mercy.
14Happy is the person who fears continuously,
but he who is stubborn of heart,#Or “mind” will fall into calamity.
15Like a roaring lion and a charging bear
is a wicked ruler over a poor people.
16A ruler who lacks understanding is#Hebrew “and” a cruel oppressor,
but those who hate unjust gain will have long#Or “prolong” days.
17A person who is burdened with the blood of another,#Literally “life”
until death he will flee;
do not take hold of him.
18He who walks in integrity will be safe,
but he who takes crooked paths will fall in one.
19He who tills his ground will have plenty bread,
but he who follows fantasies will have plenty of poverty.
20A man of faithfulness has abundant blessings,
but he who hurries to become rich will not go unpunished.
21Showing partiality#Literally “Recognizing faces” is not good,
and over a morsel of bread, a strong man will do wrong.
22He who hurries for wealth is a man with an evil eye,#Literally “a man of evil of eye”
but he does not know that poverty will come upon him.
23He who rebukes a person will afterward find more favor
than he who flatters with the tongue.
24He who robs his father and his mother and says, “There is no crime,”
is partner to a man who corrupts.
25The greedy person#Literally “wide soul” will stir up strife,
but he who trusts in Yahweh will be enriched.
26He who trusts in his own heart#Or “mind,” or “sense” is a fool,
but he who walks in wisdom will be saved.
27For he who gives to the poor, there is no lacking,
but for he#Hebrew “those” who turns his eyes, there are many curses.
28With the rising of the wicked, humankind will be hidden,
and with their perishing, the righteous will multiply.
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