Proverbs 29
29
If People Can’t See What God Is Doing
1For 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.
2When good people run things, everyone is glad,
but when the ruler is bad, everyone groans.
3If you love wisdom, you’ll delight your parents,
but you’ll destroy their trust if you run with prostitutes.
4A leader of good judgment gives stability;
an exploiting leader leaves a trail of waste.
5A flattering neighbor is up to no good;
he’s probably planning to take advantage of you.
6Evil people fall into their own traps;
good people run the other way, glad to escape.
7The good-hearted understand what it’s like to be poor;
the hardhearted haven’t the faintest idea.
8A gang of cynics can upset a whole city;
a group of sages can calm everyone down.
9A sage trying to work things out with a fool
gets only scorn and sarcasm for his trouble.
10Murderers hate honest people;
moral folks encourage them.
11A fool lets it all hang out;
a sage quietly mulls it over.
12When a leader listens to malicious gossip,
all the workers get infected with evil.
13The poor and their abusers have at least something in common:
they can both see—their sight, God’s gift!
14Leadership gains authority and respect
when the voiceless poor are treated fairly.
15Wise discipline imparts wisdom;
spoiled adolescents embarrass their parents.
16When degenerates take charge, crime runs wild,
but the righteous will eventually observe their collapse.
17Discipline your children; you’ll be glad you did—
they’ll turn out delightful to live with.
18If people can’t see what God is doing,
they stumble all over themselves;
But when they attend to what he reveals,
they are most blessed.
19It takes more than talk to keep workers in line;
mere words go in one ear and out the other.
20Observe the people who always talk before they think—
even simpletons are better off than they are.
21If you let people treat you like a doormat,
you’ll be quite forgotten in the end.
22Angry people stir up a lot of discord;
the intemperate stir up trouble.
23Pride lands you flat on your face;
humility prepares you for honors.
24Befriend an outlaw
and become an enemy to yourself.
When the victims cry out,
you’ll be included in their curses
if you’re a coward to their cause in court.
25The fear of human opinion disables;
trusting in God protects you from that.
26Everyone tries to get help from the leader,
but only God will give us justice.
27Good people can’t stand the sight of deliberate evil;
the wicked can’t stand the sight of well-chosen goodness.
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Proverbs 29: 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 29
29
1 A man who is reproved, being stubborn of neck—
suddenly he will be broken, and there will not be healing.
2When the righteous are numerous, the people will rejoice,
but when the wicked are ruling, people will groan.
3A man who loves wisdom will make his parents glad,
but the friend of prostitutes#Or “whores” will squander his wealth.
4By justice a king gives stability to a land,
but a man of bribes will ruin it.
5A strong man who flatters his neighbor
is spreading a net for his feet.
6In transgression, an evil man is a snare,
but the righteous will sing and rejoice.#Hebrew “he will rejoice”
7The righteous knows the case of the poor,
but the wicked does not understand knowledge.
8Men of scoffing set a city aflame,
but the wise turn away wrath.
9If a wise man goes to court with a foolish man,
then there is rankling and ridicule,#Hebrew “there is ridicule” but there is no relief.
10Men of blood hate the blameless,
and they seek the life of the upright.#Or “soul,” or “inner self”
11A fool gives all his breath,#Or “spirit”
but the wise holds back in quiet.
12A ruler listening to a word of falsehood,
all his officials are wicked.
13The poor and a man of oppression have this in common:
Yahweh gives light to the eyes of them both.#Literally “light of the eyes of the two of them”
14A king who judges with truthfulness to the poor,
his throne will be established forever.
15As for a rod and reproof, they#Hebrew “it” will give wisdom,
but a neglected child is disgraced by his mother.
16With the increase of the wicked, transgression will increase,
but the righteous will look on his downfall.
17Discipline your children, and they will give you rest,
and they will give delight to your soul.#Or “life,” or “inner self”
18When there is no prophecy, the people cast off restraint,
but as for he who guards instruction, happiness is his.
19By words, a servant is not disciplined,
for he will understand, but there is no giving heed.
20You see a man who is hasty in his words:
there is more hope for a fool than him.
21He who pampers his servant from childhood,
arrogance will be his end.#Literally “and its/his end will be arrogance”
22A man of anger will stir strife,
and the owner of anger, much transgression.
23The pride of a person will bring him humiliation,
and the lowly of spirit will obtain honor.
24Being a partner with a thief is hating one’s life;#Or “soul,” or “inner self”
a curse he will hear, but not disclose.
25The fear of a person will lay a snare,
but he who trusts in Yahweh will be secure.
26Many are those who seek the favor#Literally “faces” of a ruler,
but from Yahweh one obtains justice.#Literally “comes justice for a man”
27A man of injustice is an abomination to the righteous,
but the upright#Literally “upright of way” is an abomination to the wicked.
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