23 These also are sayings of the wise: |
24 Whoever says to the guilty, "You are innocent"-
peoples will curse him and nations 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
is like a kiss on the lips. |
27 Finish your outdoor work
and get your fields ready;
after that, build your house. |
28 Do not testify against your neighbor without cause,
or use your lips to deceive. |
29 Do not say, "I'll do to him as he has done to me;
I'll pay that man back for what he did." |
30 I went past the field of the sluggard,
past the vineyard of the man who lacks judgment; |
31 thorns had come up everywhere,
the ground was covered with weeds,
and the stone wall was in ruins. |
32 I applied my heart to what I observed
and learned a lesson from what I saw: |
33 A little sleep, a little slumber,
a little folding of the hands to rest- |
34 and poverty will come on you like a bandit
and scarcity like an armed man.1 24:34 Or like a vagrant / and scarcity like a beggar |
