NKJV Bible in 365 Days
Wise Living, Generosity, and God's Justice — June 17
Proverbs 22-24
Proverbs 22
1 A good name is to be chosen rather than great riches, Loving favor rather than silver and gold. 365N 168.1
2 The rich and the poor have this in common, The Lord is the maker of them all. 365N 168.2
3 A prudent man foresees evil and hides himself, But the simple pass on and are punished. 365N 168.3
4 By humility and the fear of the Lord Are riches and honor and life. 365N 168.4
5 Thorns and snares are in the way of the perverse; He who guards his soul will be far from them. 365N 168.5
6 Train up a child in the way he should go, [a] And when he is old he will not depart from it. 365N 168.6
7 The rich rules over the poor, And the borrower is servant to the lender. 365N 168.7
8 He who sows iniquity will reap sorrow, [b] And the rod of his anger will fail. 365N 168.8
9 He who has a [c] generous eye will be blessed, For he gives of his bread to the poor. 365N 168.9
10 Cast out the scoffer, and contention will leave; Yes, strife and reproach will cease. 365N 168.10
11 He who loves purity of heart And has grace on his lips, The king will be his friend. 365N 168.11
12 The eyes of the Lord preserve knowledge, But He overthrows the words of the faithless. 365N 168.12
13 The lazy man says, “ There is a lion outside! I shall be slain in the streets!” 365N 168.13
14 The mouth of an immoral woman is a deep pit; He who is abhorred by the Lord will fall there. 365N 168.14
15 Foolishness is bound up in the heart of a child; The rod of correction will drive it far from him. 365N 168.15
16 He who oppresses the poor to increase his riches, And he who gives to the rich, will surely come to poverty. 365N 168.16
17 Incline your ear and hear the words of the wise, And apply your heart to my knowledge; 365N 168.17
18 For it is a pleasant thing if you keep them within you; Let them all be fixed upon your lips, 365N 168.18
19 So that your trust may be in the Lord ; I have instructed you today, even you. 365N 168.19
20 Have I not written to you excellent things Of counsels and knowledge, 365N 168.20
21 That I may make you know the certainty of the words of truth, That you may answer words of truth To those who [d] send to you? 365N 168.21
22 Do not rob the poor because he is poor, Nor oppress the afflicted at the gate; 365N 168.22
23 For the Lord will plead their cause, And plunder the soul of those who plunder them. 365N 168.23
24 Make no friendship with an angry man, And with a furious man do not go, 365N 168.24
25 Lest you learn his ways And set a snare for your soul. 365N 168.25
26 Do not be one of those who [e] shakes hands in a pledge, One of those who is [f] surety for debts; 365N 168.26
27 If you have nothing with which to pay, Why should he take away your bed from under you? 365N 168.27
28 Do not remove the ancient [g] landmark Which your fathers have set. 365N 168.28
29 Do you see a man who [h] excels in his work? He will stand before kings; He will not stand before [i] unknown men. 365N 168.29
Proverbs 23
1 When you sit down to eat with a ruler, Consider carefully what is before you; 365N 168.30
2 And put a knife to your throat If you are a man given to appetite. 365N 168.31
3 Do not desire his delicacies, For they are deceptive food. 365N 168.32
4 Do not overwork to be rich; Because of your own understanding, cease! 365N 168.33
5 [a] Will you set your eyes on that which is not? For riches certainly make themselves wings; They fly away like an eagle toward heaven. 365N 168.34
6 Do not eat the bread of a [b] miser, Nor desire his delicacies; 365N 168.35
7 For as he thinks in his heart, so is he. “Eat and drink!” he says to you, But his heart is not with you. 365N 168.36
8 The morsel you have eaten, you will vomit up, And waste your pleasant words. 365N 168.37
9 Do not speak in the hearing of a fool, For he will despise the wisdom of your words. 365N 168.38
10 Do not remove the ancient [c] landmark, Nor enter the fields of the fatherless; 365N 168.39
11 For their Redeemer is mighty; He will plead their cause against you. 365N 168.40
12 Apply your heart to instruction, And your ears to words of knowledge. 365N 168.41
13 Do not withhold correction from a child, For if you beat him with a rod, he will not die. 365N 168.42
14 You shall beat him with a rod, And deliver his soul from [d] hell. 365N 168.43
15 My son, if your heart is wise, My heart will rejoice—indeed, I myself; 365N 168.44
16 Yes, my [e] inmost being will rejoice When your lips speak right things. 365N 168.45
17 Do not let your heart envy sinners, But be zealous for the fear of the Lord all the day; 365N 168.46
18 For surely there is a [f] hereafter, And your hope will not be cut off. 365N 168.47
19 Hear, my son, and be wise; And guide your heart in the way. 365N 168.48
20 Do not mix with winebibbers, Or with gluttonous eaters of meat; 365N 168.49
21 For the drunkard and the glutton will come to poverty, And drowsiness will clothe a man with rags. 365N 168.50
22 Listen to your father who begot you, And do not despise your mother when she is old. 365N 168.51
23 Buy the truth, and do not sell it, Also wisdom and instruction and understanding. 365N 168.52
24 The father of the righteous will greatly rejoice, And he who begets a wise child will delight in him. 365N 168.53
25 Let your father and your mother be glad, And let her who bore you rejoice. 365N 168.54
26 My son, give me your heart, And let your eyes observe my ways. 365N 168.55
27 For a harlot is a deep pit, And a seductress is a narrow well. 365N 168.56
28 She also lies in wait as for a victim, And increases the unfaithful among men. 365N 168.57
29 Who has woe? Who has sorrow? Who has contentions? Who has complaints? Who has wounds without cause? Who has redness of eyes? 365N 168.58
30 Those who linger long at the wine, Those who go in search of mixed wine. 365N 168.59
31 Do not look on the wine when it is red, When it sparkles in the cup, When it [g] swirls around smoothly; 365N 168.60
32 At the last it bites like a serpent, And stings like a viper. 365N 168.61
33 Your eyes will see strange things, And your heart will utter perverse things. 365N 168.62
34 Yes, you will be like one who lies down in the [h] midst of the sea, Or like one who lies at the top of the mast, saying: 365N 168.63
35 “They have struck me, but I was not hurt; They have beaten me, but I did not feel it. When shall I awake, that I may seek another drink? ” 365N 168.64
Proverbs 24
1 Do not be envious of evil men, Nor desire to be with them; 365N 168.65
2 For their heart devises violence, And their lips talk of troublemaking. 365N 168.66
3 Through wisdom a house is built, And by understanding it is established; 365N 168.67
4 By knowledge the rooms are filled With all precious and pleasant riches. 365N 168.68
5 A wise man is strong, Yes, a man of knowledge increases strength; 365N 168.69
6 For by wise counsel you will wage your own war, And in a multitude of counselors there is safety. 365N 168.70
7 Wisdom is too lofty for a fool; He does not open his mouth in the gate. 365N 168.71
8 He who plots to do evil Will be called a [a] schemer. 365N 168.72
9 The devising of foolishness is sin, And the scoffer is an abomination to men. 365N 168.73
10 If you faint in the day of adversity, Your strength is small. 365N 168.74
11 Deliver those who are drawn toward death, And hold back those stumbling to the slaughter. 365N 168.75
12 If you say, “Surely we did not know this,” Does not He who weighs the hearts consider it? He who keeps your soul, does He not know it? And will He not render to each man according to his deeds? 365N 168.76
13 My son, eat honey because it is good, And the honeycomb which is sweet to your taste; 365N 168.77
14 So shall the knowledge of wisdom be to your soul; If you have found it, there is a [b] prospect, And your hope will not be cut off. 365N 168.78
15 Do not lie in wait, O wicked man, against the dwelling of the righteous; Do not plunder his resting place; 365N 168.79
16 For a righteous man may fall seven times And rise again, But the wicked shall fall by calamity. 365N 168.80
17 Do not rejoice when your enemy falls, And do not let your heart be glad when he stumbles; 365N 168.81
18 Lest the Lord see it, and [c] it displease Him, And He turn away His wrath from him. 365N 168.82
19 Do not fret because of evildoers, Nor be envious of the wicked; 365N 168.83
20 For there will be no prospect for the evil man; The lamp of the wicked will be put out. 365N 168.84
21 My son, fear the Lord and the king; Do not associate with those given to change; 365N 168.85
22 For their calamity will rise suddenly, And who knows the ruin those two can bring? 365N 168.86
23 These things also belong to the wise: It is not good to [d] show partiality in judgment. 365N 168.87
24 He who says to the wicked, “You are righteous,” Him the people will curse; Nations will abhor him. 365N 168.88
25 But those who rebuke the wicked will have delight, And a good blessing will come upon them. 365N 168.89
26 He who gives a right answer kisses the lips. 365N 168.90
27 Prepare your outside work, Make it fit for yourself in the field; And afterward build your house. 365N 168.91
28 Do not be a witness against your neighbor without cause, [e] For would you deceive with your lips? 365N 168.92
29 Do not say, “I will do to him just as he has done to me; I will render to the man according to his work.” 365N 168.93
30 I went by the field of the lazy man , And by the vineyard of the man devoid of understanding; 365N 168.94
31 And there it was, all overgrown with thorns; Its surface was covered with nettles; Its stone wall was broken down. 365N 168.95
32 When I saw it, I considered it well; I looked on it and received instruction: 365N 168.96
33 A little sleep, a little slumber, A little folding of the hands to rest; 365N 168.97
34 So shall your poverty come like [f] a prowler, And your need like [g] an armed man. 365N 168.98