¶Do not rejoice and gloat when your enemy falls,
And do not let your heart be glad [in self-righteousness] when he stumbles,
Or the LORD will see your gloating and be displeased,
And turn His anger away from your enemy.
¶Do not get upset because of evildoers,
Or be envious of the wicked,
For there will be no future for the evil man;
The lamp of the wicked will be put out.
¶My son, fear the LORD and the king;
And do not associate with those who are given to change [of allegiance, and are revolutionary],
For their tragedy will rise suddenly,
And who knows the punishment that both [the LORD and the king] will bring on the rebellious?
¶These also are sayings of the wise:
To show partiality in judgment is not good.
He who says to the wicked, “You are righteous,”
Peoples will curse him, nations will denounce him;
But to those [honorable judges] who rebuke the wicked, it will go well with them and they will find delight,
And a good blessing will come upon them.
He kisses the lips [and wins the hearts of people]
Who gives a right and straightforward answer.
¶Prepare your work outside
And get it ready for yourself in the field;
Afterward build your house and establish a home.
¶Do not be a witness against your neighbor without cause,
And do not deceive with your lips [speak neither lies nor half-truths]. [Eph 4:25]
Do not say, “I will do to him as he has done to me;
I will pay the man back for his deed.” [Prov 20:22; Matt 5:39, 44; Rom 12:17, 19]
¶I went by the field of the lazy man,
And by the vineyard of the man lacking understanding and common sense;
And, behold, it was all overgrown with thorns,
And nettles were covering its surface,
And its stone wall was broken down.
When I saw, I considered it well;
I looked and received instruction.
“Yet a little sleep, a little slumber,
A little folding of the hands to rest [and daydream],”
Then your poverty will come as a robber,
And your want like an armed man.
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