Chapter 25
Those Who Are Worthy of Praise
1 With three things I am delighted,
for they are pleasing to the Lord and to human beings:
Harmony among relatives, friendship among neighbors,
and a wife and a husband living happily together.
2 Three kinds of people I hate,
and I loathe their manner of life:
A proud pauper, a rich liar,
and a lecherous old fool.
3 In your youth you did not gather.
How will you find anything in your old age?
4 How appropriate is sound judgment in the gray-haired,
and good counsel in the elderly!
5 How appropriate is wisdom in the aged,
understanding and counsel in the venerable!
6 The crown of the elderly, wide experience;
their glory, the fear of the Lord.
7 There are nine who come to mind as blessed,
a tenth whom my tongue proclaims:
The man who finds joy in his children,
and the one who lives to see the downfall of his enemies.
8 Happy the man who lives with a sensible woman,
and the one who does not plow with an ox and a donkey combined.
Happy the one who does not sin with the tongue,
who does not serve an inferior.
9 Happy the one who finds a friend,
who speaks to attentive ears.
10 How great is the one who finds wisdom,
but none is greater than the one who fears the Lord.
11 Fear of the Lord surpasses all else.
To whom can we compare the one who has it?
Wicked and Virtuous Women
13 Any wound, but not a wound of the heart!
Any wickedness, but not the wickedness of a woman!
14 Any suffering, but not suffering from one’s foes!
Any vengeance, but not the vengeance of one’s enemies!
15 There is no poison worse than that of a serpent,
no venom greater than that of a woman.
16 I would rather live with a dragon or a lion
than live with a wicked woman.(A)
17 A woman’s wicked disposition changes her appearance,
and makes her face as dark as a bear.
18 When her husband sits among his neighbors,
a bitter sigh escapes him unawares.
19 There is hardly an evil like that in a woman;
may she fall to the lot of the sinner!
20 Like a sandy hill to aged feet
is a garrulous wife to a quiet husband.
21 Do not be enticed by a woman’s beauty,
or be greedy for her wealth.
22 Harsh is the slavery and great the shame
when a wife supports her husband.
23 Depressed mind, gloomy face,
and a wounded heart—a wicked woman.
Drooping hands and quaking knees,
any wife who does not make her husband happy.
24 With a woman sin had a beginning,
and because of her we all die.
25 Allow water no outlet,
and no boldness of speech to a wicked woman.
26 If she does not go along as you direct,
cut her away from you.
Footnotes
- 25:1–2
- 25:7–11
- 25:8
- 25:11
Other ancient texts read as v. 12:
Fear of the Lord is the beginning of loving him,
and fidelity is the beginning of clinging to him.
- 25:13–26
- 25:24
Cross references
- 25:16 : Prv 21:9, 19; 25:24; 27:15.
