The Message (MSG)

If You Desert God’s Law

1 The wicked are edgy with guilt, ready to run off

even when no one’s after them;

Honest people are relaxed and confident,

bold as lions.

2 When the country is in chaos,

everybody has a plan to fix it—

But it takes a leader of real understanding

to straighten things out.

3 The wicked who oppress the poor

are like a hailstorm that beats down the harvest.

4 If you desert God’s law, you’re free to embrace depravity;

if you love God’s law, you fight for it tooth and nail.

5 Justice makes no sense to the evilminded;

those who seekGodknow it inside and out.

6 It’s better to be poor and direct

than rich and crooked.

7 Practice God’s law—get a reputation for wisdom;

hang out with a loose crowd—embarrass your family.

8 Get as rich as you want

through cheating and extortion,

But eventually some friend of the poor

is going to give it all back to them.

9 God has no use for the prayers

of the people who won’t listen to him.

10 Lead good people down a wrong path

and you’ll come to a bad end;

do good and you’ll be rewarded for it.

11 The rich think they know it all,

but the poor can see right through them.

12 When good people are promoted, everything is great,

but when the bad are in charge, watch out!

13 You can’t whitewash your sins and get by with it;

you find mercy by admitting and leaving them.

14 A tenderhearted person lives a blessed life;

a hardhearted person lives a hard life.

15 Lions roar and bears charge—

and the wicked lord it over the poor.

16 Among leaders who lack insight, abuse abounds,

but for one who hates corruption, the future is bright.

17 A murderer haunted by guilt

is doomed—there’s no helping him.

18 Walk straight—live well and be saved;

a devious life is a doomed life.

Doing Great Harm in Seemingly Harmless Ways

19 Work your garden—you’ll end up with plenty of food;

play and party—you’ll end up with an empty plate.

20 Committed and persistent work pays off;

get-rich-quick schemes are ripoffs.

21 Playing favorites is always a bad thing;

you can do great harm in seemingly harmless ways.

22 A miser in a hurry to get rich

doesn’t know that he’ll end up broke.

23 In the end, serious reprimand is appreciated

far more than bootlicking flattery.

24 Anyone who robs father and mother

and says, “So, what’s wrong with that?”

is worse than a pirate.

25 A grasping person stirs up trouble,

but trust inGodbrings a sense of well-being.

26 If you think you know it all, you’re a fool for sure;

real survivors learn wisdom from others.

27 Be generous to the poor—you’ll never go hungry;

shut your eyes to their needs, and run a gauntlet of curses.

28 When corruption takes over, good people go underground,

but when the crooks are thrown out, it’s safe to come out.

—https://d1b84921e69nmq.cloudfront.net/85/32k/PRO/28-ac98fb384119cf7ead82b49305021ec1.mp3?version_id=97—

If People Can’t See What God Is Doing

1 For 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.

2 When good people run things, everyone is glad,

but when the ruler is bad, everyone groans.

3 If you love wisdom, you’ll delight your parents,

but you’ll destroy their trust if you run with whores.

4 A leader of good judgment gives stability;

an exploiting leader leaves a trail of waste.

5 A flattering neighbor is up to no good;

he’s probably planning to take advantage of you.

6 Evil people fall into their own traps;

good people run the other way, glad to escape.

7 The good-hearted understand what it’s like to be poor;

the hardhearted haven’t the faintest idea.

8 A gang of cynics can upset a whole city;

a group of sages can calm everyone down.

9 A sage trying to work things out with a fool

gets only scorn and sarcasm for his trouble.

10 Murderers hate honest people;

moral folks encourage them.

11 A fool lets it all hang out;

a sage quietly mulls it over.

12 When a leader listens to malicious gossip,

all the workers get infected with evil.

13 The poor and their abusers have at least something in common:

they can bothsee—their sight,God’s gift!

14 Leadership gains authority and respect

when the voiceless poor are treated fairly.

15 Wise discipline imparts wisdom;

spoiled adolescents embarrass their parents.

16 When degenerates take charge, crime runs wild,

but the righteous will eventually observe their collapse.

17 Discipline your children; you’ll be glad you did—

they’ll turn out delightful to live with.

18 If 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.

19 It takes more than talk to keep workers in line;

mere words go in one ear and out the other.

20 Observe the people who always talk before they think—

even simpletons are better off than they are.

21 If you let people treat you like a doormat,

you’ll be quite forgotten in the end.

22 Angry people stir up a lot of discord;

the intemperate stir up trouble.

23 Pride lands you flat on your face;

humility prepares you for honors.

24 Befriend 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.

25 The fear of human opinion disables;

trusting inGodprotects you from that.

26 Everyone tries to get help from the leader,

but onlyGodwill give us justice.

27 Good people can’t stand the sight of deliberate evil;

the wicked can’t stand the sight of well-chosen goodness.

—https://d1b84921e69nmq.cloudfront.net/85/32k/PRO/29-167f859350482cd38c76ae7d9caf9c61.mp3?version_id=97—

God? Who Needs Him?

1-2 The skeptic swore, “There is no God!

No God!—I can do anything I want!

I’m more animal than human;

so-called human intelligence escapes me.

3-4 “I flunked ‘wisdom.’

I see no evidence of a holy God.

Has anyone ever seen Anyone

climb into Heaven and take charge?

grab the winds and control them?

gather the rains in his bucket?

stake out the ends of the earth?

Just tell me his name, tell me the names of his sons.

Come on now—tell me!”

5-6 The believer replied, “Every promise of God proves true;

he protects everyone who runs to him for help.

So don’t second-guess him;

he might take you to task and show up your lies.”

7-9 And then he prayed, “God, I’m asking for two things

before I die; don’t refuse me—

Banish lies from my lips

and liars from my presence.

Give me enough food to live on,

neither too much nor too little.

If I’m too full, I might get independent,

saying, ‘God? Who needs him?’

If I’m poor, I might steal

and dishonor the name of my God.”

10 Don’t blow the whistle on your fellow workers

behind their backs;

They’ll accuse you of being underhanded,

and thenyou’llbe the guilty one!

11 Don’t curse your father

or fail to bless your mother.

12 Don’t imagine yourself to be quite presentable

when you haven’t had a bath in weeks.

13 Don’t be stuck-up

and think you’re better than everyone else.

14 Don’t be greedy,

merciless and cruel as wolves,

Tearing into the poor and feasting on them,

shredding the needy to pieces only to discard them.

15-16 A leech has twin daughters

named “Gimme” and “Gimme more.”

Four Insatiables

Three things are never satisfied,

no, there are four that never say, “That’s enough, thank you!”—

hell,

a barren womb,

a parched land,

a forest fire.

17 An eye that disdains a father

and despises a mother—

that eye will be plucked out by wild vultures

and consumed by young eagles.

Four Mysteries

18-19 Three things amaze me,

no, four things I’ll never understand—

how an eagle flies so high in the sky,

how a snake glides over a rock,

how a ship navigates the ocean,

why adolescents act the way they do.

20 Here’s how a prostitute operates:

she has sex with her client,

Takes a bath,

then asks, “Who’s next?”

Four Intolerables

21-23 Three things are too much for even the earth to bear,

yes, four things shake its foundations—

when the janitor becomes the boss,

when a fool gets rich,

when a whore is voted “woman of the year,”

when a “girlfriend” replaces a faithful wife.

Four Small Wonders

24-28 There are four small creatures,

wisest of the wise they are—

ants—frail as they are,

get plenty of food in for the winter;

marmots—vulnerable as they are,

manage to arrange for rock-solid homes;

locusts—leaderless insects,

yet they strip the field like an army regiment;

lizards—easy enough to catch,

but they sneak past vigilant palace guards.

Four Dignitaries

29-31 There are three solemn dignitaries,

four that are impressive in their bearing—

a lion, king of the beasts, deferring to none;

a rooster, proud and strutting;

a billy goat;

a head of state in stately procession.

32-33 If you’re dumb enough to call attention to yourself

by offending people and making rude gestures,

Don’t be surprised if someone bloodies your nose.

Churned milk turns into butter;

riled emotions turn into fist fights.

—https://d1b84921e69nmq.cloudfront.net/85/32k/PRO/30-8a672ebd281f4445a7442c78374e51ae.mp3?version_id=97—

Speak Out for Justice

1 The words of King Lemuel,

the strong advice his mother gave him:

2-3 “Oh, son of mine, what can you be thinking of!

Child whom I bore! The son I dedicated to God!

Don’t dissipate your virility on fortune-hunting women,

promiscuous women who shipwreck leaders.

4-7 “Leaders can’t afford to make fools of themselves,

gulping wine and swilling beer,

Lest, hung over, they don’t know right from wrong,

and the people who depend on them are hurt.

Use wine and beer only as sedatives,

to kill the pain and dull the ache

Of the terminally ill,

for whom life is a living death.

8-9 “Speak up for the people who have no voice,

for the rights of all the down-and-outers.

Speak out for justice!

Stand up for the poor and destitute!”

Hymn to a Good Wife

10-31 A good woman is hard to find,

and worth far more than diamonds.

Her husband trusts her without reserve,

and never has reason to regret it.

Never spiteful, she treats him generously

all her life long.

She shops around for the best yarns and cottons,

and enjoys knitting and sewing.

She’s like a trading ship that sails to faraway places

and brings back exotic surprises.

She’s up before dawn, preparing breakfast

for her family and organizing her day.

She looks over a field and buys it,

then, with money she’s put aside, plants a garden.

First thing in the morning, she dresses for work,

rolls up her sleeves, eager to get started.

She senses the worth of her work,

is in no hurry to call it quits for the day.

She’s skilled in the crafts of home and hearth,

diligent in homemaking.

She’s quick to assist anyone in need,

reaches out to help the poor.

She doesn’t worry about her family when it snows;

their winter clothes are all mended and ready to wear.

She makes her own clothing,

and dresses in colorful linens and silks.

Her husband is greatly respected

when he deliberates with the city fathers.

She designs gowns and sells them,

brings the sweaters she knits to the dress shops.

Her clothes are well-made and elegant,

and she always faces tomorrow with a smile.

When she speaks she has something worthwhile to say,

and she always says it kindly.

She keeps an eye on everyone in her household,

and keeps them all busy and productive.

Her children respect and bless her;

her husband joins in with words of praise:

“Many women have done wonderful things,

but you’ve outclassed them all!”

Charm can mislead and beauty soon fades.

The woman to be admired and praised

is the woman who lives in the Fear-of-God.

Give her everything she deserves!

Festoon her life with praises!

—https://d1b84921e69nmq.cloudfront.net/85/32k/PRO/31-c12d71c0bc3f742a2a87f7058bf2ee65.mp3?version_id=97—