Proverbs 29

If People Can't See What God Is Doing ¹For 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 both see—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 in God protects you from that.

²⁶    Everyone tries to get help from the leader,
   but only GOD will 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.