Counsel and encouragement: Proverbs 11 – 27

Julie Swannell

 

What wealth of counsel and encouragement these Proverbs provide for us.  Here are just a few that I’ve found helpful.

Prov 11:1 Moral courage

A false balance is abomination to the Lord; but a just weight in his delight. (KJV)

God hates cheating in the marketplace;
    he loves it when business is aboveboard. (The Message)*

 

Prov 11:2 Humility

When pride cometh, then cometh shame: but with the lowly is wisdom. (KJV)

The stuck-up fall flat on their faces, but down-to-earth people stand firm. (The Message)*

 

Prov 12:4 Marriage
A virtuous woman is a crown to her husband: but she that maketh ashamed is as rottenness in his bones. (KJV)

An excellent^[a] wife is the crown of her husband, 

  But she who causes shame is like rottenness in his bones. (NKJV)**

A hearty wife invigorates her husband, but a frigid woman is cancer in the bones. (The Message)*

 

Prov 15:23 The right word at the right time

A man hath joy by the answer of his mouth: and a word spoken in due season, how good is it! (KJV)

Congenial conversation—what a pleasure!
    The right word at the right time—beautiful! (The Message)*

Prov 15:30 Spread good news

The light of the eyes rejoiceth the heart: and a good report maketh the bones fat. (KJV)

The light of the eyes rejoices the heart, And a good report makes the bones healthy.^[a]

Footnotes: ^[a] Proverbs 15:30 Literally fat  (NKJV)**

 

Prov 16:1 God’s plans are all that count
The preparations of the heart in man and the answer of the tongue, is from the Lord. (KJV)

Mortals make elaborate plans, but God has the last word. (The Message)*

 

Prov 16:3 Motivation
Commit thy works unto the Lord, and thy thoughts shall be established. (KJV)

 

Prov 19:11 Self-discipline and compassion
The discretion of a man deferreth his anger; and it is his glory to pass over a transgression (KJV)

Smart people know how to hold their tongue; their grandeur is to forgive and forget. (The Message)*

Prov 20:1 Mental alertness

Wine is a mocker, strong drink is raging; and whosoever is deceived thereby is not wise. (KJV)

Wine makes you mean, beer makes you quarrelsome—
    a staggering drunk is not much fun. (The Message)*

 
Prov 20:4 Diligence
The sluggard will not plow by reason of the cold; therefore shall he beg in harvest and have nothing. (KJV)

A farmer too lazy to plant in the spring has nothing to harvest in the fall. (The Message)*

Prov 20:12 Perfect provision

The hearing ear, and the seeing eye, the Lord hath made even both of them. (KJV)

Ears that hear and eyes that see—we get our basic equipment from God! (The Message)*

Prov 21:17 Satisfaction

He that loveth pleasure shall be a poor man: he that loveth wine and oil shall not be rich. (KJV)

You’re addicted to thrills? What an empty life! The pursuit of pleasure is never satisfied. (The Message)*

Prov 21:31 Safety

The horse is prepared against the day of battle: but safety is of the Lord. (KJV)

Do your best, prepare for the worst—then trust God to bring victory. (The Message)*

Prov 22:6 Education and Training

Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it. (KJV)

Point your kids in the right direction—when they’re old they won’t be lost. (The Message)*

Prov 22:20, 21 Equipped with Truth

Have not I written to thee excellent things in counsels and knowledge, That I might make thee know the certainty of the words of truth; that thou mightiest answer the words of truth to them that send unto thee? (KJV)

Prov 22:29 Excellence

Seest thou a man diligent in his business? He shall stand before kings; he shall not stand before mean men. (KJV)

Observe people who are good at their work—
    skilled workers are always in demand and admired;
    they don’t take a backseat to anyone. (The Message)*

Prov 23:13 Correction

Withhold not correction from the child (KJV)

Don’t be afraid to correct your young ones; (The Message)*

Prov 23:23 Seek truth

Buy the truth, and sell it not; also wisdom, and instruction, and understanding. (KJV)

Buy truth—don’t sell it for love or money;
    buy wisdom, buy education, buy insight. (The Message)*

Prov 23:33, 34 Beware strong drink

Thine eyes shall behold strange women and thin heart shall utter perverse things.  Yes, thou shalt be as he that lieth down in the midst of the sea, or as he that lieth upon the top of a mast. (KJV)

Do you really prefer seeing double,
    with your speech all slurred,
Reeling and seasick,
    drunk as a sailor? (The Message)*

Prov 24:33 Beware laziness

Yet a little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to sleep (KJV)

“A nap here, a nap there, a day off here, a day off there,
    sit back, take it easy—do you know what comes next? (The Message)*

Prov 25:5 Craftsmanship

Take away the dross from the silver, and there shall come forth a vessel for the finer. (KJV)

Remove impurities from the silver
    and the silversmith can craft a fine chalice; (The Message)*

Prov 25:27 Temperance

It is not good to eat much honey: so for men to search their own glory is not glory. (KJV)

It’s not smart to stuff yourself with sweets,
    nor is glory piled on glory good for you. (The Message)*

 

Prov 26: 2 Fear not
As a bird by wandering, as the swallow by flying so the curse causeless shall not come. (KJV)

You have as little to fear from an undeserved curse
    as from the dart of a wren or the swoop of a swallow. (The Message)*

 

Prov 26:20 Preventing strife
Where no wood is, there the fire goeth out: so where there is no talebearer, the strife ceaseth. (KJV)

For lack of wood the fire goes out,
    and where there is no whisperer, quarreling ceases. (ESV)***

Prov 27:19 Know thyself

As in water face answereth to face, so the heart of man to man. (KJV)

Just as water mirrors your face, so your face mirrors your heart. (The Message)*

As in water face reflects face, So a man’s heart reveals the man. (NKJV)**

*The Message (MSG)

Copyright © 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002 by Eugene H. Peterson
**New King James Version (NKJV)
The Holy Bible, New King James Version Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc.
***English Standard Version (ESV)
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a division of Good News Publishers.