PROVERBS CHAPTER 17 - 25

PROVERBS 17

1 Better a dry crust in peace broken,
Than a palace filled with the token
Of quarrel and intrigue unspoken.
2 A prudent servant rules the coop,
Dividing heritage in group.
3 As silver and gold purified
By fire are choice hearts at YHWH’s side.
4 The evil man obeys unjust
Tongue, deceitful obeys the cursed.
6 Grandchildren are old men’s delight,
And fathers are sons’ glory bright.
The faithful has the whole world’s wealth,
The faithless not a farthing’s stealth.
7 Distinguished words do not become
A fool, so how much less in sum
Do lying lips become a prince,
To hear them I shudder and wince.

The goat believes that since the gold is sent
Into the fire of purifying meant,
Then humankind must meet the bitter edge
Of pain before sitting on glory’s ledge.
Fie on the poor excuse grasping men make
For gloating on a brother for the sake
Of hopes that such strokes shall not fall on me,
For judging of the heart immorally!
Beloved, the word of Solomon is that
You love the human soul not for the vat
Of fire but for the beauty that has sat
On human brow in the decision made
To act according to Your law’s parade.
The beauty of holiness, not pain’s spade.

8 A bribe’s a jewel for one to wear it,
Where’re he goes, he’s glad to bear it.
9 The one who hides transgression’s view
Seeks friendships in the motley crew,
The one who repeats the offence,
Divides friends and makes social rents.
10 Reproof does more good with the wise
That one hundred strokes on the guys
Who have no sense before their eyes.
11 An evil man’s rebellion’s blame,
A hard messenger takes his claim.
12 It’s better to meet a bear that
Has been robbed of her cubs than drat
Fools who trust their foolishness pat.
13 The one who gives back evil for
The good that he’s received in store,
Shall find that it has not departed
From his own house although it carted.
14 To start a fight’s to open dike,
So leave the spot before first strike.

The hiding of transgression is a sword
With the two edges as proverbs have bored.
Hiding the sins of the opporessor must
Merely support the government of dust.
Hiding the faults of those whose penance sheds
A glory on the low prostrating heads
Is reason well displayed. And yet the mind
Will always find a way to pay in kind.
The one who fosters buggery by staying
The tongue from witness that it should be saying
Always has holiness as an excuse.
This proverb is subject to gross abuse.
Beloved, make every sin appear in sight
That offers consternation of the right.

15 The one who justifies the way
The wicked act as well as they
Who condemn the just, are both caught
Abominable in YHWH’s plot.
16 What good’s wealth to a fool, since he
Cannot buy wisdom in the spree?
The one who builds his house high seeks
Its downfall, and the one who speaks
Without learning shall fall into
Evil things when they come in view.
17 A friend is always loving and
A brother in distress at land.
18 A stupid fool claps hands for joy
When he’s surety in employ
Of his own friends and at their hand.
19 The one who loves strife and unrest
Loves sinful ways and sinful zest.
20 The one who has a perverse heart
Shall not find good in house or cart,
And the one whose tongue is perverse
Shall fall in evil ways or worse.
21 A fool’s born to his own disgrace,
Even his dad has a sad face.

With silence and with word a man can give
False witness on the earth, and yet may live.
False witness is the justifying tongue
That frees oppressors to oppress in rung.
False witness is the hanging lip that joys
Condemning the upright with sinful toys.
Beloved, I tread a meagre path below
The eyes of many people on the go,
And some take trouble to condemn the truth
That I have with voice proclaimed from my youth,
That Your commandment is the way to go.
And some set me in the oppressor’s row.
But most pass on without a glance for me,
And leave me to the job of being free.

22 A joyful heart is health to age,
Sorrow dries up the bones in wage.
23 The wicked man takes bribes from pocket
To pervert justice in the docket.
24 Wisdom’s reflected in the face
Of the wise man in every trace,
The eyes of fools roam all around
The world to see what can be found.
15 A foolish son’s his father’s sorrow,
And mother’s bitterness to borrow.
26 To fine the innocent’s not good,
Or strike prince judging as he should.
27 The one who sets bounds on his words
Is knowing and wise like the birds,
The man of understanding is
Of precious spirit in the whiz.
28 Even a fool will appear wise
If he keeps his mouth shut in guise,
And if he closes fast his lips,
He will not be caught up in slips.

I’ve lived in years and tears enough to know
That joyful heart’s the only way to go.
The hurt imagined and the cut that’s true
Bring down the body with the spirit too.
I’ve lived in days and praise enough to see
That cantillation of eternity
Upon Your sacred word gives life and health,
Although it does not always lead to wealth.
Beloved, I take the calm of spirit now
And come before You on Your throne to bow,
I take the merry heart and chosen word
To brighten up the day that had been blurred
With care and share of pain and toil and grief.
I let in angels and put out the thief.

PROVERBS 18

1 The one who sets himself apart
From humankind in hand and heart
Bears his own reproach in his cart.
2 A fool does not accept the words
Of prudence, unless like the birds
He finds the grains desired in heart.
3 When the wicked man comes to fill
His sin, he rises in the hill
Of his disdain, but shame’s his bill.
4 A man’s mouth’s words are waters deep,
Wisdom’s fountain a stream to leap.
5 Accepting the face of the sinner
Is not good, to decline from winner
Of truth in judgement not to keep
Is a mistake, look and not leap.
6 A fool’s lips meddle with the strife,
His mouth provokes quarrels for life.
7 The mouth of a fool’s his destruction,
His lips are his soul’s ruin’s induction.
8 The gossip’s words so harmless seem,
They reach into the stomach’s beam.
Fear throws down the lazy man’s wall,
Effeminate in hunger’s thrall.

How many times I’ve been the fool to stir
Troubles by coming to the aid and fur
Of those that injustices caught in whir.
I have not made the world a better place
By linking justice to my form and grace,
But only caused myself the pain of hell
To help the helpless get a breathing spell.
I am a fool to speak up for the right,
And silence would be wiser than the night.
Beloved, tell me each time I’m tempted to
Resolve the problems of the world in view,
To keep my mouth shut and avoid the blame
Of those pretending to live in acclaim
Of justice, but keep hand and foot in flame.

9 The one who’s loose and slack in work
Is brother to the ones who shirk.
10 The name of YHWH is a strong tower,
The just runs to it raised in power.
11 The rich man’s substance is the town
Of his strength, and like walls’ renown
It comes around him like a bower.
12 Before destruction a man’s heart
Is raised in pride; before the part
Of his glory, it’s humble tart.
13 The one who answers before hearing
What the other’s saying’s appearing
Shows himself a fool and a shame.
14 A manly spirit keeps the weak
Firm, but a spirit that would seek
Wrath, who can bear with such a flame?
15 A wise heart shall acquire good sense,
The ear of the wise seek presence
Of good instruction in his tents.
16 A man’s bribes will enlarge his way
And make room before princes’ sway.

I thought the gifts that Solomon betrayed
As smoothing out the path of the waylaid
Were talents and capacities that I
Was born with and attained beneath the sky.
Only upon the straight and narrow way,
In tight rooms without honour, without pay,
Did I find out the gifts of Solomon
Were all the bribes taken from those who run.
Beloved, the hope of highway and of room
Is too late for my pocket and my doom,
And so I sit beneath the shade in joy
For my unused gifts still in my employ,
And taste the cold spring water without wine,
The sprig of mint, and on potatoes dine.

17 The first to speak seems in the right,
But when the other comes in sight,
Both sides of the coin come to light.
18 The flip of coin serves to adjust,
Even between the great in thrust.
19 A brother once betrayed is more
Difficult to regain in store
Than a strong city, and their hate
Is greater than the city gate.
20 It’s by the mouth man eats his fill
And by his lips satisfied still.
21 Death and life are in power of tongue,
Those who love it eat fruits in rung.
22 The one who’s found a good wife finds
His fortune, and his pleasure winds
From YHWH. The one who drives away
A good wife sends his goods astray,
But he who gets adultery
In a wife is a fool on spree.
23 The poor appeals with supplications,
But rich folk answer in rough rations.
24 A man with many friends is naught.
There are friends better to be sought
Than is a brother’s loyalty,
And such are friends of quality.

The problem with friends, my Beloved, is this,
That in this day and cage there’s not to miss
The galloping about the world to find
The marvellous, and places to be dined,
And while one’s prancing under palm and fir
One loses touch with those at home who stir
About themselves in every continent.
Old friends are gone, forgotten in their tent.
Beloved, be You a friend to me as I
Whirl on a world where hardly any guy
I see about me is one that I knew
Before the gallivanting caught the crew.
Beloved, be You a friend to me and mine,
Alone beside the well and coloured vine.

PROVERBS 19

1 Better the simple life and poor
Than wealth with perverse lips to lure.
2 The lack of knowledge is not good
For anyone, and those who should
Walk quickly stumble in the wood.
2 Man’s own folly destroys his way,
He frets in heart against YHWH’s sway.
4 Riches make many friends, but those
Who are poor see them leave in rows.
5 A false witness shall not remain
Unpunished, and who speaks in vain
Shall not escape the judgement train.
6 Many give honour to the brave
As friends of those with gifts they crave.
7 All of the brothers of the poor
Hate him, also his friends for sure
Leave him to stand outside the door.
8 The one who has a mind loves his
Own soul, and the one who’s in biz
Of prudence finds good things in whiz.

Beloved, I see a good thing in the fact
I have no property to tempt the act
Of friendship or of robbery which seems
To be about the same thing in the dreams
Of populace these days. The rich man knows
That people flock to him to fleece his rows,
But cannot be sure which are real friends.
The poor man knows it all before he spends,
Who is a friend and who is not. I see
That life is better lived in poverty.
Beloved, perhaps that’s why so many choose
To live without a bank account and lose
The opportunity to be struck down
By every con man riding into town.

9 A false witness shall not remain
Unpunished, and who speaks lies vain
Shall perish under all the strain.
10 It’s not becoming for a fool
To live at ease beside the pool,
Nor for a servant to have rule
Over his princes like a mule.
11 The wisdom of a man is known
By patience, and his glory’s shown
To pass over wrongs set in stone.
12 As is the roaring of a lion,
So is the wrath of king to try on,
But as the dew upon the grass
Is the king’s cheerfulness to pass.
13 A foolish son’s grief to his father,
A wrangling wife’s like a roof rather
That constantly leaks like crevasse.
14 Both house and lands come from the hands
Of parents, but a prudent wife
Comes properly from YHWH for life.
15 Sloth casts into a deeper sleep,
An idle soul’s hungry to weep.
16 He that keeps the commandment keeps
His own soul, but the one who peeps
In neglect of his way meets steeps.

Diogenes was such fool that he
In Corinth was bought as a slave to be
The master of his master and his sons.
So he fulfils the proverbs in his tons.
Diogenes was such a fool to look
About him with a lantern in the nook
And square to find an honest man intact.
There are no honest men, and that’s a fact.
Beloved, I am dishonest in the glare
Of every lantern that Diogenes
And Solomon can bring out at their ease.
I give up to Yourself my lasting share
Of robbery of life and breath and make
You only to exist for Your own sake.

17 The one with mercy on the poor
Lends to YHWH, and He’ll pay for sure.
18 Educate your son, there’s still hope,
But don’t expect too much to cope.
19 Impatience just results in harm,
It only gets worse under arm.
20 Hear counsel and receive instruction,
You’ll be wise at end of reduction.
21 Many thoughts are in a man’s heart,
But YHWH’s will stands firm from the start.
22 The loveliest thing in a man
Is his mercy, and better span
Is in the poor than in the lies
A man may tell and so despise.

I don’t know why, Beloved, that Solomon
Is so enamoured of the poor that run
About his city and the fields that lie
Around Jerusalem and under sky.
He still hopes in his luxury to set
His son to knowledge and in time to get
Wisdom. And still admiring eye is let
Upon the poor. Solomon has no eye
It seems for what he has in wealth and sty.
The grass is always meaner on the sly.
Beloved, let me stand here content with this
Small corner of the world that my lips kiss
Beneath the sudden frost, beneath the night
Of winter coming over hill and sight.

23 The fear of YHWH brings into life,
And he shall abide night as rife
Without a wound and without strife.
24 The lazy man reaches the pot,
But then neglects to take the lot.
25 Slap down the mocker and a fool
Will become wiser for the ghoul,
But if you rebuke a wise man,
Then he will understand the plan.
26 The one who mistreats father and
Puts out his mother from the band
Is shameful and disgraced to stand.
27 Do not stop, my son, hearing well
Instruction, and do not dispel
The words of knowledge from your dell.
28 An unjust witness scorns judgement,
The mouth of the wicked is sent
To consume its iniquity
And in an everlasting spree.
29 Judgements are handed down for scorn,
And striking for fools’ backs forlorn.

The lazy man can get his hand into
The platter but cannot take what to chew.
My cousins were sent to the field to work
Until their father came to see them shirk.
He said he’d give a quarter to the one
Who was the lazier upon his bun
If he only knew which one that could be.
The one jumped up and said “That must be me.”
The other merely drawled there where he lay,
“Just put it in my pocket for my pay.”
Beloved, I am so lazy that I need
No quarter at all for my harvest seed,
I’m too far gone to spend it in my greed,
I’d give a glance perhaps and let it stay.

PROVERBS 20

1 Wine is a mocker and strong drink
Rebellion riotous at brink,
The ones who delight in such spree
Are without wisdom’s equity.
2 The king’s terror’s like lion’s roar,
Provoke him at your own life’s score.
3 Honour’s to keep out of the brawl,
But fools have a reproach for all.
4 The sloth finds it too cold to plough,
He’ll beg in summer with vain brow.
5 A man’s motives are deep in heart,
But wise men will expose the part.
6 Many men are called merciful,
But who’ll find a man called faithful?
7 The just in his simplicity
Shall leave offspring in blessing’s lea.
8 The king that sits on judgement’s throne
Scatters all evil with look’s loan.

Beloved, I am an anti-clerical
And frown on ministers and the royal,
So I resent Solomon’s constant rate
Of royalty as if in righteous state.
He’s always warning people to beware
The wrath of kings, and praising kingly share
Of hard-handed beneficence with care.
His view’s one I do not appreciate.
Beloved, be You my king and president,
Be you the priest and deacon in my tent,
And I shall live in that simplicity
Of justice that beneath the dome and free
Of sky remains a temple and a cloud
Of Your presence by fir and birch allowed.

9 Who can say ”My heart’s purified,
And I’m cleansed of my sin beside”?
10 Two different weights and measures are
Abomination under star
Of YHWH, and so’s their maker’s car.
11 Even by what he does is known
A young one, if his works are shown
To be right and clean as a bone.
12 The hearing ear, the seeing eye,
YHWH has made them both on the sly.
13 Do not love sleep, for poverty
Shall come to oppress, rather flee
With open eyes to find your bread.
14 ”It’s worthless” says the buyer, then
He goes to boast of it to men.
15 There’s gold and every kind of gem,
With lips of knowledge above them.

St Paul forgot about this verse, no doubt,
Because in his day there just was no shout
Of concordances complete, even Crude
Books then did not exist in any brood.
He could have used this verse as well to say
That all are sinners and in wicked pay,
But it would have been just as great abuse
As of the Psalms when put to such a use.
Though none is pure who’s willing to declare
His righteousness upon the market square,
Yet there are many, I’ve no doubt, who live
Just lives and about whom the knowing give
A good report of upright word and deed,
The heart, though, is not theirs, but Your own speed.

16 Take away the garment of him
Who’s surety for stranger dim,
And take a pledge from him also
Who takes it in the strangers’ row.
17 The bread of lies is sweet to man,
But then his mouth is filled with bran.
18 Plans are enforced by counsels set,
And wars by governments in debt.
19 Don’t mess with those who secrets tell,
Walk in deceit and open well
Their lips as though to bide a spell.
20 The one who curses dad and mom,
His light shall fail with darkness come.
21 Inheritance quick from the start
Shall end without a blessing’s part.
22 Don’t say ”I’ll get revenge upon
The wicked deed,” wait for the dawn
Of YHWH and He will bring help on.

I’m often tempted to pour on the foe
My vengeance for his wicked deeds in stow.
But then I think to what avail the dart
Of nuclear warhead sent on my part,
When I can get You to destroy the guy,
Both body, soul and wealth here on the sly.
I know that tattling’s ugly, so I’ll wait
For You to notice how I suffer fate,
And then I’ll gloat to see the burning ration
That You pour out on enemy and nation.
Beloved, let me take no wicked revenge
On any in my sight from old Stonehenge
To Timbucktoo, where all the hidden books
Reveal the flaming wisdom of Your looks.

23 Two different weights are horror to
YHWH, and deceit in balance true
Is not good, but turns back on you.
24 The steps of men are guided by
YHWH, but who can know his own try?
25 It’s fatal to devour the holy,
And go back on vows made to lowly.
26 A wise king scatters wicked ones,
And covers them by wheel in tons.
27 A man’s spirit must be YHWH’s lamp,
To search all hidden things in damp.
28 Mercy and truth preserve the king,
His throne’s strengthened by mercy’s ring.
29 The joy of young men is their strength,
Old men’s dignity grey hair’s length.
30 The bruising stroke on wicked men
Blots out their evils once again.

The wise king Solomon appeals to here
Is no doubt coming down the years in fear,
Cyrus the Great invented scattering
And ruling by the pitting ring on ring
Of one against the other, such a sting.
Assyrians invented the faith of
Samaritans to keep the land in glove,
And then the Persians with a wit to sound
Invented Jews upon the sacred ground,
So one would hate the other and inform
The king of any duties left to warm.
Beloved, I do not love the rule that makes
Divide and conquer wisdom for the sakes
Of those who will divide and rule the stakes.

PROVERBS 21

1 Deep streams of water is the heart
Of the king in hand of YHWH’s part,
Wherever He desires He may
Turn it since He possesses sway.
2 Man’s ways seems right in his own eyes,
But YHWH searches the hearts in guise.
3 To do mercy and judgement pleases
YHWH more than sacrificing eases.
4 Proud looks enlarge the heart indeed,
The lamp of the wicked’s sin’s seed.
5 Industrious plans produce results,
But every sluggard stays in faults.
6 The one who gets rich by his lying
Is vain and foolish for relying,
But shall stumble on snares of death
Where finally he’ll lose his breath.
7 The violence of evil men
Shall become their downfall again,
Because they would not do judgement
Wherever they in time were sent.

The way that seems right to a man is that
A human sacrifice will fill the vat
Providing sure salvation for the fat.
The truth is You, Beloved, in mercy hold
A better way, and one that’s clearly told,
A man who does in mercy in Your sight
And in his doings does what’s right in light
Will please You far more and in better grace
Than one who comes with sacrifice to trace
The crosses and the resurrections’ pace
Of god-men who atone for sin and waste
And leave them free to sin and cut and paste.
Beloved, I set my hand to do Your law,
The big ten, and keep You always in awe.

8 The guilty follow crooked ways,
But the pure do right works for praise.
9 It’s better to sleep on the roof
Than listen to woman’s reproof.
10 The wicked one in evil lust
Has no pity on neighbour’s crust.
11 Before the punishment of mockers
Fools become wiser when they’re stalkers,
And if they then follow the wise
They shall receive knowledge in guise.
12 The just considers seriously
The house of the wicked in spree,
So he may bring the wicked out
Of evil lying round about.
13 The one who plugs his ear from hearing
The cry of the poor on appearing,
Shall also cry himself in fearing.
14 A secret gift appeases wrath,
A prized donation smoothes the path.
15 The just find joy in doing right,
But sinners dread it in the light.

The litmus test to find out if one’s just
Is whether one is happy with the crust
Of doing what You command in the ten
You spoke upon a day before all men.
The wicked heart finds that obedience
Tastes dry and dusty and it gives offence.
Beloved, I joy in taking only You
And no man for my King where I in pew
Rejoice in Sabbath day and quit the fray
Unwilling to take life of wicked hue.
Beloved, the joy of following Your way
Is more than enough in the divine pay.
Relinquishing the fearful soul I cast
Out vengeance from my heart, and so I last.

16 The one who departs from right ways
Shall find his rest in deathly stays.
17 The one who desires luxuries
Shall be the prey of poverties,
He that loves wine and dining too
Shall not get rich whate’er he do.
18 The wicked ones become the rate
Of ransom for the righteous state,
And unjust for the upright mate.
19 It’s better to live on dry sand
Than in a raging woman’s band.
20 Treasures of Muhammad remain
With oil where the upright have gain,
But foolish men shall waste it all.
21 The one who follows justice’ call
And mercy, shall find life and justice
And glory too able to trust us.
22 The wise man’s scaled the strong men’s town
And cast strength of confidence down.
23 The one who keeps his mouth and tongue,
Keeps his soul from distress when stung.

The wicked ones become the price to pay
For ransom of the righteous in the way.
Yet all sweet Christians make of Christ a sin
To pay for their right to commotion’s din.
They quote poor Paul and Peter to the dust,
And find Christ made sin for the ones who trust
That doing evil is the cast of men,
And You’re unable to give grace again
So all might act according to Your law.
Such reasoning opposes proverbs’ claw.
Some day, Beloved, You’ll treasure up Your own
And cast the wicked in lake of brimstone
And so rid universe of all that’s ill
And ransom the upright on Zion’s hill.

24 The proud and arrogant is called
Ignorant, working wrath unwalled.
25 The sloth is killed by his desires,
Because his hand from work retires.
26 He pines and wishes all day long,
The upright gives and still is strong.
27 The sacrifice of wicked men
Is an abomination then,
Because it’s come from evil den.
28 A lying witness shall fall down,
Obedience shall have the crown.
29 The wicked man is impudent
To harden his face as he went,
But he who’s righteous comes to stay
By correcting his crooked way.
30 No wisdom, care or counsel’s share
Avails against YHWH, so beware.
31 The horse is prepared for the day
Of battle, but YHWH’s safety’s sway.

The one who makes the soul of Christ to be
Atonement for his sin unfaithfully,
Is sinner when he lifts the sacrifice.
So You refuse to think the offering’s nice.
The sacrifice of wicked men You see
As an abomination on the tree,
And so the sacrifice can cleanse no sin,
No matter how great it may seem to win,
The death and resurrection of the just,
Not only just, but god-man in the dust.
The only sacrifice that could avail
Would be, according to Solomon’s trail,
The sacrifice of righteous men below.
But such need no such blotting with the snow.

PROVERBS 22

1 Fame is better by far than wealth,
And popularity than health
In gaining gold and silver’s stealth.
2 The rich and poor have met each other,
YHWH is the Maker of the brother.
3 The prudent man saw evil and
Hid himself in the secret land,
The simple kept on in the state
And suffered loss by every rate.
4 The product of humility
Is fear of YHWH, wealth and glory
And life in all eternity.
5 The wicked take up arms and sword,
But he who keeps himself unscored
Departs far from arms where they’re stored.
6 Train up a young man in his way,
When he’s old he’ll not go astray.
7 The wealthy rule over the poor,
The borrower’s a servant sure.

The day of good rule’s past, the day of church
And synagogue and mosque: all leave in lurch.
The prudent man will seek a hiding place
Out in the wilderness, where he can trace
The lowly living of the herb and find
His bread upon the tubered and the vined.
The prudent man sees evil of the day,
The fall of reason, and the goddess’ sway
Of the irrational called self-esteem.
The world is living in a ghastly dream.
The prudent man finds water and his share
Of lentils and a hut to sleep though bare.
Beloved, I flee to Your footstool to see
The woodland hills give gracious company.

Fifty years back every poor land around
The world could feed itself and not be bound.
Such freedom was a slap in bankers’ faces,
And so they made a show of waving traces
Of loans to make the rich richer, the poor
Foodless and hungry under the stakes sure.
The borrower’s a servant, it is true,
Now every government’s a slave in due,
A mercenery state to take up arms
In foolish carpetbagging and for harms.
Beloved, I flee to You and to the soil,
The gathered juices of the honey-foil,
The dandelion and violet for sweet,
The nettle and potato for my meat.

8 The one who sows iniquity
Shall reap evils things for his spree,
And with his very rod of wrath
He shall be consumed on the path.
9 He who’s inclined to mercy’s pace
Shall be blessed; for of his bread’s grace
He’s given to the poor. He who
Makes presents shall gain victory true,
And honour, but he carries off
The souls of receivers to scoff.
10 Cast out the scoffer and contention
Shall go out with him as prevention,
And quarrels and reproach shall cease.
11 He who loves purity in heart,
For his lips grace shall have the part
Of the king for his friend to start.
12 YHWH’s eyes preserve wisdom’s increase,
The words of the unjust shall cease.
13 The sloth says ”Some lion’s about
To kill me in the street or route.”
14 A strange woman’s mouth’s a deep pit,
He who draws on himself as fit
The wrath of YHWH shall fall in it.
Evil ways are before a man,
He will not turn away from plan;
But it’s needful to turn aside
From a perverse and bad way’s ride.

I love the pure in heart, Beloved, but find
No king like Solomon with gifts to bind,
But only rulers like strange women round
Seducing businessmen to make a pound
On evil plans and violence on ground.
I love the pure in heart, Beloved, but see
That they are few and hard to find, agree
That one in a thousand’s too much to be
The restoration of Sodom in glee.
Beloved, I wait for unjust words to cease
And justice from Your hand here to increase,
And while I’m waiting like the slothful beast,
Filling my face and tummy at Your feast,
I can avoid the lion that’s without.

15 Folly’s found in heart of a child,
Correction will subvert the wild.
16 He who oppresses the poor folk
To increase his own wealth for broke
Shall himself lose what he has got
To one that’s richer on the spot,
And shall be needy in the plot.
17 Incline your ear, hear a wise word,
Apply your heart and be it stirred
By my right doctrine. 18 For it’s sweet
To hide such in inner retreat;
If you keep it inside your heart
It shall flow out in your lips’ part,
19 So that your trust may be in YHWH,
Which is why I’ve shown it to you
Today. 20 I’ve already three ways
Shown it to you, in thoughts and stays.
21 So I might show you certainty,
And the words of truth faithfully,
To answer out of these to those
Who sent you out not to oppose.

The principles of the stock market rose
In Solomon’s mind dressed in royal clothes:
With stunning planning try to take the meat
From off the neighbour’s table and his seat,
And when the wealth is gained to an excess
Some cunning fool will find the new address
And take that pile away in the same way:
The children of Belial never stray.
Beloved, make me and mine as faithful to
The good and right as those who sit in pew
Of cleverness to rob the poor are there
Faithful and constant in their evil share.
So a bastion of righteousness would rise
Unheard of in all history’s disguise.

22 Do no violence to the poor
Because he’s poor and that is sure,
And do not oppress needy folk
In the gate helpless under stroke.
23 Because YHWH will judge that man’s cause,
And will afflict them that with claws
Have attacked him against all laws.
24 Don’t be a friend to angry men,
Don’t go with raging ones again.
25 You might end up learning their ways
And make yourself scandal for praise.
26 Don’t be with those who shake the hand
And promise under debts to stand.
27 If you don’t have the means to pay,
Why should they take your bed away?
28 Don’t go beyond the old landmarks
Your ancestors set up in parks.
29 Have you seen a man skilful swift?
His place is among kings to lift
And not before the obscure shrift.

Rage is the mark of divine on this earth,
So why does Solomon warn of their worth
Who rage upon the paths of wickedness?
It’s cunning that’s the danger to address.
The cunning in the government and plot
Of media and business have a lot
To answer for when crowds gather to rage.
Mark Anthony himself on the rampage
Was cunning more than wrathful on the stage.
It’s rhetoric condemns the world to loss,
It’s rhetoric, not arms, that make the boss.
Solomon, wise as is his wisdom’s cross,
Has not yet learned that words in evil toss
Out violence overt for covert page.

PROVERBS 23

1 When you sit with a prince to eat,
Take a good look at drink and meat,
2 And put a knife at throat’s desire
Even if hunger flames like fire.
3 Be not desirous of his meat,
In which is the bread of deceit.

If one must beware of the king’s right hand
Raised up against his guests for contraband
In eating to the full of sweet meats laid
Out to impress the mind more than the raid
Of hunger, then the opposite is true.
Sit with a poor man and eat all that you
Desire of lentil soup and barley grain.
There is no danger in the poor man’s reign.
Beloved, I sit each day to drink the wine
And eat the feast that You set out to dine.
I taste my humble fare, I bite the crude
And thank my wife that she’s made something good
Of Your simplicity, though You still sit
Upon the throne of universe with mit.

4 Do not labour hard to get rich,
With prudence set bounds with a ditch.

The wisest word Solomon ever said
Was that who earns above his daily bread
Is greater fool than any born with head.
To take more on the plate than one can eat
Is the first thing forbidden by the meet
Who tend their children barely weaned on feet.
If such is wisdom that is taught the child
Before he leaves the playground and the wild
To learn his numbers and his letters fair,
I wonder at the honour given where
Grown men take stocks and rocks beyond the rate
That they can fit upon their dinner plate.
That’s why Messiah told us all to thank
For daily bread, not for what’s in the bank.

5 Don’t raise your eyes to riches which
You cannot have beyond the ditch,
For they shall sprout wings like those on
An eagle and fly towards the dawn.
6 Do not eat with an envious man,
And don’t desire his meals to scan.
7 Because, like an astrologer,
He thinks, but does not know the stir.
”Eat and drink” he will say to you,
But his mind’s on another view.
8 The victuals you ate you’ll throw up,
Your sweet words wasted in the cup.
9 Do not speak where fools can hear you,
For they’ll despise what you say true.
10 Do not move boundaries of the small,
Nor enter fields of orphan’s stall.
11 For their near kinsman’s strong to judge,
He’ll bring their cause against your smudge.
12 Be diligent and study well
Instruction and let ear hear spell
Of knowledge. 13 Do not keep a child
From his correction in the wild,
For if you give his wisdom’s knocks,
He will not die upon the rocks.
14 Give his body the discipline,
And save his soul from hell and sin.
15 My son, if you have a wise mind,
My heart in you its joy shall find.
16 My kidneys too shall sing a song,
When your lips speak right and not wrong.

A little pain now in the body that
Would rather run free from the place he sat
Is worth the cost when virtue’s to be gained.
For virtue’s rare among the one’s who’ve reigned.
A little care and tiring at the mill
Of drudgery to learn the right from ill
Turns into wealth unknown among the great,
The wealthy robbers sitting in estate.
Beloved, I thank You that the poor can find
Your treasures above those who have turned blind
To justice and to mercy, but acquire
The gold imperishable and the fire
Of oil upon the ground of their desire.
Distinctions are made in the hand and mind.

17 Don’t envy wicked people in
Your heart, but remain without sin
In the fear of YHWH all day long,
18 Because you’ll have a future hope,
In expectation safety rope.
19 Hear now, my son, and become wise,
And guide your mind in the way’s rise.
20 Don’t sit in the great drinkers’ feasts,
Nor in their revellings with priests
Who bring out flesh to eat in prize.
21 Those who give themselves up to drinking,
And club together shall be sinking,
And their sleep covered with rags stinking.
22 Take care to hear your father’s word,
Who has begotten you and heard,
And don’t despise your mother when
She has become old among men.
23 Buy truth and do not sell wisdom,
And instruction and try to hum
With understanding and not rum.

With what does one buy truth, Beloved, tell me?
It’s falsehood that’s for sale eternally.
The truth comes crashing in like act of God,
The thunder and the lightning without rod.
Truth’s not to be bought, no, nor parried down,
But trumpeted forlorn about the town
Where everyone turns faces towards the creed
That supports murder, war, and cosmic greed.
With what does one buy truth? I fit the bill
With flight from the exposure on the hill.
No man wants truth about himself but just
About the neighbour’s morals in the dust.
Beloved, there is no market for the truth.
Let Solomon expose ignorant youth.

24 The father of the just rejoices
Indeed that he’s begotten choices
In wisdom’s son, and shall have joy
To be dad of so good a boy.
25 Bring also joy to mom and dad,
May your begetters too be glad.
26 Give now, my son, your heart to me,
And let your eyes keep my ways free.
27 A prostitute is a deep ditch,
And a strange woman narrow hitch.
28 She waits for prey like robbers too,
Increasing evil things men do.
29 Who has a woe, who has a groan?
Who has contentions, who’s alone?
Who has wound without explanation,
Who has red eyes, infection’s ration?
30 Those who indeed pass time in wine,
And study to drink cups from vine.
31 Don’t look for the wine when it’s rose,
When it shines brightly as it goes
Pleasantly in the glass in rows.
32 At last it shall bite like the snake,
And sting like basilisk awake.
33 Your eyes will engage a strange dame,
Your heart seek out a wicked flame.
34 You’ll be like one rocked in the sea,
A pilot fast asleep on watch.
35 You’ll say ”They struck me but I felt
Nothing at all of the pain’s welt.
They dragged me, I lay wretchedly,
When shall I wake up and find Scotch?”

I always figured those who say Your word
Allows a bit of jolly wine unstirred,
Ought to take all the Bible for their share,
And accept death penalty for the glare
Of drunkenness. That is a good deterrent
When alcohol’s for sale at the rate current.
But alcohol is good to keep sight blurred
When not able to distinguish a curd
Face for the wife, and when the call is strong.
Beloved, methinks that Solomon’s not wrong.
I have a Scottish name, I have the coil,
But I’m not sot on keeping Scottish soil
Drenched in the blood of alcoholic swoon.
I’d rather see a better side and boon.

PROVERBS 24

1 Don’t try to be like evil men,
Don’t want to be with them in den.
2 They plan out robbery, their lips
Speak of deceits with hands on hips.
3 By wisdom the house shall be built,
By prudence strengthened to the hilt.
4 By instruction storerooms are filled
With precious, pretty riches billed.
5 A wise man’s strong, a knowing man
Is stout and valiant in his plan.
6 Because war’s managed by due order,
It’s safe with more than one recorder.
7 Wisdom is too high for a fool,
Beside the gate, beside its pool
He shall not open his mouth’s tool.
8 The one who invents evil things
Shall be called fool by men and kings.
9 The very thought of fools is sin,
And the detractor out to win
Is abomination in bin.

Only the wise man sins by act alone.
The thought of fools needs something to atone,
And even deaths on crosses do not make
A foolish thought acceptable in stake.
There is no use in telling the thing to
The fool, since wisdom is outside his view.
The only thing there is a man can do
Is plod along within the right and true.
Beloved and Father of just and unjust,
Look down on Your children, all made of dust,
And take responsibility at last
For the results of Your creation’s blast.
Then I too will submit in judgement fair
To Your recourse upon the evil share.

10 If you lose hope in trouble’s day,
By weariness your strength in sway
Shall be diminished for a day.
11 Deliver them led out to death,
And those condemned to lose their breath,
Don’t hesitate to save them then.

The governor of Texas, I’ve no doubt,
Neglected to read this word in the spout
Of punishment capital, when he did
Not deign in mercy to lift awful lid
On sentences that sent the killer and
The murderer to death. So here I stand
In judgement on the murderers that chose
To kill and join the criminal in rows.
Beloved, I thank you for the Decalogue
That guides the human mind left in the fog
To know what’s right in judgement and what’s left.
Otherwise humankind is laid bereft.
How many judge in hundreds of false things!
In only ten is judgement right for kings.

12 If you say ”I’ve not strength enough,”
The one who sees in the heart’s stuff,
He understands, nothing deceives
The keeper of your soul, His sleeves
Shall render a man by his pen.

Indeed I have not strength or inclination
To cut off heads of wicked men in stations,
Although I find them all about me here,
And even my own heart has learned to fear
The evil thought and evil word that makes
The hands and feet susceptible in wakes.
But You, Beloved, know well the evil part
Of every soul, and every hand and heart,
And so I pray that You will render me
The punishment of every evil spree
That I commit in justice, I demand
No mercy at Your just and gracious hand.
But let the evil fall away from mine
And me and from the neighbour come to dine.

13 Eat honey, my son, it is good,
And honeycomb tastes like it should,
Sweet in your throat and sweet again.

This is the word of Solomon, I guess.
Surely You’ve better things around to bless,
Beloved, than to command me to be sweet
By eating honey and the comb for treat.
I do not have to be told it is good,
Whether found wild and perishing in wood,
Or whether gracing hives made by the farmer
Who hopes to sell it to make his house warmer.
Beloved, I eat the honey of Your word,
And find that heart as well as stomach’s stirred.
I eat the honey of Your law and find
It sweeter than the comb of the combined.
I eat the honey of Your Names recited
And find both heart and hand on paunch indicted.

14 So also is the doctrine of
Wisdom to your soul and in love,
Which when you’ve found it, you’ll have hope,
In the end not run out of rope.
15 Don’t lie in wait, nor wickedness
Seek in the house of righteousness,
Nor in the spoil of his rest guess.
16 For a just man seven times shall fall
And rise again to beat the ball,
But wicked men shall fall down in
The evil results of their sin.
17 When your foe shall fall, don’t be glad,
And in his ruin let there be had
No joy of heart (though don’t be sad),
18 Lest YHWH see it and it displease
Him and He turn away the breeze
Of wrath from him and give him ease.
19 Do not contend with wicked men
Nor try to be like them again.
20 Evil men have no future hope,
And the lamps of the wicked grope.

Beloved, what use is vengeance on the dust
Of evil-doers, if before the crust
Of its news when it comes to me I must
Not rejoice that the wicked witch is dead?
Could You not spare my greying hair and head
To find a cause for celebration led
When wicked men fall on their pate instead?
This world’s a dark place largely because they
Oppress the righteous and the wicked way,
And little there be to make merry for.
So why not let us rejoice all the more
When wicked men are beaten out of door?
Do You not fear the rise hypocrisy
Will make if man must bridle up his glee?

21 My son, fear YHWH and fear the king,
Have nothing with detractors’ sting.
22 Their fall shall come up suddenly,
And who knows ruin of both in spree?
A son that keeps commandment’s word
Shall escape from destruction stirred,
Since he’s fully received the word.
Let no false word be spoken by
The king from the tongue on the sly,
Indeed let no falsehood proceed
From his tongue be whatever need.
The king’s tongue is a sword and not
A tongue of flesh set in its plot,
And whoever falls under it
Shall be destroyed, though a man fit.
For if his wrath should be provoked,
He destroys men with cords unyoked,
And devours men’s bones, and burns them
Up as flame not fit to condemn
To be devoured by eagles’ young.
My son keep in awe words of tongue,
Receive them and repent while young.
23 These things also be to the wise:
It’s not good to respect in guise
Persons in judgement to despise.
24 The one who tells the guilty fer
”You’re innocent” comes to infer
A curse upon the folk’s demise.
25 They that rebuke him shall be praised,
A blessing come upon them raised.

Society is made up of the twist
Of spirits out to embrace what’s been kissed
By the false witness calling guilty right,
And raising violence against all spite.
None shall be praised for the rebuke that stands
Against the false witness in many lands,
Simply because such things are never heard:
The media has turned into a turd.
Beloved, it is so rare a thing today
That truth is upheld in the courts that sway
The hand of justice as its falsely called.
The morning is a sunset and well walled.
I turn to You and find You’re nailed down fast
To pagan crosses in the beating blast.

26 He’ll kiss the lips replying right.
27 Prepare your outside work in sight
And diligently till your ground
Upon which a house you may found.
28 Don’t be a witness without cause
Against you neighbour, against laws,
Do not deceive any man with
Your lips repeating a false myth.
29 Don’t say ”I’ll do to him as he
Has done the evil thing to me.
I’ll give back in kind in the spree.”

Do unto others as they do to you
Is golden rule that’s followed in the pew.
Do unto others as you wish they’d do
To you is golden rule designed for few.
Too often I have seen the dangered brink
Of vengeance offered in the mortal stink,
And kept my hand back from the proffered rod,
Not fearing neighbour’s vengeance, only God.
Beloved, I’ve found the stroke of stick runs quick
Upon my back for righteousness as thick.
The blindness of the human heart is such
That good deeds seem black to the flesh in touch,
And so the tired soul lashes on the mate
Who honoured her and raised her in estate.

30 I passed by the lazy man’s field,
By the foolish man’s vineyard yield,
31 And saw it all with nettles filled,
And thorns in cover and the hilled
Stone wall broken under the heeled.
32 When I had seen it, I laid up
The thing in my heart and my cup,
And by the parable I got
Instruction in the way and lot.
33 A little sleep, a little slumber,
Fold hands in rest to do a number.
34 And poverty shall come astern,
And begging as an armed man earn.

If Solomon’s sly word is true, I’d like
To know why poverty’s not come to strike
Those who fold hands in so-called prayer and thus
Fulfil the word of Solomon in bus.
The folded hands in Scripture are in time
Always the symbol of the lazy crime.
For prayer men fall down on the craven earth,
Or stand or bow to show You’re God of worth.
The hands are spread in supplication’s way,
Or raised beside the ears and head to say
Allahu akbar in the chosen way.
But only lazy men fold hands to pray.
So why are such still wealthy in the fray?
Somebody answer why the wicked stay.

PROVERBS 25

1 These too are Solomon’s proverbs,
That Hezekiah, Judah’s king,
Had his men copy out for curbs.
2 It is God’s glory to conceal
The word, and glory to reveal
That speech on the part of kings’ reach.
3 The heaven above, the earthly beach,
And heart of kings can no man teach.

Indeed, Beloved, You do conceal Your word
In languages so ancient and not heard,
In proverbs and in laws that take the best
Of a man’s years to contemplate and rest
And still each day find greater gems in treat,
And greater enlightenment at Your feet.
King Solomon indeed revealed the plot
Of what You concealed in the vacant lot,
And he was king too as he does not fail
To relate in the proverbs of his tale.
But most kings here just have not got a clue
Of all the glory concealed in Your view,
But still seem just as great a mystery
As heaven and earth for all eternity.

4 Take off the tarnishment of siller,
And a pure vessel comes to fill her.
5 Take wickedness from the king’s face,
His throne is set in justice’ place.
6 Do not take airs before the king,
Do not stand in great men’s place’ wing.
7 It’s better he should tell you come,
Than that you be put down in sum.

The sweet Messiah Jesus took this word
As his own without giving credit heard
That Solomon first told men to sit low
And wait for the prince to raise up their show.
That’s all right since the both of them were true,
The sons of David in the people’s view.
So what the son of David says today
Can always be taken up in the fray.
Beloved, I sit beneath Your footstool here,
Apparently without the slightest cheer
Of human glory on my head or ear.
I wait to find my glory in the grace
Of morning come before Your beaming face,
Alone among the trees and snow in trace.

8 Do not in haste say what you’ve seen
When you get in a quarrel keen,
For you may fail to make amends
Dishonouring one of your friends.
9 Defend yourself by friend or foe,
But don’t reveal a secret’s show.
10 He might insult you for the thing
That he has heard and on the wing
Not stop to chide you. Beyond grace
Friendship will save a man in case,
Keep these for yourself, do not fall
Under reproach for what you call.
11 To speak a word at the right time
Is gold apples in silver rhyme.
12 Worth an earring of gold set bright
With a pearl is one who does right
Reproving a wise man whose ear
Hearkens to faith of YHWH and fear.
13 As cold of snow in harvest time,
So is a faithful messenger
To one who sent him out to climb,
For he refreshes his soul’s fur.

Sometimes I think I’ve had enough of cold.
In youth the frost seemed like a burning gold,
But now it only touches to the bone
And on occasion calls forth a small groan.
I need no more of messengers of late.
It’s good You sent no more down on my pate
After Muhammad to stake in my share.
I’ve heard enough reproach for all I care.
Beloved, enough I read in verdicts drawn
By scholars of the writings in the dawn
Of revelation. I’m ready to stand
In silence of Your presence on the sand
Of pearl and silver, rubied with the morn,
And woollen scarved before the evening scorn.

14 As clouds and wind when no rain falls,
So is the boastful man who calls
But does not do as promise stalls.
15 By patience princes are appeased,
A sweet tongue breaks the bones when greased.
16 If you’ve found honey, eat enough
To satisfy, lest in the cuff
Of being glutted with it you
Vomit the whole and lose the due.

I knew a dog once that, let in the house,
Jumped on the table, and like quibbling mouse,
Ate all the honey he could from the pot,
And then with little tummy on the spot
All rounded with the weight of contraband,
He vomited the whole out on the sand.
Beloved, I am a dervish dog, it’s true,
And I come to Your table spread in view
With sweetness more than I can take and eat.
I do not stop to think of cold or heat,
But gobble up Your blessings till I fail
To keep Your cakes inside me in the gale.
If once I’d learned, it would be little loss,
But I keep coming back for what You toss.

17 Go visiting your neighbour’s table
But rarely, lest he find your fable
Too much and start to hate your label.
18 A man that bears a witness false
Against his neighbour’s like a waltz
Of dart and sword and arrow’s malts.
19 To trust in an unfaithful man
In time of trouble is a plan
Like rotten tooth and weary foot,
20 Like taking off the coat you put
On for a freezing day outdoors,
Like vinegar and lye on sores,
As he sings songs with wicked heart.
As a moth treats a woollen scart,
And worm the wood, so sadness’ part
Consumes a man down to the heart.

I’ve heard the wicked singing, if You call
It singing that is done today in brawl.
Indeed good Solomon was right to say
It’s like a toothache and footache to bay.
Although the rocky summit was not known
In Solomon’s day where the sun once shone
On grove and high-place where the priests arose
To gyre and tremble on the grabey grose,
It was familiar also to his ear,
Who knew no new thing comes with novel gear
Under the sun, but every wicked way
Is just a repetition of its pay.
I shiver passing vinegar and lye
That consumes evil hearts that will stand by.

21 If your foe’s hungry, feed the guy,
If he’s thirsty, bring water nigh.
22 For you’ll heap hot coals on his head,
And YHWH shall reward you instead.

I’ve never yet been fed by enemy,
Although the hundreds who’ve come to my table
May not all be among the strong and able
Who count me friend and so friend faithfully.
That’s why I have no scabs upon my wee
Bald pate like the Ash-boy in Indian fable,
Nor do my foes, if any be to cabal,
Show scars of my good hospitality.
Beloved, You have fed me and given water
By hand of wife, and kept me from the slaughter
All these years, yet I feel no painful rift
Upon my scalp where cinders come to drift.
I thank You that You don’t treat me as foe
Despite my lack of sacrifice in stow.

23 The north wind drives away the rain
As does the countenance in pain
The tongue that backbites men in vain.
24 Better to stay on housetop gable
Than at a brawling woman’s table,
And in one house to hear her cabal.
25 As cold drink to a thirsty soul,
So is good news from a far toll.
26 Like a spring troubled under foot
And a well spoiled by filth and root,
So is a just man who falls down
Before the wicked in their town.
27 Too much honey is no good thing,
So seeking glory before king
Ends in honour’s overwhelming.

If Solomon would just make up his mind.
This is the third time honey’s been enshrined
In his words holy to the seeing blind.
At first he said to eat it to the full,
And then he reckoned limits bountiful
Should guide the tongue and stomach on the rung.
And now just hear what Solomon has sung.
Instead of praising honey’s properties
Of health and healing under entreaties,
He warns that taking too much is not good.
I guess this trinity of hollow wood
Pounds out a message from Your throne indeed:
All things in moderation have their need,
All journeys in their limits have their speed.

28 As a city lies without walls,
So is a man who has not balls
To stop himself from speaking-halls.

I have not quite learned to keep my mouth shut,
Since on occasion, as though the joke’s butt,
I accept invitation to the hall
To give a speech in honour of a ball.
Though hair is grey and falling, perhaps I
Still have some years left to give self the lie,
And prove my good intentions carried out
Not to go ranting, preaching all about,
But stay duly at home and just write prayers
In ghazel-sonnets for You Name’s fair shares.
Beloved, my many words above the din
Of many others’ words spoken in sin
Reduce Your thunder-speech on Sinai’s slope
To far-off pantomime and slender hope.

AUTHOR: THOMAS G. MCELWAIN

Copyright © 2007 Adams & McElwain Publishers and Thomas McElwain First Published in two volumes, The Beloved and I 2005, and Led of the Beloved, 2006. Second Edition, 2010 Third and revised edition, 2012 All rights reserved. No part of this verse commentary on the sacred Scriptures may be reproduced, transmitted, or stored in a retrieval system, in any form or by any means, without permission in writing from publisher.

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