"Associates, Friends & Neighbors" (40 Days of Wisdom for Lent)

Don’t say to your neighbor, “Go and come back;
I’ll give it to you tomorrow,” when you have it.
Don’t plan to harm your neighbor
who trusts and lives near you.
(Proverbs 3:28-29 CEB)

Walk with wise people and become wise;
befriend fools and get in trouble.
(Proverbs 13:20 CEB)

Even their neighbors hate the poor,
but many love the wealthy.
Those who despise their neighbors are sinners,
but happy are those who are kind to the needy.
(Proverbs 14:20-21 CEB)

When people draw favor from the Lord,
even their enemies are at peace with them.
Destructive people produce conflict;
gossips alienate close friends.
(Proverbs 16:7,28 CEB)

One who seeks love conceals an offense,
but one who repeats it divides friends.
Friends love all the time,
and kinsfolk are born for times of trouble.
One with no sense shakes hands on a deal,
securing a loan for a friend.
(Proverbs 17:9,17-18 CEB)

A gift opens the way
for access to important people.
An offended ally is more formidable than a city;
such quarreling is like the bars of a castle.
There are persons for companionship,
but then there are friends who are more loyal than family.
(Proverbs 18:16,19,24 CEB)

Riches increase one’s friends,
but the poor lose their friends.
All the relatives of the poor hate them;
even more, their friends stay far from them.
When they pursue them with words, they aren’t there.
(Proverbs 19:4,7 CEB)

Don’t befriend people controlled by anger;
don’t associate with hot-tempered people;
otherwise, you will learn their ways
and become trapped.
(Proverb 22:24-25 CEB)

Don’t envy evil people,
and don’t long to be with them.
Their hearts are focused on violence,
and their lips speak of trouble.
(Proverbs 24:1-2 CEB)

Don’t spend too much time in your neighbor’s house.
Otherwise, they’ll get fed up with you and hate you.
(Proverbs 25:17 CEB)

Like a crazy person shooting deadly flaming arrows
are those who deceive their neighbor and say, “Hey, I was only joking!”
Without wood a fire goes out;
without gossips, conflict calms down.
(Proverbs 26:18-20 CEB)

Trustworthy are the bruises of a friend;
excessive are the kisses of an enemy.
Oil and incense make the heart glad,
and the sweetness of friends comes from their advice.
Don’t desert your friend or a friend of your family;
don’t go to your relative’s house when disaster strikes.
Better a neighbor nearby than a relative far away.
Greeting a neighbor with a loud voice early in the morning
will be viewed as a curse.
As iron sharpens iron,
so friends sharpen each other’s faces.
As water reflects the face,
so the heart reflects one person to another.
(Proverbs 27:6,9-10,14,17,19 CEB)

Intelligent children follow Instruction,
but those who befriend gluttons shame their parents.
Those who steal from their father and mother,
and say, “It’s not a crime,”
are friends of vandals.
(Proverbs 28:7,24 CEB)

People who flatter their friends
spread out a net for their feet.
Those who share plunder with thieves hate themselves;...
(Proverbs 29:5,24 CEB)