18 Whoever isolates himself seeks his own desire;
he breaks out against all sound judgment.
2 A fool takes no pleasure in understanding,
but only in expressing his opinion.
3 When wickedness comes, contempt comes also,
and with dishonor comes disgrace.
4 The words of a man’s mouth are odeep waters;
the fountain of wisdom is a bubbling brook.
5 It is not good to be partial to1 the pwicked
or to deprive the righteous of justice.
6 A fool’s lips walk into a fight,
and his mouth invites a beating.
7 qA fool’s mouth is his ruin,
and his lips are a rsnare to his soul.
8 sThe words of a whisperer are like delicious morsels;
they go down into the inner parts of the body.
9 Whoever is slack in his work
is a brother to him who destroys.
10 The tname of the Lord is a ustrong tower;
the righteous man runs into it and is safe.
11 vA rich man’s wealth is his strong city,
and like a high wall in his imagination.
12 wBefore destruction a man’s heart is haughty,
but xhumility comes before honor.
13 If one gives an answer before he hears,
it is his folly and shame.
14 A man’s spirit will endure sickness,
but a crushed spirit who can bear?
15 An intelligent heart acquires knowledge,
and the ear of the wise seeks knowledge.
16 yA man’s gift makes room for him
and brings him before the great.
17 The one who states his case first seems right,
until the other comes and examines him.
18 zThe lot puts an end to quarrels
and decides between powerful contenders.
19 A brother offended is more unyielding than a strong city,
and quarreling is like the bars of a castle.
20 aFrom the fruit of a man’s mouth his stomach is satisfied;
he is satisfied by the yield of his lips.
21 Death and life are in the power of the tongue,
and those who love it will eat its fruits.
22 He who bfinds a wife finds a good thing
and obtains favor from the Lord.
23 The poor use entreaties,
but the rich answer roughly.
24 A man of many companions may come to ruin,
cbut there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother.
19 dBetter is a poor person who walks in his integrity
than eone who is fcrooked in speech and is a fool.
2 Desire1 without knowledge is not good,
and whoever makes haste with his feet misses his way.
3 When a man’s folly brings his way to ruin,
his heart rages against the Lord.
4 gWealth brings many new friends,
hbut a poor man is deserted by his friend.
5 iA jfalse witness will not go unpunished,
and he who kbreathes out lies will not escape.
6 Many seek the favor of a generous man,2
and leveryone is a friend to a man who gives gifts.
7 All a poor man’s brothers hate him;
how much more do his friends go far from him!
He pursues them with words, but does not have them.3
8 Whoever mgets sense loves his own soul;
he who keeps understanding will discover good.
9 A false witness will not go unpunished,
and he who breathes out lies will perish.
10 It is nnot fitting for a fool to live in luxury,
much less for a slave to rule over princes.
11 Good sense makes one oslow to anger,
and it is his glory to overlook an offense.
12 pA king’s wrath is qlike the growling of a lion,
but his favor is like dew on the grass.
13 rA foolish son is ruin to his father,
and sa wife’s quarreling is a continual dripping of rain.
14 House and wealth are inherited from fathers,
but a prudent wife is from the Lord.
15 tSlothfulness casts into a deep sleep,
and an idle person will suffer hunger.
16 Whoever keeps the commandment keeps his life;
he who despises his ways will die.
17 uWhoever is generous to the poor lends to the Lord,
and he will vrepay him for his deed.
18 wDiscipline your son, for there is hope;
xdo not set your heart on putting him to death.
19 A man of great wrath will pay the penalty,
for if you deliver him, you will only have to do it again.
20 Listen to advice and accept yinstruction,
that you may gain wisdom in the future.
21 zMany are the plans in the mind of a man,
but it is the purpose of the Lord that will stand.
22 What is desired in a man is steadfast love,
and aa poor man is better than a liar.
23 The fear of the Lord leads to life,
and whoever has it rests satisfied;
he will not be visited by harm.
24 bThe sluggard buries his hand in the dish
and will not even bring it back to his mouth.
25 Strike a scoffer, and the csimple will learn prudence;
dreprove a man of understanding, and he will gain knowledge.
26 He who does violence to his efather and chases away his mother
is a son who brings shame and reproach.
27 Cease to hear finstruction, my son,
and you will stray from the words of knowledge.
28 A worthless witness mocks at justice,
and the mouth of the wicked devours iniquity.
29 Condemnation is ready for scoffers,
and gbeating for the backs of fools.
20 hWine is a mocker, strong drink a brawler,
and whoever is led astray by it is not wise.1
2 iThe terror of a king is like the growling of a lion;
whoever provokes him to anger forfeits his life.
3 jIt is an honor for a man to keep aloof from strife,
but every fool will be quarreling.
4 kThe sluggard does not plow in the autumn;
he will seek at harvest and have nothing.
5 The purpose in a man’s heart is like ldeep water,
but a man of munderstanding will draw it out.
6 Many a man proclaims his own steadfast love,
but a faithful man nwho can find?
7 The righteous who walks in his integrity—
blessed are his children after him!
8 A king who sits on the throne of judgment
winnows all evil with his eyes.
9 oWho can say, p“I have made my heart pure;
I am clean from my sin”?
10 qUnequal2 weights and unequal measures
are both alike an abomination to the Lord.
11 Even a child makes himself known by his acts,
by whether his conduct is pure and upright.3
12 The hearing ear and the seeing eye,
the Lord has made them both.
13 rLove not sleep, lest you come to poverty;
open your eyes, and you will have splenty of bread.
14 “Bad, bad,” says the buyer,
but when he goes away, then he boasts.
15 There is gold and abundance of costly stones,
but the lips of knowledge are a precious jewel.
16 Take a man’s garment when he has tput up security for a stranger,
and hold it in pledge when he puts up security for foreigners.4
17 Bread gained by deceit is sweet to a man,
but afterward his mouth will be full of gravel.
18 Plans are established by counsel;
uby wise guidance wage war.
19 vWhoever goes about wslandering reveals secrets;
therefore do not associate with a simple babbler.5
20 xIf one curses his yfather or his mother,
his lamp will be put out in utter darkness.
21 An inheritance gained zhastily in the beginning
will not be blessed in the end.
22 aDo not say, “I will brepay evil”;
cwait for the Lord, dand he will deliver you.
23 Unequal weights are an abomination to the Lord,
and false scales are not good.
24 A man’s steps are from the Lord;
how then can man understand his way?
25 It is a snare to say rashly, “It is holy,”
and to reflect only after making evows.
26 A wise king winnows the wicked
and drives the wheel over them.
27 The spirit6 of man is the lamp of the Lord,
searching all his innermost parts.
28 fSteadfast love and faithfulness preserve the king,
and by steadfast love his throne is upheld.
29 The glory of young men is their strength,
gbut the splendor of old men is their gray hair.
30 Blows that wound cleanse away evil;
strokes make clean the innermost parts.
21 The king’s heart is a stream of water in the hand of the Lord;
he turns it wherever he will.
2 Every way of a man is hright in his own eyes,
but the Lord weighs the heart.
3 iTo do righteousness and justice
is more acceptable to the Lord than sacrifice.
4 Haughty eyes and a proud heart,
the lamp1 of the wicked, are sin.
5 jThe plans of the diligent lead surely to abundance,
but keveryone who is hasty comes only to poverty.
6 The getting of treasures lby a lying tongue
is a fleeting vapor and a snare of death.2
7 mThe violence of the wicked will sweep them away,
because they refuse to do what is just.
8 The way of the guilty is ncrooked,
but the conduct of the pure is upright.
9 oIt is better to live in a corner of the housetop
than in a house shared with a quarrelsome wife.
10 The soul of the wicked desires evil;
his neighbor finds no mercy in his eyes.
11 When a scoffer is punished, the psimple becomes wise;
when a wise man is instructed, he gains knowledge.
12 The Righteous One observes the house of the wicked;
he throws the wicked down to ruin.
13 qWhoever closes his ear to the cry of the poor
will himself call out and not be answered.
14 rA gift in secret averts anger,
and a concealed bribe,3 strong wrath.
15 When justice is done, it is a joy to the righteous
sbut terror to evildoers.
16 One who wanders from the way of good sense
will rest in the assembly of the dead.
17 tWhoever loves pleasure will be a poor man;
he who loves wine and oil will not be rich.
18 The wicked is a ransom for the righteous,
and the traitor for the upright.
19 uIt is better to live in a desert land
than with a quarrelsome and fretful woman.
20 Precious treasure and oil are in a wise man’s dwelling,
but a foolish man devours it.
21 Whoever pursues righteousness and kindness
will find vlife, righteousness, and honor.
22 A wise man scales the city of the mighty
and brings down the stronghold in which they trust.
23 Whoever wkeeps his mouth and his tongue
keeps himself out of trouble.
24 “Scoffer” is the name of the arrogant, haughty man
who acts with arrogant pride.
25 xThe desire of the sluggard kills him,
for his hands refuse to labor.
26 All day long he craves and craves,
but the righteous ygives and does not hold back.
27 zThe sacrifice of the wicked is an abomination;
how much more when he brings it with evil intent.
28 A afalse witness will perish,
but the word of a man who hears will endure.
29 A wicked man puts on a bold face,
but the upright bgives thought to4 his ways.
30 No wisdom, no understanding, no counsel
can avail against the Lord.
31 cThe horse is made ready for the day of battle,
dbut the victory belongs to the Lord.
22 eA good name is to be chosen rather than great riches,
and favor is better than silver or gold.
2 fThe rich and the poor meet together;
the Lord is gthe Maker of them all.
3 hThe prudent sees danger and hides himself,
but the simple go on and suffer for it.
4 The reward for humility and fear of the Lord
is riches and honor and life.1
5 Thorns and snares are in the way of the crooked;
whoever guards his soul will keep far from them.
6 Train up a child in the way he should go;
even when he is old he will not idepart from it.
7 The rich rules over the poor,
and the borrower is the slave of the lender.
8 jWhoever sows injustice will reap calamity,
and the rod of his fury will fail.
9 Whoever has a bountiful2 eye will be blessed,
for khe shares his bread with the poor.
10 Drive out a scoffer, and strife will go out,
and lquarreling and abuse will cease.
11 He who loves purity of heart,
and whose speech is gracious, will have the king as his friend.
12 The eyes of the Lord keep watch over knowledge,
but he overthrows the words of the traitor.
13 mThe sluggard says, “There is a lion outside!
I shall be killed in the streets!”
14 The mouth of forbidden3 women is na deep pit;
ohe with whom the Lord is angry will fall into it.
15 pFolly is bound up in the heart of a child,
but the rod of qdiscipline drives it far from him.
16 Whoever roppresses the poor to increase his own wealth,
or gives to the rich, will only come to poverty.
Words of the Wise
17 sIncline your ear, and hear tthe words of the wise,
and apply your heart to my knowledge,
18 for it will be upleasant if you keep them within you,
if all of them are ready on your lips.
19 That your trust may be in the Lord,
I have made them known to you today, even to you.
20 Have I not written for you thirty sayings
of counsel and knowledge,
21 to make you know what is right and true,
that you may give a true answer to those who sent you?
22 vDo not rob the poor, because he is poor,
or wcrush the afflicted at the gate,
23 for the Lord will xplead their cause
and rob of life those who rob them.
24 Make no friendship with a man given to anger,
nor go with a wrathful man,
25 ylest you learn his ways
and entangle yourself in a snare.
26 Be not one of those who zgive pledges,
who put up security for debts.
27 If you have nothing with which to pay,
why should your bed be taken from under you?
28 aDo not move the ancient landmark
that your fathers have set.
29 Do you see a man skillful in his work?
He will stand before kings;
he will not stand before obscure men.
