15 bA rich man’s wealth is his strong city;
the poverty of the poor is their ruin.
16 The wage of the righteous leads cto life,
the gain of the wicked to sin.
1 aA false balance is an abomination to the Lord,
bbut a just weight is his delight.
4 gRiches do not profit in the day of wrath,
hbut righteousness delivers from death.
24 jOne gives kfreely, yet grows all the richer;
another withholds what he should give, and only suffers want.
25 lWhoever brings blessing mwill be enriched,
and none who waters will himself be watered.
26 oThe people curse him who holds back grain,
21 gNo ill befalls the righteous,
but the wicked are filled with trouble.
23 kA prudent man conceals knowledge,
kbut the heart of fools proclaims folly.
7 Two things I ask of you;
deny them not to me wbefore I die:
8 Remove far from me falsehood and lying;
give me neither poverty nor riches;
feed me with the food that is xneedful for me,
9 lest I be yfull and zdeny you
and say, a“Who is the Lord?”
or lest I be poor and steal
band profane the name of my God.