1  The king’s heart is a stream of water in the hand of the Lord;

he ^yturns it wherever he will.

2  ^zEvery way of a man is right in his own eyes,

but the Lord ^aweighs the heart.

3  ^bTo do righteousness and justice

is more acceptable to the Lord than sacrifice.

4  ^cHaughty eyes and a proud heart,

^dthe lamp¹ of the wicked, are sin.

5  The plans of ^ethe diligent lead surely to abundance,

but everyone who is ^fhasty comes ^gonly to poverty.

6  ^hThe getting of treasures by a lying tongue

is a ⁱfleeting ^jvapor and a ^ksnare of death.²

7  The violence of the wicked will ^lsweep them away,

because they refuse to do what is just.

8  The way of the guilty ^mis crooked,

but the conduct of the pure is upright.

9  It is ⁿbetter 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 ^oa scoffer is punished, the simple becomes wise;

when a wise man is instructed, he gains knowledge.

12  The Righteous One ^pobserves 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

^twill rest in the assembly of the dead.