those who are unassuming.
3The integrity of the upright guides them;
The deviousness of the treacherous leads them to ruin.
4Wealth is of no avail on the day of wrath,
But righteousness saves from death.
5The righteousness of the blameless man smooths his way,
But the wicked man is felled by his wickedness.
6The righteousness of the upright saves them,
But the treacherous are trapped by their malice.
7At death the hopes of a wicked man are doomed,
And the ambition of evil men comes to nothing.
8The righteous man is rescued from trouble
And the wicked man takes his place.
9The impious man destroys his neighbor through speech,
But through their knowledge the righteous are rescued.
10When the righteous prosper the city exults;
When the wicked perish there are shouts of joy.
11A city is built up by the blessing of the upright,
But it is torn down by the speech of the wicked.
12He who speaks contemptuously of his fellowman is devoid of sense;
A prudent man keeps his peace.
13A base fellow gives away secrets,
But a trustworthy soul keeps a confidence.
14For want of strategy an army falls,
But victory comes with much planning.
15Harm awaits him who stands surety for another;b
He who spurns pledging shall be secure.
16A graceful woman obtains honor;
Ruthless men obtain wealth.
17A kindly man benefits himself;
A cruel man makes trouble for himself.
18The wicked man earns illusory wages,
But he who sows righteousness has a true reward.
19Righteousness is a prop of life,
But to pursue evil leads to death.
20Men of crooked mind are an abomination to the LORD,
But those whose way is blameless please Him.
21Assuredly,c the evil man will not escape,
But the offspring of the righteous will be safe.
22Like a gold ring in the snout of a pig
Is a beautiful woman bereft of sense.
23What the righteous desire can only be good;
What the wicked hope for [stirs] wrath.
24One man gives generously and ends with more;
Another stints on doing the right thing and incurs a loss.
25A generous person enjoys prosperity;
He who satisfies others shall himself be sated.
26He who withholds grain earns the curses of the people,
But blessings are on the head of the one who dispenses it.
27He who earnestly seeks what is good pursues what is pleasing;
He who is bent on evil, upon him it shall come.
28He who trusts in his wealth shall fall,
But the righteous shall flourish like foliage.
29He who makes trouble for his household shall inherit the wind;
A fool is a slave to the wise-hearted.
30The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life;
A wise man captivates people.
31If the righteous on earth get their deserts,
How much more the wicked man and the sinner.
12 He who loves discipline loves knowledge;
He who spurns reproof is a brutish man.
2A good man earns the favor of the LORD,
A man of intrigues, His condemnation.
3A man cannot be established in wickedness,
But the root of the righteous will not be shaken loose.
4A capable wife is a crown for her husband,
But an incompetent one is like rot in his bones.
5The purposes of the righteous are justice,
The schemes of the wicked are deceit.
6The words of the wicked are a deadly ambush,
But the speech of the upright saves them.
7Overturn the wicked and they are gone,
But the house of the righteous will endure.
8A man is commended according to his intelligence;
A twisted mind is held up to contempt.
9Better to be lightly esteemed and have a servant
Than to put on airs and have no food.
10A righteous man knows the needs of his beast,
But the compassion of the wicked is cruelty.
11He who tills his land shall have food in plenty,
But he who pursues vanities is devoid of sense.
12a-The wicked covet the catch of evil men;
The root of the righteous yields [fruit].-a
13Sinful speech is a trap for the evil man,
But the righteous escapes from trouble.
14A man gets his fill of good from the fruit of his speech;
One is repaid in kind for one’s deeds.
15The way of a fool is right in his own eyes;
But the wise man accepts advice.
16A fool’s vexation is known at once,
But a clever man conceals his humiliation.
17He who testifies faithfully tells the truth,
But a false witness, deceit.
18There is blunt talk like sword-thrusts,
But the speech of the wise is healing.
19Truthful speech abides forever,
A lying tongue for but a moment.
20Deceit is in the minds of those who plot evil;
For those who plan good there is joy.
21No harm befalls the righteous,
But the wicked have their fill of misfortune.
22Lying speech is an abomination to the LORD,
But those who act faithfully please Him.
23A clever man conceals what he knows,
But the mind of a dullard cries out folly.
24The hand of the diligent wields authority;
The negligent are held in subjection.
25If there is anxiety in a man’s mind let him quash it,
And turn it into joy with a good word.
26A righteous man a-gives his friend direction,-a
But the way of the wicked leads astray.
27A negligent man never has game to roast;
a-A diligent man has precious wealth.-a
28The road of righteousness leads to life;
By way of its path there is no death.
13 A wise son—it is through the discipline of his father;
A scoffer—he never heard reproof.
2A man enjoys good from the fruit of his speech;
But out of the throat of the treacherous comes lawlessness.
3He who guards his tonguea preserves his life;
He who opens wide his lips, it is his ruin.
4A lazy man craves, but has nothing;
The diligent shall feast on rich fare.
5A righteous man hates lies;
The wicked man is vile and disgraceful.
6Righteousness protects him whose way is blameless;
Wickedness subverts the sinner.
7One man pretends to be rich and has nothing;
Another professes to be poor and has much wealth.
8Riches are ransom for a man’s life,
The poor never heard a reproof.
9The light of the righteous is radiant;
The lamp of the wicked is extinguished.
10b-Arrogance yields nothing but strife;-b
Wisdom belongs to those who seek advice.
11Wealth may dwindle to less than nothing,
But he who gathers little by little increases it.
12Hope deferred sickens the heart,
But desire realized is a tree of life.
13He who disdains a precept will be injured thereby;
He who respects a command will be rewarded.
14The instruction of a wise man is a fountain of life,
Enabling one to avoid deadly snares.
15Good sense wins favor;
The way of treacherous men is unchanging.c
16Every clever man acts knowledgeably,
But a dullard exposes his stupidity.
17Harm befalls a wicked messenger;
A faithful courier brings healing.
18Poverty and humiliation are for him who spurns discipline;
But he who takes reproof to heart gets honor.
19Desire realized is sweet to the soul;
To turn away from evil is abhorrent to the stupid.
20He who keeps company with the wise becomes wise,
But he who consorts with dullards comes to grief.
21Misfortune pursues sinners,
But the righteous are well rewarded.
22A good man has what to bequeath to his grandchildren,
For the wealth of sinners is stored up for the righteous.
23The tillage of the poor yields much food;
But substance is swept away for lack of moderation.
24He who spares the rod hates his son,
But he who loves him disciplines him early.
25The righteous man eats to his heart’s content,
But the belly of the wicked is empty.
14 The wisest of women builds her house,
But folly tears it down with its own hands.
2He who maintains his integrity fears the LORD;
A man of devious ways scorns Him.
3In the mouth of a fool is a rod of haughtiness,
But the lips of the wise protect them.
4If there are no oxen the crib is clean,
But a rich harvest comes through the strength of the ox.
5An honest witness will not lie;
A false witness testifies lies.
6A scoffer seeks wisdom in vain,
But knowledge comes easily to the intelligent man.
7Keep your distance from a dullard,
For you will not learn wise speech.
8It is the wisdom of a clever man to understand his course;
But the stupidity of the dullard is delusion.
9Reparations mediate between fools,
Between the upright, good will.
10The heart alone knows its bitterness,
And no outsider can share in its joy.
11The house of the wicked will be demolished,
But the tent of the upright will flourish.
12A road may seem right to a man,
But in the end it is a road to death.
13The heart may ache even in laughter,
And joy may end in grief.
14An unprincipled man reaps the fruits of his ways;
a-A good man, of his deeds.-a
15A simple person believes anything;
A clever man ponders his course.
16A wise man is diffident and shuns evil,
But a dullard rushes in confidently.
17An impatient man commits folly;
A man of intrigues will be hated.
18Folly is the lot of the simple,
But clever men b-glory in knowledge.-b
19Evil men are brought low before the good,
So are the wicked at the gates of the righteous.
20A pauper is despised even by his peers,
But a rich man has many friends.
21He who despises his fellow is wrong;
He who shows pity for the lowly is happy.
22Surely those who plan evil go astray,
While those who plan good earn steadfast love.
23From all toil there is some gain,
But idle chatter is pure loss.
24The ornament of the wise is their wealth;
The stupidity of dullards is stupidity.
25A truthful witness saves lives;
He who testifies lies [spreads] deceit.
26Fear of the LORD is a stronghold,
A refuge for a man’s children.
27Fear of the LORD is a fountain of life,
Enabling one to avoid deadly snares.
28A numerous people is the glory of a king;
Without a nation a ruler is ruined.
29Patience results in much understanding;
Impatience gets folly as its portion.
30A calm disposition gives bodily health;
Passion is rot to the bones.
31He who withholds what is due to the poor affronts his Maker;
He who shows pity for the needy honors Him.
32The wicked man is felled by his own evil;
The righteous man finds security in his death.
33Wisdom rests quietly in the mind of a prudent man,
But among dullards it makes itself known.
34Righteousness exalts a nation;
Sin is a reproach to any people.
35The king favors a capable servant;
He rages at an incompetent one.
15 A gentle response allays wrath;
A harsh word provokes anger.
2The tongue of the wise produces much knowledge,
But the mouth of dullards pours out folly.
3The eyes of the LORD are everywhere,
Observing the bad and the good.
4A healing