8 The words of a gossip are like dainty morsels:
they go down into a person’s innermost parts.
9 One who is slack in his work
is brother to him who is a master of destruction.
10 The LORD’s name is a strong tower:
the righteous run to him, and are safe.
11 The rich man’s wealth is his strong city,
like an unscalable wall in his own imagination.
12 Before destruction the heart of man is proud,
but before honour is humility.
13 He who answers before he hears,
that is folly and shame to him.
14 A man’s spirit will sustain him in sickness,
but a crushed spirit, who can bear?
15 The heart of the discerning gets knowledge.
The ear of the wise seeks knowledge.
16 A man’s gift makes room for him,
and brings him before great men.
17 He who pleads his cause first seems right—
until another comes and questions him.
18 The lot settles disputes,
and keeps strong ones apart.
19 A brother offended is more difficult than a fortified city.
Disputes are like the bars of a fortress.
20 A man’s stomach is filled with the fruit of his mouth.
With the harvest of his lips he is satisfied.
21 Death and life are in the power of the tongue;
those who love it will eat its fruit.
22 Whoever finds a wife finds a good thing,
and obtains favour of the LORD.
23 The poor plead for mercy,
but the rich answer harshly.
24 A man of many companions may be ruined,
but there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother.
19
1 Better is the poor who walks in his integrity
than he who is perverse in his lips and is a fool.
2 It isn’t good to have zeal without knowledge,
nor being hasty with one’s feet and missing the way.
3 The foolishness of man subverts his way;
his heart rages against the LORD.
4 Wealth adds many friends,
but the poor is separated from his friend.
5 A false witness shall not be unpunished.
He who pours out lies shall not go free.
6 Many will entreat the favour of a ruler,
and everyone is a friend to a man who gives gifts.
7 All the relatives of the poor shun him;
how much more do his friends avoid him!
He pursues them with pleas, but they are gone.
8 He who gets wisdom loves his own soul.
He who keeps understanding shall find good.
9 A false witness shall not be unpunished.
He who utters lies shall perish.
10 Delicate living is not appropriate for a fool,
much less for a servant to have rule over princes.
11 The discretion of a man makes him slow to anger.
It is his glory to overlook an offence.
12 The king’s wrath is like the roaring of a lion,
but his favour is like dew on the grass.
13 A foolish son is the calamity of his father.
A wife’s quarrels are a continual dripping.
14 House and riches are an inheritance from fathers,
but a prudent wife is from the LORD.
15 Slothfulness casts into a deep sleep.
The idle soul shall suffer hunger.
16 He who keeps the commandment keeps his soul,
but he who is contemptuous in his ways shall die.
17 He who has pity on the poor lends to the LORD;
he will reward him.
18 Discipline your son, for there is hope;
don’t be a willing party to his death.
19 A hot-tempered man must pay the penalty,
for if you rescue him, you must do it again.
20 Listen to counsel and receive instruction,
that you may be wise in your latter end.
21 There are many plans in a man’s heart,
but the LORD’s counsel will prevail.
22 That which makes a man to be desired is his kindness.
A poor man is better than a liar.
23 The fear of the LORD leads to life, then contentment;
he rests and will not be touched by trouble.
24 The sluggard buries his hand in the dish;
he will not so much as bring it to his mouth again.
25 Flog a scoffer, and the simple will learn prudence;
rebuke one who has understanding, and he will gain knowledge.
26 He who robs his father and drives away his mother
is a son who causes shame and brings reproach.
27 If you stop listening to instruction, my son,
you will stray from the words of knowledge.
28 A corrupt witness mocks justice,
and the mouth of the wicked gulps down iniquity.
29 Penalties are prepared for scoffers,
and beatings for the backs of fools.
20
1 Wine is a mocker and beer is a brawler.
Whoever is led astray by them is not wise.
2 The terror of a king is like the roaring of a lion.
He who provokes him to anger forfeits his own life.
3 It is an honour for a man to keep aloof from strife,
but every fool will be quarrelling.
4 The sluggard will not plough by reason of the winter;
therefore he shall beg in harvest, and have nothing.
5 Counsel in the heart of man is like deep water,
but a man of understanding will draw it out.
6 Many men claim to be men of unfailing love,
but who can find a faithful man?
7 A righteous man walks in integrity.
Blessed are his children after him.
8 A king who sits on the throne of judgement
scatters away all evil with his eyes.
9 Who can say, “I have made my heart pure.
I am clean and without sin”?
10 Differing weights and differing measures,
both of them alike are an abomination to the LORD.
11 Even a child makes himself known by his doings,
whether his work is pure, and whether it is right.
12 The hearing ear, and the seeing eye,
the LORD has made even both of them.
13 Don’t love sleep, lest you come to poverty.
Open your eyes, and you shall be satisfied with bread.
14 “It’s no good, it’s no good,” says the buyer;
but when he is gone his way, then he boasts.
15 There is gold and abundance of rubies,
but the lips of knowledge are a rare jewel.
16 Take the garment of one who puts up collateral for a stranger;
and hold him in pledge for a wayward woman.
17 Fraudulent food is sweet to a man,
but afterwards his mouth is filled with gravel.
18 Plans are established by advice;
by wise guidance you wage war!
19 He who goes about as a tale-bearer reveals secrets;
therefore don’t keep company with him who opens wide his lips.
20 Whoever curses his father or his mother,
his lamp shall be put out in blackness of darkness.
21 An inheritance quickly gained at the beginning
won’t be blessed in the end.
22 Don’t say, “I will pay back evil.”
Wait for the LORD, and he will save you.
23 The LORD detests differing weights,
and dishonest scales are not pleasing.
24 A man’s steps are from the LORD;
how then can man understand his way?
25 It is a snare to a man to make a rash dedication,
then later to consider his vows.
26 A wise king winnows out the wicked,
and drives the threshing wheel over them.
27 The spirit of man is the LORD’s lamp,
searching all his innermost parts.
28 Love and faithfulness keep the king safe.
His throne is sustained by love.
29 The glory of young men is their strength.
The splendour of old men is their grey hair.
30 Wounding blows cleanse away evil,
and beatings purge the innermost parts.
21
1 The king’s heart is in the LORD’s hand like the watercourses.
He turns it wherever he desires.
2 Every way of a man is right in his own eyes,
but the LORD weighs the hearts.
3 To do righteousness and justice
is more acceptable to the LORD than sacrifice.
4 A high look and a proud heart,
the lamp of the wicked, is sin.
5 The plans of the diligent surely lead to profit;
and everyone who is hasty surely rushes to poverty.
6 Getting treasures by a lying tongue
is a fleeting vapour for those who seek death.
7 The violence of the wicked will drive them away,
because they refuse to do what is right.
8 The way of the guilty is devious,
but the conduct of the innocent is upright.
9 It is better to dwell in the corner of the housetop
than to share a house with a contentious woman.
10 The soul of the wicked desires evil;
his neighbour finds no mercy in his eyes.
11 When the mocker is punished, the simple gains wisdom.
When the wise is instructed, he receives knowledge.
12 The Righteous One considers the house of the wicked,
and brings the wicked to ruin.
13 Whoever stops his ears at the cry of the poor,
he will also cry out, but shall not be heard.
14 A gift in secret pacifies anger,
and a bribe in the cloak, strong wrath.
15 It is joy to the righteous to do justice;
but it is a destruction to the workers of iniquity.
16 The man who wanders out of the way of understanding
shall rest in the assembly of the departed spirits.
17 He who loves pleasure will be a poor man.
He who loves wine and oil won’t be rich.
18 The wicked is a ransom for the righteous,
the treacherous for the upright.
19 It is better to dwell in a desert land,
than with a contentious and fretful woman.
20 There is precious treasure and oil in the dwelling of the wise,
but a foolish man swallows it up.
21 He who follows after righteousness and kindness
finds life, righteousness, and honour.
22 A wise man scales the city of the mighty,
and brings down the strength of its confidence.
23 Whoever guards his mouth and his tongue
keeps his soul from troubles.
24 The proud and arrogant man—“Scoffer” is his name—
he works in the arrogance of pride.
25 The desire of the sluggard kills him,
for his hands refuse to labour.
26 There are those who covet greedily all day long;
but the righteous give and don’t withhold.
27 The sacrifice of the wicked is an abomination—
how much more, when he brings it with a wicked mind!
28 A false witness will perish.
A man who listens speaks to eternity.
29 A wicked man hardens his face;
but as for the upright, he establishes his ways.
30 There is no wisdom nor understanding
nor counsel against the LORD.
31 The horse is prepared for the day of battle;
but victory is with
