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19 Better is the poor that walketh in his integrity
Than he that is perverse in his lips and is a fool.
Also, [a]that the soul be without knowledge is not good;
And he that hasteth with his feet [b]sinneth.
The foolishness of man subverteth his way;
And his heart fretteth against Jehovah.
Wealth addeth many friends;
But [c]the poor is separated from his friend.
A false witness shall not be unpunished;
And he that [d]uttereth lies shall not escape.
Many will entreat the favor of [e]the liberal man;
And every man is a friend to him that giveth gifts.
All the brethren of the poor do hate him:
How much more do his friends go far from him!
[f]He pursueth them with words, but they are gone.
He that getteth [g]wisdom loveth his own soul:
He that keepeth understanding shall find good.
A false witness shall not be unpunished;
And he that [h]uttereth lies shall perish.
10 Delicate living is not seemly for a fool;
Much less for a servant to have rule over princes.
11 The discretion of a man maketh him slow to anger;
And it is his glory to pass over a transgression.
12 The king’s wrath is as the roaring of a lion;
But his favor is as dew upon the grass.
13 A foolish son is the calamity of his father;
And the contentions of a wife are a continual dropping.
14 House and riches are an inheritance from fathers;
But a prudent wife is from Jehovah.
15 Slothfulness casteth into a deep sleep;
And the idle soul shall suffer hunger.
16 He that keepeth the commandment keepeth his soul;
But he that [i]is careless of his ways shall die.
17 He that hath pity upon the poor lendeth unto Jehovah,
And his good deed will he pay him again.
18 Chasten thy son, seeing there is hope;
And set not thy heart on [j]his destruction.
19 A man of great wrath shall bear the penalty;
For if thou deliver him, thou must do it yet again.
20 Hear counsel, and receive [k]instruction,
That thou mayest be wise in thy latter end.
21 There are many devices in a man’s heart;
But the counsel of Jehovah, that shall stand.
22 That which maketh a man to be desired is his kindness;
And a poor man is better than a liar.
23 The fear of Jehovah tendeth to life;
And he that hath it shall abide satisfied;
He shall not be visited with evil.
24 The sluggard burieth his hand in the dish,
And will not so much as bring it to his mouth again.
25 Smite a scoffer, and the simple will learn prudence;
And reprove one that hath understanding, and he will understand knowledge.
26 He that doeth violence to his father, and chaseth away his mother,
Is a son that causeth shame and bringeth reproach.
27 Cease, my son, to hear instruction
Only to err from the words of knowledge.
28 A worthless witness mocketh at justice;
And the mouth of the wicked swalloweth iniquity.
29 Judgments are prepared for scoffers,
And stripes for the back of fools.
20 Wine is a mocker, strong drink a brawler;
And whosoever [l]erreth thereby is not wise.
The terror of a king is as the roaring of a lion:
He that [m]provoketh him to anger sinneth against his own [n]life.
It is an honor for a man to [o]keep aloof from strife;
But every fool will be quarrelling.
The sluggard will not plow by reason of the winter;
[p]Therefore he shall beg in harvest, and have nothing.
Counsel in the heart of man is like deep water;
But a man of understanding will draw it out.
[q]Most men will proclaim every one his own kindness;
But a faithful man who can find?
A righteous man that walketh in his integrity,
Blessed are his children after him.
A king that sitteth on the throne of judgment
[r]Scattereth away all evil with his eyes.
Who can say, I have made my heart clean,
I am pure from my sin?
10 [s]Diverse weights, and diverse measures,
Both of them alike are an abomination to Jehovah.
11 Even a child maketh himself known by his doings,
Whether his work be pure, and whether it be right.
12 The hearing ear, and the seeing eye,
Jehovah hath made even both of them.
13 Love not sleep, lest thou come to poverty;
Open thine eyes, and thou shalt be satisfied with bread.
14 It is bad, it is bad, saith the buyer;
But when he is gone his way, then he boasteth.
15 There is gold, and abundance of rubies;
But the lips of knowledge are a precious jewel.
16 Take his garment that is surety for a stranger;
And [t]hold him in pledge that is surety for [u]foreigners.
17 Bread of falsehood is sweet to a man;
But afterwards his mouth shall be filled with gravel.
18 Every purpose is established by counsel;
And by wise guidance make thou war.
19 He that goeth about as a tale-bearer revealeth secrets;
Therefore company not with him that openeth wide his lips.
20 Whoso curseth his father or his mother,
His lamp shall be put out in blackness of darkness.
21 An inheritance may be gotten hastily at the beginning;
But the end thereof shall not be blessed.
22 Say not thou, I will recompense evil:
Wait for Jehovah, and he will save thee.
23 Diverse weights are an abomination to Jehovah;
And [v]a false balance is not good.
24 A man’s goings are of Jehovah;
How then can man understand his way?
25 It is a snare to a man [w]rashly to say, It is holy,
And after vows to make inquiry.
26 A wise king winnoweth the wicked,
And bringeth the threshing-wheel over them.
27 The spirit of man is the lamp of Jehovah,
Searching all his innermost parts.
28 Kindness and truth preserve the king;
And [x]his throne is upholden by kindness.
29 The glory of young men is their strength;
And the beauty of old men is the hoary head.
30 Stripes that wound cleanse away evil;
And strokes reach the innermost parts.
21 The king’s heart is in the hand of Jehovah as the watercourses:
He turneth it whithersoever he will.
Every way of a man is right in his own eyes;
But Jehovah weigheth the hearts.
To do righteousness and justice
Is more acceptable to Jehovah than sacrifice.
A high look, and a proud heart,
[y]Even the lamp of the wicked, is sin.
The thoughts of the diligent tend only to plenteousness;
But every one that is hasty hasteth only to want.
The getting of treasures by a lying tongue
Is a vapor driven to and fro by them that seek death.
The violence of the wicked shall sweep them away,
Because they refuse to do justice.
The way of him that is laden with guilt is exceeding crooked;
But as for the pure, his work is [z]right.
It is better to dwell in the corner of the housetop,
Than with a contentious woman in [aa]a wide house.
10 The soul of the wicked desireth evil:
His neighbor findeth no favor in his eyes.
11 When the scoffer is punished, the simple is made wise;
And [ab]when the wise is instructed, he receiveth knowledge.
12 [ac]The righteous man considereth the house of the wicked,
How the wicked are overthrown to their ruin.
13 Whoso stoppeth his ears at the cry of the poor,
He also shall cry, but shall not be heard.
14 A gift in secret [ad]pacifieth anger;
And a present in the bosom, strong wrath.
15 It is joy to the righteous to do justice;
[ae]But it is a destruction to the workers of iniquity.
16 The man that wandereth out of the way of understanding
Shall rest in the assembly of [af]the dead.
17 He that loveth pleasure shall be a poor man:
He that loveth wine and oil shall not be rich.
18 The wicked is a ransom for the righteous;
And the treacherous cometh in the stead of the upright.
19 It is better to dwell in a desert land,
Than with [ag]a contentious and fretful woman.
20 There is precious treasure and oil in the dwelling of the wise;
But a foolish man swalloweth it up.
21 He that followeth after righteousness and kindness
Findeth life, righteousness, and honor.
22 A wise man scaleth the city of the mighty,
And bringeth down the strength of the confidence thereof.
23 Whoso keepeth his mouth and his tongue
Keepeth his soul from troubles.
24 The proud and haughty man, scoffer is his name;
He worketh in the arrogance of pride.
25 The desire of the sluggard killeth him;
For his hands refuse to labor.
26 There is that coveteth greedily all the day long;
But the righteous giveth and withholdeth not.
27 The sacrifice of the wicked is an abomination;
How much more, when he bringeth it [ah]with a wicked mind!
28 A false witness shall perish;
But the man that heareth shall speak so as to endure.
29 A wicked man hardeneth his face;
But as for the upright, [ai]he establisheth his ways.
30 There is no wisdom nor understanding
Nor counsel against Jehovah.
31 The horse is prepared against the day of battle;
But [aj]victory is of Jehovah.

Footnotes

  1. Proverbs 19:2 Or, desire without knowledge is not good
  2. Proverbs 19:2 Or, misseth his way
  3. Proverbs 19:4 Or, the friend of the poor separateth himself from him
  4. Proverbs 19:5 Hebrew breatheth out.
  5. Proverbs 19:6 Or, a prince
  6. Proverbs 19:7 Or, He pursueth after words, which are nought
  7. Proverbs 19:8 Hebrew heart.
  8. Proverbs 19:9 Hebrew breatheth out.
  9. Proverbs 19:16 Hebrew despiseth.
  10. Proverbs 19:18 Hebrew causing him to die.
  11. Proverbs 19:20 Or, correction
  12. Proverbs 20:1 Or, reeleth
  13. Proverbs 20:2 Or, angereth himself against him
  14. Proverbs 20:2 Hebrew soul.
  15. Proverbs 20:3 Or, cease
  16. Proverbs 20:4 Or, Therefore when he seeketh in harvest, there shall be nothing
  17. Proverbs 20:6 Or, Many a man will meet one that is kind to him
  18. Proverbs 20:8 Or, Winnoweth
  19. Proverbs 20:10 Hebrew A stone and a stone, an ephah and an ephah.
  20. Proverbs 20:16 Or, take a pledge of him
  21. Proverbs 20:16 Another reading is, a foreign woman.
  22. Proverbs 20:23 Hebrew a balance of deceit.
  23. Proverbs 20:25 Or, rashly to utter holy words. Or, to devour that which is holy
  24. Proverbs 20:28 Or, he upholdeth his throne
  25. Proverbs 21:4 Or, And the tillage
  26. Proverbs 21:8 Or, straight
  27. Proverbs 21:9 Or, a house in common. Hebrew a house of society.
  28. Proverbs 21:11 Or, when one considereth the wise
  29. Proverbs 21:12 Or, One that is righteous . . . he overthroweth the wicked etc.
  30. Proverbs 21:14 Hebrew bendeth.
  31. Proverbs 21:15 Or, But destruction shall be to etc.
  32. Proverbs 21:16 Or, the shades. Hebrew Rephaim.
  33. Proverbs 21:19 Or, a contentious woman and vexation
  34. Proverbs 21:27 Or, to atone for wickedness
  35. Proverbs 21:29 Another reading is, he considereth his way.
  36. Proverbs 21:31 Or, deliverance