Proverbs 19

New American Standard Bible

On Life and Conduct

19 ^(A)Better is a poor person who ^(B)walks in his integrity
Than a person who is perverse in ^[a]speech and is a fool.
²Also it is not good for a person to be without knowledge,
And one who hurries ^[b]^(C)his footsteps ^[c]errs.
³The ^(D)foolishness of a person ruins his way,
And his heart ^(E)rages against the Lord.
⁴^(F)Wealth adds many friends,
But a poor person is separated from his friend.
⁵A ^(G)false witness will not go unpunished,
And one who ^(H)declares lies will not escape.
⁶^(I)Many will seek the favor of a ^[d]generous person,
And every person is a friend to ^(J)him who gives gifts.
⁷All the brothers of a poor person hate him;
How much more do his ^(K)friends abandon him!
He ^(L)pursues them with words, but they are ^[e]gone.
⁸One who gets ^[f]wisdom loves his own soul;
One who keeps understanding will ^(M)find good.
⁹A ^(N)false witness will not go unpunished,
And one who declares lies will perish.
¹⁰Luxury is ^(O)not fitting for a fool;
Much less for a ^(P)slave to rule over princes.
¹¹A person’s ^(Q)discretion makes him slow to anger,
And it is his glory ^(R)to overlook an offense.
¹²A ^(S)king’s wrath is like the roaring of a lion,
But his favor is like ^(T)dew on the grass.
¹³A ^(U)foolish son is destruction to his father,
And the ^(V)quarrels of a wife are a constant dripping.
¹⁴House and wealth are an ^(W)inheritance from fathers,
But a prudent wife is from the Lord.
¹⁵^(X)Laziness casts one into a deep sleep,
And ^[g]a lazy ^[h]person will suffer hunger.
¹⁶One who ^(Y)keeps the commandment keeps his soul,
But one who ^[i]is careless of ^[j]conduct will die.
¹⁷One who ^(Z)is gracious to a poor person lends to the Lord,
And He will repay him for his ^[k]^(AA)good deed.
¹⁸^(AB)Discipline your son while there is hope,
And do not desire ^[l]his death.
¹⁹A person of great anger will suffer the penalty,
For if you rescue him, you will only have to do it again.
²⁰^(AC)Listen to advice and accept discipline,
So that you may be wise ^[m]the rest of your days.
²¹Many ^(AD)plans are in a person’s heart,
But the ^(AE)advice of the Lord will stand.
²²What is desirable in a person is his ^[n]kindness,
And it is better to be a poor person than a liar.
²³^[o]The ^(AF)fear of the Lord leads to life,
So that one may sleep ^(AG)satisfied, ^[p]^(AH)untouched by evil.
²⁴The ^[q]^(AI)lazy one buries his hand ^(AJ)in the dish,
But will not even bring it back to his mouth.
²⁵^(AK)Strike a scoffer and the naive may become clever,
But ^(AL)rebuke one who has understanding, and he will ^[r]gain knowledge.
²⁶He ^(AM)who assaults his father and drives his mother away
Is a shameful and disgraceful son.
²⁷Stop listening, my son, to discipline,
And you will stray from the words of knowledge.
²⁸A worthless witness makes a mockery of justice,
And the mouth of the wicked ^[s]^(AN)swallows wrongdoing.
²⁹^[t]Judgments are prepared for ^(AO)scoffers,
And ^(AP)beatings for the backs of fools.