Proverbs 19-23

New King James Version

² Also it is not good for a soul to be without knowledge,
And he sins who hastens with his feet.

³ The foolishness of a man twists his way,
And his heart frets against the Lord.

^4 (B)Wealth makes many friends,
But the poor is separated from his friend.

⁵ A ^(C)false witness will not go unpunished,
And he who speaks lies will not escape.

⁶ Many entreat the favor of the nobility,
And every man is a friend to one who gives gifts.
^7 (D)All the brothers of the poor hate him;
How much more do his friends go ^(E)far from him!
He may pursue them with words, yet they ^[a]abandon him.

⁸ He who gets ^[b]wisdom loves his own soul;
He who keeps understanding ^(F)will find good.

⁹ A false witness will not go unpunished,
And he who speaks lies shall perish.

¹⁰ Luxury is not fitting for a fool,
Much less ^(G)for a servant to rule over princes.

^11 (H)The discretion of a man makes him slow to anger,
^(I)And his glory is to overlook a transgression.

^12 (J)The king’s wrath is like the roaring of a lion,
But his favor is ^(K)like dew on the grass.

^13 (L)A foolish son is the ruin of his father,
^(M)And the contentions of a wife are a continual ^[c]dripping.

^14 (N)Houses and riches are an inheritance from fathers,
But ^(O)a prudent wife is from the Lord.

^15 (P)Laziness casts one into a deep sleep,
And an idle person will ^(Q)suffer hunger.

^16 (R)He who keeps the commandment keeps his soul,
But he who ^[d]is careless of his ways will die.

^17 (S)He who has pity on the poor lends to the Lord,
And He will pay back what he has given.

^18 (T)Chasten your son while there is hope,
And do not set your heart ^[e]on his destruction.

¹⁹ A man of great wrath will suffer punishment;
For if you rescue him, you will have to do it again.

²⁰ Listen to counsel and receive instruction,
That you may be wise ^(U)in your latter days.

²¹ There are many plans in a man’s heart,
^(V)Nevertheless the Lord’s counsel—that will stand.

²² What is desired in a man is ^[f]kindness,
And a poor man is better than a liar.

^23 (W)The fear of the Lord leads to life,
And he who has it will abide in satisfaction;
He will not be visited with evil.

^24 (X)A lazy man buries his hand in the ^[g]bowl,
And will not so much as bring it to his mouth again.

²⁵ Strike a scoffer, and the simple ^(Y)will become wary;
^(Z)Rebuke one who has understanding, and he will discern knowledge.

²⁶ He who mistreats his father and chases away his mother
Is ^(AA)a son who causes shame and brings reproach.

²⁷ Cease listening to instruction, my son,
And you will stray from the words of knowledge.

²⁸ A ^[h]disreputable witness scorns justice,
And ^(AB)the mouth of the wicked devours iniquity.

²⁹ Judgments are prepared for scoffers,
^(AC)And beatings for the backs of fools.

² The ^[i]wrath of a king is like the roaring of a lion;
Whoever provokes him to anger sins against his own life.

^3 (AE)It is honorable for a man to stop striving,
Since any fool can start a quarrel.

^4 (AF)The lazy man will not plow because of winter;
^(AG)He will beg during 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 Most men will proclaim each his own ^[j]goodness,
But who can find a faithful man?

^7 (AH)The righteous man walks in his integrity;
^(AI)His children are blessed after him.

⁸ A king who sits on the throne of judgment
Scatters all evil with his eyes.

^9 (AJ)Who can say, “I have made my heart clean,
I am pure from my sin”?

^10 (AK)Diverse weights and diverse measures,
They are both alike, an abomination to the Lord.

¹¹ Even a child is ^(AL)known by his deeds,
Whether what he does is pure and right.

^12 (AM)The hearing ear and the seeing eye,
The Lord has made them both.

^13 (AN)Do not love sleep, lest you come to poverty;
Open your eyes, and you will be satisfied with bread.

¹⁴ “It is ^[k]good for nothing,” cries the buyer;
But when he has gone his way, then he boasts.

¹⁵ There is gold and a multitude of rubies,
But ^(AO)the lips of knowledge are a precious jewel.

^16 (AP)Take the garment of one who is surety for a stranger,
And hold it as a pledge when it is for a seductress.

^17 (AQ)Bread gained by deceit is sweet to a man,
But afterward his mouth will be filled with gravel.

^18 (AR)Plans are established by counsel;
^(AS)By wise counsel wage war.

^19 (AT)He who goes about as a talebearer reveals secrets;
Therefore do not associate with one ^(AU)who flatters with his lips.

^20 (AV)Whoever curses his father or his mother,
^(AW)His lamp will be put out in deep darkness.

^21 (AX)An inheritance gained hastily at the beginning
^(AY)Will not be blessed at the end.

^22 (AZ)Do not say, “I will ^[l]recompense evil”;
^(BA)Wait for the Lord, and He will save you.

²³ Diverse weights are an abomination to the Lord,
And dishonest scales are not good.

²⁴ A man’s steps are of the Lord;
How then can a man understand his own way?

²⁵ It is a snare for a man to devote rashly something as holy,
And afterward to reconsider his vows.

^26 (BB)A wise king sifts out the wicked,
And brings the threshing wheel over them.

^27 (BC)The spirit of a man is the lamp of the Lord,
Searching all the ^[m]inner depths of his heart.

^28 (BD)Mercy and truth preserve the king,
And by ^[n]lovingkindness he upholds his throne.

²⁹ The glory of young men is their strength,
And ^(BE)the splendor of old men is their gray head.

³⁰ Blows that hurt cleanse away evil,
As do stripes the ^[o]inner depths of the heart.

^2 (BF)Every way of a man is right in his own eyes,
^(BG)But the Lord weighs the hearts.

^3 (BH)To do righteousness and justice
Is more acceptable to the Lord than sacrifice.

^4 (BI)A haughty look, a proud heart,
And the ^[q]plowing of the wicked are sin.

^5 (BJ)The plans of the diligent lead surely to plenty,
But those of everyone who is hasty, surely to poverty.

^6 (BK)Getting treasures by a lying tongue
^[r]Is the fleeting fantasy of those who seek death.

⁷ The violence of the wicked will ^[s]destroy them,
Because they refuse to do justice.

⁸ The way of ^[t]a guilty man is perverse;
But as for the pure, his work is right.

⁹ Better to dwell in a corner of a housetop,
Than in a house shared with ^(BL)a contentious woman.

^10 (BM)The soul of the wicked desires evil;
His neighbor finds no favor in his eyes.

¹¹ When the scoffer is punished, the simple is made wise;
But when the ^(BN)wise is instructed, he receives knowledge.

¹² The righteous God wisely considers the house of the wicked,
Overthrowing the wicked for their wickedness.

^13 (BO)Whoever shuts his ears to the cry of the poor
Will also cry himself and not be heard.

¹⁴ A gift in secret pacifies anger,
And a bribe ^[u]behind the back, strong wrath.

¹⁵ It is a joy for the just to do justice,
But destruction will come to the workers of iniquity.

¹⁶ A man who wanders from the way of understanding
Will rest in the assembly of the ^(BP)dead.

¹⁷ He who loves pleasure will be a poor man;
He who loves wine and oil will not be rich.

¹⁸ The wicked shall be a ransom for the righteous,
And the unfaithful for the upright.

¹⁹ Better to dwell ^[v]in the wilderness,
Than with a contentious and angry woman.

^20 (BQ)There is desirable treasure,
And oil in the dwelling of the wise,
But a foolish man squanders it.

^21 (BR)He who follows righteousness and mercy
Finds life, righteousness, and honor.

²² A ^(BS)wise man ^[w]scales the city of the mighty,
And brings down the trusted stronghold.

^23 (BT)Whoever guards his mouth and tongue
Keeps his soul from troubles.

²⁴ A proud and haughty man—“Scoffer” is his name;
He acts with arrogant pride.

²⁵ The ^(BU)desire of the lazy man kills him,
For his hands refuse to labor.
²⁶ He covets greedily all day long,
But the righteous ^(BV)gives and does not spare.

^27 (BW)The sacrifice of the wicked is an abomination;
How much more when he brings it with wicked intent!

²⁸ A false witness shall perish,
But the man who hears him will speak endlessly.

²⁹ A wicked man hardens his face,
But as for the upright, he ^[x]establishes his way.

^30 (BX)There is no wisdom or understanding
Or counsel against the Lord.

³¹ The horse is prepared for the day of battle,
But ^(BY)deliverance is of the Lord.

² The ^(CA)rich and the poor have this in common,
The ^(CB)Lord is the maker of them all.

³ A prudent man foresees evil and hides himself,
But the simple pass on and are ^(CC)punished.

⁴ By humility and the fear of the Lord
Are riches and honor and life.

⁵ Thorns and snares are in the way of the perverse;
He who guards his soul will be far from them.

^6 (CD)Train up a child in the way he should go,
^[y]And when he is old he will not depart from it.

⁷ The ^(CE)rich rules over the poor,
And the borrower is servant to the lender.

⁸ He who sows iniquity will reap ^(CF)sorrow,^[z]
And the rod of his anger will fail.

^9 (CG)He who has a ^[aa]generous eye will be ^(CH)blessed,
For he gives of his bread to the poor.

^10 (CI)Cast out the scoffer, and contention will leave;
Yes, strife and reproach will cease.

^11 (CJ)He who loves purity of heart
And has grace on his lips,
The king will be his friend.

¹² The eyes of the Lord preserve knowledge,
But He overthrows the words of the faithless.

^13 (CK)The lazy man says, “There is a lion outside!
I shall be slain in the streets!”

^14 (CL)The mouth of an immoral woman is a deep pit;
^(CM)He who is abhorred by the Lord will fall there.

¹⁵ Foolishness is bound up in the heart of a child;
^(CN)The rod of correction will drive it far from him.

¹⁶ He who oppresses the poor to increase his riches,
And he who gives to the rich, will surely come to poverty.

²² Do not rob the ^(CQ)poor because he is poor,
Nor oppress the afflicted at the gate;
^23 (CR)For the Lord will plead their cause,
And plunder the soul of those who plunder them.

²⁴ Make no friendship with an angry man,
And with a ^(CS)furious man do not go,
²⁵ Lest you learn his ways
And set a snare for your soul.

^26 (CT)Do not be one of those who ^[ac]shakes hands in a pledge,
One of those who is ^[ad]surety for debts;
²⁷ If you have nothing with which to pay,
Why should he take away your bed from under you?

^28 (CU)Do not remove the ancient ^[ae]landmark
Which your fathers have set.

²⁹ Do you see a man who ^[af]excels in his work?
He will stand before kings;
He will not stand before ^[ag]unknown men.

^4 (CV)Do not overwork to be rich;
^(CW)Because of your own understanding, cease!
^5 [ah]Will you set your eyes on that which is not?
For riches certainly make themselves wings;
They fly away like an eagle toward heaven.

⁶ Do not eat the bread of ^(CX)a^[ai] miser,
Nor desire his delicacies;
⁷ For as he thinks in his heart, so is he.
“Eat and drink!” ^(CY)he says to you,
But his heart is not with you.
⁸ The morsel you have eaten, you will vomit up,
And waste your pleasant words.

^9 (CZ)Do not speak in the hearing of a fool,
For he will despise the wisdom of your words.

¹⁰ Do not remove the ancient ^[aj]landmark,
Nor enter the fields of the fatherless;
^11 (DA)For their Redeemer is mighty;
He will plead their cause against you.

¹² Apply your heart to instruction,
And your ears to words of knowledge.

^13 (DB)Do not withhold correction from a child,
For if you beat him with a rod, he will not die.
¹⁴ You shall beat him with a rod,
And deliver his soul from ^[ak]hell.

¹⁵ My son, if your heart is wise,
My heart will rejoice—indeed, I myself;
¹⁶ Yes, my ^[al]inmost being will rejoice
When your lips speak right things.

^17 (DC)Do not let your heart envy sinners,
But ^(DD)be zealous for the fear of the Lord all the day;
^18 (DE)For surely there is a ^[am]hereafter,
And your hope will not be cut off.

¹⁹ Hear, my son, and be wise;
And guide your heart in the way.
^20 (DF)Do not mix with winebibbers,
Or with gluttonous eaters of meat;
²¹ For the drunkard and the glutton will come to poverty,
And drowsiness will clothe a man with rags.

^22 (DG)Listen to your father who begot you,
And do not despise your mother when she is old.

^23 (DH)Buy the truth, and do not sell it,
Also wisdom and instruction and understanding.

^24 (DI)The father of the righteous will greatly rejoice,
And he who begets a wise child will delight in him.
²⁵ Let your father and your mother be glad,
And let her who bore you rejoice.

²⁶ My son, give me your heart,
And let your eyes observe my ways.
^27 (DJ)For a harlot is a deep pit,
And a seductress is a narrow well.
^28 (DK)She also lies in wait as for a victim,
And increases the unfaithful among men.

^29 (DL)Who has woe?
Who has sorrow?
Who has contentions?
Who has complaints?
Who has wounds without cause?
Who ^(DM)has redness of eyes?
^30 (DN)Those who linger long at the wine,
Those who go in search of ^(DO)mixed wine.
³¹ Do not look on the wine when it is red,
When it sparkles in the cup,
When it ^[an]swirls around smoothly;
³² At the last it bites like a serpent,
And stings like a viper.
³³ Your eyes will see strange things,
And your heart will utter perverse things.
³⁴ Yes, you will be like one who lies down in the ^[ao]midst of the sea,
Or like one who lies at the top of the mast, saying:
³⁵ “They^(DP) have struck me, but I was not hurt;
They have beaten me, but I did not feel it.
When shall ^(DQ)I awake, that I may seek another drink?”