Proverbs 19

Contemporary English Version

⁴ The rich have many friends;
    the poor have none.
⁵ Dishonest witnesses and liars
    won't escape punishment.
⁶ Everyone tries to be friends
    of those who can help them.
⁷ If you are poor,
your own relatives reject you,
    and your friends are worse.
When you really need them,
    they are not there.^[a]

⁸ Do yourself a favor
by having good sense—
    you will be glad you did.
⁹ Dishonest witnesses and liars
    will be destroyed.
¹⁰ It isn't right for a fool
    to live in luxury
or for a slave to rule
    in place of a king.
¹¹ It's wise to be patient
and show what you are like
    by forgiving others.
¹² An angry king roars
    like a lion,
but when a king is pleased,
    it's like dew on the crops.

¹³ Foolish children bring disgrace
    to their fathers.
A nagging wife goes on and on
like the drip, drip, drip
    of the rain.
¹⁴ You may inherit all you own
    from your parents,
but a sensible wife
    is a gift from the Lord.
¹⁵ If you are lazy
and sleep your time away,
    you will starve.

¹⁶ Obey the Lord's teachings
and you will live—
    disobey and you will die.
¹⁷ Caring for the poor
is lending to the Lord,
    and you will be well repaid.
¹⁸ Correct your children
    before it's too late;
if you don't punish them,
    trouble will come their way.^[b]
19 People with bad tempers
    are always in trouble,
and they need help
    over and over again.^[c]
20 Pay attention to advice
and accept correction,
    so you can live sensibly.

²¹ We may make a lot of plans,
but the Lord will do
    what he has decided.
²² What matters most is loyalty.
It's better to be poor
    than to be a liar.
²³ Showing respect to the Lord
    brings true life—
if you do it, you can relax
    without fear of danger.

²⁴ Some people are too lazy
to lift a hand
    to feed themselves.
²⁵ Stupid fools learn good sense
    by seeing others punished;
a sensible person learns
    by being corrected.
²⁶ Disgraceful children
rob their father
    and chase their mother away.
²⁷ If you stop learning,
you will forget
    what you already know.
²⁸ A lying witness makes fun
    of the court system,
and criminals think crime
    is really delicious.
²⁹ A stupid fool should expect
    to be punished.