Proverbs 14

New American Standard Bible

14 The ^(A)wise woman builds her house,
But the foolish tears it down with her own hands.
² One who ^(B)walks in his uprightness fears the Lord,
But one who is ^(C)devious in his ways despises Him.
³ In the mouth of the foolish is a rod for his back,
But ^(D)the lips of the wise will protect them.
⁴ Where there are no oxen, the manger is clean;
But much revenue comes by the strength of the ox.
⁵ A ^(E)trustworthy witness will not lie,
But a ^(F)false witness ^(G)declares lies.
⁶ A scoffer seeks wisdom and finds none,
But knowledge is easy for one who has understanding.
⁷ Leave the ^(H)presence of a fool,
Or you will not ^[a]discern ^[b]words of knowledge.
⁸ The wisdom of the sensible is to understand his way,
But ^(I)the foolishness of fools is deceit.
⁹ Fools mock at ^[c]sin,
But ^(J)among the upright there is ^[d]goodwill.
¹⁰ The heart knows its own ^(K)bitterness,
And a stranger does not share its joy.
¹¹ The ^(L)house of the wicked will be destroyed,
But the tent of the upright will flourish.
¹² There ^(M)is a way which seems right to a person,
But its ^(N)end is the way of death.
¹³ Even in laughter the heart may be in pain,
And the ^(O)end of joy may be grief.
¹⁴ One with a wayward heart will have his ^(P)fill of his own ways,
But a good person will ^(Q)be satisfied ^[e]with his.
¹⁵ The naive believes everything,
But the sensible person considers his steps.
¹⁶ A wise person ^[f]is cautious and ^(R)turns away from evil,
But a fool is arrogant and careless.
¹⁷ A quick-tempered person acts foolishly,
And a person of evil devices is hated.
¹⁸ The naive inherit foolishness,
But the sensible are crowned with knowledge.
¹⁹ The ^(S)evil will bow down before the good,
And the wicked at the gates of the righteous.
²⁰ The ^(T)poor is hated even by his neighbor,
But those who love the rich are many.
²¹ One who ^(U)despises his neighbor sins,
But ^(V)one who is gracious to the ^[g]poor is blessed.
²² Will they who ^(W)devise evil not go astray?
But kindness and truth will be to those who devise good.
²³ In all labor there is profit,
But ^[h]mere talk leads only to poverty.
²⁴ The ^(X)crown of the wise is their riches,
But the foolishness of fools is simply foolishness.
²⁵ A truthful witness saves lives,
But one who ^(Y)declares lies is ^[i]deceitful.
²⁶ In ^[j](Z)the fear of the Lord there is strong confidence,
And ^[k]his children will have refuge.
^27 [l]The fear of the Lord is a fountain of life,
By which one may avoid the snares of death.
²⁸ In a multitude of people is a king’s glory,
But in the scarcity of people is a prince’s ruin.
²⁹ One who is ^(AA)slow to anger has great understanding;
But one who is ^[m]quick-tempered exalts foolishness.
³⁰ A ^(AB)tranquil heart is life to the body,
But jealousy is ^(AC)rottenness to the bones.
³¹ One ^(AD)who oppresses the poor taunts ^(AE)his Maker,
But one who is gracious to the needy honors Him.
³² The wicked is ^(AF)thrust down by his own wrongdoing,
But the ^(AG)righteous has a refuge when he dies.
³³ Wisdom rests in the heart of one who has understanding,
But among fools it is made known.
³⁴ Righteousness exalts a nation,
But sin is a disgrace to any people.
³⁵ The king’s favor is toward a ^(AH)servant who acts wisely,
But his anger is toward him who acts shamefully.