Proverbs 22

Common English Bible

22 A good reputation is better than much wealth;
    high esteem is better than silver and gold.
²The rich and the poor have this in common:
    the Lord made them both.
³Prudent people see trouble and hide,
    while the simpleminded go right to it and get punished.
⁴The reward of humility and the fear of the Lord
    is wealth, honor, and life.
⁵Thorns and nets are in the path of the crooked;
    those who guard their lives keep their distance.
⁶Train children in the way they should go;
    when they grow old, they won’t depart from it.
⁷The wealthy rule over the poor;
    a borrower is a slave to a lender.
⁸Those who sow injustice will harvest evil;
    the rod of their fury will come to an end.
⁹Happy are generous people,
    because they give some of their food to the poor.
¹⁰Remove the mocker and conflict disappears;
    judgment and shame also stop.
¹¹Those who love a pure heart—
    their speech is gracious, and the king is their friend.
¹²The Lord’s eyes protect knowledge,
    but he frustrates the words of the treacherous.
¹³A lazy person says, “There’s a lion in the street!
    I’ll be killed in the town square!”
¹⁴The mouth of a mysterious woman is a deep pit;
    those under the Lord’s wrath will fall in it.
¹⁵Folly is bound up in a child’s heart;
    the rod of discipline removes it.
¹⁶Oppressing the poor to get rich
    and giving to the wealthy lead only to poverty.

Thirty sayings of the wise

¹⁷Turn your ear and hear the words of the wise;
    focus your mind on my knowledge.
¹⁸    It will be pleasant if you keep the words in you,
    if you have them ready on your lips.
¹⁹So that your trust will be in the Lord,
    I’m teaching you today—yes, you.
²⁰Haven’t I written for you thirty^[a] sayings
    full of advice and knowledge?
²¹Their purpose is to teach you true, reliable words,
    so you can report back reliably to those who sent you.

²²Don’t steal from the poor, because they are poor.
Don’t oppress the needy in the gate.
²³The Lord will take up their case
and press the life out of those who oppress them.^[b]

²⁴Don’t befriend people controlled by anger;
    don’t associate with hot-tempered people;
²⁵    otherwise, you will learn their ways
    and become trapped.

²⁶Don’t shake hands to guarantee a loan.
²⁷If you can’t repay,
why should they be able to take your bed from you?

²⁸Don’t remove an ancient boundary marker
that your ancestors established.

²⁹Do you see people who work skillfully?
They will work for kings
but not work for lowly people.