Proverbs 22

New King James Version

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

³ A prudent man foresees evil and hides himself,
But the simple pass on and are ^(D)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 (E)Train up a child in the way he should go,
^[a]And when he is old he will not depart from it.

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

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

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

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

^11 (K)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 (L)The lazy man says, “There is a lion outside!
I shall be slain in the streets!”

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

¹⁵ Foolishness is bound up in the heart of a child;
^(O)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 ^(R)poor because he is poor,
Nor oppress the afflicted at the gate;
^23 (S)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 ^(T)furious man do not go,
²⁵ Lest you learn his ways
And set a snare for your soul.

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

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

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