And He will pay back what he has given.
18t Chasten your son while there is hope,
And do not set your heart 5on his destruction.
19A man of great wrath will suffer punishment;
For if you rescue him, you will have to do it again.
20Listen to counsel and receive instruction,
That you may be wise uin your latter days.
21There are many plans in a man’s heart,
v Nevertheless the LORD’s counsel—that will stand.
22What is desired in a man is 6kindness,
And a poor man is better than a liar.
23w The fear of the LORD leads to life,
And he who has it will abide in satisfaction;
He will not be visited with evil.
24x A lazy man buries his hand in the 7bowl,
And will not so much as bring it to his mouth again.
25Strike a scoffer, and the simple ywill become wary;
z Rebuke one who has understanding, and he will discern knowledge.
26He who mistreats his father and chases away his mother
Is aa son who causes shame and brings reproach.
27Cease listening to instruction, my son,
And you will stray from the words of knowledge.
28A 8disreputable witness scorns justice,
And bthe mouth of the wicked devours iniquity.
29Judgments are prepared for scoffers,
c And beatings for the backs of fools.
Proverbs 20
Wine Is a Mocker
1Wine ais a mocker,
Strong drink is a brawler,
And whoever is led astray by it is not wise.
2The 1wrath of a king is like the roaring of a lion;
Whoever provokes him to anger sins against his own life.
3b It is honorable for a man to stop striving,
Since any fool can start a quarrel.
4c The lazy man will not plow because of winter;
d He will beg during harvest and have nothing.
5Counsel in the heart of man is like deep water,
But a man of understanding will draw it out.
6Most men will proclaim each his own 2goodness,
But who can find a faithful man?
7e The righteous man walks in his integrity;
f His children are blessed after him.
8A king who sits on the throne of judgment
Scatters all evil with his eyes.
9g Who can say, “I have made my heart clean,
I am pure from my sin”?
10h Diverse weights and diverse measures,
They are both alike, an abomination to the LORD.
11Even a child is iknown by his deeds,
Whether what he does is pure and right.
12j The hearing ear and the seeing eye,
The LORD has made them both.
13k Do not love sleep, lest you come to poverty;
Open your eyes, and you will be satisfied with bread.
14“ It is 3good for nothing,” cries the buyer;
But when he has gone his way, then he boasts.
15There is gold and a multitude of rubies,
But lthe lips of knowledge are a precious jewel.
16m Take the garment of one who is surety for a stranger,
And hold it as a pledge when it is for a seductress.
17n Bread gained by deceit is sweet to a man,
But afterward his mouth will be filled with gravel.
18o Plans are established by counsel;
p By wise counsel wage war.
19q He who goes about as a talebearer reveals secrets;
Therefore do not associate with one rwho flatters with his lips.
20s Whoever curses his father or his mother,
t His lamp will be put out in deep darkness.
21u An inheritance gained hastily at the beginning
v Will not be blessed at the end.
22w Do not say, “I will 4recompense evil”;
x Wait for the LORD, and He will save you.
23Diverse weights are an abomination to the LORD,
And dishonest scales are not good.
24A man’s steps are of the LORD;
How then can a man understand his own way?
25It is a snare for a man to devote rashly something as holy,
And afterward to reconsider his vows.
26y A wise king sifts out the wicked,
And brings the threshing wheel over them.
27z The spirit of a man is the lamp of the LORD,
Searching all the 5inner depths of his heart.
28a Mercy and truth preserve the king,
And by 6lovingkindness he upholds his throne.
29The glory of young men is their strength,
And bthe splendor of old men is their gray head.
30Blows that hurt cleanse away evil,
As do stripes the 7inner depths of the heart.
Proverbs 21
The LORD Considers the Heart
1The king’s heart is in the hand of the LORD,
Like the 1rivers of water;
He turns it wherever He wishes.
2a Every way of a man is right in his own eyes,
b But the LORD weighs the hearts.
3c To do righteousness and justice
Is more acceptable to the LORD than sacrifice.
4d A haughty look, a proud heart,
And the 2plowing of the wicked are sin.
5e The plans of the diligent lead surely to plenty,
But those of everyone who is hasty, surely to poverty.
6f Getting treasures by a lying tongue
3 Is the fleeting fantasy of those who seek death.
7The violence of the wicked will 4destroy them,
Because they refuse to do justice.
8The way of 5a guilty man is perverse;
But as for the pure, his work is right.
9Better to dwell in a corner of a housetop,
Than in a house shared with ga contentious woman.
10h The soul of the wicked desires evil;
His neighbor finds no favor in his eyes.
11When the scoffer is punished, the simple is made wise;
But when the iwise is instructed, he receives knowledge.
12The righteous God wisely considers the house of the wicked,
Overthrowing the wicked for their wickedness.
13j Whoever shuts his ears to the cry of the poor
Will also cry himself and not be heard.
14A gift in secret pacifies anger,
And a bribe 6behind the back, strong wrath.
15It is a joy for the just to do justice,
But destruction will come to the workers of iniquity.
16A man who wanders from the way of understanding
Will rest in the assembly of the kdead.
17He who loves pleasure will be a poor man;
He who loves wine and oil will not be rich.
18The wicked shall be a ransom for the righteous,
And the unfaithful for the upright.
19Better to dwell 7in the wilderness,
Than with a contentious and angry woman.
20l There is desirable treasure,
And oil in the dwelling of the wise,
But a foolish man squanders it.
21m He who follows righteousness and mercy
Finds life, righteousness and honor.
22A nwise man 8scales the city of the mighty,
And brings down the trusted stronghold.
23o Whoever guards his mouth and tongue
Keeps his soul from troubles.
24A proud and haughty man—“Scoffer” is his name;
He acts with arrogant pride.
25The pdesire of the lazy man kills him,
For his hands refuse to labor.
26He covets greedily all day long,
But the righteous qgives and does not spare.
; 27r The sacrifice of the wicked is an abomination;
How much more when he brings it with wicked intent!
28A false witness shall perish,
But the man who hears him will speak endlessly.
29A wicked man hardens his face,
But as for the upright, he 9establishes his way.
30s There is no wisdom or understanding
Or counsel against the LORD.
31The horse is prepared for the day of battle,
But tdeliverance is of the LORD.
Proverbs 22
The Value of a Good Name
1A agood name is to be chosen rather than great riches,
Loving favor rather than silver and gold.
2The brich and the poor have this in common,
The cLORD is the maker of them all.
3A prudent man foresees evil and hides himself,
But the simple pass on and are dpunished.
4By humility and the fear of the LORD
Are riches and honor and life.
5Thorns and snares are in the way of the perverse;
He who guards his soul will be far from them.
6e Train up a child in the way he should go,
1 And when he is old he will not depart from it.
7The frich rules over the poor,
And the borrower is servant to the lender.
8He who sows iniquity will reap gsorrow,2
And the rod of his anger will fail.
9h He who has a 3generous eye will be iblessed,
For he gives of his bread to the poor.
10j Cast out the scoffer, and contention will leave;
Yes, strife and reproach will cease.
11k He who loves purity of heart
And has grace on his lips,
The king will be his friend.
12The eyes of the LORD preserve knowledge,
But He overthrows the words of the faithless.
13l The lazy man says, “There is a lion outside!
I shall be slain in the streets!”
14m The mouth of an immoral woman is a deep pit;
n He who is abhorred by the LORD will fall there.
15Foolishness is bound up in the heart of a child;
o The rod of correction will drive it far from him.
16He who oppresses the poor to increase his riches,
And he who gives to the rich, will surely come to poverty.
Sayings of the Wise
17Incline your ear and hear the words of the wise,
And apply your heart to my knowledge;
18For it is a pleasant thing if you keep them within you;
Let them all be fixed upon your lips,
19So that your trust may be in the LORD;
I have instructed you today, even you.
20Have I not written to you excellent things
Of counsels and knowledge,
21p That I may make you know the certainty of the words of truth,
q That you may answer words of truth
To those who 4send to you?
22Do not rob the rpoor because he is poor,
Nor oppress the afflicted at the gate;
23s For the LORD will plead their cause,
And plunder the soul of those who plunder them.
24Make no friendship with an angry man,
And with a tfurious man do not go,
25Lest you learn his ways
And set a snare for your soul.
26u Do not be one of those who 5shakes hands in a pledge,
One of those who is 6surety for debts;
27If you have nothing with which to pay,
Why should he take away your bed from under you?
28v Do not remove the ancient 7landmark
Which your fathers have set.
29Do you see a man who 8excels in his work?
He will stand before kings;
He will not stand before 9unknown men.
Proverbs 23
Listen to Your Father
1When you sit down to eat with a ruler,
Consider carefully what is before you;
2And put a knife to your throat
If you are a man given to appetite.
3Do not desire his delicacies,
For they are deceptive food.
4a Do not overwork to be rich;
b Because of your own understanding, cease!
51 Will you set your eyes on that which is not?
For riches certainly make themselves wings;
They fly away like an eagle toward heaven.
6Do not eat the bread of ca2 miser,
Nor desire his delicacies;
7For as he thinks in his heart, so is he.
“Eat and drink!” dhe says to you,
But his heart is not with you.
8The morsel you have eaten, you will vomit up,
And waste your pleasant words.
9e Do not speak in the hearing of a fool,
For he will despise the wisdom of your words.
10Do not remove the ancient 3landmark,
Nor enter the fields of the fatherless;
11f For their Redeemer is mighty;
He will plead their cause against you.
12Apply your heart to instruction,
And your ears to words of knowledge.
13g Do not withhold correction from a child,
For if you beat him with a rod, he will not die.
14You shall beat him with a rod,
And deliver his soul from 4hell.
15My son, if your heart is wise,
My heart will rejoice—indeed, I myself;
16Yes, my 5inmost being will rejoice
When your lips speak right things.
17h Do not let your heart envy sinners,
But ibe zealous for the fear of the LORD all the day;
18j For surely there is a 6hereafter,
And your hope will not be cut off.
19Hear, my son, and be wise;
And guide your heart in the way.
20k Do not mix with winebibbers,
Or with gluttonous eaters of meat;
21For the drunkard and the glutton will come to poverty,
And drowsiness will clothe a man with rags.
22l Listen to your father who begot you,
And do not despise your mother when she is old.
23m Buy the truth, and do not sell it,
Also wisdom and instruction and understanding.
24n The father of the righteous will greatly rejoice,
And he who begets a wise child will delight in him.
25Let your father and your mother be glad,
And let her who bore you rejoice.
26My son, give me your heart,
And let your eyes observe my ways.
27o For a harlot is a deep pit,
And a seductress is a narrow well.
28p She also lies in wait as for a victim,
And increases the unfaithful among men.
29q Who has woe?
Who has sorrow?
Who has contentions?
Who has complaints?
Who has wounds without cause?
Who rhas redness of eyes?
30s Those who linger long at the wine,
Those who go in search of tmixed wine.
31Do not look on the wine when it is red,
When it sparkles in the cup,
When it 7swirls around smoothly;
32At the last it bites like a serpent,
And stings like a viper.
33Your eyes will see strange things,
And your heart will utter perverse things.
34Yes, you will be like one who lies down in the 8midst of the sea,
Or like one who lies at the top of the mast, saying:
35“Theyu have struck me, but I was not hurt;
They have beaten me, but I did not feel it.
When shall vI awake, that I may seek another drink?”
Proverbs 24
Do Not Envy Evil Men
1Do not be aenvious of evil men,
Nor desire to be with them;
2For their heart devises violence,
And their lips talk of troublemaking.
3Through wisdom a house is built,
And by understanding it is established;
4By knowledge the rooms are filled
With all precious and pleasant riches.
5b A wise man is strong,
Yes, a man of knowledge increases strength;
6c For by wise counsel you will wage your own war,
And in a multitude of counselors there is safety.
7d Wisdom is too lofty for a fool;
He does not open his mouth in the gate.
8He who eplots to do evil
Will be called a 1schemer.
9The devising of foolishness is sin,
And the scoffer is an abomination to men.
10If you ffaint in the day of adversity,
Your strength is small.
11g Deliver those who are drawn toward death,
And hold back those stumbling to the slaughter.
12If you say, “Surely we did not know this,”
Does not hHe who weighs the hearts consider it?
He who keeps your soul, does He not know it?
And will He not render to each man iaccording to his deeds?
13My son, jeat honey because it is good,
And the honeycomb which is sweet to your taste;
14k So shall the knowledge of wisdom be to your soul;
If you have found it, there is a 2prospect,
And your hope will not be cut off.
15Do not lie in wait, O wicked man, against the dwelling of the righteous;
Do not plunder his resting place;
16l For a righteous man may fall seven times
And rise again,
m But the wicked shall fall by calamity.
17n Do not rejoice when your enemy falls,
And do not let your heart be glad when he stumbles;
18Lest the LORD see it, and 3it displease Him,
And He turn away His wrath from him.
19o Do not fret because of evildoers,
Nor be envious of the wicked;
20For there will be no prospect for the evil man;
The lamp of the wicked will be put out.
21My son, pfear the LORD and the king;
Do not associate with those given to change;
22For their calamity will rise suddenly,
And who knows the ruin those two can bring?
Further Sayings of the Wise
23These things also belong to the wise:
q It is not good to 4show partiality in judgment.
24r He who says to the wicked, “You are righteous,”
Him the people will curse;
The MacArthur Study Bible, NKJV Page 300