Proverbs22

¹ A good name is more desirable than great riches; to be esteemed is better than silver or gold.

² Rich and poor have this in common: The Lord is the Maker of them all.

³ The prudent see danger and take refuge, but the simple keep going and pay the penalty.

⁴ Humility is the fear of the Lord; its wages are riches and honor and life.

⁵ In the paths of the wicked are snares and pitfalls, but those who would preserve their life stay far from them.

⁶ Start children off on the way they should go, and even when they are old they will not turn from it.

⁷ The rich rule over the poor, and the borrower is slave to the lender.

⁸ Whoever sows injustice reaps calamity, and the rod they wield in fury will be broken.

⁹ The generous will themselves be blessed, for they share their food with the poor.

¹⁰ Drive out the mocker, and out goes strife; quarrels and insults are ended.

¹¹ One who loves a pure heart and who speaks with grace will have the king for a friend.

¹² The eyes of the Lord keep watch over knowledge, but he frustrates the words of the unfaithful.

¹³ The sluggard says, “There’s a lion outside! I’ll be killed in the public square!”

¹⁴ The mouth of an adulterous woman is a deep pit; a man who is under the Lord’s wrath falls into it.

¹⁵ Folly is bound up in the heart of a child, but the rod of discipline will drive it far away.

¹⁶ One who oppresses the poor to increase his wealth and one who gives gifts to the rich—both come to poverty.

¹⁷ Pay attention and turn your ear to the sayings of the wise; apply your heart to what I teach,

¹⁸ for it is pleasing when you keep them in your heart and have all of them ready on your lips.

¹⁹ So that your trust may be in the Lord, I teach you today, even you.

²⁰ Have I not written thirty sayings for you, sayings of counsel and knowledge,

²¹ teaching you to be honest and to speak the truth, so that you bring back truthful reports to those you serve?

²² Do not exploit the poor because they are poor and do not crush the needy in court,

²³ for the Lord will take up their case and will exact life for life.

²⁴ Do not make friends with a hot-tempered person, do not associate with one easily angered,

²⁵ or you may learn their ways and get yourself ensnared.

²⁶ Do not be one who shakes hands in pledge or puts up security for debts;

²⁷ if you lack the means to pay, your very bed will be snatched from under you.

²⁸ Do not move an ancient boundary stone set up by your ancestors.

²⁹ Do you see someone skilled in their work? They will serve before kings; they will not serve before officials of low rank.