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Proverbs 15:1–9

A gentle answerr turns away wrath,s

but a harsh word stirs up anger.

The tongue of the wise adorns knowledge,t

but the mouth of the fool gushes folly.u

The eyesv of the Lord are everywhere,w

keeping watch on the wicked and the good.x

The soothing tonguey is a tree of life,z

but a perverse tongue crushes the spirit.a

A fool spurns a parent’s discipline,

but whoever heeds correction shows prudence.b

The house of the righteous contains great treasure,c

but the income of the wicked brings ruin.d

The lips of the wise spread knowledge,e

but the hearts of fools are not upright.

The Lord detests the sacrificef of the wicked,g

but the prayer of the upright pleases him.h

The Lord detests the way of the wicked,i

but he loves those who pursue righteousness.j

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Proverbs 15:1–9 — English Standard Version (ESV)

A soft answer turns away wrath,

but a harsh word stirs up anger.

The tongue of the wise commends knowledge,

but the mouths of fools pour out folly.

The eyes of the Lord are in every place,

keeping watch on the evil and the good.

A gentle tongue is a tree of life,

but perverseness in it breaks the spirit.

A fool despises his father’s instruction,

but whoever heeds reproof is prudent.

In the house of the righteous there is much treasure,

but trouble befalls the income of the wicked.

The lips of the wise spread knowledge;

not so the hearts of fools.

The sacrifice of the wicked is an abomination to the Lord,

but the prayer of the upright is acceptable to him.

The way of the wicked is an abomination to the Lord,

but he loves him who pursues righteousness.

Proverbs 15:1–9 — King James Version (KJV 1900)

A soft answer turneth away wrath:

But grievous words stir up anger.

The tongue of the wise useth knowledge aright:

But the mouth of fools poureth out foolishness.

The eyes of the Lord are in every place,

Beholding the evil and the good.

A wholesome tongue is a tree of life:

But perverseness therein is a breach in the spirit.

A fool despiseth his father’s instruction:

But he that regardeth reproof is prudent.

In the house of the righteous is much treasure:

But in the revenues of the wicked is trouble.

The lips of the wise disperse knowledge:

But the heart of the foolish doeth not so.

The sacrifice of the wicked is an abomination to the Lord:

But the prayer of the upright is his delight.

The way of the wicked is an abomination unto the Lord:

But he loveth him that followeth after righteousness.

Proverbs 15:1–9 — New Living Translation (NLT)

A gentle answer deflects anger,

but harsh words make tempers flare.

The tongue of the wise makes knowledge appealing,

but the mouth of a fool belches out foolishness.

The Lord is watching everywhere,

keeping his eye on both the evil and the good.

Gentle words are a tree of life;

a deceitful tongue crushes the spirit.

Only a fool despises a parent’s discipline;

whoever learns from correction is wise.

There is treasure in the house of the godly,

but the earnings of the wicked bring trouble.

The lips of the wise give good advice;

the heart of a fool has none to give.

The Lord detests the sacrifice of the wicked,

but he delights in the prayers of the upright.

The Lord detests the way of the wicked,

but he loves those who pursue godliness.

Proverbs 15:1–9 — The New King James Version (NKJV)

A soft answer turns away wrath,

But a harsh word stirs up anger.

The tongue of the wise uses knowledge rightly,

But the mouth of fools pours forth foolishness.

The eyes of the Lord are in every place,

Keeping watch on the evil and the good.

A wholesome tongue is a tree of life,

But perverseness in it breaks the spirit.

A fool despises his father’s instruction,

But he who receives correction is prudent.

In the house of the righteous there is much treasure,

But in the revenue of the wicked is trouble.

The lips of the wise disperse knowledge,

But the heart of the fool does not do so.

The sacrifice of the wicked is an abomination to the Lord,

But the prayer of the upright is His delight.

The way of the wicked is an abomination to the Lord,

But He loves him who follows righteousness.

Proverbs 15:1–9 — New Century Version (NCV)

A gentle answer will calm a person’s anger,

but an unkind answer will cause more anger.

Wise people use knowledge when they speak,

but fools pour out foolishness.

The Lord’s eyes see everything;

he watches both evil and good people.

As a tree gives fruit, healing words give life,

but dishonest words crush the spirit.

Fools reject their parents’ correction,

but anyone who accepts correction is wise.

Much wealth is in the houses of good people,

but evil people get nothing but trouble.

Wise people use their words to spread knowledge,

but there is no knowledge in the thoughts of fools.

The Lord hates the sacrifice that the wicked offer,

but he likes the prayers of honest people.

The Lord hates what evil people do,

but he loves those who do what is right.

Proverbs 15:1–9 — American Standard Version (ASV)

A soft answer turneth away wrath;

But a grievous word stirreth up anger.

The tongue of the wise uttereth knowledge aright;

But the mouth of fools poureth out folly.

The eyes of Jehovah are in every place,

Keeping watch upon the evil and the good.

A gentle tongue is a tree of life;

But perverseness therein is a breaking of the spirit.

A fool despiseth his father’s correction;

But he that regardeth reproof getteth prudence.

In the house of the righteous is much treasure;

But in the revenues of the wicked is trouble.

The lips of the wise disperse knowledge;

But the heart of the foolish doeth not so.

The sacrifice of the wicked is an abomination to Jehovah;

But the prayer of the upright is his delight.

The way of the wicked is an abomination to Jehovah;

But he loveth him that followeth after righteousness.

Proverbs 15:1–9 — 1890 Darby Bible (DARBY)

A soft answer turneth away fury; but a grievous word stirreth up anger.

The tongue of the wise useth knowledge aright; but the mouth of the foolish poureth out folly.

The eyes of Jehovah are in every place, beholding the evil and the good.

Gentleness of tongue is a tree of life; but crookedness therein is a breaking of the spirit.

A fool despiseth his father’s instruction; but he that regardeth reproof becometh prudent.

In the house of a righteous man is much treasure; but in the revenue of a wicked man is disturbance.

The lips of the wise disperse knowledge, but not so the heart of the foolish.

The sacrifice of the wicked is an abomination to Jehovah; but the prayer of the upright is his delight.

The way of a wicked man is an abomination to Jehovah; but him that pursueth righteousness he loveth.

Proverbs 15:1–9 — GOD’S WORD Translation (GW)

A gentle answer turns away rage, 

but a harsh word stirs up anger. 

The tongues of wise people give good expression to knowledge, 

but the mouths of fools pour out a flood of stupidity. 

The eyes of the Lord are everywhere. 

They watch evil people and good people. 

A soothing tongue is a tree of life, 

but a deceitful tongue breaks the spirit. 

A stubborn fool despises his father’s discipline, 

but whoever appreciates a warning shows good sense. 

Great treasure is in the house of a righteous person, 

but trouble comes along with the income of a wicked person. 

The lips of wise people spread knowledge, 

but a foolish attitude does not. 

A sacrifice brought by wicked people is disgusting to the Lord

but the prayers of decent people please him. 

The way of wicked people is disgusting to the Lord

but he loves those who pursue righteousness. 

Proverbs 15:1–9 — The Holman Christian Standard Bible (HCSB)

A gentle answer turns away anger,

but a harsh word stirs up wrath.

The tongue of the wise makes knowledge attractive,

but the mouth of fools blurts out foolishness.

The eyes of the Lord are everywhere,

observing the wicked and the good.

The tongue that heals is a tree of life,

but a devious tongue breaks the spirit.

A fool despises his father’s discipline,

but a person who accepts correction is sensible.

The house of the righteous has great wealth,

but trouble accompanies the income of the wicked.

The lips of the wise broadcast knowledge,

but not so the heart of fools.

The sacrifice of the wicked is detestable to the Lord,

but the prayer of the upright is His delight.

The Lord detests the way of the wicked,

but He loves the one who pursues righteousness.

Proverbs 15:1–9 — The New Revised Standard Version (NRSV)

A soft answer turns away wrath,

but a harsh word stirs up anger.

The tongue of the wise dispenses knowledge,

but the mouths of fools pour out folly.

The eyes of the Lord are in every place,

keeping watch on the evil and the good.

A gentle tongue is a tree of life,

but perverseness in it breaks the spirit.

A fool despises a parent’s instruction,

but the one who heeds admonition is prudent.

In the house of the righteous there is much treasure,

but trouble befalls the income of the wicked.

The lips of the wise spread knowledge;

not so the minds of fools.

The sacrifice of the wicked is an abomination to the Lord,

but the prayer of the upright is his delight.

The way of the wicked is an abomination to the Lord,

but he loves the one who pursues righteousness.

Proverbs 15:1–9 — The Lexham English Bible (LEB)

A soft answer will turn away wrath,

but a word of trouble will stir anger.

The tongue of the wise will dispense knowledge,

but the mouth of fools will pour out folly.

In every place, the eyes of Yahweh

keep watch over the evil and the good.

Gentleness of tongue is a tree of life,

but perverseness in it causes a break in spirit.

A fool will despise the instruction of his father,

but he who guards reproof is prudent.

In the house of the righteous there is much treasure,

but the income of the wicked brings trouble.

The lips of the wise will spread knowledge,

but the heart of fools, not so.

The sacrifice of the wicked is an abomination of Yahweh,

but the prayer of the upright is his delight.

An abomination of Yahweh is the way of the wicked,

but he who pursues righteousness he will love.

Proverbs 15:1–9 — New International Reader’s Version (1998) (NIrV)

A gentle answer turns anger away.

But mean words stir up anger.

The tongues of wise people use knowledge well.

But the mouths of foolish people pour out foolish words.

The eyes of the Lord are everywhere.

They watch those who are evil and those who are good.

A tongue that brings healing is like a tree of life.

But a tongue that tells lies produces a broken spirit.

A foolish person turns his back on how his father has trained him.

But anyone who accepts being corrected shows understanding.

The houses of those who do what is right hold great wealth.

But those who do what is wrong earn only trouble.

The lips of wise people spread knowledge.

But that’s not true of the hearts of foolish people.

The Lord hates the sacrifice of sinful people.

But the prayers of honest people please him.

The Lord hates how sinners live.

But he loves those who run after what is right.

Proverbs 15:1–9 — New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update (NASB95)

A gentle answer turns away wrath,

But a harsh word stirs up anger.

The tongue of the wise makes knowledge acceptable,

But the mouth of fools spouts folly.

The eyes of the Lord are in every place,

Watching the evil and the good.

A soothing tongue is a tree of life,

But perversion in it crushes the spirit.

A fool rejects his father’s discipline,

But he who regards reproof is sensible.

Great wealth is in the house of the righteous,

But trouble is in the income of the wicked.

The lips of the wise spread knowledge,

But the hearts of fools are not so.

The sacrifice of the wicked is an abomination to the Lord,

But the prayer of the upright is His delight.

The way of the wicked is an abomination to the Lord,

But He loves one who pursues righteousness.


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