Proverbs 19–21

19Better is the poor that walketh in his integrity

Than he that is perverse in his lips and is a fool.

²Also, that the soul be without knowledge is not good;

And he that hasteth with his feet sinneth.

³The foolishness of man subverteth his way;

And his heart fretteth against Jehovah.

⁴Wealth addeth many friends;

But the poor is separated from his friend.

⁵A false witness shall not be unpunished;

And he that uttereth lies shall not escape.

⁶Many will entreat the favor of the liberal man;

And every man is a friend to him that giveth gifts.

⁷All the brethren of the poor do hate him:

How much more do his friends go far from him!

He pursueth them with words, but they are gone.

⁸He that getteth wisdom loveth his own soul:

He that keepeth understanding shall find good.

⁹A false witness shall not be unpunished;

And he that uttereth lies shall perish.

¹⁰Delicate living is not seemly for a fool;

Much less for a servant to have rule over princes.

¹¹The discretion of a man maketh him slow to anger;

And it is his glory to pass over a transgression.

¹²The king’s wrath is as the roaring of a lion;

But his favor is as dew upon the grass.

¹³A foolish son is the calamity of his father;

And the contentions of a wife are a continual dropping.

¹⁴House and riches are an inheritance from fathers;

But a prudent wife is from Jehovah.

¹⁵Slothfulness casteth into a deep sleep;

And the idle soul shall suffer hunger.

¹⁶He that keepeth the commandment keepeth his soul;

But he that is careless of his ways shall die.

¹⁷He that hath pity upon the poor lendeth unto Jehovah,

And his good deed will he pay him again.

¹⁸Chasten thy son, seeing there is hope;

And set not thy heart on his destruction.

¹⁹A man of great wrath shall bear the penalty;

For if thou deliver him, thou must do it yet again.

²⁰Hear counsel, and receive instruction,

That thou mayest be wise in thy latter end.

²¹There are many devices in a man’s heart;

But the counsel of Jehovah, that shall stand.

²²That which maketh a man to be desired is his kindness;

And a poor man is better than a liar.

²³The fear of Jehovah tendeth to life;

And he that hath it shall abide satisfied;

He shall not be visited with evil.

²⁴The sluggard burieth his hand in the dish,

And will not so much as bring it to his mouth again.

²⁵Smite a scoffer, and the simple will learn prudence;

And reprove one that hath understanding, and he will understand knowledge.

²⁶He that doeth violence to his father, and chaseth away his mother,

Is a son that causeth shame and bringeth reproach.

²⁷Cease, my son, to hear instruction

Only to err from the words of knowledge.

²⁸A worthless witness mocketh at justice;

And the mouth of the wicked swalloweth iniquity.

²⁹Judgments are prepared for scoffers,

And stripes for the back of fools.

20Wine is a mocker, strong drink a brawler;

And whosoever erreth thereby is not wise.

²The terror of a king is as the roaring of a lion:

He that provoketh him to anger sinneth against his own life.

³It is an honor for a man to keep aloof from strife;

But every fool will be quarrelling.

⁴The sluggard will not plow by reason of the winter;

Therefore he shall beg in 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 every one his own kindness;

But a faithful man who can find?

⁷A righteous man that walketh in his integrity,

Blessed are his children after him.

⁸A king that sitteth on the throne of judgment

Scattereth away all evil with his eyes.

⁹Who can say, I have made my heart clean,

I am pure from my sin?

¹⁰Diverse weights, and diverse measures,

Both of them alike are an abomination to Jehovah.

¹¹Even a child maketh himself known by his doings,

Whether his work be pure, and whether it be right.

¹²The hearing ear, and the seeing eye,

Jehovah hath made even both of them.

¹³Love not sleep, lest thou come to poverty;

Open thine eyes, and thou shalt be satisfied with bread.

¹⁴It is bad, it is bad, saith the buyer;

But when he is gone his way, then he boasteth.

¹⁵There is gold, and abundance of rubies;

But the lips of knowledge are a precious jewel.

¹⁶Take his garment that is surety for a stranger;

And hold him in pledge that is surety for foreigners.

¹⁷Bread of falsehood is sweet to a man;

But afterwards his mouth shall be filled with gravel.

¹⁸Every purpose is established by counsel;

And by wise guidance make thou war.

¹⁹He that goeth about as a tale-bearer revealeth secrets;

Therefore company not with him that openeth wide his lips.

²⁰Whoso curseth his father or his mother,

His lamp shall be put out in blackness of darkness.

²¹An inheritance may be gotten hastily at the beginning;

But the end thereof shall not be blessed.

²²Say not thou, I will recompense evil:

Wait for Jehovah, and he will save thee.

²³Diverse weights are an abomination to Jehovah;

And a false balance is not good.

²⁴A man’s goings are of Jehovah;

How then can man understand his way?

²⁵It is a snare to a man rashly to say, It is holy,

And after vows to make inquiry.

²⁶A wise king winnoweth the wicked,

And bringeth the threshing-wheel over them.

²⁷The spirit of man is the lamp of Jehovah,

Searching all his innermost parts.

²⁸Kindness and truth preserve the king;

And his throne is upholden by kindness.

²⁹The glory of young men is their strength;

And the beauty of old men is the hoary head.

³⁰Stripes that wound cleanse away evil;

And strokes reach the innermost parts.

21The king’s heart is in the hand of Jehovah as the watercourses:

He turneth it whithersoever he will.

²Every way of a man is right in his own eyes;

But Jehovah weighteth the hearts.

³To do righteousness and justice

Is more acceptable to Jehovah than sacrifice.

⁴A high look, and a proud heart,

Even the lamp of the wicked, is sin.

⁵The thoughts of the diligent tend only to plenteousness;

But every one that is hasty hasteth only to want.

⁶The getting of treasures by a lying tongue

Is a vapor driven to and fro by them that seek death.

⁷The violence of the wicked shall sweep them away,

Because they refuse to do justice.

⁸The way of him that is laden with guilt is exceeding crooked;

But as for the pure, his work is right.

⁹It is better to dwell in the corner of the housetop,

Than with a contentious woman in a wide house.

¹⁰The soul of the wicked desireth evil:

His neighbor findeth no favor in his eyes.

¹¹When the scoffer is punished, the simple is made wise;

And when the wise is instructed, he receiveth knowledge.

¹²The righteous man considereth the house of the wicked,

How the wicked are overthrown to their ruin.

¹³Whoso stoppeth his ears at the cry of the poor,

He also shall cry, but shall not be heard.

¹⁴A gift in secret pacifieth anger;

And a present in the bosom, strong wrath.

¹⁵It is joy to the righteous to do justice;

But it is a destruction to the workers of iniquity.

¹⁶The man that wandereth out of the way of understanding

Shall rest in the assembly of the dead.

¹⁷He that loveth pleasure shall be a poor man:

He that loveth wine and oil shall not be rich.

¹⁸The wicked is a ransom for the righteous;

And the treacherous cometh in the stead of the upright.

¹⁹It is better to dwell in a desert land,

Than with a contentious and fretful woman.

²⁰There is precious treasure and oil in the dwelling of the wise;

But a foolish man swalloweth it up.

²¹He that followeth after righteousness and kindness

Findeth life, righteousness, and honor.

²²A wise man scaleth the city of the mighty,

And bringeth down the strength of the confidence thereof.

²³Whoso keepeth his mouth and his tongue

Keepeth his soul from troubles.

²⁴The proud and haughty man, scoffer is his name;

He worketh in the arrogance of pride.

²⁵The desire of the sluggard killeth him;

For his hands refuse to labor.

²⁶There is that coveteth greedily all the day long;

But the righteous giveth and withholdeth not.

²⁷The sacrifice of the wicked is an abomination:

How much more, when he bringeth it with a wicked mind!

²⁸A false witness shall perish;

But the man that heareth shall speak so as to endure.

²⁹A wicked man hardeneth his face;

But as for the upright, he establisheth his ways.

³⁰There is no wisdom nor understanding

Nor counsel against Jehovah.

³¹The horse is prepared against the day of battle;

But victory is of Jehovah.