Proverbs 13–15

13A wise son hears his father’s instruction,

but ^qa scoffer does not listen to rebuke.

²From the fruit of his mouth a man ^reats what is good,

but the desire of the treacherous ^sis for violence.

^3tWhoever guards his mouth preserves his life;

^uhe who opens wide his lips ^vcomes to ruin.

^4wThe soul of the sluggard craves and gets nothing,

while the soul of the diligent ^xis richly supplied.

⁵The righteous hates falsehood,

but the wicked brings shame¹ and disgrace.

^6yRighteousness guards him whose ^zway is blameless,

but sin overthrows the wicked.

^7aOne pretends to be rich,² yet has nothing;

^banother pretends to be poor,³ yet has great wealth.

⁸The ransom of a man’s life is his wealth,

but a poor man ^chears no threat.

^9dThe light of the righteous rejoices,

but ^ethe lamp of the wicked will be put out.

^10fBy insolence comes nothing but strife,

but with those who take advice is wisdom.

^11gWealth gained hastily⁴ will dwindle,

but whoever gathers little by little will increase it.

¹²Hope deferred makes the heart sick,

^hbut a desire fulfilled is ⁱa tree of life.

¹³Whoever ^jdespises ^kthe word⁵ brings destruction on himself,

but he who reveres the commandment⁶ will be ^lrewarded.

¹⁴The teaching of the wise is ^ma fountain of life,

that one may ⁿturn away from the snares of death.

^15oGood sense wins ^pfavor,

but the way of the treacherous is their ruin.⁷

^16qEvery prudent man acts with knowledge,

^rbut a fool flaunts his folly.

¹⁷A wicked messenger falls into trouble,

but ^sa faithful envoy brings healing.

¹⁸Poverty and disgrace come to him who ^tignores instruction,

^ubut whoever ^vheeds reproof is honored.

^19wA desire fulfilled is sweet to the soul,

but to turn away from evil is an abomination to fools.

²⁰Whoever walks with the wise becomes wise,

but the companion of fools will suffer harm.

^21xDisaster⁸ pursues sinners,

^ybut the righteous are rewarded with good.

^22zA good man leaves an inheritance to his children’s children,

but ^athe sinner’s wealth is laid up for the righteous.

²³The fallow ground of the poor would yield much food,

but it is swept away through ^binjustice.

^24cWhoever spares the rod hates his son,

but he who loves him is diligent to discipline him.⁹

^25dThe righteous has enough to satisfy his appetite,

but the belly of the wicked suffers want.

14^eThe wisest of women ^fbuilds her house,

but folly with her own hands ^gtears it down.

²Whoever ^hwalks in uprightness fears the Lord,

but he who is ⁱdevious in his ways despises him.

³By the mouth of a fool comes ^ja rod for his back,¹

^kbut the lips of the wise will preserve them.

⁴Where there are no oxen, the manger is clean,

but abundant crops come by the strength of the ox.

^5lA faithful witness does not lie,

but ^ma false witness breathes out lies.

⁶ⁿA scoffer seeks wisdom ^oin vain,

but ^pknowledge is easy for a man of understanding.

⁷Leave the presence of a fool,

for there you do not meet words of knowledge.

⁸The wisdom of the prudent is to discern his way,

but the folly of fools is deceiving.

^9qFools mock at the guilt offering,

but the upright enjoy acceptance.²

¹⁰The heart knows its own ^rbitterness,

and no stranger shares its joy.

^11sThe house of the wicked will be destroyed,

but the tent of the upright will flourish.

^12tThere is a way that seems right to a man,

but ^uits end is the way to death.³

¹³Even in laughter the heart may ache,

and ^vthe end of joy may be ^wgrief.

¹⁴The backslider in heart will be ^xfilled with the fruit of his ways,

and ^ya good man will be filled with the fruit of his ways.

^15zThe simple believes everything,

but the prudent gives thought to his steps.

^16aOne who is wise is cautious⁴ and ^bturns away from evil,

but a fool is reckless and careless.

¹⁷A man of ^cquick temper acts foolishly,

and a man of evil devices is hated.

¹⁸The simple inherit folly,

but the prudent are crowned with knowledge.

^19dThe evil bow down before the good,

the wicked at the gates of the righteous.

^20eThe poor is disliked even by his neighbor,

^fbut the rich has many friends.

²¹Whoever ^gdespises his neighbor is a sinner,

but ^hblessed is he who is generous to the poor.

²²Do they not go astray who ⁱdevise evil?

Those who devise good meet^{5 j}steadfast love and faithfulness.

²³In all toil there is profit,

but mere talk ^ktends only to poverty.

²⁴The crown of the wise is their wealth,

but the folly of fools brings folly.

²⁵A truthful witness saves lives,

but one who ^lbreathes out lies is deceitful.

²⁶In the fear of the Lord one has ^mstrong confidence,

and ⁿhis children will have ^oa refuge.

²⁷The fear of the Lord is ^pa fountain of life,

that one may ^qturn away from the snares of death.

²⁸In ^ra multitude of people is the glory of a king,

but without people a prince is ruined.

²⁹Whoever is ^sslow to anger has great understanding,

but he who has a hasty temper exalts folly.

³⁰A tranquil⁶ heart gives ^tlife to the flesh,

but ^uenvy⁷ makes ^vthe bones rot.

³¹Whoever oppresses a poor man ^winsults his ^xMaker,

^ybut he who is generous to the needy honors him.

^32zThe wicked is overthrown through his evildoing,

but ^athe righteous finds refuge in his death.

³³Wisdom ^brests in the heart of a man of understanding,

but it makes itself known even in the midst of fools.⁸

³⁴Righteousness exalts a nation,

but sin is a reproach to any people.

³⁵A servant who deals wisely has ^cthe king’s favor,

but his wrath falls on one who acts shamefully.

15^dA soft answer turns away wrath,

but ^ea harsh word stirs up anger.

²The tongue of the wise commends knowledge,

but ^fthe mouths of fools pour out folly.

^3gThe eyes of the Lord are in every place,

keeping watch on the evil and the good.

^4hA gentle¹ tongue is ⁱa tree of life,

but ^jperverseness in it breaks the spirit.

^5kA fool ^ldespises his father’s instruction,

but ^mwhoever heeds reproof is prudent.

⁶In the house of the righteous there is much treasure,

but trouble befalls the income of the wicked.

⁷ⁿThe lips of the wise spread knowledge;

ⁿnot so the hearts of fools.²

^8oThe sacrifice of the wicked is an abomination to the Lord,

but ^pthe prayer of the upright is acceptable to him.

⁹The way of the wicked is an abomination to the Lord,

but he loves him ^qwho pursues righteousness.

¹⁰There is ^rsevere discipline for him who forsakes the way;

^swhoever hates reproof will die.

¹¹Sheol and Abaddon lie open before the Lord;

how much more ^tthe hearts of the children of man!

^12uA scoffer ^vdoes not like to be reproved;

he will not go to the wise.

^13wA glad heart makes a cheerful face,

but by ^xsorrow of heart the spirit is ^ycrushed.

^14zThe heart of him who has understanding seeks knowledge,

but the mouths of fools feed on folly.

¹⁵All the days of the afflicted are evil,

but ^athe cheerful of heart has a continual feast.

^16bBetter is a little with the fear of the Lord

than great treasure and trouble with it.

^17cBetter is a dinner of herbs where love is

than ^da fattened ox and hatred with it.

^18eA hot-tempered man ^fstirs up strife,

but he who is ^gslow to anger quiets contention.

¹⁹The way of ^ha sluggard is like a hedge of ⁱthorns,

but the path of the upright is ^ja level highway.

^20kA wise son makes a glad father,

but a foolish man despises his mother.

^21lFolly is a joy to him who lacks sense,

but a man of understanding ^mwalks straight ahead.

²²ⁿWithout counsel plans fail,

but with many advisers they succeed.

²³To make an apt answer is a joy to a man,

and ^oa word in season, how good it is!

²⁴The path of life leads upward ^pfor the prudent,

that he may turn away from Sheol beneath.

²⁵The Lord tears down the house of ^qthe proud

but ^rmaintains ^sthe widow’s boundaries.

^26tThe thoughts of the wicked are an abomination to the Lord,

but ^ugracious words are pure.

²⁷Whoever is ^vgreedy for unjust gain ^wtroubles his own household,

but he who hates ^xbribes will live.

²⁸The heart of the righteous ^yponders how to answer,

but ^zthe mouth of the wicked pours out evil things.

²⁹The Lord is ^afar from the wicked,

but he ^bhears the prayer of the righteous.

^30cThe light of the eyes rejoices the heart,

and ^dgood news refreshes³ the bones.

^31eThe ear that listens to ^flife-giving reproof

will dwell among the wise.

³²Whoever ^gignores instruction ^hdespises himself,

but he who listens to reproof ⁱgains intelligence.

^33jThe fear of the Lord is instruction in wisdom,

and ^khumility comes before honor.