Proverbs 13–15

13A wise child hears the discipline of a father,

but a scoffer does not listen to a rebuke.

²From the fruit of the mouth of a man, he shall eat what is good,

but the desire^a of the treacherous, wrongdoing.

³He who keeps his mouth guards his life;^b

he who opens his lips, ruin belongs to him.

⁴The soul^c of the lazy craves, but there is nothing,

but the person of diligence is richly supplied.

⁵The righteous hates a word of falsehood;

the wicked will bring shame and disgrace.^d

⁶Righteousness will guard the upright of way,

but wickedness will overthrow sin.

⁷There is one who acts rich but has nothing;^e

another who pretends to be poor but has wealth.

⁸The ransom of the life of a man is his wealth,

but the poor does not receive a threat.

⁹The light of the righteous will rejoice,

but the lamp of the wicked will die out.

¹⁰Only by insolence is strife set up,

and wisdom is with those who take advice.

¹¹Wealth gained from haste^f will dwindle,

but he who gathers little by little^g will increase it.

¹²Hope that is deferred makes the heart^h sick,

but a desire fulfilled is a tree of life.

¹³He who despises a word will bring destruction on himself,

but he who respects a commandment will be rewarded.

¹⁴The teaching of the wise is a fountain of life,

in order to avoid the snares of death.

¹⁵Good sense grants favor,

but the way of the faithless is coarse.

¹⁶Anyone who is clever will act with intelligence,

but the fool will display folly.

¹⁷A messenger of wickedness will fall into trouble,

but an envoy of the faithful brings healing.

¹⁸Poverty and disgrace belong to him who ignores instruction,

but he who guards reproof will be honored.

¹⁹A desire fulfilledⁱ will be sweet to the soul,

but an abomination of fools is turning from evil.

²⁰Walk with the wise and be wise,

but as for the companion of fools, he will suffer harm.

²¹Misfortune will pursue sinners,

but the righteous will be rewarded with prosperity.^j

²²He who is good will leave an inheritance to his grandchildren,^k

and stored up for the righteous is the wealth of a sinner.

²³There is much food in the field of the poor,

but it is swept away^l by injustice.^m

²⁴He who withholds his rod hates his child,

but he who loves him gives himⁿ discipline.

²⁵The righteous eats to satisfy his life,^o

but the belly of the wicked will lack.

14The wisest of women^a builds her house,

but the foolish tears it down with her hands.

²He who walks in uprightness fears Yahweh,

but he who is devious in his ways displeases him.

³In the mouth of a fool is the rod of pride,

but the lips of the wise preserve them.

⁴When there are no^b oxen the manger is empty,

but an abundance of crops comes by the strength of an ox.^c

⁵A faithful witness does not lie,

but he who breathes out falsehood is a witness of deceit.

⁶A scoffer seeks wisdom, but there is none,

but knowledge comes easily to him who understands.^d

⁷Leave the presence of a foolish man,^e

for you will not come to know words of knowledge.^f

⁸The wisdom of the clever is understanding his ways,

but the folly of fools is deceit.

⁹Fools mock^g the guilt offering,

but among the upright, it is favorable.

¹⁰The heart^h knows the bitterness of its soul,ⁱ

but in its joy, it will not share itself with a stranger.

¹¹The house of the wicked will be destroyed,

but the tent of the upright will flourish.

¹²There is a way that seems upright to^j a man,

but its end is the way of death.

¹³Even in laughter, a heart may be sad,

and the end of joy may be grief.

¹⁴From his ways, the perverse of heart will be satisfied,

and from his own,^k so shall a good man.

¹⁵The simple will believe every word,

but the clever will consider his step.

¹⁶The wise is cautious and turns from evil,

but the fool throws off restraint and is confident.

¹⁷He who is short of temper^l will act foolishly,

and the man who schemes will be hated.

¹⁸The simple are adorned with folly,

but the clever are crowned with knowledge.

¹⁹The evil bow down before the good,

and the wicked at the gates of the righteous.

²⁰The poor is disliked even by his neighbor,

but the lovers of the rich are many.

²¹He who despises his neighbor is a sinner,

but he who has mercy on the poor blesses him.

²²Have they not erred, those who plan evil?

But loyalty and faithfulness belong to those who plan good.

²³In all toil, there is profit,

but the talk^m of lips leads only to poverty.

²⁴The crown of the wise is their wealth;

the folly of fools is folly.

²⁵He who saves livesⁿ is a witness of truth,

but he who utters lies is a betrayer.

²⁶In the fear of Yahweh, there is confidence of strength,

and for his children, there will be refuge.

²⁷The fear of Yahweh is a fountain of life,

in order to turn from the snares of death.

²⁸In the multitude of people is the glory of the king,

but without a population, a prince is ruined.

²⁹He who is slow to anger has great understanding,

but the hasty of spirit^o exalts folly.

³⁰A heart^p of tranquility^q is life to the flesh,

but causes bones of passion to rot.

³¹He who oppresses the poor insults him who made him,

but he who has mercy on the poor honors him.

³²By his evildoing, the wicked will be overthrown,

and the righteous will find refuge in his death.

³³In the heart^r of him who has understanding, wisdom rests,

but even in the midst of fools it becomes known.

³⁴Righteousness will exalt a nation,

but sin is a reproach to a people.

³⁵The favor of a king is for the servant who deals wisely,

but his wrath will be on him who acts shamefully.

15A soft answer will turn away wrath,

but a word of trouble will stir anger.^a

²The tongue of the wise will dispense knowledge,

but the mouth of fools will pour out folly.

³In every place, the eyes of Yahweh

keep watch over the evil and the good.

⁴Gentleness^b of tongue is a tree of life,

but perverseness in it^c causes a break in spirit.

⁵A fool will despise the instruction of his father,

but he who guards reproof is prudent.

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

but the income of the wicked brings trouble.

⁷The lips of the wise will spread knowledge,

but the heart^d of fools, not so.

⁸The sacrifice of the wicked is an abomination of Yahweh,

but the prayer of the upright is his delight.

⁹An abomination of Yahweh is the way of the wicked,

but he who pursues righteousness he will love.

¹⁰Severe discipline belongs to him who forsakes the way;

he who hates a rebuke will die.

¹¹Sheol^e and Abaddon^f are before Yahweh,

how much more^g the hearts of the children of men!

¹²A scoffer does not like his rebuke;^h

to the wise he will not go.

¹³A heartⁱ of gladness will make good countenance,^j

but in sorrow of heart^k a spirit is broken.

¹⁴The heart of him who understands will seek knowledge,

but the faces of fools, they^l will feed on folly.

¹⁵All the days of the poor are hard,

but goodness of heart^m is a continuous feast.

¹⁶Better is little with the fear of Yahweh

than great treasure and trouble with it.ⁿ

¹⁷Better is a dinner of vegetables when^o love is there

than a fattened ox and hatred with it.^p

¹⁸A man who is hot-tempered will stir up strife,

but he who is slow to anger,^q he will calm contention.

¹⁹The way of the lazy is like a hedge of thorns,^r

but the path of the upright is a highway.

²⁰A child of wisdom will make a father glad,

but a foolish person,^s he despises his mother.

²¹Folly is a joy to him who lacks sense,^t

and a person of understanding will walk upright.^u

²²Plans go wrong when there is no counsel,

but with many advisors it will succeed.

²³Joy belongs to a man with answers in his mouth,

and a word in its time, how good it is!

²⁴The path of life leads upward for him who has insight,

in order to turn away from Sheol below.

²⁵The house of the proud, Yahweh will tear it down,

but he will maintain the property line^v of the widow.

²⁶Plans of evil are an abomination of Yahweh,

but gracious words are pure.

²⁷He who makes trouble for his house is he who is greedy for unjust gain,

but he who hates bribes will live.

²⁸A heart^w of righteousness will ponder the answer,

but a mouth of wickedness will pour out deceit.

²⁹Yahweh is far from the wicked,

but the prayers of the righteous he will hear.

³⁰From the light of the eyes, the heart^x will rejoice,

and good news will enliven the bones.^y

³¹The ear of him who listens to admonitions of life,

in the midst of the wise it will lodge.

³²He who ignores instruction despises himself,^z

but he who hears admonition gains heart.^a

³³Fear of Yahweh is the instruction of the wise,

and before honor comes humility.