Proverbs 16–18

16To mortals belong the plans of the heart,

but from Yahweh comes the answer of the tongue.

²All the ways of a man are pure in his own eyes,

but Yahweh weighs the spirit.^a

³Commit your work to Yahweh,

and your plans will be established.

⁴All Yahweh has made is for his^b purpose,

and even the wicked for the day of trouble.

⁵An abomination of Yahweh are all who are arrogant of heart;^c

rest assured,^d he will not go unpunished.

⁶By loyalty and faithfulness, iniquity will be covered over,^e

and by fear of Yahweh one turns^f from evil.

⁷When the ways of a man are pleasing to Yahweh,

even his enemies he will cause to make peace with him.

⁸Better is little with righteousness

than great income with no justice.

⁹The mind^g of a person will plan his ways,

and Yahweh will direct his steps.

¹⁰A decision is upon the lips of a king;

in judgment his mouth will not sin.

¹¹A balance and scales of justice belong to Yahweh;

all the weights of the bag are his work.

¹²An abomination to kings is doing evil,

for by righteousness the throne will be established.

¹³The delight of kings are the lips of righteousness,

and he who speaks what is upright he will love.

¹⁴The wrath of a king is a messenger of death,

but one who is wise will appease^h it.

¹⁵In the light of the face of the king there is life,

and his favor is like a cloud of spring rain.

¹⁶Getting wisdom: how muchⁱ better than gold!

And getting understanding: it is chosen over^j silver.

¹⁷The highway of the upright, it turns from evil,

he who guards himself^k keeps his way.

¹⁸Before destruction comes pride,

and before a fall, a haughty spirit.^l

¹⁹Better a lowly spirit with the poor

than dividing the spoil with the proud.

²⁰He who is attentive to a matter will find goodness,

and he who trusts in Yahweh, his own happiness.

²¹The wise of heart^m is called perceptive,

but he who is pleasant of lips will increase persuasiveness.

²²A fountain of life is wisdom for its owner,ⁿ

but the instruction^o of fools is folly.

²³The heart^p of the wise will make his mouth judicious,

and upon his lips, it^q will add persuasiveness.

²⁴Pleasant sayings are a honeycomb,

sweetness to the soul and healing to the bones.

²⁵There is a way that seems upright to^r a man,

but its end is the way of death.

²⁶The life^s of a worker works for him,

for his hunger^t urges him.

²⁷A man of wickedness concocts evil,

and his lips are like a scorching fire.

²⁸A person of perversity will spread dissent,

and he who whispers separates a close friend.

²⁹A person of violence will entice his neighbor

and cause him to walk on a way that is not good.

³⁰He who winks his eyes does so in order to plan perverse things;

he who purses his lips will bring evil to pass.

³¹A crown of glory is gray hair;

by a righteous life it is gained.

³²He who is slow to anger^u is better than him who is mighty,

and he who controls his spirit than him who captures a city.

³³The lot will be cast into the lap,

but all of its decisions are from Yahweh.

17Better a dry morsel and quiet with it

than a house filled with feasts of strife.

²A slave who deals wisely will rule over a child who acts shamefully,

and in the midst of brothers he will share his inheritance.

³A crucible is for the silver, and a furnace is for the gold,

but Yahweh will test hearts.

⁴He who does evil listens to lips of wickedness,

and the liar gives heed to the tongue of mischief.

⁵He who mocks the poor insults him who made him;

he who rejoices at calamity will not go unpunished.

⁶The crown of the elderly are grandchildren,^a

and the glory of children is their fathers.

⁷Fine speech^b is not becoming a fool,

still less^c is false speech^d for a ruler.

⁸The bribe is a stone of magic in the eyes of its owner;^e

everywhere^f he will turn, he will prosper.

⁹He who forgives an affront fosters love,

but he who waits on a matter will alienate a friend.

¹⁰A rebuke strikes him who understands

deeper than one hundred blows to a fool.

¹¹An evil person will seek only rebellion,

and a cruel messenger will be sent against him.

¹²May a man meet a she-bear robbed of offspring

and not a fool in his folly.

¹³For he who returns evil for good,

evil will not depart from his house.

¹⁴Like the release of water is the beginning of strife;

before it breaks out, stop the quarrel.

¹⁵He who justifies the wicked and he who condemns the righteous,

the two of them are both abominations of Yahweh.

¹⁶Why is this? A price in the hand of a fool,

in order to buy wisdom where^g there is no sense.^h

¹⁷The friend loves at all timesⁱ,

but a brother is born for adversity.

¹⁸A person who lacks sense^j pledges;^k

he becomes security before his neighbor.

¹⁹He who loves transgression loves strife;

he who builds his high thresholds seeks destruction.

²⁰He who is crooked of heart^l will not find goodness,

and he who is perverse, by his tongue he will fall into calamity.

²¹He who begets a fool, there is trouble for him;

the father of a fool will not rejoice.

²²A cheerful heart is good medicine,

but a downcast spirit will dry out bones.

²³The wicked will accept a bribe from the lap,

in order to pervert the ways of justice.

²⁴He who understands sets his face toward wisdom,

but the eyes of a fool, to the end of the earth.^m

²⁵A grief to his father is the child of a fool,

and bitterness to her who bore him.

²⁶Also, imposing a fine on the righteous is not good,

nor to flog nobles for uprightness.

²⁷He who spares his sayings knows knowledge,

and a cool spirit is a man of understanding.

²⁸Even a fool who keeps silent shall be considered wise;ⁿ

he who closes his lips is intelligent.

18He who is selfish seeks a craving;^a

against all sound judgment he shows contempt.

²A fool will not take pleasure in understanding,

but in expressing his heart.^b

³With the coming of wickedness comes contempt also,

and with dishonor, disgrace.

⁴Deep waters are words of the mouth of a man;

a gushing stream is a fountain of wisdom.

⁵Being partial to faces of evil is not good,

nor to subvert the righteous at the judgment.

⁶The lips of a fool will bring strife,

and his mouth calls out for a flogging.

⁷The mouth of a fool is ruin to him,

and his lips are a snare to his soul.^c

⁸The words of a whisper are like delicious morsels,

and they themselves go down to inner parts of the body.

⁹Even he who is slack in his work,

he is brother to a master^d of destruction.

¹⁰A tower of strength is the name of Yahweh;

into him^e the righteous will run and be safe.

¹¹The wealth of the rich is his strong city,^f

and like a wall, it is high in his imagination.

¹²In the presence of destruction, the heart^g of a man will be haughty,

but in the presence of honor, humble.

¹³He who returns a word before he will hear,

folly itself belongs to him as well as^h shame.

¹⁴The spirit of a man will endure his sickness,

but a broken spirit, who may bear it?

¹⁵An intelligent mindⁱ will acquire knowledge,

and the ear of the wise will seek knowledge.

¹⁶The gift of a person will open doors for him,

and before the great, it gives him access.

¹⁷The first in his dispute is deemed righteous,

but his neighbor will come and examine him.

¹⁸The lot will put an end to disputes,

and between powerful contenders it will decide.

¹⁹A brother who is offended is worse than a city of strength,

and quarrels are like the bars of a fortification.

²⁰From the fruit of a man’s mouth, his stomach will be satisfied,

as for the yield of his lips, it will satisfy.

²¹Death and life are in the power^j of the tongue,

and those who love her^k will eat of her fruit.

²²He who finds a wife^l finds good,

and he will obtain favor from Yahweh.

²³The poor may speak entreaties,

but the rich will answer roughly.

²⁴A man of many friends will come to ruin,

but there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother.