Proverbs 13–15

CHAPTER 13

¹A ^awise son accepts his father’s discipline,

But a ^bscoffer does not listen to rebuke.

²From the fruit of a man’s mouth he ^aeats what is good,

But the soul of the treacherous desires ^bviolence.

³The one who ^aguards his mouth keeps his soul;

The one who ^bopens wide his lips ¹comes to ruin.

⁴The soul of the sluggard craves and gets nothing,

But the soul of the diligent is enriched.

⁵A righteous man ^ahates a lying word,

But a wicked man ^1bacts odiously and is humiliated.

⁶Righteousness ^aguards the ¹one whose way is blameless,

But wickedness subverts the ²sinner.

⁷There is one who ^apretends to be rich, but has nothing;

Another ¹pretends to be ^bpoor, but has great wealth.

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

But the poor hears no rebuke.

⁹The ^alight of the righteous is glad,

But the ^blamp of the wicked goes out.

¹⁰With arrogance ¹comes only quarreling,

But with those who receive counsel is wisdom.

¹¹Wealth obtained from empty effort dwindles,

But the one who gathers ¹with his hand abounds.

¹²¹Hope deferred makes the heart sick,

But desire ²fulfilled is a tree of life.

¹³The one who ^adespises the word will be ¹in debt to it,

But the one who fears the commandment will be ^brewarded.

¹⁴The ¹instruction of the wise is a ^afountain of life,

To turn aside from the ^bsnares of death.

^15aGood insight gives grace,

But the way of the treacherous is ¹unrelenting.

¹⁶Every ^aprudent man acts with knowledge,

But a fool spreads out folly.

¹⁷A wicked messenger falls into evil,

But ^aa faithful envoy brings healing.

¹⁸Poverty and disgrace come to him who ^aneglects ¹discipline,

But he who keeps reproof will be honored.

¹⁹Desire realized is pleasant to the soul,

But it is an abomination to fools to turn away from evil.

^20aHe who walks with the wise will be wise,

But the friend of fools will suffer harm.

^21aEvil pursues sinners,

But the ^brighteous are repaid with good.

²²A good man ^aleaves an inheritance to his ¹children’s children,

And the ^bwealth of the sinner is stored up for the righteous.

^23aAbundant food is in the fallow ground of the poor,

But ¹it is swept away by injustice.

²⁴He who ^aholds back his ¹rod hates his son,

But he who loves him ^2bdisciplines him diligently.

²⁵The ^arighteous eats to the satisfaction of his soul,

But the stomach of the ^bwicked lacks.

CHAPTER 14

¹The ^1awise woman builds her house,

But the woman of folly tears it down with her own hands.

²He who ^awalks in his uprightness fears Yahweh,

But he who is ^bdevious in his ways despises Him.

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

But ^athe lips of the wise will keep them.

⁴Where no oxen are, the manger is clean,

But much revenue comes by the strength of the ox.

⁵A ^afaithful witness will not lie,

But a ^bfalse witness ^cbreathes out lies.

⁶A scoffer seeks wisdom and finds none,

But knowledge is easy to one who has understanding.

⁷Leave the ^apresence of a fool,

As you have not known lips of knowledge there.

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

But ^athe folly of fools is deceit.

⁹Ignorant fools scoff at guilt,

But ^aamong the upright there is favor.

¹⁰The heart knows its own ^abitterness,

And a stranger does not share its gladness.

¹¹The ^ahouse of the wicked will be destroyed,

But the tent of the upright will flourish.

¹²There ^ais a way which seems right to a man,

But its ^bend is the way of death.

¹³Even in laughter the heart may be in pain,

And the ^aend of joy may be grief.

¹⁴The one who turns back in his heart will be satisfied with his ^aways,

But a good man will ^bbe satisfied ¹with his.

¹⁵The simple believes everything,

But the prudent one discerns his steps.

¹⁶A wise man fears and ^aturns away from evil,

But a fool gets angry and feels secure.

¹⁷A quick-tempered man acts in folly,

And a man of evil schemes is hated.

¹⁸The simple inherit folly,

But the prudent are ¹crowned with knowledge.

¹⁹The ^aevil will bow down before the good,

And the wicked at the gates of the righteous.

²⁰The ^apoor is hated even by his neighbor,

But those who love the rich are many.

²¹He who ^adespises his neighbor sins,

But how ^bblessed is he who is gracious to the ¹poor.

²²Will they not wander in error who ^adevise evil?

But lovingkindness and truth will be to those who devise good.

²³In all painful labor there is profit,

But mere words from the lips lead only to want.

²⁴The ^acrown of the wise is their riches,

But the folly of fools is folly.

²⁵A truthful witness delivers souls,

But he who ^abreathes out lies is deceitful.

²⁶In the ^1afear of Yahweh there is strong security,

And ²his children will have refuge.

²⁷The ¹fear of Yahweh is a fountain of life,

To turn aside from the snares of death.

²⁸In a multitude of people is a king’s splendor,

But in the dearth of people is a prince’s ruin.

²⁹He who is ^aslow to anger has great discernment,

But he who is ¹quick-tempered raises up folly.

³⁰A ^1atranquil heart is life to the body,

But jealousy is ^brottenness to the bones.

³¹He ^awho oppresses the poor reproaches ^bhis Maker,

But he who is gracious to the needy honors Him.

³²The wicked is ^athrust down by his own evil,

But the ^brighteous takes refuge even in his death.

³³Wisdom rests in the heart of one who has understanding,

But in the midst of fools it is merely made known.

³⁴Righteousness exalts a nation,

But sin is a disgrace to any people.

³⁵The king’s favor is toward a ^aservant who acts insightfully,

But his fury is toward him who acts shamefully.

CHAPTER 15

¹A ^agentle answer turns away wrath,

But a ^1bharsh word stirs up anger.

²The ^atongue of the wise makes knowledge look good,

But the ^bmouth of ¹fools pours forth ²folly.

³The ^aeyes of Yahweh are in every place,

Watching the evil and the good.

⁴A tongue that brings healing is a tree of life,

But perversion in it breaks the spirit.

⁵An ignorant fool spurns his father’s discipline,

But he who keeps reproof is prudent.

⁶The house of the ^arighteous has much treasure,

But in the income of the wicked there is trouble.

⁷The lips of the wise disperse knowledge,

But the hearts of fools are not so.

⁸The ^asacrifice of the wicked is an abomination to Yahweh,

But ^bthe prayer of the upright is His delight.

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

But He loves one who ^apursues righteousness.

¹⁰Grievous discipline is for him who forsakes the way;

He who hates reproof will die.

^11aSheol and Abaddon lie open before Yahweh,

How much more the ^bhearts of the sons of men!

¹²A ^ascoffer does not love one who reproves him,

He will not go to the wise.

¹³A ^aglad heart makes a face look good,

But ¹when the heart is ^bpained, the ^cspirit is broken.

¹⁴The ^aheart of the one who has understanding seeks knowledge,

But the mouth of fools feeds on folly.

¹⁵All the days of the afflicted are evil,

But a good heart has a continual feast.

^16aBetter is a little with the ¹fear of Yahweh

Than great treasure and turmoil with it.

^17aBetter is a ¹dish of ²vegetables where there is love

Than a ^bfattened ox and hatred in it.

¹⁸A ^ahot-tempered man stirs up strife,

But the ^bslow to anger ^cquiets a dispute.

¹⁹The way of the sluggard is as a hedge of thorns,

But the path of the upright is a highway.

²⁰A ^awise son makes a father glad,

But a foolish man ^bdespises his mother.

²¹Folly is gladness to him who lacks a heart of wisdom,

But a man of discernment ^awalks straight.

²²Without consultation, ¹plans are frustrated,

But with many counselors they ²succeed.

²³A ^aman has gladness in an ¹apt answer,

And how good is a timely ^bword!

²⁴The ^apath of life leads upward for the one who has insight

That he may turn away from Sheol below.

²⁵Yahweh will ^atear down the house of the proud,

But He will ^bcause the boundary of the ^cwidow to stand.

²⁶Evil thoughts are an abomination to Yahweh,

But pleasant words are pure.

²⁷He who is ^agreedy for gain troubles his own house,

But he who ^bhates gifts of bribery will live.

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

But the ^bmouth of the wicked pours forth evil things.

²⁹Yahweh is ^afar from the wicked,

But He ^bhears the prayer of the righteous.

³⁰¹Bright eyes gladden the heart;

A good report puts fat on the bones.

³¹He whose ear listens to the life-giving reproof

Will lodge among the wise.

³²He who ^aneglects discipline ^bdespises his soul,

But he who ^clistens to reproof acquires a heart of wisdom.

³³The ¹fear of Yahweh is the discipline ²leading to wisdom,

And before glory comes humility.