Proverbs 10–16

THE WISE SAYINGS OF SOLOMON

An Honest Life Is Immortal

¹10Wise son, glad father;

stupid son, sad mother.

²Ill-gotten gain gets you nowhere;

an honest life is immortal.

³God won’t starve an honest soul,

but he frustrates the appetites of the wicked.

⁴Sloth makes you poor;

diligence brings wealth.

⁵Make hay while the sun shines—that’s smart;

go fishing during harvest—that’s stupid.

⁶Blessings accrue on a good and honest life,

but the mouth of the wicked is a dark cave of abuse.

⁷A good and honest life is a blessed memorial;

a wicked life leaves a rotten stench.

⁸A wise heart takes orders;

an empty head will come unglued.

⁹Honesty lives confident and carefree,

but Shifty is sure to be exposed.

¹⁰An evasive eye is a sign of trouble ahead,

but an open, face-to-face meeting results in peace.

¹¹The mouth of a good person is a deep, life-giving well,

but the mouth of the wicked is a dark cave of abuse.

¹²Hatred starts fights,

but love pulls a quilt over the bickering.

¹³You’ll find wisdom on the lips of a person of insight,

but the shortsighted needs a slap in the face.

¹⁴The wise accumulate knowledge—a true treasure;

know-it-alls talk too much—a sheer waste.

The Road to Life Is a Disciplined Life

¹⁵The wealth of the rich is their bastion;

the poverty of the indigent is their ruin.

¹⁶The wage of a good person is exuberant life;

an evil person ends up with nothing but sin.

¹⁷The road to life is a disciplined life;

ignore correction and you’re lost for good.

¹⁸Liars secretly hoard hatred;

fools openly spread slander.

¹⁹The more talk, the less truth;

the wise measure their words.

²⁰The speech of a good person is worth waiting for;

the blabber of the wicked is worthless.

²¹The talk of a good person is rich fare for many,

but chatterboxes die of an empty heart.

Fear-of-God Expands Your Life

²²God’s blessing makes life rich;

nothing we do can improve on God.

²³An empty-head thinks mischief is fun,

but a mindful person relishes wisdom.

²⁴The nightmares of the wicked come true;

what the good people desire, they get.

²⁵When the storm is over, there’s nothing left of the wicked;

good people, firm on their rock foundation, aren’t even fazed.

²⁶A lazy employee will give you nothing but trouble;

it’s vinegar in the mouth, smoke in the eyes.

²⁷The Fear-of-God expands your life;

a wicked life is a puny life.

²⁸The aspirations of good people end in celebration;

the ambitions of bad people crash.

²⁹God is solid backing to a well-lived life,

but he calls into question a shabby performance.

³⁰Good people last—they can’t be moved;

the wicked are here today, gone tomorrow.

³¹A good person’s mouth is a clear fountain of wisdom;

a foul mouth is a stagnant swamp.

³²The speech of a good person clears the air;

the words of the wicked pollute it.

Without Good Direction, People Lose Their Way

¹11God hates cheating in the marketplace;

he loves it when business is aboveboard.

²The stuck-up fall flat on their faces,

but down-to-earth people stand firm.

³The integrity of the honest keeps them on track;

the deviousness of crooks brings them to ruin.

⁴A thick bankroll is no help when life falls apart,

but a principled life can stand up to the worst.

⁵Moral character makes for smooth traveling;

an evil life is a hard life.

⁶Good character is the best insurance;

crooks get trapped in their sinful lust.

⁷When the wicked die, that’s it—

the story’s over, end of hope.

⁸A good person is saved from much trouble;

a bad person runs straight into it.

⁹The loose tongue of the godless spreads destruction;

the common sense of the godly preserves them.

¹⁰When it goes well for good people, the whole town cheers;

when it goes badly for bad people, the town celebrates.

¹¹When right-living people bless the city, it flourishes;

evil talk turns it into a ghost town in no time.

¹²Mean-spirited slander is heartless;

quiet discretion accompanies good sense.

¹³A gadabout gossip can’t be trusted with a secret,

but someone of integrity won’t violate a confidence.

¹⁴Without good direction, people lose their way;

the more wise counsel you follow, the better your chances.

¹⁵Whoever makes deals with strangers is sure to get burned;

if you keep a cool head, you’ll avoid rash bargains.

¹⁶A woman of gentle grace gets respect,

but men of rough violence grab for loot.

A God-Shaped Life

¹⁷When you’re kind to others, you help yourself;

when you’re cruel to others, you hurt yourself.

¹⁸Bad work gets paid with a bad check;

good work gets solid pay.

¹⁹Take your stand with God’s loyal community and live,

or chase after phantoms of evil and die.

²⁰God can’t stand deceivers,

but oh how he relishes integrity.

²¹Count on this: The wicked won’t get off scot-free,

and God’s loyal people will triumph.

²²Like a gold ring in a pig’s snout

is a beautiful face on an empty head.

²³The desires of good people lead straight to the best,

but wicked ambition ends in angry frustration.

²⁴The world of the generous gets larger and larger;

the world of the stingy gets smaller and smaller.

²⁵The one who blesses others is abundantly blessed;

those who help others are helped.

²⁶Curses on those who drive a hard bargain!

Blessings on all who play fair and square!

²⁷The one who seeks good finds delight;

the student of evil becomes evil.

²⁸A life devoted to things is a dead life, a stump;

a God-shaped life is a flourishing tree.

²⁹Exploit or abuse your family, and end up with a fistful of air;

common sense tells you it’s a stupid way to live.

³⁰A good life is a fruit-bearing tree;

a violent life destroys souls.

³¹If good people barely make it,

what’s in store for the bad!

If You Love Learning

¹12If you love learning, you love the discipline that goes with it—

how shortsighted to refuse correction!

²A good person basks in the delight of God,

and he wants nothing to do with devious schemers.

³You can’t find firm footing in a swamp,

but life rooted in God stands firm.

⁴A hearty wife invigorates her husband,

but a frigid woman is cancer in the bones.

⁵The thinking of principled people makes for justice;

the plots of degenerates corrupt.

⁶The words of the wicked kill;

the speech of the upright saves.

⁷Wicked people fall to pieces—there’s nothing to them;

the homes of good people hold together.

⁸A person who talks sense is honored;

airheads are held in contempt.

⁹Better to be ordinary and work for a living

than act important and starve in the process.

¹⁰Good people are good to their animals;

the “good-hearted” bad people kick and abuse them.

¹¹The one who stays on the job has food on the table;

the witless chase whims and fancies.

¹²What the wicked construct finally falls into ruin,

while the roots of the righteous give life, and more life.

Wise People Take Advice

¹³The gossip of bad people gets them in trouble;

the conversation of good people keeps them out of it.

¹⁴Well-spoken words bring satisfaction;

well-done work has its own reward.

¹⁵Fools are headstrong and do what they like;

wise people take advice.

¹⁶Fools have short fuses and explode all too quickly;

the prudent quietly shrug off insults.

¹⁷Truthful witness by a good person clears the air,

but liars lay down a smoke screen of deceit.

¹⁸Rash language cuts and maims,

but there is healing in the words of the wise.

¹⁹Truth lasts;

lies are here today, gone tomorrow.

²⁰Evil scheming distorts the schemer;

peace-planning brings joy to the planner.

²¹No evil can overwhelm a good person,

but the wicked have their hands full of it.

²²God can’t stomach liars;

he loves the company of those who keep their word.

²³Prudent people don’t flaunt their knowledge;

talkative fools broadcast their silliness.

²⁴The diligent find freedom in their work;

the lazy are oppressed by work.

²⁵Worry weighs us down;

a cheerful word picks us up.

²⁶A good person survives misfortune,

but a wicked life invites disaster.

²⁷A lazy life is an empty life,

but “early to rise” gets the job done.

²⁸Good men and women travel right into life;

sin’s detours take you straight to hell.

Walk with the Wise

¹13Intelligent children listen to their parents;

foolish children do their own thing.

²The good acquire a taste for helpful conversation;

bullies push and shove their way through life.

³Careful words make for a careful life;

careless talk may ruin everything.

⁴Indolence wants it all and gets nothing;

the energetic have something to show for their lives.

⁵A good person hates false talk;

a bad person wallows in gibberish.

⁶A God-loyal life keeps you on track;

sin dumps the wicked in the ditch.

⁷A pretentious, showy life is an empty life;

a plain and simple life is a full life.

⁸The rich can be sued for everything they have,

but the poor are free of such threats.

⁹The lives of good people are brightly lit streets;

the lives of the wicked are dark alleys.

¹⁰Arrogant know-it-alls stir up discord,

but wise men and women listen to each other’s counsel.

¹¹Easy come, easy go,

but steady diligence pays off.

¹²Unrelenting disappointment leaves you heartsick,

but a sudden good break can turn life around.

¹³Ignore the Word and suffer;

honor God’s commands and grow rich.

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

so, no more drinking from death-tainted wells!

¹⁵Sound thinking makes for gracious living,

but liars walk a rough road.

¹⁶A commonsense person lives good sense;

fools litter the country with silliness.

¹⁷Irresponsible talk makes a real mess of things,

but a reliable reporter is a healing presence.

¹⁸Refuse discipline and end up homeless;

embrace correction and live an honored life.

¹⁹Souls who follow their hearts thrive;

fools bent on evil despise matters of soul.

²⁰Become wise by walking with the wise;

hang out with fools and watch your life fall to pieces.

²¹Disaster entraps sinners,

but God-loyal people get a good life.

²²A good life gets passed on to the grandchildren;

ill-gotten wealth ends up with good people.

²³Banks foreclose on the farms of the poor,

or else the poor lose their shirts to crooked lawyers.

²⁴A refusal to correct is a refusal to love;

love your children by disciplining them.

²⁵An appetite for good brings much satisfaction,

but the belly of the wicked always wants more.

A Way That Leads to Hell

¹14Lady…