Proverbs 11–12

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.