Proverbs 13–15

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 Wisdom builds a lovely home;

Sir Fool comes along and tears it down brick by brick.

²An honest life shows respect for God;

a degenerate life is a slap in his face.

³Frivolous talk provokes a derisive smile;

wise speech evokes nothing but respect.

⁴No cattle, no crops;

a good harvest requires a strong ox for the plow.

⁵A true witness never lies;

a false witness makes a business of it.

⁶Cynics look high and low for wisdom—and never find it;

the open-minded find it right on their doorstep!

⁷Escape quickly from the company of fools;

they’re a waste of your time, a waste of your words.

⁸The wisdom of the wise keeps life on track;

the foolishness of fools lands them in the ditch.

⁹The stupid ridicule right and wrong,

but a moral life is a favored life.

¹⁰The person who shuns the bitter moments of friends

will be an outsider at their celebrations.

¹¹Lives of careless wrongdoing are tumbledown shacks;

holy living builds soaring cathedrals.

^12–13There’s a way of life that looks harmless enough;

look again—it leads straight to hell.

Sure, those people appear to be having a good time,

but all that laughter will end in heartbreak.

Sift and Weigh Every Word

¹⁴A mean person gets paid back in meanness,

a gracious person in grace.

¹⁵The gullible believe anything they’re told;

the prudent sift and weigh every word.

¹⁶The wise watch their steps and avoid evil;

fools are headstrong and reckless.

¹⁷The hotheaded do things they’ll later regret;

the coldhearted get the cold shoulder.

¹⁸Foolish dreamers live in a world of illusion;

wise realists plant their feet on the ground.

¹⁹Eventually, evil will pay tribute to good;

the wicked will respect God-loyal people.

²⁰An unlucky loser is shunned by all,

but everyone loves a winner.

²¹It’s criminal to ignore a neighbor in need,

but compassion for the poor—what a blessing!

²²Isn’t it obvious that conspirators lose out,

while the thoughtful win love and trust?

²³Hard work always pays off;

mere talk puts no bread on the table.

²⁴The wise accumulate wisdom;

fools get stupider by the day.

²⁵Souls are saved by truthful witness

and betrayed by the spread of lies.

²⁶The Fear-of-God builds up confidence,

and makes a world safe for your children.

²⁷The Fear-of-God is a spring of living water

so you won’t go off drinking from poisoned wells.

²⁸The mark of a good leader is loyal followers;

leadership is nothing without a following.

²⁹Slowness to anger makes for deep understanding;

a quick-tempered person stockpiles stupidity.

³⁰A sound mind makes for a robust body,

but runaway emotions corrode the bones.

³¹You insult your Maker when you exploit the powerless;

when you’re kind to the poor, you honor God.

³²The evil of bad people leaves them out in the cold;

the integrity of good people creates a safe place for living.

³³Lady Wisdom is at home in an understanding heart—

fools never even get to say hello.

³⁴God-devotion makes a country strong;

God-avoidance leaves people weak.

³⁵Diligent work gets a warm commendation;

shiftless work earns an angry rebuke.

God Doesn’t Miss a Thing

¹15A gentle response defuses anger,

but a sharp tongue kindles a temper-fire.

²Knowledge flows like spring water from the wise;

fools are leaky faucets, dripping nonsense.

³God doesn’t miss a thing—

he’s alert to good and evil alike.

⁴Kind words heal and help;

cutting words wound and maim.

⁵Moral dropouts won’t listen to their elders;

welcoming correction is a mark of good sense.

⁶The lives of God-loyal people flourish;

a misspent life is soon bankrupt.

⁷Perceptive words spread knowledge;

fools are hollow—there’s nothing to them.

⁸God can’t stand pious poses,

but he delights in genuine prayers.

⁹A life frittered away disgusts God;

he loves those who run straight for the finish line.

¹⁰It’s a school of hard knocks for those who leave God’s path,

a dead-end street for those who hate God’s rules.

¹¹Even hell holds no secrets from God—

do you think he can’t read human hearts?

Life Ascends to the Heights

¹²Know-it-alls don’t like being told what to do;

they avoid the company of wise men and women.

¹³A cheerful heart brings a smile to your face;

a sad heart makes it hard to get through the day.

¹⁴An intelligent person is always eager to take in more truth;

fools feed on fast-food fads and fancies.

¹⁵A miserable heart means a miserable life;

a cheerful heart fills the day with song.

¹⁶A simple life in the Fear-of-God

is better than a rich life with a ton of headaches.

¹⁷Better a bread crust shared in love

than a slab of prime rib served in hate.

¹⁸Hot tempers start fights;

a calm, cool spirit keeps the peace.

¹⁹The path of lazy people is overgrown with briers;

the diligent walk down a smooth road.

²⁰Intelligent children make their parents proud;

lazy students embarrass their parents.

²¹The empty-headed treat life as a plaything;

the perceptive grasp its meaning and make a go of it.

²²Refuse good advice and watch your plans fail;

take good counsel and watch them succeed.

²³Congenial conversation—what a pleasure!

The right word at the right time—beautiful!

²⁴Life ascends to the heights for the thoughtful—

it’s a clean about-face from descent into hell.

²⁵God smashes the pretensions of the arrogant;

he stands with those who have no standing.

²⁶God can’t stand evil scheming,

but he puts words of grace and beauty on display.

²⁷A greedy and grasping person destroys community;

those who refuse to exploit live and let live.

²⁸Prayerful answers come from God-loyal people;

the wicked are sewers of abuse.

²⁹God keeps his distance from the wicked;

he closely attends to the prayers of God-loyal people.

³⁰A twinkle in the eye means joy in the heart,

and good news makes you feel fit as a fiddle.

³¹Listen to good advice if you want to live well,

an honored guest among wise men and women.

³²An undisciplined, self-willed life is puny;

an obedient, God-willed life is spacious.

³³Fear-of-God is a school in skilled living—

first you learn humility, then you experience glory.