Proverbs 11

Chapter 11

Contrast the Upright and the Wicked

¹A ^afalse balance is an abomination to the Lord,

But a ^bjust weight is His delight.

²When ^apride comes, then comes dishonor,

But with the humble is wisdom.

³The ^aintegrity of the upright will guide them,

But the ^bcrookedness of the treacherous will destroy them.

^4aRiches do not profit in the day of wrath,

But ^brighteousness delivers from death.

⁵The ^arighteousness of the blameless will smooth his way,

But ^bthe wicked will fall by his own wickedness.

⁶The righteousness of the upright will deliver them,

But the treacherous will ^abe caught by their own greed.

⁷When a wicked man dies, his ^aexpectation will perish,

And the ^bhope of strong men perishes.

⁸The righteous is delivered from trouble,

But the wicked ¹takes his place.

⁹With his ^amouth the godless man destroys his neighbor,

But through knowledge the ^brighteous will be delivered.

¹⁰When it ^agoes well with the righteous, the city rejoices,

And when the wicked perish, there is joyful shouting.

¹¹By the blessing of the upright a city is exalted,

But by the mouth of the wicked it is torn down.

¹²He who despises his neighbor lacks ¹sense,

But a man of understanding keeps silent.

¹³He ^awho goes about as a talebearer reveals secrets,

But he who is ¹trustworthy ^bconceals a matter.

¹⁴Where there is no ^aguidance the people fall,

But in abundance of counselors there is ¹victory.

¹⁵He who is ^aguarantor for a stranger will surely suffer for it,

But he who hates ¹being a guarantor is secure.

¹⁶A ^agracious woman attains honor,

And ruthless men attain riches.

¹⁷The ^amerciful man does ¹himself good,

But the cruel man ²does himself harm.

¹⁸The wicked earns deceptive wages,

But he who ^asows righteousness gets a true reward.

¹⁹He who is steadfast in ^arighteousness will attain to life,

And ^bhe who pursues evil will bring about his own death.

²⁰The perverse in heart are an abomination to the Lord,

But the ^ablameless in their ¹walk are His ^bdelight.

²¹¹Assuredly, the evil man will not go unpunished,

But the ²descendants of the righteous will be delivered.

²²As a ^aring of gold in a swine’s snout

So is a beautiful woman who lacks ¹discretion.

²³The desire of the righteous is only good,

But the ^aexpectation of the wicked is wrath.

²⁴There is one who scatters, and yet increases all the more,

And there is one who withholds what is justly due, and yet it results only in want.

²⁵The ^1agenerous man will be ²prosperous,

And he who ^bwaters will himself be watered.

²⁶He who withholds grain, the ^apeople will curse him,

But ^bblessing will be on the head of him who ^csells it.

²⁷He who diligently seeks good seeks favor,

But ^ahe who seeks evil, evil will come to him.

²⁸He who ^atrusts in his riches will fall,

But ^bthe righteous will flourish like the green leaf.

²⁹He who ^atroubles his own house will ^binherit wind,

And ^cthe foolish will be servant to the wisehearted.

³⁰The fruit of the righteous is ^aa tree of life,

And ^bhe who is wise ¹wins souls.

³¹If ^athe righteous will be rewarded in the earth,

How much more the wicked and the sinner!