Proverbs 13–15

Chapter 13

Contrast the Upright and the Wicked

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 ^1aenjoys good,

But the ²desire of the treacherous is ^bviolence.

³The one who ^aguards his mouth preserves his life;

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 made fat.

⁵A righteous man ^ahates falsehood,

But a wicked man ^1bacts disgustingly and shamefully.

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 ¹rejoices,

But the ^blamp of the wicked goes out.

¹⁰Through insolence ¹comes nothing but strife,

But wisdom is with those who receive counsel.

¹¹Wealth obtained by ¹fraud dwindles,

But the one who gathers ²by labor increases it.

¹²Hope deferred makes the heart sick,

But desire ¹fulfilled 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 ¹teaching of the wise is a ^afountain of life,

To turn aside from the ^bsnares of death.

^15aGood understanding produces favor,

But the way of the treacherous is hard.

¹⁶Every ^aprudent man acts with knowledge,

But a fool ¹displays folly.

¹⁷A wicked messenger falls into adversity,

But ^aa faithful envoy brings healing.

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

But he who regards reproof will be honored.

¹⁹Desire realized is sweet to the soul,

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

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

But the companion of fools will suffer harm.

^21aAdversity pursues sinners,

But the ^brighteous will be rewarded with prosperity.

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 ^awithholds his ¹rod hates his son,

But he who loves him ^2bdisciplines him diligently.

²⁵The ^arighteous ¹has enough to satisfy his appetite,

But the stomach of the ^bwicked is in need.

Chapter 14

Contrast the Upright and the Wicked

¹The ^awise woman builds her house,

But the foolish tears it down with her own hands.

²He who ^awalks in his uprightness fears the Lord,

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

³In the mouth of the foolish is a rod ¹for his back,

But ^athe lips of the wise will protect them.

⁴Where no oxen are, the manger is clean,

But much revenue comes by the strength of the ox.

⁵A ^atrustworthy witness will not lie,

But a ^bfalse witness ^1cutters lies.

⁶A scoffer seeks wisdom and finds none,

But knowledge is easy to one who has understanding.

⁷Leave the ^apresence of a fool,

Or you will not ¹discern ²words of knowledge.

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

But ^athe foolishness of fools is deceit.

⁹Fools mock at ¹sin,

But ^aamong the upright there is ²good will.

¹⁰The heart knows its own ^abitterness,

And a stranger does not share its joy.

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 backslider in heart will have his ^afill of his own ways,

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

¹⁵The ¹naive believes everything,

But the sensible man considers his steps.

¹⁶A wise man ¹is cautious and ^aturns away from evil,

But a fool is arrogant and careless.

¹⁷A quick-tempered man acts foolishly,

And a man of evil devices is hated.

¹⁸The ¹naive inherit foolishness,

But the sensible are crowned 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 ^bhappy is he who is gracious to the ¹poor.

²²Will they not go astray who ^adevise evil?

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

²³In all labor there is profit,

But ¹mere talk leads only to poverty.

²⁴The ^acrown of the wise is their riches,

But the folly of fools is foolishness.

²⁵A truthful witness saves lives,

But he who ^1autters lies is ²treacherous.

²⁶In the ^1afear of the Lord there is strong confidence,

And ²his children will have refuge.

²⁷The ¹fear of the Lord is a fountain of life,

That one may avoid the snares of death.

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

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

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

But he who is ¹quick-tempered exalts folly.

³⁰A ^atranquil heart is life to the body,

But passion is ^brottenness to the bones.

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

But he who is gracious to the needy honors Him.

³²The wicked is ^athrust down by his ¹wrongdoing,

But the ^brighteous has a refuge when he dies.

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

But in the ¹hearts of fools it is made known.

³⁴Righteousness exalts a nation,

But sin is a disgrace to any people.

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

But his anger is toward him who acts shamefully.

Chapter 15

Contrast the Upright and the Wicked

¹A ^agentle answer turns away wrath,

But a ^1bharsh word stirs up anger.

²The ^atongue of the wise makes knowledge ¹acceptable,

But the ^bmouth of fools spouts folly.

³The ^aeyes of the Lord are in every place,

Watching the evil and the good.

⁴A ¹soothing tongue is a tree of life,

But perversion in it ²crushes the spirit.

⁵A fool ¹rejects his father’s discipline,

But he who regards reproof is sensible.

⁶Great wealth is in the house of the ^arighteous,

But trouble is in the income of the wicked.

⁷The lips of the wise spread knowledge,

But the hearts of fools are not so.

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

But ^bthe prayer of the upright is His delight.

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

But He loves one who ^apursues righteousness.

¹⁰Grievous punishment is for him who forsakes the way;

He who hates reproof will die.

^111aSheol and ²Abaddon lie open before the Lord,

How much more the ^bhearts of ³men!

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

He will not go to the wise.

¹³A ^ajoyful heart makes a ¹cheerful face,

But ²when the heart is ^bsad, the ^cspirit is broken.

¹⁴The ^amind of the intelligent seeks knowledge,

But the mouth of fools feeds on folly.

¹⁵All the days of the afflicted are bad,

But a ¹cheerful heart has a continual feast.

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

Than great treasure and turmoil with it.

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

Than a ^bfattened ox served with hatred.

¹⁸A ^ahot-tempered man stirs up strife,

But the ^bslow to anger ^ccalms a dispute.

¹⁹The way of the lazy 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 joy to him who lacks ¹sense,

But a man of understanding ^awalks straight.

²²Without consultation, plans are frustrated,

But with many counselors they ¹succeed.

²³A ^aman has joy in an ¹apt answer,

And how delightful is a timely ^bword!

²⁴The ^apath of life leads upward for the wise

That he may keep away from ¹Sheol below.

²⁵The Lord will ^atear down the house of the proud,

But He will ^bestablish the boundary of the ^cwidow.

²⁶Evil plans are an abomination to the Lord,

But pleasant words are pure.

²⁷He who ^aprofits illicitly troubles his own house,

But he who ^bhates bribes will live.

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

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

²⁹The Lord is ^afar from the wicked,

But He ^bhears the prayer of the righteous.

³⁰¹Bright eyes gladden the heart;

Good news puts fat on the bones.

³¹He whose ear listens to the life-giving reproof

Will dwell among the wise.

³²He who ^aneglects discipline ^bdespises himself,

But he who ^clistens to reproof acquires ¹understanding.

³³The ¹fear of the Lord is the instruction for wisdom,

And before honor comes humility.