Proverbs 14

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.