Proverbs 29

29Whoever is stubborn after being corrected many times

will suddenly be hurt beyond cure.

²When good people do well, everyone is happy,

but when evil people rule, everyone groans.

³Those who love wisdom make their parents happy,

but friends of prostitutes waste their money.

⁴If a king is fair, he makes his country strong,

but if he takes gifts dishonestly, he tears his country down.

⁵Those who give false praise to their neighbors

are setting a trap for them.

⁶Evil people are trapped by their own sin,

but good people can sing and be happy.

⁷Good people care about justice for the poor,

but the wicked are not concerned.

⁸People who make fun of wisdom cause trouble in a city,

but wise people calm anger down.

⁹When a wise person takes a foolish person to court,

the fool only shouts or laughs, and there is no peace.

¹⁰Murderers hate an honest person

and try to kill those who do right.

¹¹Foolish people lose their tempers,

but wise people control theirs.

¹²If a ruler pays attention to lies,

all his officers will become wicked.

¹³The poor person and the cruel person are alike

in that the Lord gave eyes to both of them.

¹⁴If a king judges poor people fairly,

his government will continue forever.

¹⁵Correction and punishment make children wise,

but those left alone will disgrace their mother.

¹⁶When there are many wicked people, there is much sin,

but those who do right will see them destroyed.

¹⁷Correct your children, and you will be proud;

they will give you satisfaction.

¹⁸Where there is no word from God, people are uncontrolled,

but those who obey what they have been taught are happy.

¹⁹Words alone cannot correct a servant,

because even if they understand, they won’t respond.

²⁰Do you see people who speak too quickly?

There is more hope for a foolish person than for them.

²¹If you spoil your servants when they are young,

they will bring you grief later on.

²²An angry person causes trouble;

a person with a quick temper sins a lot.

²³Pride will ruin people,

but those who are humble will be honored.

²⁴Partners of thieves are their own worst enemies.

If they have to testify in court, they are afraid to say anything.

²⁵Being afraid of people can get you into trouble,

but if you trust the Lord, you will be safe.

²⁶Many people want to speak to a ruler,

but justice comes only from the Lord.

²⁷Good people hate those who are dishonest,

and the wicked hate those who are honest.