Proverbs 16:13–17
13 Kings take pleasure in honest lips;
they value the one who speaks what is right.m
14 A king’s wrath is a messenger of death,n
but the wise will appease it.o
15 When a king’s face brightens, it means life;p
his favor is like a rain cloud in spring.q
16 How much better to get wisdom than gold,
to get insightr rather than silver!s
17 The highway of the upright avoids evil;
those who guard their ways preserve their lives.t
Proverbs 16:13–17 — English Standard Version (ESV)
13 Righteous lips are the delight of a king,
and he loves him who speaks what is right.
14 A king’s wrath is a messenger of death,
and a wise man will appease it.
15 In the light of a king’s face there is life,
and his favor is like the clouds that bring the spring rain.
16 How much better to get wisdom than gold!
To get understanding is to be chosen rather than silver.
17 The highway of the upright turns aside from evil;
whoever guards his way preserves his life.
Proverbs 16:13–17 — King James Version (KJV 1900)
13 Righteous lips are the delight of kings;
And they love him that speaketh right.
14 The wrath of a king is as messengers of death:
But a wise man will pacify it.
15 In the light of the king’s countenance is life;
And his favour is as a cloud of the latter rain.
16 How much better is it to get wisdom than gold!
And to get understanding rather to be chosen than silver!
17 The highway of the upright is to depart from evil:
He that keepeth his way preserveth his soul.
Proverbs 16:13–17 — New Living Translation (NLT)
13 The king is pleased with words from righteous lips;
he loves those who speak honestly.
14 The anger of the king is a deadly threat;
the wise will try to appease it.
15 When the king smiles, there is life;
his favor refreshes like a spring rain.
16 How much better to get wisdom than gold,
and good judgment than silver!
17 The path of the virtuous leads away from evil;
whoever follows that path is safe.
Proverbs 16:13–17 — The New King James Version (NKJV)
13 Righteous lips are the delight of kings,
And they love him who speaks what is right.
14 As messengers of death is the king’s wrath,
But a wise man will appease it.
15 In the light of the king’s face is life,
And his favor is like a cloud of the latter rain.
16 How much better to get wisdom than gold!
And to get understanding is to be chosen rather than silver.
17 The highway of the upright is to depart from evil;
He who keeps his way preserves his soul.
Proverbs 16:13–17 — New Century Version (NCV)
13 Kings like honest people;
they value someone who speaks the truth.
14 An angry king can put someone to death,
so a wise person will try to make him happy.
15 A smiling king can give people life;
his kindness is like a spring shower.
16 It is better to get wisdom than gold,
and to choose understanding rather than silver!
17 Good people stay away from evil.
By watching what they do, they protect their lives.
Proverbs 16:13–17 — American Standard Version (ASV)
13 Righteous lips are the delight of kings;
And they love him that speaketh right.
14 The wrath of a king is as messengers of death;
But a wise man will pacify it.
15 In the light of the king’s countenance is life;
And his favor is as a cloud of the latter rain.
16 How much better is it to get wisdom than gold!
Yea, to get understanding is rather to be chosen than silver.
17 The highway of the upright is to depart from evil:
He that keepeth his way preserveth his soul.
Proverbs 16:13–17 — 1890 Darby Bible (DARBY)
13 Righteous lips are the delight of kings, and they love him that speaketh aright.
14 The fury of a king is as messengers of death; but a wise man will pacify it. 15 In the light of the king’s countenance is life, and his favour is as a cloud of the latter rain.
16 How much better is it to get wisdom than fine gold, and the getting of intelligence to be preferred to silver!
17 The highway of the upright is to depart from evil: he that taketh heed to his way keepeth his soul.
Proverbs 16:13–17 — GOD’S WORD Translation (GW)
13 Kings are happy with honest words,
and whoever speaks what is right is loved.
14 A king’s anger announces death,
but a wise man makes peace with him.
15 When the king is cheerful, there is life,
and his favor is like a cloud bringing spring rain.
16 How much better it is to gain wisdom than gold,
and the gaining of understanding should be chosen over silver.
17 The highway of decent people turns away from evil.
Whoever watches his way preserves his own life.
Proverbs 16:13–17 — The Holman Christian Standard Bible (HCSB)
13 Righteous lips are a king’s delight,
and he loves one who speaks honestly.
14 A king’s fury is a messenger of death,
but a wise man appeases it.
15 When a king’s face lights up, there is life;
his favor is like a cloud with spring rain.
16 Get wisdom—
how much better it is than gold!
And get understanding—
it is preferable to silver.
17 The highway of the upright avoids evil;
the one who guards his way protects his life.
Proverbs 16:13–17 — The New Revised Standard Version (NRSV)
13 Righteous lips are the delight of a king,
and he loves those who speak what is right.
14 A king’s wrath is a messenger of death,
and whoever is wise will appease it.
15 In the light of a king’s face there is life,
and his favor is like the clouds that bring the spring rain.
16 How much better to get wisdom than gold!
To get understanding is to be chosen rather than silver.
17 The highway of the upright avoids evil;
those who guard their way preserve their lives.
Proverbs 16:13–17 — The Lexham English Bible (LEB)
13 The delight of kings are the lips of righteousness,
and he who speaks what is upright he will love.
14 The wrath of a king is a messenger of death,
but one who is wise will appease it.
15 In the light of the face of the king there is life,
and his favor is like a cloud of spring rain.
16 Getting wisdom: how much better than gold!
And getting understanding: it is chosen over silver.
17 The highway of the upright, it turns from evil,
he who guards himself keeps his way.
Proverbs 16:13–17 — New International Reader’s Version (1998) (NIrV)
13 Kings are pleased when what you say is honest.
They value people who speak the truth.
14 An angry king can order your death.
But a wise man will try to calm him down.
15 When a king’s face is happy, it means life.
His favor is like rain in the spring.
16 It is much better to get wisdom than gold.
It is much better to choose understanding than silver.
17 The path of honest people takes them away from evil.
Those who guard their ways guard their lives.
Proverbs 16:13–17 — New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update (NASB95)
13 Righteous lips are the delight of kings,
And he who speaks right is loved.
14 The fury of a king is like messengers of death,
But a wise man will appease it.
15 In the light of a king’s face is life,
And his favor is like a cloud with the spring rain.
16 How much better it is to get wisdom than gold!
And to get understanding is to be chosen above silver.
17 The highway of the upright is to depart from evil;
He who watches his way preserves his life.