Proverbs 18:4–12

4 The words of a man’s mouth are deep waters;

the fountain of wisdom is a bubbling brook.

5 It is not good to be partial to the wicked

or to deprive the righteous of justice.

6 A fool’s lips walk into a fight,

and his mouth invites a beating.

7 A fool’s mouth is his ruin,

and his lips are a snare to his soul.

8 The words of a whisperer are like delicious morsels;

they go down into the inner parts of the body.

9 Whoever is slack in his work

is a brother to him who destroys.

10 The name of the Lord is a strong tower;

the righteous man runs into it and is safe.

11 A rich man’s wealth is his strong city,

and like a high wall in his imagination.

12 Before destruction a man’s heart is haughty,

but humility comes before honor.

4 The words of a man’s mouth are as deep waters,

And the wellspring of wisdom as a flowing brook.

5 It is not good to accept the person of the wicked,

To overthrow the righteous in judgment.

6 A fool’s lips enter into contention,

And his mouth calleth for strokes.

7 A fool’s mouth is his destruction,

And his lips are the snare of his soul.

8 The words of a talebearer are as wounds,

And they go down into the innermost parts of the belly.

9 He also that is slothful in his work

Is brother to him that is a great waster.

10 The name of the Lord is a strong tower:

The righteous runneth into it, and is safe.

11 The rich man’s wealth is his strong city,

And as an high wall in his own conceit.

12 Before destruction the heart of man is haughty,

And before honour is humility.

4 Wise words are like deep waters;

wisdom flows from the wise like a bubbling brook.

5 It is not right to acquit the guilty

or deny justice to the innocent.

6 Fools’ words get them into constant quarrels;

they are asking for a beating.

7 The mouths of fools are their ruin;

they trap themselves with their lips.

8 Rumors are dainty morsels

that sink deep into one’s heart.

9 A lazy person is as bad as

someone who destroys things.

10 The name of the Lord is a strong fortress;

the godly run to him and are safe.

11 The rich think of their wealth as a strong defense;

they imagine it to be a high wall of safety.

12 Haughtiness goes before destruction;

humility precedes honor.

4 The words of a man’s mouth are deep waters;

The wellspring of wisdom is a flowing brook.

5 It is not good to show partiality to the wicked,

Or to overthrow the righteous in judgment.

6 A fool’s lips enter into contention,

And his mouth calls for blows.

7 A fool’s mouth is his destruction,

And his lips are the snare of his soul.

8 The words of a talebearer are like tasty trifles,

And they go down into the inmost body.

9 He who is slothful in his work

Is a brother to him who is a great destroyer.

10 The name of the Lord is a strong tower;

The righteous run to it and are safe.

11 The rich man’s wealth is his strong city,

And like a high wall in his own esteem.

12 Before destruction the heart of a man is haughty,

And before honor is humility.

4 Spoken words can be like deep water,

but wisdom is like a flowing stream.

5 It is not good to honor the wicked

or to be unfair to the innocent.

6 The words of fools start quarrels.

They make people want to beat them.

7 The words of fools will ruin them;

their own words will trap them.

8 The words of a gossip are like tasty bits of food.

People like to gobble them up.

9 A person who doesn’t work hard

is just like someone who destroys things.

10 The Lord is like a strong tower;

those who do right can run to him for safety.

11 Rich people trust their wealth to protect them.

They think it is like the high walls of a city.

12 Proud people will be ruined,

but the humble will be honored.

4 The words of a man’s mouth are as deep waters;

The wellspring of wisdom is as a flowing brook.

5 To respect the person of the wicked is not good,

Nor to turn aside the righteous in judgment.

6 A fool’s lips enter into contention,

And his mouth calleth for stripes.

7 A fool’s mouth is his destruction,

And his lips are the snare of his soul.

8 The words of a whisperer are as dainty morsels,

And they go down into the innermost parts.

9 He also that is slack in his work

Is brother to him that is a destroyer.

10 The name of Jehovah is a strong tower;

The righteous runneth into it, and is safe.

11 The rich man’s wealth is his strong city,

And as a high wall in his own imagination.

12 Before destruction the heart of man is haughty;

And before honor goeth humility.

4 The words of a man’s mouth are deep waters, and the fountain of wisdom is a gushing brook.

5 It is not good to accept the person of the wicked, to wrong the righteous in judgment.

6 A fool’s lips enter into contention, and his mouth calleth for stripes. 7 A fool’s mouth is destruction to him, and his lips are a snare to his soul.

8 The words of a talebearer are as dainty morsels, and they go down into the innermost parts of the belly.

9 He also who is indolent in his work is brother of the destroyer.

10 The name of Jehovah is a strong tower: the righteous runneth into it, and is safe.

11 The rich man’s wealth is his strong city, and as a high wall in his own imagination.

12 Before destruction the heart of man is haughty; and before honour goeth humility.

4 The words of a person’s mouth are like deep waters. 

The fountain of wisdom is an overflowing stream. 

5 It is not good to be partial toward a wicked person, 

thereby depriving an innocent person of justice. 

6 By talking, a fool gets into an argument, 

and his mouth invites a beating. 

7 A fool’s mouth is his ruin. 

His lips are a trap to his soul. 

8 The words of a gossip are swallowed greedily, 

and they go down into a person’s innermost being. 

9 Whoever is lazy in his work is related to a vandal. 

10 The name of the Lord is a strong tower. 

A righteous person runs to it and is safe. 

11 A rich person’s wealth is his strong city 

and is like a high wall in his imagination. 

12 Before destruction a person’s heart is arrogant, 

but humility comes before honor. 

4 The words of a man’s mouth are deep waters,

a flowing river, a fountain of wisdom.

5 It is not good to show partiality to the guilty

by perverting the justice due the innocent.

6 A fool’s lips lead to strife,

and his mouth provokes a beating.

7 A fool’s mouth is his devastation,

and his lips are a trap for his life.

8 A gossip’s words are like choice food

that goes down to one’s innermost being.

9 The one who is truly lazy in his work

is brother to a vandal.

10 The name of Yahweh is a strong tower;

the righteous run to it and are protected.

11 A rich man’s wealth is his fortified city;

in his imagination it is like a high wall.

12 Before his downfall a man’s heart is proud,

but humility comes before honor.

4 The words of the mouth are deep waters;

the fountain of wisdom is a gushing stream.

5 It is not right to be partial to the guilty

or to subvert the innocent in judgment.

6 A fool’s lips bring strife,

and a fool’s mouth invites a flogging.

7 The mouths of fools are their ruin,

and their lips a snare to themselves.

8 The words of a whisperer are like delicious morsels;

they go down into the inner parts of the body.

9 One who is slack in work

is close kin to a vandal.

10 The name of the Lord is a strong tower;

the righteous run into it and are safe.

11 The wealth of the rich is their strong city;

in their imagination it is like a high wall.

12 Before destruction one’s heart is haughty,

but humility goes before honor.

4 Deep waters are words of the mouth of a man;

a gushing stream is a fountain of wisdom.

5 Being partial to faces of evil is not good,

nor to subvert the righteous at the judgment.

6 The lips of a fool will bring strife,

and his mouth calls out for a flogging.

7 The mouth of a fool is ruin to him,

and his lips are a snare to his soul.

8 The words of a whisper are like delicious morsels,

and they themselves go down to inner parts of the body.

9 Even he who is slack in his work,

he is brother to a master of destruction.

10 A tower of strength is the name of Yahweh;

into him the righteous will run and be safe.

11 The wealth of the rich is his strong city,

and like a wall, it is high in his imagination.

12 In the presence of destruction, the heart of a man will be haughty,

but in the presence of honor, humble.

4 The words of a person’s mouth are like deep water.

But the fountain of wisdom is like a flowing stream.

5 It isn’t good to favor those who do wrong.

And it isn’t good to hold back what is fair from those who aren’t guilty.

6 What a foolish person says leads to arguing.

He is just asking for a beating.

7 The words of a foolish person drag him down.

He is trapped by what he says.

8 The words of anyone who talks about others are like tasty bites of food.

They go deep down inside you.

9 Anyone who doesn’t want to work

is like someone who destroys.

10 The name of the Lord is like a strong tower.

Godly people run to it and are safe.

11 The wealth of rich people is like a city that makes them feel safe.

They think of it as a city with walls that can’t be climbed.

12 If a man’s heart is proud, he will be destroyed.

So don’t be proud if you want to be honored.

4 The words of a man’s mouth are deep waters;

The fountain of wisdom is a bubbling brook.

5 To show partiality to the wicked is not good,

Nor to thrust aside the righteous in judgment.

6 A fool’s lips bring strife,

And his mouth calls for blows.

7 A fool’s mouth is his ruin,

And his lips are the snare of his soul.

8 The words of a whisperer are like dainty morsels,

And they go down into the innermost parts of the body.

9 He also who is slack in his work

Is brother to him who destroys.

10 The name of the Lord is a strong tower;

The righteous runs into it and is safe.

11 A rich man’s wealth is his strong city,

And like a high wall in his own imagination.

12 Before destruction the heart of man is haughty,

But humility goes before honor.