Proverbs 13–15

13A wise son heeds his father’s instruction,

^aBut a scoffer does not listen to rebuke.

^2bA man shall eat well by the fruit of his mouth,

But the soul of the unfaithful feeds on violence.

^3cHe who guards his mouth preserves his life,

But he who opens wide his lips shall have destruction.

^4dThe soul of a lazy man desires, and has nothing;

But the soul of the diligent shall be made rich.

⁵A righteous man hates lying,

But a wicked man is loathsome and comes to shame.

^6eRighteousness guards him whose way is blameless,

But wickedness overthrows the sinner.

^7fThere is one who makes himself rich, yet has nothing;

And one who makes himself poor, yet has great riches.

⁸The ransom of a man’s life is his riches,

But the poor does not hear rebuke.

⁹The light of the righteous rejoices,

^gBut the lamp of the wicked will be put out.

¹⁰By pride comes nothing but ^hstrife,

But with the well-advised is wisdom.

¹¹ⁱWealth gained by dishonesty will be diminished,

But he who gathers by labor will increase.

¹²Hope deferred makes the heart sick,

But ^jwhen the desire comes, it is a tree of life.

¹³He who ^kdespises the word will be destroyed,

But he who fears the commandment will be rewarded.

^14lThe law of the wise is a fountain of life,

To turn one away from ^mthe snares of death.

¹⁵Good understanding ¹gains ⁿfavor,

But the way of the unfaithful is hard.

^16oEvery prudent man acts with knowledge,

But a fool lays open his folly.

¹⁷A wicked messenger falls into trouble,

But ^pa faithful ambassador brings health.

¹⁸Poverty and shame will come to him who ²disdains correction,

But ^qhe who regards a rebuke will be honored.

¹⁹A desire accomplished is sweet to the soul,

But it is an abomination to fools to depart from evil.

²⁰He who walks with wise men will be wise,

But the companion of fools will be destroyed.

^21rEvil pursues sinners,

But to the righteous, good shall be repaid.

²²A good man leaves an inheritance to his children’s children,

But ^sthe wealth of the sinner is stored up for the righteous.

^23tMuch food is in the ³fallow ground of the poor,

And for lack of justice there is ⁴waste.

^24uHe who spares his rod hates his son,

But he who loves him disciplines him ⁵promptly.

^25vThe righteous eats to the satisfying of his soul,

But the stomach of the wicked shall be in want.

14The wise woman builds her house,

But the foolish pulls it down with her hands.

²He who walks in his uprightness fears the Lord,

^aBut he who is perverse in his ways despises Him.

³In the mouth of a fool is a rod of pride,

^bBut the lips of the wise will preserve them.

⁴Where no oxen are, the ¹trough is clean;

But much increase comes by the strength of an ox.

⁵A ^cfaithful witness does not lie,

But a false witness will utter ^dlies.

⁶A scoffer seeks wisdom and does not find it,

But ^eknowledge is easy to him who understands.

⁷Go from the presence of a foolish man,

When you do not perceive in him the lips of ^fknowledge.

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

But the folly of fools is deceit.

^9gFools mock at ²sin,

But among the upright there is favor.

¹⁰The heart knows its own bitterness,

And a stranger does not share its joy.

^11hThe house of the wicked will be overthrown,

But the tent of the upright will flourish.

¹²ⁱThere is a way that seems right to a man,

But ^jits end is the way of ^kdeath.

¹³Even in laughter the heart may sorrow,

And ^lthe end of mirth may be grief.

¹⁴The backslider in heart will be ^mfilled with his own ways,

But a good man will be satisfied ³from ⁿabove.

¹⁵The simple believes every word,

But the prudent considers well his steps.

^16oA wise man fears and departs from evil,

But a fool rages and is self-confident.

¹⁷A quick-tempered man acts foolishly,

And a man of wicked intentions is hated.

¹⁸The simple inherit folly,

But the prudent are crowned with knowledge.

¹⁹The evil will bow before the good,

And the wicked at the gates of the righteous.

^20pThe poor man is hated even by his own neighbor,

But ⁴the rich has many ^qfriends.

²¹He who despises his neighbor sins;

^rBut he who has mercy on the poor, happy is he.

²²Do they not go astray who devise evil?

But mercy and truth belong to those who devise good.

²³In all labor there is profit,

But ⁵idle chatter leads only to poverty.

²⁴The crown of the wise is their riches,

But the foolishness of fools is folly.

²⁵A true witness ⁶delivers ^ssouls,

But a deceitful witness speaks lies.

²⁶In the fear of the Lord there is strong confidence,

And His children will have a place of refuge.

^27tThe fear of the Lord is a fountain of life,

To turn one away from the snares of death.

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

But in the lack of people is the downfall of a prince.

^29uHe who is slow to wrath has great understanding,

But he who is ⁷impulsive exalts folly.

³⁰A sound heart is life to the body,

But ^venvy is ^wrottenness to the bones.

^31xHe who oppresses the poor reproaches ^yhis Maker,

But he who honors Him has mercy on the needy.

³²The wicked is banished in his wickedness,

But ^zthe righteous has a refuge in his death.

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

But ^awhat is in the heart of fools is made known.

³⁴Righteousness exalts a ^bnation,

But sin is a ⁸reproach to any people.

^35cThe king’s favor is toward a wise servant,

But his wrath is against him who causes shame.

15A ^asoft answer turns away wrath,

But ^ba harsh word stirs up anger.

²The tongue of the wise uses knowledge rightly,

^cBut the mouth of fools pours forth foolishness.

^3dThe eyes of the Lord are in every place,

Keeping watch on the evil and the good.

⁴A ¹wholesome tongue is a tree of life,

But perverseness in it breaks the spirit.

^5eA fool despises his father’s instruction,

^fBut he who ²receives correction is prudent.

⁶In the house of the righteous there is much treasure,

But in the revenue of the wicked is trouble.

⁷The lips of the wise ³disperse knowledge,

But the heart of the fool does not do so.

^8gThe sacrifice of the wicked is an abomination to the Lord,

But the prayer of the upright is His delight.

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

But He loves him who ^hfollows righteousness.

¹⁰ⁱHarsh discipline is for him who forsakes the way,

And ^jhe who hates correction will die.

^11kHell ⁴and ⁵Destruction are before the Lord;

So how much more ^lthe hearts of the sons of men.

^12mA scoffer does not love one who corrects him,

Nor will he go to the wise.

¹³ⁿA merry heart makes a cheerful ⁶countenance,

But ^oby sorrow of the heart the spirit is broken.

¹⁴The heart of him who has understanding seeks knowledge,

But the mouth of fools feeds on foolishness.

¹⁵All the days of the afflicted are evil,

^pBut he who is of a merry heart has a continual feast.

^16qBetter is a little with the fear of the Lord,

Than great treasure with trouble.

^17rBetter is a dinner of ⁷herbs where love is,

Than a fatted calf with hatred.

^18sA wrathful man stirs up strife,

But he who is slow to anger allays contention.

^19tThe way of the lazy man is like a hedge of thorns,

But the way of the upright is a highway.

^20uA wise son makes a father glad,

But a foolish man despises his mother.

^21vFolly is joy to him who is destitute of ⁸discernment,

^wBut a man of understanding walks uprightly.

^22xWithout counsel, plans go awry,

But in the multitude of counselors they are established.

²³A man has joy by the answer of his mouth,

And ^ya word spoken ⁹in due season, how good it is!

^24zThe way of life winds upward for the wise,

That he may ^aturn away from ¹hell below.

^25bThe Lord will destroy the house of the proud,

But ^cHe will establish the boundary of the widow.

^26dThe thoughts of the wicked are an abomination to the Lord,

^eBut the words of the pure are pleasant.

^27fHe who is greedy for gain troubles his own house,

But he who hates bribes will live.

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

But the mouth of the wicked pours forth evil.

^29hThe Lord is far from the wicked,

But ⁱHe hears the prayer of the righteous.

³⁰The light of the eyes rejoices the heart,

And a good report makes the bones ²healthy.

³¹The ear that hears the rebukes of life

Will abide among the wise.

³²He who disdains instruction despises his own soul,

But he who heeds rebuke gets understanding.

^33jThe fear of the Lord is the instruction of wisdom,

And ^kbefore honor is humility.