Proverbs 14

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.