Proverbs 19

Better the poor whose walk is blameless

than a fool whose lips are perverse.ⁱ

Desire without knowledge is not good—

how much more will hasty feet miss the way!^j

One’s own folly^k leads to ruin,

yet the heart rages against the Lord.^l

Wealth attracts many friends,

but even the closest friends of the poor desert them.^m

A false witnessⁿ will not go unpunished,^o

and whoever pours out lies will not go free.^p

Many curry favor with a ruler,^q

and everyone is the friend of one who gives gifts.^r

The poor are shunned by all their relatives—

how much more do their friends avoid them!^s

Though they pursue them with pleading,

they are nowhere to be found.^t

Those who get wisdom love their own lives;

those who cherish understanding will soon prosper.^u

A false witness will not go unpunished,

and whoever pours out lies will perish.^v

It is not fitting for a fool^w to live in luxury—

how much worse for a slave to rule over princes!^x

A person’s wisdom yields patience;^y

it is to one’s glory to overlook an offense.

A king’s rage is like the roar of a lion,^z

but his favor is like dew^a on the grass.^b

A foolish child is a father’s ruin,^c

and a quarrelsome wife is like

the constant dripping of a leaky roof.^d

Houses and wealth are inherited from parents,^e

but a prudent wife is from the Lord.^f

Laziness brings on deep sleep,

and the shiftless go hungry.^g

Those who obey instructions preserve their lives,

but those who are contemptuous of their ways will die.^h

Those who are kind to the poor lend to the Lord,ⁱ

and he will reward them for what they have done.^j

Discipline your children, for in that there is hope;

do not be a willing party to their death.^k

The hot-tempered must pay the penalty;

rescue them, and you will have to do it again.

Listen to advice and accept discipline,^l

and at the end you will be counted among the wise.^m

Many are the plans in a human heart,

but it is the Lord’s purpose that prevails.ⁿ

What a person desires is unfailing love;

better to be poor than a liar.

The fear of the Lord leads to life;

then one rests content, untouched by trouble.^o

Sluggards bury their hands in the dish

and will not even bring them back to their mouths!^p

Flog a mocker, and the simple will learn prudence;

rebuke the discerning,^q and they will gain knowledge.^r

Whoever robs their father and drives out their mother^s

is a child who brings shame and disgrace.

Stop listening to instruction, my child,^t

and you will stray from the words of knowledge.

A corrupt witness mocks at justice,

and the mouth of the wicked gulps down evil.^u

Penalties are prepared for mockers,

and beatings for the backs of fools.^v