Proverbs 22:1-16

New American Standard Bible

22 A ^(A)good name is to be more desired than great wealth;
Favor is better than silver and gold.
² The rich and the poor ^[a]have a common bond,
The Lord is the ^(B)Maker of them all.
³ A ^(C)prudent person sees evil and hides himself,
But the naive proceed, and pay the penalty.
⁴ The reward of humility and ^[b]the fear of the Lord
Are riches, honor, and life.
^5 (D)Thorns and snares are in the way of the perverse;
One who guards himself will be far from them.
^6 (E)Train up a child ^[c]in the way he should go,
Even when he grows older he will not abandon it.
⁷ The ^(F)rich rules over the poor,
And the borrower becomes the lender’s slave.
⁸ One who ^(G)sows injustice will reap disaster,
And the ^(H)rod of his fury will perish.
⁹ One who ^[d]is ^(I)generous will be blessed,
Because he ^(J)gives some of his food to the poor.
^10 (K)Drive out the scoffer, and strife will leave,
Even quarreling and dishonor will cease.
¹¹ One who loves ^(L)purity of heart
And ^[e]whose speech is ^(M)gracious, the king is his friend.
¹² The eyes of the Lord protect knowledge,
But He overthrows the words of the treacherous person.
¹³ The ^[f](N)lazy one says, “There is a lion outside;
I will be killed in the streets!”
¹⁴ The mouth of ^[g](O)an adulteress is a deep pit;
He who is ^(P)cursed of the Lord will fall ^[h]into it.
¹⁵ Foolishness is bound up in the heart of a child;
The ^(Q)rod of discipline will remove it far from him.
¹⁶ One ^(R)who oppresses the poor to make ^[i]more for himself,
Or gives to the rich, ^(S)will only come to poverty.