Proverbs 22:7-27

New International Version

⁷The rich rule over the poor,
and the borrower is slave to the lender.

⁸Whoever sows injustice reaps calamity,^(A)
and the rod they wield in fury will be broken.^(B)

⁹The generous will themselves be blessed,^(C)
for they share their food with the poor.^(D)

¹⁰Drive out the mocker, and out goes strife;
quarrels and insults are ended.^(E)

¹¹One who loves a pure heart and who speaks with grace
will have the king for a friend.^(F)

¹²The eyes of the Lord keep watch over knowledge,
but he frustrates the words of the unfaithful.

¹³The sluggard says, “There’s a lion outside!^(G)
I’ll be killed in the public square!”

¹⁴The mouth of an adulterous woman is a deep pit;^(H)
a man who is under the Lord’s wrath falls into it.^(I)

¹⁵Folly is bound up in the heart of a child,
but the rod of discipline will drive it far away.^(J)

¹⁶One who oppresses the poor to increase his wealth
and one who gives gifts to the rich—both come to poverty.

Thirty Sayings of the Wise

Saying 1

¹⁷Pay attention^(K) and turn your ear to the sayings of the wise;^(L)
    apply your heart to what I teach,^(M)
¹⁸for it is pleasing when you keep them in your heart
    and have all of them ready on your lips.
¹⁹So that your trust may be in the Lord,
    I teach you today, even you.
²⁰Have I not written thirty sayings for you,
    sayings of counsel and knowledge,
²¹teaching you to be honest and to speak the truth,^(N)
    so that you bring back truthful reports
    to those you serve?

Saying 2

²²Do not exploit the poor^(O) because they are poor
and do not crush the needy in court,^(P)
²³for the Lord will take up their case^(Q)
and will exact life for life.^(R)

Saying 3

²⁴Do not make friends with a hot-tempered person,
do not associate with one easily angered,
²⁵or you may learn their ways
and get yourself ensnared.^(S)

Saying 4

²⁶Do not be one who shakes hands in pledge^(T)
or puts up security for debts;
²⁷if you lack the means to pay,
your very bed will be snatched from under you.^(U)