Proverbs 21:17-26

New International Version

¹⁷ Whoever loves pleasure will become poor;
    whoever loves wine and olive oil will never be rich.^(A)

¹⁸ The wicked become a ransom^(B) for the righteous,
    and the unfaithful for the upright.

¹⁹ Better to live in a desert
    than with a quarrelsome and nagging wife.^(C)

²⁰ The wise store up choice food and olive oil,
    but fools gulp theirs down.

²¹ Whoever pursues righteousness and love
    finds life, prosperity^[a](D) and honor.^(E)

²² One who is wise can go up against the city of the mighty^(F)
    and pull down the stronghold in which they trust.

²³ Those who guard their mouths^(G) and their tongues
    keep themselves from calamity.^(H)

²⁴ The proud and arrogant person^(I)—“Mocker” is his name—
    behaves with insolent fury.

²⁵ The craving of a sluggard will be the death of him,^(J)
    because his hands refuse to work.
²⁶ All day long he craves for more,
    but the righteous^(K) give without sparing.^(L)