Proverbs 12:1-9

The Message

² A good person basks in the delight of God,
    and he wants nothing to do with devious schemers.

³ You can’t find firm footing in a swamp,
    but life rooted in God stands firm.

⁴ A hearty wife invigorates her husband,
    but a frigid woman is cancer in the bones.

⁵ The thinking of principled people makes for justice;
    the plots of degenerates corrupt.

⁶ The words of the wicked kill;
    the speech of the upright saves.

⁷ Wicked people fall to pieces—there’s nothing to them;
    the homes of good people hold together.

⁸ A person who talks sense is honored;
    airheads are held in contempt.

⁹ Better to be ordinary and work for a living
    than act important and starve in the process.