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Proverbs 19-21
New Century Version
Proverbs 19-21
New Century Version
19 It is better to be poor and honest
than to be foolish and tell lies.
2 Enthusiasm without knowledge is not good.
If you act too quickly, you might make a mistake.
3 People’s own foolishness ruins their lives,
but in their minds they blame the Lord.
4 Wealthy people are always finding more friends,
but the poor lose all theirs.
5 A witness who lies will not go free;
liars will never escape.
6 Many people want to please a leader,
and everyone is friends with those who give gifts.
7 Poor people’s relatives avoid them;
even their friends stay far away.
They run after them, begging,
but they are gone.
8 Those who get wisdom do themselves a favor,
and those who love learning will succeed.
9 A witness who lies will not go free,
liars will die.
10 A fool should not live in luxury.
A slave should not rule over princes.
11 The wise are patient;
they will be honored if they ignore insults.
12 An angry king is like a roaring lion,
but his kindness is like the dew on the grass.
13 A foolish child brings disaster to a father,
and a quarreling wife is like dripping water.
14 Houses and wealth are inherited from parents,
but a wise wife is a gift from the Lord.
15 Lazy people sleep a lot,
and idle people will go hungry.
16 Those who obey the commands protect themselves,
but those who are careless will die.
17 Being kind to the poor is like lending to the Lord;
he will reward you for what you have done.
18 Correct your children while there is still hope;
do not let them destroy themselves.
19 People with quick tempers will have to pay for it.
If you help them out once, you will have to do it again.
20 Listen to advice and accept correction,
and in the end you will be wise.
21 People can make all kinds of plans,
but only the Lord’s plan will happen.
22 People want others to be loyal,
so it is better to be poor than to be a liar.
23 Those who respect the Lord will live
and be satisfied, unbothered by trouble.
24 Though the lazy person puts his hand in the dish,
he won’t lift the food to his mouth.
25 Whip those who make fun of wisdom, and perhaps foolish people will gain some wisdom.
Correct those with understanding, and they will gain knowledge.
26 A child who robs his father and sends away his mother
brings shame and disgrace on himself.
27 Don’t stop listening to correction, my child,
or you will forget what you have already learned.
28 An evil witness makes fun of fairness,
and wicked people love what is evil.
29 People who make fun of wisdom will be punished,
and the backs of foolish people will be beaten.
20 Wine and beer make people loud and uncontrolled;
it is not wise to get drunk on them.
2 An angry king is like a roaring lion.
Making him angry may cost you your life.
3 Foolish people are always fighting,
but avoiding quarrels will bring you honor.
4 Lazy farmers don’t plow when they should;
they expect a harvest, but there is none.
5 People’s thoughts can be like a deep well,
but someone with understanding can find the wisdom there.
6 Many people claim to be loyal,
but it is hard to find a trustworthy person.
7 The good people who live honest lives
will be a blessing to their children.
8 When a king sits on his throne to judge,
he knows evil when he sees it.
9 No one can say, “I am innocent;
I have never done anything wrong.”
10 The Lord hates both these things:
dishonest weights and dishonest measures.
11 Even children are known by their behavior;
their actions show if they are innocent and good.
12 The Lord has made both these things:
ears to hear and eyes to see.
13 If you love to sleep, you will be poor.
If you stay awake, you will have plenty of food.
14 Buyers say, “This is bad. It’s no good.”
Then they go away and brag about what they bought.
15 There is gold and plenty of rubies,
but only a few people speak with knowledge.
16 Take the coat of someone who promises to pay a stranger’s debts,
and keep it until he pays what the stranger owes.
17 Stolen food may taste sweet at first,
but later it will feel like a mouth full of gravel.
18 Get advice if you want your plans to work.
If you go to war, get the advice of others.
19 Gossips can’t keep secrets,
so avoid people who talk too much.
20 Those who curse their father or mother
will be like a light going out in darkness.
21 Wealth inherited quickly in the beginning
will do you no good in the end.
22 Don’t say, “I’ll pay you back for the wrong you did.”
Wait for the Lord, and he will make things right.
23 The Lord hates dishonest weights,
and dishonest scales do not please him.
24 The Lord decides what a person will do;
no one understands what his life is all about.
25 It’s dangerous to promise something to God too quickly.
After you’ve thought about it, it may be too late.
26 A wise king sorts out the evil people,
and he punishes them as they deserve.
27 The Lord looks deep inside people
and searches through their thoughts.
28 Loyalty and truth keep a king in power;
he continues to rule if he is loyal.
29 The young glory in their strength,
and the old are honored for their gray hair.
30 Hard punishment will get rid of evil,
and whippings can change an evil heart.
21 The Lord can control a king’s mind as he controls a river;
he can direct it as he pleases.
2 You may believe you are doing right,
but the Lord judges your reasons.
3 Doing what is right and fair
is more important to the Lord than sacrifices.
4 Proud looks, proud thoughts,
and evil actions are sin.
5 The plans of hard-working people earn a profit,
but those who act too quickly become poor.
6 Wealth that comes from telling lies
vanishes like a mist and leads to death.
7 The violence of the wicked will destroy them,
because they refuse to do what is right.
8 Guilty people live dishonest lives,
but honest people do right.
9 It is better to live in a corner on the roof[a]
than inside the house with a quarreling wife.
10 Evil people only want to harm others.
Their neighbors get no mercy from them.
11 If you punish those who make fun of wisdom, a foolish person may gain some wisdom.
But if you teach the wise, they will get knowledge.
12 God, who is always right, watches the house of the wicked
and brings ruin on every evil person.
13 Whoever ignores the poor when they cry for help
will also cry for help and not be answered.
14 A secret gift will calm an angry person;
a present given in secrecy will quiet great anger.
15 When justice is done, good people are happy,
but evil people are ruined.
16 Whoever does not use good sense
will end up among the dead.
17 Whoever loves pleasure will become poor;
whoever loves wine and perfume will never be rich.
18 Wicked people will suffer instead of good people,
and those who cannot be trusted will suffer instead of those who do right.
19 It is better to live alone in the desert
than with a quarreling and complaining wife.
20 Wise people’s houses are full of the best foods and olive oil,
but fools waste everything they have.
21 Whoever tries to live right and be loyal
finds life, success, and honor.
22 A wise person can defeat a city full of warriors
and tear down the defenses they trust in.
23 Those who are careful about what they say
keep themselves out of trouble.
24 People who act with stubborn pride
are called “proud,” “bragger,” and “mocker.”
25 Lazy people’s desire for sleep will kill them,
because they refuse to work.
26 All day long they wish for more,
but good people give without holding back.
27 The Lord hates sacrifices brought by evil people,
particularly when they offer them for the wrong reasons.
28 A lying witness will be forgotten,
but a truthful witness will speak on.
29 Wicked people are stubborn,
but good people think carefully about what they do.
30 There is no wisdom, understanding, or advice
that can succeed against the Lord.
31 You can get the horses ready for battle,
but it is the Lord who gives the victory.
Footnotes
- 21:9 roof In Bible times houses were built with flat roofs. The roof was used for drying things such as flax and fruit. And it was used as an extra room, as a place for worship, and as a cool place to sleep in the summer.
Proverbs 19-21
New International Version
Proverbs 19-21
New International Version
19 Better the poor whose walk is blameless
than a fool whose lips are perverse.(A)
2 Desire without knowledge is not good—
how much more will hasty feet miss the way!(B)
4 Wealth attracts many friends,
but even the closest friend of the poor person deserts them.(E)
7 The poor are shunned by all their relatives—
how much more do their friends avoid them!(K)
Though the poor pursue them with pleading,
they are nowhere to be found.[a](L)
8 The one who gets wisdom loves life;
the one who cherishes understanding will soon prosper.(M)
9 A false witness will not go unpunished,
and whoever pours out lies will perish.(N)
10 It is not fitting for a fool(O) to live in luxury—
how much worse for a slave to rule over princes!(P)
11 A person’s wisdom yields patience;(Q)
it is to one’s glory to overlook an offense.
13 A foolish child is a father’s ruin,(U)
and a quarrelsome wife is like
the constant dripping of a leaky roof.(V)
15 Laziness brings on deep sleep,
and the shiftless go hungry.(Y)
16 Whoever keeps commandments keeps their life,
but whoever shows contempt for their ways will die.(Z)
17 Whoever is kind to the poor lends to the Lord,(AA)
and he will reward them for what they have done.(AB)
18 Discipline your children, for in that there is hope;
do not be a willing party to their death.(AC)
19 A hot-tempered person must pay the penalty;
rescue them, and you will have to do it again.
20 Listen to advice and accept discipline,(AD)
and at the end you will be counted among the wise.(AE)
21 Many are the plans in a person’s heart,
but it is the Lord’s purpose that prevails.(AF)
22 What a person desires is unfailing love[b];
better to be poor than a liar.
23 The fear of the Lord leads to life;
then one rests content, untouched by trouble.(AG)
24 A sluggard buries his hand in the dish;
he will not even bring it back to his mouth!(AH)
25 Flog a mocker, and the simple will learn prudence;
rebuke the discerning,(AI) and they will gain knowledge.(AJ)
26 Whoever robs their father and drives out their mother(AK)
is a child who brings shame and disgrace.
27 Stop listening to instruction, my son,(AL)
and you will stray from the words of knowledge.
28 A corrupt witness mocks at justice,
and the mouth of the wicked gulps down evil.(AM)
29 Penalties are prepared for mockers,
and beatings for the backs of fools.(AN)
2 A king’s wrath strikes terror like the roar of a lion;(AS)
those who anger him forfeit their lives.(AT)
5 The purposes of a person’s heart are deep waters,(AY)
but one who has insight draws them out.
6 Many claim to have unfailing love,
but a faithful person who can find?(AZ)
10 Differing weights and differing measures—
the Lord detests them both.(BG)
11 Even small children are known by their actions,
so is their conduct really pure(BH) and upright?
12 Ears that hear and eyes that see—
the Lord has made them both.(BI)
13 Do not love sleep or you will grow poor;(BJ)
stay awake and you will have food to spare.
14 “It’s no good, it’s no good!” says the buyer—
then goes off and boasts about the purchase.
15 Gold there is, and rubies in abundance,
but lips that speak knowledge are a rare jewel.
16 Take the garment of one who puts up security for a stranger;
hold it in pledge(BK) if it is done for an outsider.(BL)
18 Plans are established by seeking advice;
so if you wage war, obtain guidance.(BO)
19 A gossip betrays a confidence;(BP)
so avoid anyone who talks too much.
20 If someone curses their father or mother,(BQ)
their lamp will be snuffed out in pitch darkness.(BR)
21 An inheritance claimed too soon
will not be blessed at the end.
22 Do not say, “I’ll pay you back for this wrong!”(BS)
Wait for the Lord, and he will avenge you.(BT)
23 The Lord detests differing weights,
and dishonest scales do not please him.(BU)
24 A person’s steps are directed(BV) by the Lord.(BW)
How then can anyone understand their own way?(BX)
25 It is a trap to dedicate something rashly
and only later to consider one’s vows.(BY)
26 A wise king winnows out the wicked;
he drives the threshing wheel over them.(BZ)
29 The glory of young men is their strength,
gray hair the splendor of the old.(CE)
21 In the Lord’s hand the king’s heart is a stream of water
that he channels toward all who please him.(CH)
2 A person may think their own ways are right,
but the Lord weighs the heart.(CI)
3 To do what is right and just
is more acceptable to the Lord than sacrifice.(CJ)
4 Haughty eyes(CK) and a proud heart—
the unplowed field of the wicked—produce sin.
5 The plans of the diligent lead to profit(CL)
as surely as haste leads to poverty.
7 The violence of the wicked will drag them away,(CN)
for they refuse to do what is right.
8 The way of the guilty is devious,(CO)
but the conduct of the innocent is upright.
9 Better to live on a corner of the roof
than share a house with a quarrelsome wife.(CP)
10 The wicked crave evil;
their neighbors get no mercy from them.
11 When a mocker is punished, the simple gain wisdom;
by paying attention to the wise they get knowledge.(CQ)
14 A gift given in secret soothes anger,
and a bribe concealed in the cloak pacifies great wrath.(CU)
15 When justice is done, it brings joy to the righteous
but terror to evildoers.(CV)
16 Whoever strays from the path of prudence
comes to rest in the company of the dead.(CW)
17 Whoever loves pleasure will become poor;
whoever loves wine and olive oil will never be rich.(CX)
18 The wicked become a ransom(CY) for the righteous,
and the unfaithful for the upright.
19 Better to live in a desert
than with a quarrelsome and nagging wife.(CZ)
20 The wise store up choice food and olive oil,
but fools gulp theirs down.
22 One who is wise can go up against the city of the mighty(DC)
and pull down the stronghold in which they trust.
24 The proud and arrogant person(DF)—“Mocker” is his name—
behaves with insolent fury.
25 The craving of a sluggard will be the death of him,(DG)
because his hands refuse to work.
26 All day long he craves for more,
but the righteous(DH) give without sparing.(DI)
27 The sacrifice of the wicked is detestable(DJ)—
how much more so when brought with evil intent!(DK)
29 The wicked put up a bold front,
but the upright give thought to their ways.(DN)
31 The horse is made ready for the day of battle,
but victory rests with the Lord.(DQ)
Footnotes
- Proverbs 19:7 The meaning of the Hebrew for this sentence is uncertain.
- Proverbs 19:22 Or Greed is a person’s shame
- Proverbs 20:27 Or A person’s words are
- Proverbs 21:6 Some Hebrew manuscripts, Septuagint and Vulgate; most Hebrew manuscripts vapor for those who seek death
- Proverbs 21:12 Or The righteous person
- Proverbs 21:21 Or righteousness
New Century Version (NCV) 
The Holy Bible, New Century Version®. Copyright © 2005 by Thomas Nelson, Inc.
New International Version (NIV) 
Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
NIV Reverse Interlinear Bible: English to Hebrew and English to Greek. Copyright © 2019 by Zondervan.