Add parallel Print Page Options

15 He who (A)justifies the wicked and he who (B)condemns the righteous
    are both alike an abomination to the Lord.
16 Why should a fool have money in his hand (C)to buy wisdom
    when he has no sense?
17 (D)A friend loves at all times,
    and a brother is born for adversity.
18 One who lacks sense gives a pledge
    and puts up security in the presence of his neighbour.
19 Whoever loves transgression loves strife;
    he who (E)makes his door high seeks destruction.
20 (F)A man of crooked heart does not discover good,
    and one with a dishonest tongue falls into calamity.
21 He who (G)sires a fool gets himself sorrow,
    and the father of a fool has no joy.
22 (H)A joyful heart is good medicine,
    but a crushed spirit (I)dries up the bones.
23 The wicked accepts (J)a bribe in secret[a]
    to (K)pervert the ways of justice.
24 (L)The discerning sets his face towards wisdom,
    but the eyes of a fool are on the ends of the earth.

Read full chapter

Footnotes

  1. Proverbs 17:23 Hebrew a bribe from the bosom