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Proverbs 10
The Message
Proverbs 10
The Message
The Wise Sayings of Solomon
An Honest Life Is Immortal
10 Wise son, glad father;
stupid son, sad mother.
2 Ill-gotten gain gets you nowhere;
an honest life is immortal.
3 God won’t starve an honest soul,
but he frustrates the appetites of the wicked.
4 Sloth makes you poor;
diligence brings wealth.
5 Make hay while the sun shines—that’s smart;
go fishing during harvest—that’s stupid.
6 Blessings accrue on a good and honest life,
but the mouth of the wicked is a dark cave of abuse.
7 A good and honest life is a blessed memorial;
a wicked life leaves a rotten stench.
8 A wise heart takes orders;
an empty head will come unglued.
9 Honesty lives confident and carefree,
but Shifty is sure to be exposed.
10 An evasive eye is a sign of trouble ahead,
but an open, face-to-face meeting results in peace.
11 The mouth of a good person is a deep, life-giving well,
but the mouth of the wicked is a dark cave of abuse.
12 Hatred starts fights,
but love pulls a quilt over the bickering.
13 You’ll find wisdom on the lips of a person of insight,
but the shortsighted needs a slap in the face.
14 The wise accumulate knowledge—a true treasure;
know-it-alls talk too much—a sheer waste.
The Road to Life Is a Disciplined Life
15 The wealth of the rich is their security;
the poverty of the indigent is their ruin.
16 The wage of a good person is exuberant life;
an evil person ends up with nothing but sin.
17 The road to life is a disciplined life;
ignore correction and you’re lost for good.
18 Liars secretly hoard hatred;
fools openly spread slander.
19 The more talk, the less truth;
the wise measure their words.
20 The speech of a good person is worth waiting for;
the blabber of the wicked is worthless.
21 The talk of a good person is rich fare for many,
but chatterboxes die of an empty heart.
Fear-of-God Expands Your Life
22 God’s blessing makes life rich;
nothing we do can improve on God.
23 An empty-head thinks mischief is fun,
but a mindful person relishes wisdom.
24 The nightmares of the wicked come true;
what the good people desire, they get.
25 When the storm is over, there’s nothing left of the wicked;
good people, firm on their rock foundation, aren’t even fazed.
26 A lazy employee will give you nothing but trouble;
it’s vinegar in the mouth, smoke in the eyes.
27 The Fear-of-God expands your life;
a wicked life is a puny life.
28 The aspirations of good people end in celebration;
the ambitions of bad people crash.
29 God is solid backing to a well-lived life,
but he calls into question a shabby performance.
30 Good people last—they can’t be moved;
the wicked are here today, gone tomorrow.
31 A good person’s mouth is a clear fountain of wisdom;
a foul mouth is a stagnant swamp.
32 The speech of a good person clears the air;
the words of the wicked pollute it.
Proverbs 10
New International Version
Proverbs 10
New International Version
Proverbs of Solomon
10 The proverbs(A) of Solomon:(B)
A wise son brings joy to his father,(C)
but a foolish son brings grief to his mother.
5 He who gathers crops in summer is a prudent son,
but he who sleeps during harvest is a disgraceful son.(J)
8 The wise in heart accept commands,
but a chattering fool comes to ruin.(O)
9 Whoever walks in integrity(P) walks securely,(Q)
but whoever takes crooked paths will be found out.(R)
10 Whoever winks maliciously(S) causes grief,
and a chattering fool comes to ruin.
11 The mouth of the righteous is a fountain of life,(T)
but the mouth of the wicked conceals violence.(U)
12 Hatred stirs up conflict,
but love covers over all wrongs.(V)
13 Wisdom is found on the lips of the discerning,(W)
but a rod is for the back of one who has no sense.(X)
17 Whoever heeds discipline shows the way to life,(AE)
but whoever ignores correction leads others astray.
18 Whoever conceals hatred with lying lips(AF)
and spreads slander is a fool.
19 Sin is not ended by multiplying words,
but the prudent hold their tongues.(AG)
20 The tongue of the righteous is choice silver,
but the heart of the wicked is of little value.
21 The lips of the righteous nourish many,
but fools die for lack of sense.(AH)
23 A fool finds pleasure in wicked schemes,(AL)
but a person of understanding delights in wisdom.
28 The prospect of the righteous is joy,
but the hopes of the wicked come to nothing.(AV)
29 The way of the Lord is a refuge for the blameless,
but it is the ruin of those who do evil.(AW)
30 The righteous will never be uprooted,
but the wicked will not remain in the land.(AX)
Footnotes
- Proverbs 10:6 Or righteous, / but the mouth of the wicked conceals violence
- Proverbs 10:7 See Gen. 48:20.
Proverbs 28
The Message
Proverbs 28
The Message
If You Desert God’s Law
28 The wicked are edgy with guilt, ready to run off
even when no one’s after them;
Honest people are relaxed and confident,
bold as lions.
2 When the country is in chaos,
everybody has a plan to fix it—
But it takes a leader of real understanding
to straighten things out.
3 The wicked who oppress the poor
are like a hailstorm that beats down the harvest.
4 If you desert God’s law, you’re free to embrace depravity;
if you love God’s law, you fight for it tooth and nail.
5 Justice makes no sense to the evilminded;
those who seek God know it inside and out.
6 It’s better to be poor and direct
than rich and crooked.
7 Practice God’s law—get a reputation for wisdom;
hang out with a loose crowd—embarrass your family.
8 Get as rich as you want
through cheating and extortion,
But eventually some friend of the poor
is going to give it all back to them.
9 God has no use for the prayers
of the people who won’t listen to him.
10 Lead good people down a wrong path
and you’ll come to a bad end;
do good and you’ll be rewarded for it.
11 The rich think they know it all,
but the poor can see right through them.
12 When good people are promoted, everything is great,
but when the bad are in charge, watch out!
13 You can’t whitewash your sins and get by with it;
you find mercy by admitting and leaving them.
14 A tenderhearted person lives a blessed life;
a hardhearted person lives a hard life.
15 Lions roar and bears charge—
and the wicked lord it over the poor.
16 Among leaders who lack insight, abuse abounds,
but for one who hates corruption, the future is bright.
17 A murderer haunted by guilt
is doomed—there’s no helping him.
18 Walk straight—live well and be saved;
a devious life is a doomed life.
Doing Great Harm in Seemingly Harmless Ways
19 Work your garden—you’ll end up with plenty of food;
play and party—you’ll end up with an empty plate.
20 Committed and persistent work pays off;
get-rich-quick schemes are ripoffs.
21 Playing favorites is always a bad thing;
you can do great harm in seemingly harmless ways.
22 A miser in a hurry to get rich
doesn’t know that he’ll end up broke.
23 In the end, serious reprimand is appreciated
far more than bootlicking flattery.
24 Anyone who robs father and mother
and says, “So, what’s wrong with that?”
is worse than a pirate.
25 A grasping person stirs up trouble,
but trust in God brings a sense of well-being.
26 If you think you know it all, you’re a fool for sure;
real survivors learn wisdom from others.
27 Be generous to the poor—you’ll never go hungry;
shut your eyes to their needs, and run a gauntlet of curses.
28 When corruption takes over, good people go underground,
but when the crooks are thrown out, it’s safe to come out.
Proverbs 28
New International Version
Proverbs 28
New International Version
2 When a country is rebellious, it has many rulers,
but a ruler with discernment and knowledge maintains order.
3 A ruler[a] who oppresses the poor
is like a driving rain that leaves no crops.
4 Those who forsake instruction praise the wicked,
but those who heed it resist them.
5 Evildoers do not understand what is right,
but those who seek the Lord understand it fully.
6 Better the poor whose walk is blameless
than the rich whose ways are perverse.(D)
7 A discerning son heeds instruction,
but a companion of gluttons disgraces his father.(E)
8 Whoever increases wealth by taking interest(F) or profit from the poor
amasses it for another,(G) who will be kind to the poor.(H)
9 If anyone turns a deaf ear to my instruction,
even their prayers are detestable.(I)
10 Whoever leads the upright along an evil path
will fall into their own trap,(J)
but the blameless will receive a good inheritance.
11 The rich are wise in their own eyes;
one who is poor and discerning sees how deluded they are.
12 When the righteous triumph, there is great elation;(K)
but when the wicked rise to power, people go into hiding.(L)
13 Whoever conceals their sins(M) does not prosper,
but the one who confesses(N) and renounces them finds mercy.(O)
14 Blessed is the one who always trembles before God,
but whoever hardens their heart falls into trouble.
15 Like a roaring lion or a charging bear
is a wicked ruler over a helpless people.
16 A tyrannical ruler practices extortion,
but one who hates ill-gotten gain will enjoy a long reign.
17 Anyone tormented by the guilt of murder
will seek refuge(P) in the grave;
let no one hold them back.
18 The one whose walk is blameless is kept safe,(Q)
but the one whose ways are perverse will fall(R) into the pit.[b]
19 Those who work their land will have abundant food,
but those who chase fantasies will have their fill of poverty.(S)
20 A faithful person will be richly blessed,
but one eager to get rich will not go unpunished.(T)
22 The stingy are eager to get rich
and are unaware that poverty awaits them.(X)
23 Whoever rebukes a person will in the end gain favor
rather than one who has a flattering tongue.(Y)
24 Whoever robs their father or mother(Z)
and says, “It’s not wrong,”
is partner to one who destroys.(AA)
27 Those who give to the poor will lack nothing,(AF)
but those who close their eyes to them receive many curses.(AG)
28 When the wicked rise to power, people go into hiding;(AH)
but when the wicked perish, the righteous thrive.
Footnotes
- Proverbs 28:3 Or A poor person
- Proverbs 28:18 Syriac (see Septuagint); Hebrew into one
The Message (MSG)
Copyright © 1993, 2002, 2018 by Eugene H. Peterson
New International Version (NIV) 
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