Proverbs 12:10-15

Easy-to-Read Version

¹⁰Good people take good care of their animals, but the wicked know only how to be cruel.^[a]

¹¹Farmers who work their land have plenty of food, but those who waste their time on worthless projects are foolish.

¹²The wicked want a share of what an evil man might catch. But like a plant with deep roots, a good man is the one who produces the most.^[b]

¹³The wicked are trapped by their foolish words, but good people escape from such trouble.

¹⁴People get good things for the words they say, and they are rewarded for the work they do.

¹⁵Fools always think their own way is best, but wise people listen to what others tell them.

Proverbs 12:10 but the wicked … cruel Or “but even the ‘kindness’ of the wicked is still cruelty.”
Proverbs 12:12 The Hebrew text here is hard to understand.

Proverbs 12:10-15

New International Version

¹⁰The righteous care for the needs of their animals,^(A)
but the kindest acts of the wicked are cruel.

¹¹Those who work their land will have abundant food,
but those who chase fantasies have no sense.^(B)

¹²The wicked desire the stronghold of evildoers,
but the root of the righteous endures.

¹³Evildoers are trapped by their sinful talk,^(C)
and so the innocent escape trouble.^(D)

¹⁴From the fruit of their lips people are filled with good things,^(E)
and the work of their hands brings them reward.^(F)

¹⁵The way of fools seems right to them,^(G)
but the wise listen to advice.^(H)

Easy-to-Read Version (ERV)

New International Version (NIV)