The Ways of Life and Death

14 The wise woman builds her house,
But the foolish pulls it down with her hands.

He who walks in his uprightness fears the Lord,
(A)But he who is perverse in his ways despises Him.

In the mouth of a fool is a rod of pride,
(B)But the lips of the wise will preserve them.

Where no oxen are, the [a]trough is clean;
But much increase comes by the strength of an ox.

A (C)faithful witness does not lie,
But a false witness will utter (D)lies.

A scoffer seeks wisdom and does not find it,
But (E)knowledge is easy to him who understands.
Go from the presence of a foolish man,
When you do not perceive in him the lips of (F)knowledge.
The wisdom of the prudent is to understand his way,
But the folly of fools is deceit.

(G)Fools mock at [b]sin,
But among the upright there is favor.

10 The heart knows its own bitterness,
And a stranger does not share its joy.

11 (H)The house of the wicked will be overthrown,
But the tent of the upright will flourish.

12 (I)There is a way that seems right to a man,
But (J)its end is the way of (K)death.

13 Even in laughter the heart may sorrow,
And (L)the end of mirth may be grief.

14 The backslider in heart will be (M)filled with his own ways,
But a good man will be satisfied [c]from (N)above.

15 The simple believes every word,
But the prudent considers well his steps.
16 (O)A wise man fears and departs from evil,
But a fool rages and is self-confident.
17 A quick-tempered man acts foolishly,
And a man of wicked intentions is hated.
18 The simple inherit folly,
But the prudent are crowned with knowledge.
19 The evil will bow before the good,
And the wicked at the gates of the righteous.

20 (P)The poor man is hated even by his own neighbor,
But [d]the rich has many (Q)friends.
21 He who despises his neighbor sins;
(R)But he who has mercy on the poor, happy is he.

22 Do they not go astray who devise evil?
But mercy and truth belong to those who devise good.

23 In all labor there is profit,
But [e]idle chatter leads only to poverty.

24 The crown of the wise is their riches,
But the foolishness of fools is folly.

25 A true witness [f]delivers (S)souls,
But a deceitful witness speaks lies.

26 In the fear of the Lord there is strong confidence,
And His children will have a place of refuge.
27 (T)The fear of the Lord is a fountain of life,
To turn one away from the snares of death.

28 In a multitude of people is a king’s honor,
But in the lack of people is the downfall of a prince.

29 (U)He who is slow to wrath has great understanding,
But he who is [g]impulsive exalts folly.

30 A sound heart is life to the body,
But (V)envy is (W)rottenness to the bones.

31 (X)He who oppresses the poor reproaches (Y)his Maker,
But he who honors Him has mercy on the needy.

32 The wicked is banished in his wickedness,
But (Z)the righteous has a refuge in his death.

33 Wisdom rests in the heart of him who has understanding,
But (AA)what is in the heart of fools is made known.

34 Righteousness exalts a (AB)nation,
But sin is a [h]reproach to any people.

35 (AC)The king’s favor is toward a wise servant,
But his wrath is against him who causes shame.

Footnotes

  1. Proverbs 14:4 manger or feed trough
  2. Proverbs 14:9 Lit. guilt
  3. Proverbs 14:14 Lit. from above himself
  4. Proverbs 14:20 Lit. many are the lovers of the rich
  5. Proverbs 14:23 Lit. talk of the lips
  6. Proverbs 14:25 saves lives
  7. Proverbs 14:29 Lit. short of spirit
  8. Proverbs 14:34 shame or disgrace

14 The wisest of women[a] builds her house,
    but the foolish tears it down with her hands.
He who walks in uprightness fears Yahweh,
    but he who is devious in his ways displeases him.
In the mouth of a fool is the rod of pride,
    but the lips of the wise preserve them.
When there are no[b] oxen the manger is empty,
    but an abundance of crops comes by the strength of an ox.[c]
A faithful witness does not lie,
    but he who breathes out falsehood is a witness of deceit.
A scoffer seeks wisdom, but there is none,
    but knowledge comes easily to him who understands.[d]
Leave the presence of a foolish man,[e]
    for you will not come to know words of knowledge.[f]
The wisdom of the clever is understanding his ways,
    but the folly of fools is deceit.
Fools mock[g] the guilt offering,
    but among the upright, it is favorable.
10 The heart[h] knows the bitterness of its soul,[i]
    but in its joy, it will not share itself with a stranger.
11 The house of the wicked will be destroyed,
    but the tent of the upright will flourish.
12 There is a way that seems upright to[j] a man,
    but its end is the way of death.
13 Even in laughter, a heart may be sad,
    and the end of joy may be grief.
14 From his ways, the perverse of heart will be satisfied,
    and from his own,[k] so shall a good man.
15 The simple will believe every word,
    but the clever will consider his step.
16 The wise is cautious and turns from evil,
    but the fool throws off restraint and is confident.
17 He who is short of temper[l] will act foolishly,
    and the man who schemes will be hated.
18 The simple are adorned with folly,
    but the clever are crowned with knowledge.
19 The evil bow down before the good,
    and the wicked at the gates of the righteous.
20 The poor is disliked even by his neighbor,
    but the lovers of the rich are many.
21 He who despises his neighbor is a sinner,
    but he who has mercy on the poor blesses him.
22 Have they not erred, those who plan evil?
    But loyalty and faithfulness belong to those who plan good.
23 In all toil, there is profit,
    but the talk[m] of lips leads only to poverty.
24 The crown of the wise is their wealth;
    the folly of fools is folly.
25 He who saves lives[n] is a witness of truth,
    but he who utters lies is a betrayer.
26 In the fear of Yahweh, there is confidence of strength,
    and for his children, there will be refuge.
27 The fear of Yahweh is a fountain of life,
    in order to turn from the snares of death.
28 In the multitude of people is the glory of the king,
    but without a population, a prince is ruined.
29 He who is slow to anger has great understanding,
    but the hasty of spirit[o] exalts folly.
30 A heart[p] of tranquility[q] is life to the flesh,
    but causes bones of passion to rot.
31 He who oppresses the poor insults him who made him,
    but he who has mercy on the poor honors him.
32 By his evildoing, the wicked will be overthrown,
    and the righteous will find refuge in his death.
33 In the heart[r] of him who has understanding, wisdom rests,
    but even in the midst of fools it becomes known.
34 Righteousness will exalt a nation,
    but sin is a reproach to a people.
35 The favor of a king is for the servant who deals wisely,
    but his wrath will be on him who acts shamefully.

Footnotes

  1. Proverbs 14:1 Literally “wise ones of women”
  2. Proverbs 14:4 Literally “In there is no”
  3. Proverbs 14:4 Hebrew “bull”
  4. Proverbs 14:6 Literally “to one who understands it comes easy”
  5. Proverbs 14:7 Literally “from the presence belonging to a man of foolishness”
  6. Proverbs 14:7 Literally “lips of knowledge”
  7. Proverbs 14:9 Hebrew “he mocks”
  8. Proverbs 14:10 Or “mind”
  9. Proverbs 14:10 Or “life,” or “inner self”
  10. Proverbs 14:12 Literally “to the face of”
  11. Proverbs 14:14 Literally “from upon him”
  12. Proverbs 14:17 Literally “nostril”
  13. Proverbs 14:23 Literally “word, matter, thing”
  14. Proverbs 14:25 Or “souls,” or “inner selves”
  15. Proverbs 14:29 Or “breath”
  16. Proverbs 14:30 Or “mind”
  17. Proverbs 14:30 Or “he who heals”
  18. Proverbs 14:33 Or “mind”