Proverbs 18-20
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
18 The one who lives alone is self-indulgent,
showing contempt for all sound judgment.[a]
2 A fool takes no pleasure in understanding,
but only in expressing personal opinion.(A)
3 When wickedness comes, contempt comes also,
and with dishonor comes disgrace.
4 The words of the mouth are deep waters;
the fountain of wisdom is a gushing stream.(B)
5 It is not right to be partial to the guilty
or to subvert the innocent in judgment.(C)
6 A fool’s lips bring strife,
and a fool’s mouth invites a flogging.
7 The mouths of fools are their ruin,
and their lips a snare to themselves.(D)
8 The words of a whisperer are like delicious morsels;
they go down into the inner parts of the body.(E)
9 One who is slack in work
is close kin to a vandal.(F)
10 The name of the Lord is a strong tower;
the righteous run into it and are safe.(G)
11 The wealth of the rich is their strong city;
in their imagination it is like a high wall.(H)
12 Before destruction one’s heart is haughty,
but humility goes before honor.(I)
13 If one gives answer before hearing,
it is folly and shame.(J)
14 The human spirit will endure sickness,
but a broken spirit—who can bear?
15 An intelligent mind acquires knowledge,
and the ear of the wise seeks knowledge.
16 A gift opens doors;
it gives access to the great.(K)
17 The one who first states a case seems right,
until the other comes and cross-examines.
18 Casting the lot puts an end to disputes
and decides between powerful contenders.(L)
19 An ally offended is stronger than a city;[b]
such quarreling is like the bars of a castle.
20 From the fruit of the mouth one’s stomach is satisfied;
the yield of the lips brings satisfaction.(M)
21 Death and life are in the power of the tongue,
and those who love it will eat its fruits.(N)
22 He who finds a wife finds a good thing
and obtains favor from the Lord.(O)
23 The poor use entreaties,
but the rich answer roughly.(P)
24 Some[c] friends play at friendship,[d]
but a true friend sticks closer than one’s sibling.(Q)
19 Better the poor walking in integrity
than one perverse of speech who is a fool.(R)
2 Desire without knowledge is not good,
and one who moves too hurriedly misses the way.
3 One’s own folly leads to ruin,
yet the heart rages against the Lord.(S)
4 Wealth brings many friends,
but the poor are left friendless.(T)
5 A false witness will not go unpunished,
and a liar will not escape.(U)
6 Many seek the favor of the generous,
and everyone is a friend to a giver of gifts.(V)
7 If the poor are hated even by their kin,
how much more are they shunned by their friends!
When they call after them, they are not there.[e](W)
8 To get wisdom is to love oneself;
to keep understanding is to prosper.(X)
9 A false witness will not go unpunished,
and the liar will perish.
10 It is not fitting for a fool to live in luxury,
much less for a slave to rule over princes.(Y)
11 Those with good sense are slow to anger,
and it is their glory to overlook an offense.(Z)
12 A king’s anger is like the growling of a lion,
but his favor is like dew on the grass.(AA)
13 A stupid child is ruin to a father,
and a wife’s quarreling is a continual dripping of rain.(AB)
14 House and wealth are inherited from parents,
but a prudent wife is from the Lord.(AC)
15 Laziness brings on deep sleep;
an idle person will suffer hunger.(AD)
16 Those who keep the commandment will live;
those who are heedless of their ways will die.(AE)
17 Whoever is kind to the poor lends to the Lord
and will be repaid in full.(AF)
18 Discipline your children while there is hope;
do not set your heart on their destruction.(AG)
19 A violent-tempered person will pay the penalty;
if you effect a rescue, you will only have to do it again.[f]
20 Listen to advice and accept instruction,
that you may gain wisdom for the future.(AH)
21 The human mind may devise many plans,
but it is the purpose of the Lord that will be established.(AI)
22 What is desirable in a person is loyalty,
and it is better to be poor than a liar.
23 The fear of the Lord is life indeed;
filled with it one rests secure
and suffers no harm.(AJ)
24 The lazy person buries a hand in the dish
and will not even bring it back to the mouth.(AK)
25 Strike a scoffer, and the simple will learn prudence;
reprove the intelligent, and they will gain knowledge.(AL)
26 Those who do violence to their father and chase away their mother
are children who cause shame and bring reproach.
27 My child, stop ignoring instruction,
straying[g] from words of knowledge.
28 A worthless witness mocks at justice,
and the mouth of the wicked devours iniquity.(AM)
29 Punishments are prepared for scoffers
and flogging for the backs of fools.(AN)
20 Wine is a mocker, strong drink a brawler,
and whoever is led astray by it is not wise.(AO)
2 The dread anger of a king is like the growling of a lion;
anyone who provokes him to anger forfeits life itself.(AP)
3 It is honorable to refrain from strife,
but every fool is quick to quarrel.(AQ)
4 The lazy person does not plow in season;
harvest comes, and there is nothing to be found.(AR)
5 The purposes in the human mind are like deep water,
but the intelligent will draw them out.(AS)
6 Many proclaim themselves loyal,
but who can find one worthy of trust?(AT)
7 The righteous walk in integrity—
happy are the children who follow them!(AU)
8 A king who sits on the throne of judgment
winnows all evil with his eyes.
9 Who can say, “I have made my heart clean;
I am pure from my sin”?(AV)
10 Diverse weights and diverse measures
are both alike an abomination to the Lord.(AW)
11 Even children make themselves known by their acts,
by whether what they do is pure and right.(AX)
12 The hearing ear and the seeing eye—
the Lord has made them both.(AY)
13 Do not love sleep, or else you will come to poverty;
open your eyes, and you will have plenty of bread.(AZ)
14 “Bad, bad,” says the buyer,
then goes away and boasts.
15 There is gold and abundance of costly stones,
but the lips informed by knowledge are a precious jewel.
16 Take the garment of one who has given surety for a stranger;
seize the pledge given as surety for foreigners.
17 Bread gained by deceit is sweet,
but afterward the mouth will be full of gravel.(BA)
18 Plans are established by taking advice;
wage war by following wise guidance.(BB)
19 A gossip reveals secrets;
therefore do not associate with a babbler.(BC)
20 If you curse father or mother,
your lamp will go out in utter darkness.(BD)
21 An estate quickly acquired in the beginning
will not be blessed in the end.(BE)
22 Do not say, “I will repay evil”;
wait for the Lord, and he will help you.(BF)
23 Differing weights are an abomination to the Lord,
and false scales are not good.
24 All our steps are ordered by the Lord;
how then can we understand our own ways?(BG)
25 It is a snare for one to say rashly, “It is holy,”
and begin to reflect only after making a vow.(BH)
26 A wise king winnows the wicked
and drives the wheel over them.
27 The human spirit is the lamp of the Lord,
searching every inmost part.(BI)
28 Loyalty and faithfulness preserve the king,
and his throne is upheld by righteousness.[h](BJ)
29 The glory of youths is their strength,
but the beauty of the aged is their gray hair.(BK)
30 Blows that wound cleanse away evil;
beatings make clean the innermost parts.
New Revised Standard Version, Updated Edition. Copyright © 2021 National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.