Proverbs 19
New Living Translation
19 Better to be poor and honest
than to be dishonest and a fool.
2 Enthusiasm without knowledge is no good;
haste makes mistakes.
3 People ruin their lives by their own foolishness
and then are angry at the Lord.
4 Wealth makes many “friends”;
poverty drives them all away.
5 A false witness will not go unpunished,
nor will a liar escape.
6 Many seek favors from a ruler;
everyone is the friend of a person who gives gifts!
7 The relatives of the poor despise them;
how much more will their friends avoid them!
Though the poor plead with them,
their friends are gone.
8 To acquire wisdom is to love yourself;
people who cherish understanding will prosper.
9 A false witness will not go unpunished,
and a liar will be destroyed.
10 It isn’t right for a fool to live in luxury
or for a slave to rule over princes!
11 Sensible people control their temper;
they earn respect by overlooking wrongs.
12 The king’s anger is like a lion’s roar,
but his favor is like dew on the grass.
13 A foolish child[a] is a calamity to a father;
a quarrelsome wife is as annoying as constant dripping.
14 Fathers can give their sons an inheritance of houses and wealth,
but only the Lord can give an understanding wife.
15 Lazy people sleep soundly,
but idleness leaves them hungry.
16 Keep the commandments and keep your life;
despising them leads to death.
17 If you help the poor, you are lending to the Lord—
and he will repay you!
18 Discipline your children while there is hope.
Otherwise you will ruin their lives.
19 Hot-tempered people must pay the penalty.
If you rescue them once, you will have to do it again.
20 Get all the advice and instruction you can,
so you will be wise the rest of your life.
21 You can make many plans,
but the Lord’s purpose will prevail.
22 Loyalty makes a person attractive.
It is better to be poor than dishonest.
23 Fear of the Lord leads to life,
bringing security and protection from harm.
24 Lazy people take food in their hand
but don’t even lift it to their mouth.
25 If you punish a mocker, the simpleminded will learn a lesson;
if you correct the wise, they will be all the wiser.
26 Children who mistreat their father or chase away their mother
are an embarrassment and a public disgrace.
27 If you stop listening to instruction, my child,
you will turn your back on knowledge.
28 A corrupt witness makes a mockery of justice;
the mouth of the wicked gulps down evil.
29 Punishment is made for mockers,
and the backs of fools are made to be beaten.
Proverbs 19
Contemporary English Version
It's Wise To Be Patient
19 It's better to be poor
and live right
than to be a stupid liar.
2 Willingness and stupidity
don't go well together.
If you are too eager,
you will miss the road.
3 We are ruined
by our own stupidity,
though we blame the Lord.
4 The rich have many friends;
the poor have none.
5 Dishonest witnesses and liars
won't escape punishment.
6 Everyone tries to be friends
of those who can help them.
7 If you are poor,
your own relatives reject you,
and your friends are worse.
When you really need them,
they are not there.[a]
8 Do yourself a favor
by having good sense—
you will be glad you did.
9 Dishonest witnesses and liars
will be destroyed.
10 It isn't right for a fool
to live in luxury
or for a slave to rule
in place of a king.
11 It's wise to be patient
and show what you are like
by forgiving others.
12 An angry king roars
like a lion,
but when a king is pleased,
it's like dew on the crops.
13 Foolish children bring disgrace
to their fathers.
A nagging wife goes on and on
like the drip, drip, drip
of the rain.
14 You may inherit all you own
from your parents,
but a sensible wife
is a gift from the Lord.
15 If you are lazy
and sleep your time away,
you will starve.
16 Obey the Lord's teachings
and you will live—
disobey and you will die.
17 Caring for the poor
is lending to the Lord,
and you will be well repaid.
18 Correct your children
before it's too late;
if you don't punish them,
trouble will come their way.[b]
19 People with bad tempers
are always in trouble,
and they need help
over and over again.[c]
20 Pay attention to advice
and accept correction,
so you can live sensibly.
21 We may make a lot of plans,
but the Lord will do
what he has decided.
22 What matters most is loyalty.
It's better to be poor
than to be a liar.
23 Showing respect to the Lord
brings true life—
if you do it, you can relax
without fear of danger.
24 Some people are too lazy
to lift a hand
to feed themselves.
25 Stupid fools learn good sense
by seeing others punished;
a sensible person learns
by being corrected.
26 Disgraceful children
rob their father
and chase their mother away.
27 If you stop learning,
you will forget
what you already know.
28 A lying witness makes fun
of the court system,
and criminals think crime
is really delicious.
29 A stupid fool should expect
to be punished.
Proverbs 19
Good News Translation
19 It is better to be poor but honest than to be a lying fool.
2 Enthusiasm without knowledge is not good; impatience will get you into trouble.
3 Some people ruin themselves by their own stupid actions and then blame the Lord.
4 Rich people are always finding new friends, but the poor cannot keep the few they have.
5 If you tell lies in court, you will be punished—there will be no escape.
6 Everyone tries to gain the favor of important people; everyone claims the friendship of those who give out favors.
7 Even the relatives of a poor person have no use for him; no wonder he has no friends. No matter how hard he tries, he cannot win any.[a]
8 Do yourself a favor and learn all you can; then remember what you learn and you will prosper.
9 No one who tells lies in court can escape punishment; he is doomed.
10 Fools should not live in luxury, and slaves should not rule over noblemen.
11 If you are sensible, you will control your temper. When someone wrongs you, it is a great virtue to ignore it.
12 The king's anger is like the roar of a lion, but his favor is like welcome rain.
13 Stupid children can bring their parents to ruin. A nagging wife is like water going drip-drip-drip.
14 A man can inherit a house and money from his parents, but only the Lord can give him a sensible wife.
15 Go ahead and be lazy; sleep on, but you will go hungry.
16 Keep God's laws and you will live longer; if you ignore them, you will die.
17 When you give to the poor, it is like lending to the Lord, and the Lord will pay you back.
18 Discipline your children while they are young enough to learn. If you don't, you are helping them destroy themselves.[b]
19 If someone has a hot temper, let him take the consequences. If you get him out of trouble once, you will have to do it again.[c]
20 If you listen to advice and are willing to learn, one day you will be wise.
21 People may plan all kinds of things, but the Lord's will is going to be done.
22 It is a disgrace to be greedy;[d] poor people are better off than liars.
23 Obey the Lord and you will live a long life, content and safe from harm.
24 Some people are too lazy to put food in their own mouths.
25 Arrogance should be punished, so that people who don't know any better can learn a lesson. If you are wise, you will learn when you are corrected.
26 Only a shameful, disgraceful person would mistreat his father or turn his mother away from his home.
27 My child, when you stop learning, you will soon neglect what you already know.
28 There is no justice where a witness is determined to hurt someone. Wicked people love the taste of evil.
29 A conceited fool is sure to get a beating.
Footnotes
- Proverbs 19:7 Probable text No matter … any; Hebrew unclear.
- Proverbs 19:18 If you … themselves; or But don't punish them so hard that you kill them.
- Proverbs 19:19 get him out … again; or try to get him out of trouble, you only make things worse.
- Proverbs 19:22 It … greedy; or Loyalty is what is desired in a person.
Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Copyright © 1995 by American Bible Society For more information about CEV, visit www.bibles.com and www.cev.bible.
Good News Translation® (Today’s English Version, Second Edition) © 1992 American Bible Society. All rights reserved. For more information about GNT, visit www.bibles.com and www.gnt.bible.
