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Proverbs 21-23
American Standard Version
Proverbs 21-23
American Standard Version
21 The king’s heart is in the hand of Jehovah as the watercourses:
He turneth it whithersoever he will.
2 Every way of a man is right in his own eyes;
But Jehovah weigheth the hearts.
3 To do righteousness and justice
Is more acceptable to Jehovah than sacrifice.
4 A high look, and a proud heart,
[a]Even the lamp of the wicked, is sin.
5 The thoughts of the diligent tend only to plenteousness;
But every one that is hasty hasteth only to want.
6 The getting of treasures by a lying tongue
Is a vapor driven to and fro by them that seek death.
7 The violence of the wicked shall sweep them away,
Because they refuse to do justice.
8 The way of him that is laden with guilt is exceeding crooked;
But as for the pure, his work is [b]right.
9 It is better to dwell in the corner of the housetop,
Than with a contentious woman in [c]a wide house.
10 The soul of the wicked desireth evil:
His neighbor findeth no favor in his eyes.
11 When the scoffer is punished, the simple is made wise;
And [d]when the wise is instructed, he receiveth knowledge.
12 [e]The righteous man considereth the house of the wicked,
How the wicked are overthrown to their ruin.
13 Whoso stoppeth his ears at the cry of the poor,
He also shall cry, but shall not be heard.
14 A gift in secret [f]pacifieth anger;
And a present in the bosom, strong wrath.
15 It is joy to the righteous to do justice;
[g]But it is a destruction to the workers of iniquity.
16 The man that wandereth out of the way of understanding
Shall rest in the assembly of [h]the dead.
17 He that loveth pleasure shall be a poor man:
He that loveth wine and oil shall not be rich.
18 The wicked is a ransom for the righteous;
And the treacherous cometh in the stead of the upright.
19 It is better to dwell in a desert land,
Than with [i]a contentious and fretful woman.
20 There is precious treasure and oil in the dwelling of the wise;
But a foolish man swalloweth it up.
21 He that followeth after righteousness and kindness
Findeth life, righteousness, and honor.
22 A wise man scaleth the city of the mighty,
And bringeth down the strength of the confidence thereof.
23 Whoso keepeth his mouth and his tongue
Keepeth his soul from troubles.
24 The proud and haughty man, scoffer is his name;
He worketh in the arrogance of pride.
25 The desire of the sluggard killeth him;
For his hands refuse to labor.
26 There is that coveteth greedily all the day long;
But the righteous giveth and withholdeth not.
27 The sacrifice of the wicked is an abomination;
How much more, when he bringeth it [j]with a wicked mind!
28 A false witness shall perish;
But the man that heareth shall speak so as to endure.
29 A wicked man hardeneth his face;
But as for the upright, [k]he establisheth his ways.
30 There is no wisdom nor understanding
Nor counsel against Jehovah.
31 The horse is prepared against the day of battle;
But [l]victory is of Jehovah.
22 A good name is rather to be chosen than great riches,
And [m]loving favor rather than silver and gold.
2 The rich and the poor meet together:
Jehovah is the maker of them all.
3 A prudent man seeth the evil, and hideth himself;
But the simple pass on, and [n]suffer for it.
4 The reward of humility and the fear of Jehovah
Is riches, and honor, and life.
5 Thorns and snares are in the way of the perverse:
He that keepeth his soul shall be far from them.
6 Train up a child [o]in the way he should go,
And even when he is old he will not depart from it.
7 The rich ruleth over the poor;
And the borrower is servant to the lender.
8 He that soweth iniquity shall reap [p]calamity;
And the rod of his wrath shall fail.
9 He that hath a [q]bountiful eye shall be blessed;
For he giveth of his bread to the poor.
10 Cast out the scoffer, and contention will go out;
Yea, strife and ignominy will cease.
11 He that loveth [r]pureness of heart,
[s]For the grace of his lips the king will be his friend.
12 The eyes of Jehovah preserve him that hath knowledge;
But he overthroweth the words of the treacherous man.
13 The sluggard saith, There is a lion without;
I shall be slain in the streets.
14 The mouth of strange women is a deep pit;
He [t]that is abhorred of Jehovah shall fall therein.
15 Foolishness is bound up in the heart of a child;
But the rod of correction shall drive it far from him.
16 He that oppresseth the poor to increase his gain,
And he that giveth to the rich, shall come only to want.
17 Incline thine ear, and hear the words of the wise,
And apply thy heart unto my knowledge.
18 For it is a pleasant thing if thou keep them within thee,
If they be established together upon thy lips.
19 That thy trust may be in Jehovah,
I have made them known to thee this day, even to thee.
20 Have not I written unto thee [u]excellent things
[v]Of counsels and knowledge,
21 To make thee know [w]the certainty of the words of truth,
That thou mayest carry back words of truth to them that send thee?
22 Rob not the poor, [x]because he is poor;
Neither [y]oppress the afflicted in the gate:
23 For Jehovah will plead their cause,
And despoil of life those that despoil them.
24 Make no friendship with a man that is given to anger;
And with a wrathful man thou shalt not go:
25 Lest thou learn his ways,
And get a snare to thy soul.
26 Be thou not one of them that strike hands,
Or of them that are sureties for debts.
27 If thou hast not wherewith to pay,
Why should he take away thy bed from under thee?
28 Remove not the ancient landmark,
Which thy fathers have set.
29 Seest thou a man [z]diligent in his business? he shall stand before kings;
He shall not stand before [aa]mean men.
23 When thou sittest to eat with a ruler,
Consider diligently [ab]him that is before thee;
2 [ac]And put a knife to thy throat,
If thou be a man given to appetite.
3 Be not desirous of his dainties;
Seeing they are deceitful food.
4 Weary not thyself to be rich;
Cease [ad]from thine own wisdom.
5 [ae]Wilt thou set thine eyes upon that which is not?
For riches certainly make themselves wings,
Like an eagle that flieth toward heaven.
6 Eat thou not the bread of him that hath an evil eye,
Neither desire thou his dainties:
7 For [af]as he thinketh within himself, so is he:
Eat and drink, saith he to thee;
But his heart is not with thee.
8 The morsel which thou hast eaten shalt thou vomit up,
And lose thy sweet words.
9 Speak not in the hearing of a fool;
For he will despise the wisdom of thy words.
10 Remove not the ancient landmark;
And enter not into the fields of the fatherless:
11 For their Redeemer is strong;
He will plead their cause against thee.
12 Apply thy heart unto [ag]instruction,
And thine ears to the words of knowledge.
13 Withhold not correction from the child;
For [ah]if thou beat him with the rod, he will not die.
14 Thou shalt beat him with the rod,
And shalt deliver his soul from Sheol.
15 My son, if thy heart be wise,
My heart will be glad, even mine:
16 Yea, my [ai]heart will rejoice,
When thy lips speak right things.
17 Let not thy heart envy sinners;
But be thou in the fear of Jehovah all the day long:
18 For surely there is a [aj]reward;
And thy hope shall not be cut off.
19 Hear thou, my son, and be wise,
And guide thy heart in the way.
20 Be not among winebibbers,
Among gluttonous eaters of flesh:
21 For the drunkard and the glutton shall come to poverty;
And drowsiness will clothe a man with rags.
22 Hearken unto thy father that begat thee,
And despise not thy mother when she is old.
23 Buy the truth, and sell it not;
Yea, wisdom, and instruction, and understanding.
24 The father of the righteous will greatly rejoice;
And he that begetteth a wise child will have joy of him.
25 Let thy father and thy mother be glad,
And let her that bare thee rejoice.
26 My son, give me thy heart;
And let thine eyes [ak]delight in my ways.
27 For a harlot is a deep ditch;
And a foreign woman is a narrow pit.
28 Yea, she lieth in wait [al]as a robber,
And increaseth the treacherous among men.
29 Who hath [am]woe? who hath [an]sorrow? who hath contentions?
Who hath complaining? who hath wounds without cause?
Who hath [ao]redness of eyes?
30 They that tarry long at the wine;
They that go to [ap]seek out mixed wine.
31 Look not thou upon the wine when it is red,
When it sparkleth in the cup,
When it [aq]goeth down smoothly:
32 At the last it biteth like a serpent,
And stingeth like an adder.
33 Thine eyes shall behold [ar]strange things,
And thy heart shall utter perverse things.
34 Yea, thou shalt be as he that lieth down in the midst of the sea,
Or as he that lieth upon the top of a mast.
35 They have stricken me, shalt thou say, and I was not hurt;
They have beaten me, and I felt it not:
When shall I awake? I will seek it yet again.
Footnotes
- Proverbs 21:4 Or, And the tillage
- Proverbs 21:8 Or, straight
- Proverbs 21:9 Or, a house in common. Hebrew a house of society.
- Proverbs 21:11 Or, when one considereth the wise
- Proverbs 21:12 Or, One that is righteous . . . he overthroweth the wicked etc.
- Proverbs 21:14 Hebrew bendeth.
- Proverbs 21:15 Or, But destruction shall be to etc.
- Proverbs 21:16 Or, the shades. Hebrew Rephaim.
- Proverbs 21:19 Or, a contentious woman and vexation
- Proverbs 21:27 Or, to atone for wickedness
- Proverbs 21:29 Another reading is, he considereth his way.
- Proverbs 21:31 Or, deliverance
- Proverbs 22:1 Or, favor is better than etc.
- Proverbs 22:3 Hebrew are mulcted.
- Proverbs 22:6 Hebrew according to his way.
- Proverbs 22:8 Or, vanity
- Proverbs 22:9 Hebrew good.
- Proverbs 22:11 Another reading is, the pure of heart.
- Proverbs 22:11 Or, Hath grace in his lips. Or, That hath grace in his lips
- Proverbs 22:14 Or, against whom Jehovah hath indignation
- Proverbs 22:20 The word is doubtful. Another reading is, heretofore
- Proverbs 22:20 Or, In
- Proverbs 22:21 Or, of a certainty the words etc.
- Proverbs 22:22 Or, for
- Proverbs 22:22 Or, crush
- Proverbs 22:29 Or, skilful
- Proverbs 22:29 Hebrew obscure.
- Proverbs 23:1 Or, what
- Proverbs 23:2 Or, For thou wilt put
- Proverbs 23:4 Or, by reason of thine own understanding
- Proverbs 23:5 Or, Wilt thou set thine eyes upon it? it is gone: Hebrew Shall thine eyes fly upon it, and it is not?
- Proverbs 23:7 Or, as one that reckoneth
- Proverbs 23:12 Or, correction
- Proverbs 23:13 Or, though
- Proverbs 23:16 Hebrew reins.
- Proverbs 23:18 Or, sequel. Or, future. Hebrew latter end.
- Proverbs 23:26 Another reading is, observe
- Proverbs 23:28 Or, as for a prey
- Proverbs 23:29 Hebrew Oh!
- Proverbs 23:29 Hebrew Alas!
- Proverbs 23:29 Or, darkness
- Proverbs 23:30 Or, try
- Proverbs 23:31 Or, moveth itself aright
- Proverbs 23:33 Or, strange women
Proverbs 21-23
New International Version
Proverbs 21-23
New International Version
21 In the Lord’s hand the king’s heart is a stream of water
that he channels toward all who please him.(A)
2 A person may think their own ways are right,
but the Lord weighs the heart.(B)
3 To do what is right and just
is more acceptable to the Lord than sacrifice.(C)
4 Haughty eyes(D) and a proud heart—
the unplowed field of the wicked—produce sin.
5 The plans of the diligent lead to profit(E)
as surely as haste leads to poverty.
7 The violence of the wicked will drag them away,(G)
for they refuse to do what is right.
8 The way of the guilty is devious,(H)
but the conduct of the innocent is upright.
9 Better to live on a corner of the roof
than share a house with a quarrelsome wife.(I)
10 The wicked crave evil;
their neighbors get no mercy from them.
11 When a mocker is punished, the simple gain wisdom;
by paying attention to the wise they get knowledge.(J)
14 A gift given in secret soothes anger,
and a bribe concealed in the cloak pacifies great wrath.(N)
15 When justice is done, it brings joy to the righteous
but terror to evildoers.(O)
16 Whoever strays from the path of prudence
comes to rest in the company of the dead.(P)
17 Whoever loves pleasure will become poor;
whoever loves wine and olive oil will never be rich.(Q)
18 The wicked become a ransom(R) for the righteous,
and the unfaithful for the upright.
19 Better to live in a desert
than with a quarrelsome and nagging wife.(S)
20 The wise store up choice food and olive oil,
but fools gulp theirs down.
22 One who is wise can go up against the city of the mighty(V)
and pull down the stronghold in which they trust.
24 The proud and arrogant person(Y)—“Mocker” is his name—
behaves with insolent fury.
25 The craving of a sluggard will be the death of him,(Z)
because his hands refuse to work.
26 All day long he craves for more,
but the righteous(AA) give without sparing.(AB)
27 The sacrifice of the wicked is detestable(AC)—
how much more so when brought with evil intent!(AD)
29 The wicked put up a bold front,
but the upright give thought to their ways.(AG)
31 The horse is made ready for the day of battle,
but victory rests with the Lord.(AJ)
22 A good name is more desirable than great riches;
to be esteemed is better than silver or gold.(AK)
2 Rich and poor have this in common:
The Lord is the Maker of them all.(AL)
5 In the paths of the wicked are snares and pitfalls,(AQ)
but those who would preserve their life stay far from them.
6 Start(AR) children off on the way they should go,(AS)
and even when they are old they will not turn from it.(AT)
7 The rich rule over the poor,
and the borrower is slave to the lender.
10 Drive out the mocker, and out goes strife;
quarrels and insults are ended.(AY)
11 One who loves a pure heart and who speaks with grace
will have the king for a friend.(AZ)
12 The eyes of the Lord keep watch over knowledge,
but he frustrates the words of the unfaithful.
13 The sluggard says, “There’s a lion outside!(BA)
I’ll be killed in the public square!”
14 The mouth of an adulterous woman is a deep pit;(BB)
a man who is under the Lord’s wrath falls into it.(BC)
15 Folly is bound up in the heart of a child,
but the rod of discipline will drive it far away.(BD)
16 One who oppresses the poor to increase his wealth
and one who gives gifts to the rich—both come to poverty.
Thirty Sayings of the Wise
Saying 1
17 Pay attention(BE) and turn your ear to the sayings of the wise;(BF)
apply your heart to what I teach,(BG)
18 for it is pleasing when you keep them in your heart
and have all of them ready on your lips.
19 So that your trust may be in the Lord,
I teach you today, even you.
20 Have I not written thirty sayings for you,
sayings of counsel and knowledge,
21 teaching you to be honest and to speak the truth,(BH)
so that you bring back truthful reports
to those you serve?
Saying 2
22 Do not exploit the poor(BI) because they are poor
and do not crush the needy in court,(BJ)
23 for the Lord will take up their case(BK)
and will exact life for life.(BL)
Saying 3
24 Do not make friends with a hot-tempered person,
do not associate with one easily angered,
25 or you may learn their ways
and get yourself ensnared.(BM)
Saying 4
26 Do not be one who shakes hands in pledge(BN)
or puts up security for debts;
27 if you lack the means to pay,
your very bed will be snatched from under you.(BO)
Saying 5
28 Do not move an ancient boundary stone(BP)
set up by your ancestors.
Saying 6
29 Do you see someone skilled(BQ) in their work?
They will serve(BR) before kings;(BS)
they will not serve before officials of low rank.
Saying 7
23 When you sit to dine with a ruler,
note well what[d] is before you,
2 and put a knife to your throat
if you are given to gluttony.
3 Do not crave his delicacies,(BT)
for that food is deceptive.
Saying 8
4 Do not wear yourself out to get rich;
do not trust your own cleverness.
5 Cast but a glance at riches, and they are gone,(BU)
for they will surely sprout wings
and fly off to the sky like an eagle.(BV)
Saying 9
6 Do not eat the food of a begrudging host,
do not crave his delicacies;(BW)
7 for he is the kind of person
who is always thinking about the cost.[e]
“Eat and drink,” he says to you,
but his heart is not with you.
8 You will vomit up the little you have eaten
and will have wasted your compliments.
Saying 10
9 Do not speak to fools,
for they will scorn your prudent words.(BX)
Saying 11
10 Do not move an ancient boundary stone(BY)
or encroach on the fields of the fatherless,
11 for their Defender(BZ) is strong;(CA)
he will take up their case against you.(CB)
Saying 12
12 Apply your heart to instruction(CC)
and your ears to words of knowledge.
Saying 13
13 Do not withhold discipline from a child;
if you punish them with the rod, they will not die.
14 Punish them with the rod
and save them from death.(CD)
Saying 14
15 My son, if your heart is wise,
then my heart will be glad indeed;
16 my inmost being will rejoice
when your lips speak what is right.(CE)
Saying 15
17 Do not let your heart envy(CF) sinners,
but always be zealous for the fear of the Lord.
18 There is surely a future hope for you,
and your hope will not be cut off.(CG)
Saying 16
19 Listen, my son,(CH) and be wise,
and set your heart on the right path:
20 Do not join those who drink too much wine(CI)
or gorge themselves on meat,
21 for drunkards and gluttons become poor,(CJ)
and drowsiness clothes them in rags.
Saying 17
22 Listen to your father, who gave you life,
and do not despise your mother when she is old.(CK)
23 Buy the truth and do not sell it—
wisdom, instruction and insight as well.(CL)
24 The father of a righteous child has great joy;
a man who fathers a wise son rejoices in him.(CM)
25 May your father and mother rejoice;
may she who gave you birth be joyful!(CN)
Saying 18
26 My son,(CO) give me your heart
and let your eyes delight in my ways,(CP)
27 for an adulterous woman is a deep pit,(CQ)
and a wayward wife is a narrow well.
28 Like a bandit she lies in wait(CR)
and multiplies the unfaithful among men.
Saying 19
29 Who has woe? Who has sorrow?
Who has strife? Who has complaints?
Who has needless bruises? Who has bloodshot eyes?
30 Those who linger over wine,(CS)
who go to sample bowls of mixed wine.
31 Do not gaze at wine when it is red,
when it sparkles in the cup,
when it goes down smoothly!
32 In the end it bites like a snake
and poisons like a viper.
33 Your eyes will see strange sights,
and your mind will imagine confusing things.
34 You will be like one sleeping on the high seas,
lying on top of the rigging.
35 “They hit me,” you will say, “but I’m not hurt!
They beat me, but I don’t feel it!
When will I wake up
so I can find another drink?”(CT)
Footnotes
- Proverbs 21:6 Some Hebrew manuscripts, Septuagint and Vulgate; most Hebrew manuscripts vapor for those who seek death
- Proverbs 21:12 Or The righteous person
- Proverbs 21:21 Or righteousness
- Proverbs 23:1 Or who
- Proverbs 23:7 Or for as he thinks within himself, / so he is; or for as he puts on a feast, / so he is
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New International Version (NIV) 
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