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Proverbs 22
New American Standard Bible

On Life and Conduct

22 A (A)good name is to be more desired than great wealth;
Favor is better than silver and gold.
2 The rich and the poor [a]have a common bond,
The Lord is the (B)Maker of them all.
3 A (C)prudent person sees evil and hides himself,
But the naive proceed, and pay the penalty.
4 The reward of humility and [b]the fear of the Lord
Are riches, honor, and life.
5 (D)Thorns and snares are in the way of the perverse;
One who guards himself will be far from them.
6 (E)Train up a child [c]in the way he should go,
Even when he grows older he will not abandon it.
7 The (F)rich rules over the poor,
And the borrower becomes the lender’s slave.
8 One who (G)sows injustice will reap disaster,
And the (H)rod of his fury will perish.
9 One who [d]is (I)generous will be blessed,
Because he (J)gives some of his food to the poor.
10 (K)Drive out the scoffer, and strife will leave,
Even quarreling and dishonor will cease.
11 One who loves (L)purity of heart
And [e]whose speech is (M)gracious, the king is his friend.
12 The eyes of the Lord protect knowledge,
But He overthrows the words of the treacherous person.
13 The [f](N)lazy one says, “There is a lion outside;
I will be killed in the streets!”
14 The mouth of [g](O)an adulteress is a deep pit;
He who is (P)cursed of the Lord will fall [h]into it.
15 Foolishness is bound up in the heart of a child;
The (Q)rod of discipline will remove it far from him.
16 One (R)who oppresses the poor to make [i]more for himself,
Or gives to the rich, (S)will only come to poverty.

17 (T)Extend your ear and hear the words of the wise,
And apply your mind to my knowledge;
18 For it will be (U)pleasant if you keep them within you,
[j]So that they may be ready on your lips.
19 So that your (V)trust may be in the Lord,
I have [k]taught you today, you indeed.
20 Have I not written to you [l](W)excellent things
Of counsels and knowledge,
21 To make you (X)know the [m]certainty of the words of truth,
So that you may [n](Y)correctly answer him who sent you?

22 (Z)Do not rob the poor because he is poor,
Nor (AA)crush the needy at the gate;
23 For the Lord will (AB)plead their case
And [o]take the life of those who rob them.

24 Do not make friends with a person given to anger,
Or go with a (AC)hot-tempered person,
25 Or you will (AD)learn his ways
And [p]find a snare for yourself.

26 Do not be among those who (AE)shake hands,
Among those who become guarantors for debts.
27 If you have nothing with which to repay,
Why should he (AF)take your bed from under you?

28 (AG)Do not move the ancient boundary
Which your fathers have set.

29 Do you see a person skilled in his work?
He will (AH)stand before kings;
He will not stand before obscure people.

Footnotes

  1. Proverbs 22:2 Lit meet together
  2. Proverbs 22:4 Or reverence for
  3. Proverbs 22:6 Lit according to his way
  4. Proverbs 22:9 Lit has a good eye
  5. Proverbs 22:11 Lit has grace on his lips
  6. Proverbs 22:13 Lit idle
  7. Proverbs 22:14 Lit strange woman
  8. Proverbs 22:14 Lit there
  9. Proverbs 22:16 Lit much
  10. Proverbs 22:18 Lit They together
  11. Proverbs 22:19 Lit made you know
  12. Proverbs 22:20 Or previous
  13. Proverbs 22:21 Lit truth
  14. Proverbs 22:21 Lit return words of truth
  15. Proverbs 22:23 Lit rob the soul
  16. Proverbs 22:25 Lit take
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Proverbs 22
Holman Christian Standard Bible

22 A good name is to be chosen over great wealth;
favor is better than silver and gold.(A)

2 The rich and the poor have this in common:[a]
the Lord made them both.[b](B)

3 A sensible person sees danger and takes cover,
but the inexperienced keep going and are punished.(C)

4 The result of humility is fear of the Lord,
along with wealth, honor, and life.(D)

5 There are thorns and snares on the path of the crooked;(E)
the one who guards himself stays far from them.

6 Teach a youth about the way he should go;(F)
even when he is old he will not depart from it.

7 The rich rule over the poor,(G)
and the borrower is a slave to the lender.(H)

8 The one who sows injustice will reap disaster,(I)
and the rod of his fury will be destroyed.

9 A generous person[c] will be blessed,(J)
for he shares his food with the poor.(K)

10 Drive out a mocker,(L) and conflict goes too;
then quarreling and dishonor will cease.(M)

11 The one who loves a pure heart
and gracious lips—the king is his friend.(N)

12 The Lord’s eyes keep watch over knowledge,
but He overthrows the words of the treacherous.

13 The slacker says, “There’s a lion outside!
I’ll be killed in the public square!”(O)

14 The mouth of the forbidden woman is a deep pit;
a man cursed by the Lord will fall into it.(P)

15 Foolishness is tangled up in the heart of a youth;
the rod of discipline will drive it away from him.(Q)

16 Oppressing the poor to enrich oneself,
and giving to the rich—both lead only to poverty.(R)

Words of the Wise

17 Listen closely,[d] pay attention to the words of the wise,(S)
and apply your mind to my knowledge.
18 For it is pleasing if you keep them within you
and if[e] they are constantly on your lips.
19 I have instructed you today—even you—
so that your confidence may be in the Lord.
20 Haven’t I written for you thirty sayings[f]
about counsel and knowledge,
21 in order to teach you true and reliable words,
so that you may give a dependable report[g](T)
to those who sent you?(U)

22 Don’t rob a poor man because he is poor,
and don’t crush the oppressed(V) at the gate,(W)
23 for the Lord will take up their case(X)
and will plunder those who plunder them.

24 Don’t make friends with an angry man,[h]
and don’t be a companion of a hot-tempered man,(Y)
25 or you will learn his ways(Z)
and entangle yourself in a snare.

26 Don’t be one of those who enter agreements,[i]
who put up security for loans.(AA)
27 If you have no money to pay,
even your bed will be taken from under you.(AB)

28 Don’t move an ancient boundary marker
that your fathers set up.(AC)

29 Do you see a man skilled in his work?
He will stand in the presence of kings.
He will not stand in the presence of unknown men.(AD)

Footnotes

  1. Proverbs 22:2 Lit poor meet
  2. Proverbs 22:2 Lit all
  3. Proverbs 22:9 Lit Good of eye
  4. Proverbs 22:17 Lit Stretch out your ear
  5. Proverbs 22:18 Or you; let them be, or you, so that
  6. Proverbs 22:20 Text emended; one Hb tradition reads you previously; alt Hb tradition reads you excellent things; LXX, Syr, Vg read you three times
  7. Proverbs 22:21 Lit give dependable words
  8. Proverbs 22:24 Lit with a master of anger
  9. Proverbs 22:26 Lit who shakes hands
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Proverbs 21
Proverbs 23
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