Proverbs 10
The Message
The Wise Sayings of Solomon
An Honest Life Is Immortal
10 Wise son, glad father;
stupid son, sad mother.
2 Ill-gotten gain gets you nowhere;
an honest life is immortal.
3 God won’t starve an honest soul,
but he frustrates the appetites of the wicked.
4 Sloth makes you poor;
diligence brings wealth.
5 Make hay while the sun shines—that’s smart;
go fishing during harvest—that’s stupid.
6 Blessings accrue on a good and honest life,
but the mouth of the wicked is a dark cave of abuse.
7 A good and honest life is a blessed memorial;
a wicked life leaves a rotten stench.
8 A wise heart takes orders;
an empty head will come unglued.
9 Honesty lives confident and carefree,
but Shifty is sure to be exposed.
10 An evasive eye is a sign of trouble ahead,
but an open, face-to-face meeting results in peace.
11 The mouth of a good person is a deep, life-giving well,
but the mouth of the wicked is a dark cave of abuse.
12 Hatred starts fights,
but love pulls a quilt over the bickering.
13 You’ll find wisdom on the lips of a person of insight,
but the shortsighted needs a slap in the face.
14 The wise accumulate knowledge—a true treasure;
know-it-alls talk too much—a sheer waste.
The Road to Life Is a Disciplined Life
15 The wealth of the rich is their security;
the poverty of the indigent is their ruin.
16 The wage of a good person is exuberant life;
an evil person ends up with nothing but sin.
17 The road to life is a disciplined life;
ignore correction and you’re lost for good.
18 Liars secretly hoard hatred;
fools openly spread slander.
19 The more talk, the less truth;
the wise measure their words.
20 The speech of a good person is worth waiting for;
the blabber of the wicked is worthless.
21 The talk of a good person is rich fare for many,
but chatterboxes die of an empty heart.
Fear-of-God Expands Your Life
22 God’s blessing makes life rich;
nothing we do can improve on God.
23 An empty-head thinks mischief is fun,
but a mindful person relishes wisdom.
24 The nightmares of the wicked come true;
what the good people desire, they get.
25 When the storm is over, there’s nothing left of the wicked;
good people, firm on their rock foundation, aren’t even fazed.
26 A lazy employee will give you nothing but trouble;
it’s vinegar in the mouth, smoke in the eyes.
27 The Fear-of-God expands your life;
a wicked life is a puny life.
28 The aspirations of good people end in celebration;
the ambitions of bad people crash.
29 God is solid backing to a well-lived life,
but he calls into question a shabby performance.
30 Good people last—they can’t be moved;
the wicked are here today, gone tomorrow.
31 A good person’s mouth is a clear fountain of wisdom;
a foul mouth is a stagnant swamp.
32 The speech of a good person clears the air;
the words of the wicked pollute it.
Proverbs 10
Revised Geneva Translation
10 A wise son makes a glad father. But a foolish son is a heaviness to his mother.
2 The treasures of wickedness profit nothing. But righteousness delivers from death.
3 The LORD will not famish the soul of the righteous. But he casts away the substance of the wicked.
4 A slothful hand makes poor. But the hand of the diligent makes rich.
5 He who gathers in summer is the son of wisdom; he who sleeps in harvest, the son of confusion.
6 Blessings are upon the head of the righteous. But iniquity shall cover the mouth of the wicked.
7 The memorial of the just shall be blessed. But the name of the wicked shall rot.
8 The wise in heart will receive commandments. But the foolish talkers shall be beaten.
9 He who walks uprightly, walks boldly. But he who perverts his ways, shall be known.
10 He who winks with the eye, works sorrow. And he who is foolish in talk, shall be beaten.
11 The mouth of the righteous is a wellspring of life. But iniquity covers the mouth of the wicked.
12 Hatred stirs up contentions. But love covers all trespasses.
13 On the lips of him who has understanding, wisdom is found. And a rod shall be for the back of him who is destitute of wisdom.
14 The wise lay up knowledge. But the mouth of the fool is a present destruction.
15 The rich’s goods are their strong city; the fear of the needy, their poverty.
16 The labor of the righteous tends to life; the revenues of the wicked, to sin.
17 He who regards instruction is in the way of life. But he who refuses correction, goes out of the way.
18 He who conceals hatred with lying lips — and he who invents slander — is a fool.
19 There is no lack of sin in many words. But he who refrains his lips is wise:
20 The tongue of the just man is as refined silver. The heart of the wicked has little worth.
21 The lips of the righteous feed many. But fools shall die for lack of wisdom.
22 The blessing of the LORD, it makes rich. And no sorrows are added with it.
23 To do wickedly is a pastime to a fool. But wisdom is understanding to a man.
24 That which the wicked fears shall come upon him. But God will grant the desire of the righteous.
25 As the whirlwind passes, so is the wicked no more. But the righteous is as an everlasting foundation.
26 As vinegar is to the teeth — and as smoke to the eyes — so is the slothful to those who send him.
27 The fear of the LORD increases the days. But the years of the wicked shall be diminished.
28 The patient abiding of the righteous shall be gladness. But the hope of the wicked shall perish.
29 The way of the LORD is strength to the upright. But fear shall be for the workers of iniquity.
30 The righteous shall never be removed. But the wicked shall not dwell in the land.
31 The mouth of the just shall be fruitful in wisdom. But the tongue of the crooked shall be cut out.
32 The lips of the righteous know what is acceptable. But the mouth of the wicked speaks perverse things.
Copyright © 1993, 2002, 2018 by Eugene H. Peterson
Copyright © 2011 by Global Bible Initiative
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