Proverbs 11:18-12:14

New International Version

¹⁸ A wicked person earns deceptive wages,
    but the one who sows righteousness reaps a sure reward.^(A)

¹⁹ Truly the righteous attain life,^(B)
    but whoever pursues evil finds death.^(C)

²⁰ The Lord detests those whose hearts are perverse,^(D)
    but he delights^(E) in those whose ways are blameless.^(F)

²¹ Be sure of this: The wicked will not go unpunished,
    but those who are righteous will go free.^(G)

²² Like a gold ring in a pig’s snout
    is a beautiful woman who shows no discretion.

²³ The desire of the righteous ends only in good,
    but the hope of the wicked only in wrath.

²⁴ One person gives freely, yet gains even more;
    another withholds unduly, but comes to poverty.

²⁵ A generous^(H) person will prosper;
    whoever refreshes others will be refreshed.^(I)

²⁶ People curse the one who hoards grain,
    but they pray God’s blessing on the one who is willing to sell.

²⁷ Whoever seeks good finds favor,
    but evil comes to one who searches for it.^(J)

²⁸ Those who trust in their riches will fall,^(K)
    but the righteous will thrive like a green leaf.^(L)

²⁹ Whoever brings ruin on their family will inherit only wind,
    and the fool will be servant to the wise.^(M)

³⁰ The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life,^(N)
    and the one who is wise saves lives.

³¹ If the righteous receive their due^(O) on earth,
    how much more the ungodly and the sinner!

12 Whoever loves discipline loves knowledge,
    but whoever hates correction is stupid.^(P)

² Good people obtain favor from the Lord,^(Q)
    but he condemns those who devise wicked schemes.^(R)

³ No one can be established through wickedness,
    but the righteous cannot be uprooted.^(S)

⁴ A wife of noble character^(T) is her husband’s crown,
    but a disgraceful wife is like decay in his bones.^(U)

⁵ The plans of the righteous are just,
    but the advice of the wicked is deceitful.

⁶ The words of the wicked lie in wait for blood,
    but the speech of the upright rescues them.^(V)

⁷ The wicked are overthrown and are no more,^(W)
    but the house of the righteous stands firm.^(X)

⁸ A person is praised according to their prudence,
    and one with a warped^(Y) mind is despised.

⁹ Better to be a nobody and yet have a servant
    than pretend to be somebody and have no food.

¹⁰ The righteous care for the needs of their animals,^(Z)
    but the kindest acts of the wicked are cruel.

¹¹ Those who work their land will have abundant food,
    but those who chase fantasies have no sense.^(AA)

¹² The wicked desire the stronghold of evildoers,
    but the root of the righteous endures.

¹³ Evildoers are trapped by their sinful talk,^(AB)
    and so the innocent escape trouble.^(AC)

¹⁴ From the fruit of their lips people are filled with good things,^(AD)
    and the work of their hands brings them reward.^(AE)