Proverbs 11
Good News Translation
11 The Lord hates people who use dishonest scales. He is happy with honest weights.
2 People who are proud will soon be disgraced. It is wiser to be modest.
3 If you are good, you are guided by honesty. People who can't be trusted are destroyed by their own dishonesty.
4 Riches will do you no good on the day you face death, but honesty can save your life.
5 Honesty makes a good person's life easier, but the wicked will cause their own downfall.
6 Righteousness rescues those who are honest, but those who can't be trusted are trapped by their own greed.
7 When the wicked die, their hope dies with them. Confidence placed in riches comes to nothing.
8 The righteous are protected from trouble; it comes to the wicked instead.
9 You can be ruined by the talk of godless people, but the wisdom of the righteous can save you.
10 A city is happy when honest people have good fortune, and there are joyful shouts when the wicked die.
11 A city becomes great when the righteous give it their blessing; but a city is brought to ruin by the words of the wicked.
12 It is foolish to speak scornfully of others. If you are smart, you will keep quiet.
13 No one who gossips can be trusted with a secret, but you can put confidence in someone who is trustworthy.
14 (A)A nation will fall if it has no guidance. Many advisers mean security.
15 If you promise to pay a stranger's debt, you will regret it. You are better off if you don't get involved.
16 A gracious woman is respected, but a woman without virtue is a disgrace.
Lazy people will never have money,[a] but aggressive people will get rich.
17 You do yourself a favor when you are kind. If you are cruel, you only hurt yourself.
18 Wicked people do not really gain anything, but if you do what is right, you are certain to be rewarded.
19 Anyone who is determined to do right will live, but anyone who insists on doing wrong will die.
20 The Lord hates evil-minded people, but loves those who do right.
21 You can be sure that evil people will be punished, but the righteous will escape.
22 Beauty in a woman without good judgment is like a gold ring in a pig's snout.
23 What good people want always results in good; when the wicked get what they want, everyone is angry.[b]
24 Some people spend their money freely and still grow richer. Others are cautious, and yet grow poorer.
25 Be generous, and you will be prosperous. Help others, and you will be helped.
26 People curse someone who hoards grain, waiting for a higher price, but they praise the one who puts it up for sale.
27 If your goals are good, you will be respected, but if you are looking for trouble, that is what you will get.
28 Those who depend on their wealth will fall like the leaves of autumn, but the righteous will prosper like the leaves of summer.
29 Those who bring trouble on their families will have nothing at the end.
Foolish people will always be servants to the wise.
30 Righteousness[c] gives life, but violence[d] takes it away.
31 (B)Those who are good are rewarded here on earth, so you can be sure that wicked and sinful people will be punished.
Footnotes
- Proverbs 11:16 One ancient translation but a woman … money; Hebrew does not have these words.
- Proverbs 11:23 everyone is angry; or God punishes them.
- Proverbs 11:30 One ancient translation Righteousness; Hebrew A righteous person.
- Proverbs 11:30 Probable text violence; Hebrew a wise person.
Proverbs 11
Holman Christian Standard Bible
2 When pride comes, disgrace follows,
but with humility comes wisdom.(C)
3 The integrity of the upright guides them,(D)
but the perversity of the treacherous destroys them.(E)
4 Wealth is not profitable on a day of wrath,
but righteousness rescues from death.(F)
5 The righteousness of the blameless clears his path,
but the wicked person will fall because of his wickedness.
6 The righteousness of the upright rescues them,
but the treacherous are trapped by their own desires.(G)
7 When the wicked man dies,
his expectation comes to nothing,
and hope placed in wealth[a][b] vanishes.(H)
8 The righteous one is rescued from trouble;
in his place, the wicked one goes in.(I)
9 With his mouth the ungodly destroys his neighbor,
but through knowledge the righteous are rescued.
10 When the righteous thrive, a city rejoices,(J)
and when the wicked die, there is joyful shouting.
11 A city is built up by the blessing of the upright,(K)
but it is torn down by the mouth of the wicked.(L)
12 Whoever shows contempt for his neighbor lacks sense,
but a man with understanding keeps silent.(M)
13 A gossip goes around revealing a secret,
but a trustworthy person keeps a confidence.(N)
14 Without guidance, people fall,
but with many counselors there is deliverance.(O)
15 If someone puts up security for a stranger,
he will suffer for it,(P)
but the one who hates such agreements is protected.
16 A gracious woman gains honor,
but violent[c] men gain only riches.
18 The wicked man earns an empty wage,
but the one who sows righteousness, a true reward.(S)
20 Those with twisted minds are detestable to the Lord,
but those with blameless conduct are His delight.(V)
21 Be assured[d] that the wicked
will not go unpunished,(W)
but the offspring of the righteous will escape.
22 A beautiful woman who rejects good sense
is like a gold ring in a pig’s snout.(X)
24 One person gives freely,
yet gains more;(AA)
another withholds what is right,
only to become poor.(AB)
25 A generous person will be enriched,(AC)
and the one who gives a drink of water
will receive water.(AD)
26 People will curse(AE) anyone who hoards grain,
but a blessing will come to the one who sells it.(AF)
27 The one who searches for what is good(AG) finds favor,
but if someone looks for trouble, it will come to him.(AH)
29 The one who brings ruin on his household(AK)
will inherit the wind,(AL)
and a fool will be a slave
to someone whose heart is wise.
31 If the righteous will be repaid on earth,
how much more the wicked and sinful.(AN)
Footnotes
- Proverbs 11:7 LXX reads hope of the ungodly
- Proverbs 11:7 Or strength
- Proverbs 11:16 Or ruthless
- Proverbs 11:21 Lit Hand to hand
- Proverbs 11:30 LXX, Syr; MT reads but a wise one
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.
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