^2 (B)A man shall eat well by the fruit of his mouth,
But the soul of the unfaithful feeds on violence.
^3 (C)He who guards his mouth preserves his life,
But he who opens wide his lips shall have destruction.

^4 (D)The soul of a lazy man desires, and has nothing;
But the soul of the diligent shall be made rich.

⁵ A righteous man hates lying,
But a wicked man is loathsome and comes to shame.
^6 (E)Righteousness guards him whose way is blameless,
But wickedness overthrows the sinner.

^7 (F)There is one who makes himself rich, yet has nothing;
And one who makes himself poor, yet has great riches.

⁸ The ransom of a man’s life is his riches,
But the poor does not hear rebuke.

⁹ The light of the righteous rejoices,
^(G)But the lamp of the wicked will be put out.

¹⁰ By pride comes nothing but ^(H)strife,
But with the well-advised is wisdom.

^11 (I)Wealth gained by dishonesty will be diminished,
But he who gathers by labor will increase.

¹² Hope deferred makes the heart sick,
But ^(J)when the desire comes, it is a tree of life.

¹³ He who ^(K)despises the word will be destroyed,
But he who fears the commandment will be rewarded.
^14 (L)The law of the wise is a fountain of life,
To turn one away from ^(M)the snares of death.

¹⁵ Good understanding ^[a]gains ^(N)favor,
But the way of the unfaithful is hard.
^16 (O)Every prudent man acts with knowledge,
But a fool lays open his folly.

¹⁷ A wicked messenger falls into trouble,
But ^(P)a faithful ambassador brings health.

¹⁸ Poverty and shame will come to him who ^[b]disdains correction,
But ^(Q)he who regards a rebuke will be honored.

¹⁹ A desire accomplished is sweet to the soul,
But it is an abomination to fools to depart from evil.

²⁰ He who walks with wise men will be wise,
But the companion of fools will be destroyed.

^21 (R)Evil pursues sinners,
But to the righteous, good shall be repaid.

²² A good man leaves an inheritance to his children’s children,
But ^(S)the wealth of the sinner is stored up for the righteous.

^23 (T)Much food is in the ^[c]fallow ground of the poor,
And for lack of justice there is ^[d]waste.

^24 (U)He who spares his rod hates his son,
But he who loves him disciplines him ^[e]promptly.

^25 (V)The righteous eats to the satisfying of his soul,
But the stomach of the wicked shall be in want.

² “You^(A) only have I known of all the families of the earth;
^(B)Therefore I will punish you for all your iniquities.”

³ Can two walk together, unless they are agreed?
⁴ Will a lion roar in the forest, when he has no prey?
Will a young lion ^[a]cry out of his den, if he has caught nothing?
⁵ Will a bird fall into a snare on the earth, where there is no ^[b]trap for it?
Will a snare spring up from the earth, if it has caught nothing at all?
⁶ If a ^[c]trumpet is blown in a city, will not the people be afraid?
^(C)If there is calamity in a city, will not the Lord have done it?

⁷ Surely the Lord God does nothing,
Unless ^(D)He reveals His secret to His servants the prophets.
⁸ A lion has roared!
Who will not fear?
The Lord God has spoken!
^(E)Who can but prophesy?

“An adversary shall be all around the land;
He shall sap your strength from you,
And your palaces shall be plundered.”

“As a shepherd ^[g]takes from the mouth of a lion
Two legs or a piece of an ear,
So shall the children of Israel be taken out
Who dwell in Samaria—
In the corner of a bed and ^[h]on the edge of a couch!
¹³ Hear and testify against the house of Jacob,”
Says the Lord God, the God of hosts,
¹⁴ “That in the day I punish Israel for their transgressions,
I will also visit destruction on the altars of ^(G)Bethel;
And the horns of the altar shall be cut off
And fall to the ground.
¹⁵ I will ^[i]destroy ^(H)the winter house along with ^(I)the summer house;
The ^(J)houses of ivory shall perish,
And the great houses shall have an end,”
Says the Lord.