Proverbs 17:10-19:16
New International Version
10 A rebuke impresses a discerning person
more than a hundred lashes a fool.
11 Evildoers foster rebellion against God;
the messenger of death will be sent against them.
12 Better to meet a bear robbed of her cubs
than a fool bent on folly.(A)
14 Starting a quarrel is like breaching a dam;
so drop the matter before a dispute breaks out.(D)
16 Why should fools have money in hand to buy wisdom,
when they are not able to understand it?(G)
17 A friend loves at all times,
and a brother is born for a time of adversity.(H)
18 One who has no sense shakes hands in pledge
and puts up security for a neighbor.(I)
19 Whoever loves a quarrel loves sin;
whoever builds a high gate invites destruction.
20 One whose heart is corrupt does not prosper;
one whose tongue is perverse falls into trouble.
21 To have a fool for a child brings grief;
there is no joy for the parent of a godless fool.(J)
24 A discerning person keeps wisdom in view,
but a fool’s eyes(O) wander to the ends of the earth.
25 A foolish son brings grief to his father
and bitterness to the mother who bore him.(P)
26 If imposing a fine on the innocent is not good,(Q)
surely to flog honest officials is not right.
27 The one who has knowledge uses words with restraint,(R)
and whoever has understanding is even-tempered.(S)
28 Even fools are thought wise if they keep silent,
and discerning if they hold their tongues.(T)
18 An unfriendly person pursues selfish ends
and against all sound judgment starts quarrels.
2 Fools find no pleasure in understanding
but delight in airing their own opinions.(U)
3 When wickedness comes, so does contempt,
and with shame comes reproach.
4 The words of the mouth are deep waters,(V)
but the fountain of wisdom is a rushing stream.
6 The lips of fools bring them strife,
and their mouths invite a beating.(Y)
8 The words of a gossip are like choice morsels;
they go down to the inmost parts.(AB)
9 One who is slack in his work
is brother to one who destroys.(AC)
11 The wealth of the rich is their fortified city;(AF)
they imagine it a wall too high to scale.
12 Before a downfall the heart is haughty,
but humility comes before honor.(AG)
13 To answer before listening—
that is folly and shame.(AH)
14 The human spirit can endure in sickness,
but a crushed spirit who can bear?(AI)
15 The heart of the discerning acquires knowledge,(AJ)
for the ears of the wise seek it out.
16 A gift(AK) opens the way
and ushers the giver into the presence of the great.
17 In a lawsuit the first to speak seems right,
until someone comes forward and cross-examines.
18 Casting the lot settles disputes(AL)
and keeps strong opponents apart.
19 A brother wronged(AM) is more unyielding than a fortified city;
disputes are like the barred gates of a citadel.
20 From the fruit of their mouth a person’s stomach is filled;
with the harvest of their lips they are satisfied.(AN)
23 The poor plead for mercy,
but the rich answer harshly.
24 One who has unreliable friends soon comes to ruin,
but there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother.(AS)
19 Better the poor whose walk is blameless
than a fool whose lips are perverse.(AT)
2 Desire without knowledge is not good—
how much more will hasty feet miss the way!(AU)
4 Wealth attracts many friends,
but even the closest friend of the poor person deserts them.(AX)
7 The poor are shunned by all their relatives—
how much more do their friends avoid them!(BD)
Though the poor pursue them with pleading,
they are nowhere to be found.[a](BE)
8 The one who gets wisdom loves life;
the one who cherishes understanding will soon prosper.(BF)
9 A false witness will not go unpunished,
and whoever pours out lies will perish.(BG)
10 It is not fitting for a fool(BH) to live in luxury—
how much worse for a slave to rule over princes!(BI)
11 A person’s wisdom yields patience;(BJ)
it is to one’s glory to overlook an offense.
13 A foolish child is a father’s ruin,(BN)
and a quarrelsome wife is like
the constant dripping of a leaky roof.(BO)
15 Laziness brings on deep sleep,
and the shiftless go hungry.(BR)
16 Whoever keeps commandments keeps their life,
but whoever shows contempt for their ways will die.(BS)
Footnotes
- Proverbs 19:7 The meaning of the Hebrew for this sentence is uncertain.
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