² The ^(B)rich and the poor have this in common,
The ^(C)Lord is the maker of them all.

³ A prudent man foresees evil and hides himself,
But the simple pass on and are ^(D)punished.

⁴ By humility and the fear of the Lord
Are riches and honor and life.

⁵ Thorns and snares are in the way of the perverse;
He who guards his soul will be far from them.

^6 (E)Train up a child in the way he should go,
^[a]And when he is old he will not depart from it.

⁷ The ^(F)rich rules over the poor,
And the borrower is servant to the lender.

⁸ He who sows iniquity will reap ^(G)sorrow,^[b]
And the rod of his anger will fail.

^9 (H)He who has a ^[c]generous eye will be ^(I)blessed,
For he gives of his bread to the poor.

^10 (J)Cast out the scoffer, and contention will leave;
Yes, strife and reproach will cease.

^11 (K)He who loves purity of heart
And has grace on his lips,
The king will be his friend.

¹² The eyes of the Lord preserve knowledge,
But He overthrows the words of the faithless.

^13 (L)The lazy man says, “There is a lion outside!
I shall be slain in the streets!”

^14 (M)The mouth of an immoral woman is a deep pit;
^(N)He who is abhorred by the Lord will fall there.

¹⁵ Foolishness is bound up in the heart of a child;
^(O)The rod of correction will drive it far from him.

¹⁶ He who oppresses the poor to increase his riches,
And he who gives to the rich, will surely come to poverty.

²² Do not rob the ^(R)poor because he is poor,
Nor oppress the afflicted at the gate;
^23 (S)For the Lord will plead their cause,
And plunder the soul of those who plunder them.

²⁴ Make no friendship with an angry man,
And with a ^(T)furious man do not go,
²⁵ Lest you learn his ways
And set a snare for your soul.

^26 (U)Do not be one of those who ^[e]shakes hands in a pledge,
One of those who is ^[f]surety for debts;
²⁷ If you have nothing with which to pay,
Why should he take away your bed from under you?

^28 (V)Do not remove the ancient ^[g]landmark
Which your fathers have set.

²⁹ Do you see a man who ^[h]excels in his work?
He will stand before kings;
He will not stand before ^[i]unknown men.

^2 (B)Let another man praise you, and not your own mouth;
A stranger, and not your own lips.

³ A stone is heavy and sand is weighty,
But a fool’s wrath is heavier than both of them.

⁴ Wrath is cruel and anger a torrent,
But ^(C)who is able to stand before jealousy?

^5 (D)Open rebuke is better
Than love carefully concealed.

⁶ Faithful are the wounds of a friend,
But the kisses of an enemy are ^(E)deceitful.

⁷ A satisfied soul ^[a]loathes the honeycomb,
But to a hungry soul every bitter thing is sweet.

⁸ Like a bird that wanders from its nest
Is a man who wanders from his place.

⁹ Ointment and perfume delight the heart,
And the sweetness of a man’s friend gives delight by ^[b]hearty counsel.

¹⁰ Do not forsake your own friend or your father’s friend,
Nor go to your brother’s house in the day of your calamity;
^(F)Better is a neighbor nearby than a brother far away.

¹¹ My son, be wise, and make my heart glad,
^(G)That I may answer him who reproaches me.

¹² A prudent man foresees evil and hides himself;
The simple pass on and are ^(H)punished.

¹³ Take the garment of him who is surety for a stranger,
And hold it in pledge when he is surety for a seductress.

¹⁴ He who blesses his friend with a loud voice, rising early in the morning,
It will be counted a curse to him.

¹⁵ A ^(I)continual dripping on a very rainy day
And a contentious woman are alike;
¹⁶ Whoever ^[c]restrains her restrains the wind,
And grasps oil with his right hand.

¹⁷ As iron sharpens iron,
So a man sharpens the countenance of his friend.

^18 (J)Whoever ^[d]keeps the fig tree will eat its fruit;
So he who waits on his master will be honored.

¹⁹ As in water face reflects face,
So a man’s heart reveals the man.

^20 (K)Hell^[e] and ^[f]Destruction are never full;
So ^(L)the eyes of man are never satisfied.

^21 (M)The refining pot is for silver and the furnace for gold,
And a man is valued by what others say of him.

^22 (N)Though you grind a fool in a mortar with a pestle along with crushed grain,
Yet his foolishness will not depart from him.

²³ Be diligent to know the state of your ^(O)flocks,
And attend to your herds;
²⁴ For riches are not forever,
Nor does a crown endure to all generations.
^25 (P)When the hay is removed, and the tender grass shows itself,
And the herbs of the mountains are gathered in,
²⁶ The lambs will provide your clothing,
And the goats the price of a field;
²⁷ You shall have enough goats’ milk for your food,
For the food of your household,
And the nourishment of your maidservants.