Proverbs 22:1-16

New International Reader's Version

22 You should want a good name more than you want great riches.
    To be highly respected is better than having silver or gold.

² The Lord made rich people and poor people.
    That’s what they have in common.

³ Wise people see danger and go to a safe place.
    But childish people keep going and suffer for it.

⁴ Being humble comes from having respect for the Lord.
    This will bring you wealth and honor and life.

⁵ Thorns and traps lie in the paths of evil people.
    But those who value their lives stay far away from them.

⁶ Start children off on the right path.
    And even when they are old, they will not turn away from it.

⁷ Rich people rule over those who are poor.
    Borrowers are slaves to lenders.

⁸ Anyone who plants evil gathers a harvest of trouble.
    Their power to treat others badly will be destroyed.

⁹ Those who give freely will be blessed.
    That’s because they share their food with those who are poor.

¹⁰ If you drive away those who make fun of others, fighting also goes away.
    Arguing and unkind words will stop.

¹¹ A person who has a pure and loving heart and speaks kindly
    will be a friend of the king.

¹² The eyes of the Lord keep watch over knowledge.
    But he does away with the words of those who aren’t faithful.

¹³ People who don’t want to work say, “There’s a lion outside!”
    Or they say, “I’ll be murdered if I go out into the streets!”

¹⁴ The mouth of a woman who commits adultery is like a deep pit.
    Any man the Lord is angry with falls into it.

¹⁵ Children are going to do foolish things.
    But correcting them will drive that foolishness far away.

¹⁶ You might treat poor people badly or give gifts to rich people.
    Trying to get rich in these ways will instead make you poor.