Proverbs 22:1-23:14

New International Version

22 A good name is more desirable than great riches;
to be esteemed is better than silver or gold.^(A)

²Rich and poor have this in common:
The Lord is the Maker of them all.^(B)

³The prudent see danger and take refuge,^(C)
but the simple keep going and pay the penalty.^(D)

⁴Humility is the fear of the Lord;
its wages are riches and honor^(E) and life.^(F)

⁵In the paths of the wicked are snares and pitfalls,^(G)
but those who would preserve their life stay far from them.

⁶Start^(H) children off on the way they should go,^(I)
and even when they are old they will not turn from it.^(J)

⁷The rich rule over the poor,
and the borrower is slave to the lender.

⁸Whoever sows injustice reaps calamity,^(K)
and the rod they wield in fury will be broken.^(L)

⁹The generous will themselves be blessed,^(M)
for they share their food with the poor.^(N)

¹⁰Drive out the mocker, and out goes strife;
quarrels and insults are ended.^(O)

¹¹One who loves a pure heart and who speaks with grace
will have the king for a friend.^(P)

¹²The eyes of the Lord keep watch over knowledge,
but he frustrates the words of the unfaithful.

¹³The sluggard says, “There’s a lion outside!^(Q)
I’ll be killed in the public square!”

¹⁴The mouth of an adulterous woman is a deep pit;^(R)
a man who is under the Lord’s wrath falls into it.^(S)

¹⁵Folly is bound up in the heart of a child,
but the rod of discipline will drive it far away.^(T)

¹⁶One who oppresses the poor to increase his wealth
and one who gives gifts to the rich—both come to poverty.

Thirty Sayings of the Wise

Saying 1

¹⁷Pay attention^(U) and turn your ear to the sayings of the wise;^(V)
    apply your heart to what I teach,^(W)
¹⁸for it is pleasing when you keep them in your heart
    and have all of them ready on your lips.
¹⁹So that your trust may be in the Lord,
    I teach you today, even you.
²⁰Have I not written thirty sayings for you,
    sayings of counsel and knowledge,
²¹teaching you to be honest and to speak the truth,^(X)
    so that you bring back truthful reports
    to those you serve?

Saying 2

²²Do not exploit the poor^(Y) because they are poor
and do not crush the needy in court,^(Z)
²³for the Lord will take up their case^(AA)
and will exact life for life.^(AB)

Saying 3

²⁴Do not make friends with a hot-tempered person,
do not associate with one easily angered,
²⁵or you may learn their ways
and get yourself ensnared.^(AC)

Saying 4

²⁶Do not be one who shakes hands in pledge^(AD)
or puts up security for debts;
²⁷if you lack the means to pay,
your very bed will be snatched from under you.^(AE)

Saying 5

²⁸Do not move an ancient boundary stone^(AF)
set up by your ancestors.

Saying 6

²⁹Do you see someone skilled^(AG) in their work?
They will serve^(AH) before kings;^(AI)
they will not serve before officials of low rank.

Saying 7

23 When you sit to dine with a ruler,
    note well what^[a] is before you,
²and put a knife to your throat
    if you are given to gluttony.
³Do not crave his delicacies,^(AJ)
    for that food is deceptive.

Saying 8

⁴Do not wear yourself out to get rich;
    do not trust your own cleverness.
⁵Cast but a glance at riches, and they are gone,^(AK)
    for they will surely sprout wings
    and fly off to the sky like an eagle.^(AL)

Saying 9

⁶Do not eat the food of a begrudging host,
    do not crave his delicacies;^(AM)
⁷for he is the kind of person
    who is always thinking about the cost.^[b]
“Eat and drink,” he says to you,
    but his heart is not with you.
⁸You will vomit up the little you have eaten
    and will have wasted your compliments.

Saying 10

⁹Do not speak to fools,
for they will scorn your prudent words.^(AN)

Saying 11

¹⁰Do not move an ancient boundary stone^(AO)
or encroach on the fields of the fatherless,
¹¹for their Defender^(AP) is strong;^(AQ)
he will take up their case against you.^(AR)

Saying 12

¹²Apply your heart to instruction^(AS)
and your ears to words of knowledge.

Saying 13

¹³Do not withhold discipline from a child;
if you punish them with the rod, they will not die.
¹⁴Punish them with the rod
and save them from death.^(AT)

Footnotes

Proverbs 23:1 Or who
Proverbs 23:7 Or for as he thinks within himself, / so he is; or for as he puts on a feast, / so he is

New International Version (NIV)