Proverbs 22:2-16

New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition

² The rich and the poor have this in common:
    the Lord is the maker of them all.
³ The clever see danger and hide,
    but the simple go on and suffer for it.
⁴ The reward for humility and fear of the Lord
    is riches and honor and life.
⁵ Thorns and snares are in the way of the perverse;
    the cautious will keep far from them.^(A)
6 Train children in the right way,
    and when old, they will not stray.^(B)
7 The rich rule over the poor,
    and the borrower is the slave of the lender.^(C)
8 Whoever sows injustice will reap calamity,
    and the rod of anger will fail.^(D)
9 Those who are generous are blessed,
    for they share their bread with the poor.^(E)
10 Drive out a scoffer, and strife goes out;
    quarreling and abuse will cease.^(F)
11 Those who love a pure heart and are gracious in speech
    will have the king as a friend.^(G)
12 The eyes of the Lord keep watch over knowledge,
    but he overthrows the words of the faithless.^(H)
13 The lazy person says, “There is a lion outside!
    I shall be killed in the streets!”^(I)
14 The mouth of a loose woman^[a] is a deep pit;
    he with whom the Lord is angry falls into it.
¹⁵ Folly is bound up in the heart of a child,
    but the rod of discipline drives it far away.^(J)
16 Oppressing the poor in order to enrich oneself,
    and giving to the rich, will lead only to loss.