11 Discretion will preserve you;
(A)Understanding will keep you,
12 To deliver you from the way of evil,
From the man who speaks perverse things,
13 From those who leave the paths of uprightness
To (B)walk in the ways of darkness;
14 (C)Who rejoice in doing evil,
And delight in the perversity of the wicked;
15 (D)Whose ways are crooked,
And who are devious in their paths;
16 To deliver you from (E)the immoral woman,
(F)From the seductress who flatters with her words,
17 Who forsakes the companion of her youth,
And forgets the covenant of her God.
18 For (G)her house [a]leads down to death,
And her paths to the dead;
19 None who go to her return,
Nor do they [b]regain the paths of life—
20 So you may walk in the way of goodness,
And keep to the paths of righteousness.
21 For the upright will dwell in the (H)land,
And the blameless will remain in it;
22 But the wicked will be [c]cut off from the [d]earth,
And the unfaithful will be uprooted from it.

Read full chapter

Footnotes

  1. Proverbs 2:18 sinks
  2. Proverbs 2:19 Lit. reach
  3. Proverbs 2:22 destroyed
  4. Proverbs 2:22 land

11 Discretion will watch over you;
    understanding will protect you,
12 in order to deliver you from the way of evil,[a]
    from a man who speaks devious things—
13 those who forsake the paths of uprightness
    to walk in ways of darkness,
14 those who are happy to do evil,
    for they delight in the deviousness of evil,
15 who are crooked in their ways,[b]
    and devious in their paths;
16 in order to deliver you from a strange woman,
    from a foreign woman who flatters[c] with her sayings,
17 she who forsakes the partner of her youth
    and has forgotten the covenant of her God,
18 for her house sinks to death,
    and to the dead[d] are her paths.
19 Of all who go to her, none shall return,
    nor do they reach paths of life.
20 So that you will walk on the road of those who are good,
    and the paths of those who are righteous you shall keep.
21 For those who are upright will dwell in the land,[e]
    and those who are blameless[f] will remain in it.
22 And those who are wicked will be cut off from the land,
    and those who are treacherous will be uprooted from it.

Read full chapter

Footnotes

  1. Proverbs 2:12 Or “evildoer”
  2. Proverbs 2:15 Literally “that in their ways are crooked”
  3. Proverbs 2:16 Or “makes smooth”
  4. Proverbs 2:18 Or “Rephaim”
  5. Proverbs 2:21 Or “earth”
  6. Proverbs 2:21 Or “innocent”

31 (A)Do not envy the oppressor,
And choose none of his ways;
32 For the perverse person is an abomination to the Lord,
(B)But His secret counsel is with the upright.

Read full chapter

31 Do not envy a man of violence,
    and do not choose any of his ways,
32 for he who is perverse is an abomination of Yahweh,
    but those who are upright are his confidence.

Read full chapter

The Wicked Man

12 A worthless person, a wicked man,
Walks with a perverse mouth;
13 (A)He winks with his eyes,
He [a]shuffles his feet,
He points with his fingers;
14 Perversity is in his heart,
(B)He devises evil continually,
(C)He sows discord.
15 Therefore his calamity shall come (D)suddenly;
Suddenly he shall (E)be broken (F)without remedy.

Read full chapter

Footnotes

  1. Proverbs 6:13 gives signals, lit. scrapes

Against Worthlessness

12 A worthless man, an evil man,
    goes around with deceitful speech.[a]
13 Winking in his eye, shuffling in his foot,
    pointing in his fingers,
14 perversion in his heart, he devises evil;
    at all times he will send out discord.[b]
15 Upon such a man,[c] suddenly shall his calamity come;
    in a moment he will be damaged and there is no healing.[d]

Read full chapter

Footnotes

  1. Proverbs 6:12 Literally “crookedness of mouth”
  2. Proverbs 6:14 Or “quarrels”
  3. Proverbs 6:15 Literally “thus”
  4. Proverbs 6:15 Or “repair”

Blessings are on the head of the righteous,
But violence covers the mouth of the wicked.

Read full chapter

Blessings belong to the head of the righteous,
    but the mouth of the wicked conceals violence.

Read full chapter

11 The mouth of the righteous is a well of life,
But violence covers the mouth of the wicked.

12 Hatred stirs up strife,
But (A)love covers all sins.

13 Wisdom is found on the lips of him who has understanding,
But (B)a rod is for the back of him who [a]is devoid of understanding.

Read full chapter

Footnotes

  1. Proverbs 10:13 Lit. lacks heart

11 A fountain of life is a mouth of righteousness,
    and a mouth of wickedness conceals violence.
12 Hatred stirs up strife,
    but love covers over all offenses.
13 On the lips of one who has understanding, wisdom is found,
    but a rod is for the back of one who lacks sense.[a]

Read full chapter

Footnotes

  1. Proverbs 10:13 Literally “heart”

18 Whoever (A)hides hatred has lying lips,
And (B)whoever spreads slander is a fool.

Read full chapter

18 He who conceals hatred has lips of deceit,
    and he who utters slander—he is a fool.

Read full chapter

13 (A)A talebearer reveals secrets,
But he who is of a faithful spirit (B)conceals a matter.

Read full chapter

13 A gossip walks about telling a secret,
    but the trustworthy in spirit keeps the matter.

Read full chapter

15 (A)The way of a fool is right in his own eyes,
But he who heeds counsel is wise.
16 (B)A fool’s wrath is known at once,
But a prudent man covers shame.

17 (C)He who speaks truth declares righteousness,
But a false witness, deceit.
18 (D)There is one who speaks like the piercings of a sword,
But the tongue of the wise promotes health.

Read full chapter

15 The way of a fool is upright in his own eyes,
    but he who listens to advice is wise.
16 As for a fool, on that very day[a] he makes his anger known,
    but he who ignores an insult is prudent.
17 He who will speak truth will reveal righteousness,
    but the witness of falsehood, deceit.
18 There is one who speaks rashly, like the thrust of a sword,
    but the tongue of the wise brings healing.

Read full chapter

Footnotes

  1. Proverbs 12:16 Literally “on the day”

16 (A)Every prudent man acts with knowledge,
But a fool lays open his folly.

Read full chapter

16 Anyone who is clever will act with intelligence,
    but the fool will display folly.

Read full chapter

27 [a]An ungodly man digs up evil,
And it is on his lips like a burning (A)fire.
28 A perverse man sows strife,
And (B)a whisperer separates the best of friends.
29 A violent man entices his neighbor,
And leads him in a way that is not good.
30 He winks his eye to devise perverse things;
He [b]purses his lips and brings about evil.

Read full chapter

Footnotes

  1. Proverbs 16:27 Lit. A man of Belial
  2. Proverbs 16:30 Lit. compresses

27 A man of wickedness concocts evil,
    and his lips are like a scorching fire.
28 A person of perversity will spread dissent,
    and he who whispers separates a close friend.
29 A person of violence will entice his neighbor
    and cause him to walk on a way that is not good.
30 He who winks his eyes does so in order to plan perverse things;
    he who purses his lips will bring evil to pass.

Read full chapter

An evildoer gives heed to false lips;
A liar listens eagerly to a [a]spiteful tongue.

Read full chapter

Footnotes

  1. Proverbs 17:4 Lit. destructive

He who does evil listens to lips of wickedness,
    and the liar gives heed to the tongue of mischief.

Read full chapter

(A)He who covers a transgression seeks love,
But (B)he who repeats a matter separates friends.

Read full chapter

He who forgives an affront fosters love,
    but he who waits on a matter will alienate a friend.

Read full chapter