Add parallel Print Page Options

27 Do not withhold good from those to whom it is due,[a]
    when it is in your power to do it.(A)
28 Do not say to your neighbor, “Go and come again;
    tomorrow I will give it,” when you have it with you.(B)
29 Do not plan harm against your neighbor
    who lives trustingly beside you.(C)
30 Do not quarrel with anyone without cause,
    when no harm has been done to you.(D)
31 Do not envy the violent,
    and do not choose any of their ways,(E)
32 for the perverse are an abomination to the Lord,
    but the upright are in his confidence.(F)

Read full chapter

Footnotes

  1. 3.27 Heb from its owners

Treasures gained by wickedness do not profit,
    but righteousness delivers from death.

Read full chapter

11 A false balance is an abomination to the Lord,
    but an accurate weight is his delight.(A)

Read full chapter

Those who guard their mouths preserve their lives;
    those who open wide their lips come to ruin.(A)

Read full chapter

11 Wealth hastily gotten[a] will dwindle,
    but those who gather little by little will increase it.(A)

Read full chapter

Footnotes

  1. 13.11 Gk Vg: Heb from vanity

Those who walk uprightly fear the Lord,
    but one who is devious in conduct despises him.(A)

Read full chapter

A faithful witness does not lie,
    but a false witness breathes out lies.(A)

Read full chapter

27 Those greedy for unjust gain make trouble for their households,
    but those who hate bribes will live.(A)

Read full chapter

By loyalty and faithfulness iniquity is atoned for,
    and by the fear of the Lord one avoids evil.(A)

Read full chapter

Better is a little with righteousness
    than large income with injustice.

Read full chapter

11 Honest balances and scales are the Lord’s;
    all the weights in the bag are his work.(A)

Read full chapter

A slave who deals wisely will rule over a child who acts shamefully
    and will share the inheritance as one of the family.(A)

Read full chapter

A bribe is like a magic stone in the eyes of those who give it;
    wherever they turn they prosper.(A)

Read full chapter

23 The wicked accept a concealed bribe
    to pervert the ways of justice.(A)

Read full chapter

21 An estate quickly acquired in the beginning
    will not be blessed in the end.(A)

Read full chapter

To do righteousness and justice
    is more acceptable to the Lord than sacrifice.(A)

Read full chapter

The getting of treasures by a lying tongue
    is a fleeting vapor and a snare[a] of death.(A)
The violence of the wicked will sweep them away
    because they refuse to do what is just.(B)
The way of the guilty is crooked,
    but the conduct of the pure is right.

Read full chapter

Footnotes

  1. 21.6 Gk: Heb seekers

22 Do not rob the poor because they are poor
    or crush the afflicted at the gate,(A)
23 for the Lord pleads their cause
    and despoils of life those who despoil them.(B)

Read full chapter

Further Sayings of the Wise

23     These also are sayings of the wise:

Partiality in judging is not good.(A)
24 Whoever says to the wicked, “You are innocent,”
    will be cursed by peoples, abhorred by nations,(B)
25 but those who rebuke the wicked will have delight,
    and a good blessing will come upon them.(C)
26 One who gives an honest answer
    gives a kiss on the lips.

Read full chapter

A poor person who oppresses the poor
    is a beating rain that leaves no food.(A)

Read full chapter

Better to be poor and walk in integrity
    than to be crooked in one’s ways even though rich.(A)

Read full chapter

One who augments wealth by exorbitant interest
    gathers it for another who is kind to the poor.(A)

Read full chapter

Speak out for those who cannot speak,
    for the rights of all the destitute.[a](A)
Speak out; judge righteously;
    defend the rights of the poor and needy.(B)

Read full chapter

Footnotes

  1. 31.8 Heb all children of passing away