² A man shall eat well by the fruit of his mouth,
But the soul of the unfaithful feeds on violence.
³ He who guards his mouth preserves his life,
But he who opens wide his lips shall have destruction.

⁴ The soul of a lazy man desires, and has nothing;
But the soul of the diligent shall be made rich.

⁵ A righteous man hates lying,
But a wicked man is loathsome and comes to shame.
⁶ Righteousness guards him whose way is blameless,
But wickedness overthrows the sinner.

⁷ There is one who makes himself rich, yet has nothing;
And one who makes himself poor, yet has great riches.

⁸ The ransom of a man’s life is his riches,
But the poor does not hear rebuke.

⁹ The light of the righteous rejoices,
But the lamp of the wicked will be put out.

¹⁰ By pride comes nothing but strife,
But with the well-advised is wisdom.

¹¹ Wealth gained by dishonesty will be diminished,
But he who gathers by labor will increase.

¹² Hope deferred makes the heart sick,
But when the desire comes, it is a tree of life.

¹³ He who despises the word will be destroyed,
But he who fears the commandment will be rewarded.
¹⁴ The law of the wise is a fountain of life,
To turn one away from the snares of death.

¹⁵ Good understanding ^[a]gains favor,
But the way of the unfaithful is hard.
¹⁶ Every prudent man acts with knowledge,
But a fool lays open his folly.

¹⁷ A wicked messenger falls into trouble,
But a faithful ambassador brings health.

¹⁸ Poverty and shame will come to him who ^[b]disdains correction,
But he who regards a rebuke will be honored.

¹⁹ A desire accomplished is sweet to the soul,
But it is an abomination to fools to depart from evil.

²⁰ He who walks with wise men will be wise,
But the companion of fools will be destroyed.

²¹ Evil pursues sinners,
But to the righteous, good shall be repaid.

²² A good man leaves an inheritance to his children’s children,
But the wealth of the sinner is stored up for the righteous.

²³ Much food is in the ^[c]fallow ground of the poor,
And for lack of justice there is ^[d]waste.

²⁴ He who spares his rod hates his son,
But he who loves him disciplines him ^[e]promptly.

²⁵ The righteous eats to the satisfying of his soul,
But the stomach of the wicked shall be in want.