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Proverbs 19
New International Version
Proverbs 19
New International Version
19 Better the poor whose walk is blameless
than a fool whose lips are perverse.(A)
2 Desire without knowledge is not good—
how much more will hasty feet miss the way!(B)
4 Wealth attracts many friends,
but even the closest friend of the poor person deserts them.(E)
7 The poor are shunned by all their relatives—
how much more do their friends avoid them!(K)
Though the poor pursue them with pleading,
they are nowhere to be found.[a](L)
8 The one who gets wisdom loves life;
the one who cherishes understanding will soon prosper.(M)
9 A false witness will not go unpunished,
and whoever pours out lies will perish.(N)
10 It is not fitting for a fool(O) to live in luxury—
how much worse for a slave to rule over princes!(P)
11 A person’s wisdom yields patience;(Q)
it is to one’s glory to overlook an offense.
13 A foolish child is a father’s ruin,(U)
and a quarrelsome wife is like
the constant dripping of a leaky roof.(V)
15 Laziness brings on deep sleep,
and the shiftless go hungry.(Y)
16 Whoever keeps commandments keeps their life,
but whoever shows contempt for their ways will die.(Z)
17 Whoever is kind to the poor lends to the Lord,(AA)
and he will reward them for what they have done.(AB)
18 Discipline your children, for in that there is hope;
do not be a willing party to their death.(AC)
19 A hot-tempered person must pay the penalty;
rescue them, and you will have to do it again.
20 Listen to advice and accept discipline,(AD)
and at the end you will be counted among the wise.(AE)
21 Many are the plans in a person’s heart,
but it is the Lord’s purpose that prevails.(AF)
22 What a person desires is unfailing love[b];
better to be poor than a liar.
23 The fear of the Lord leads to life;
then one rests content, untouched by trouble.(AG)
24 A sluggard buries his hand in the dish;
he will not even bring it back to his mouth!(AH)
25 Flog a mocker, and the simple will learn prudence;
rebuke the discerning,(AI) and they will gain knowledge.(AJ)
26 Whoever robs their father and drives out their mother(AK)
is a child who brings shame and disgrace.
27 Stop listening to instruction, my son,(AL)
and you will stray from the words of knowledge.
28 A corrupt witness mocks at justice,
and the mouth of the wicked gulps down evil.(AM)
29 Penalties are prepared for mockers,
and beatings for the backs of fools.(AN)
Footnotes
- Proverbs 19:7 The meaning of the Hebrew for this sentence is uncertain.
- Proverbs 19:22 Or Greed is a person’s shame
Proverbs 19
Good News Translation
Proverbs 19
Good News Translation
19 It is better to be poor but honest than to be a lying fool.
2 Enthusiasm without knowledge is not good; impatience will get you into trouble.
3 Some people ruin themselves by their own stupid actions and then blame the Lord.
4 Rich people are always finding new friends, but the poor cannot keep the few they have.
5 If you tell lies in court, you will be punished—there will be no escape.
6 Everyone tries to gain the favor of important people; everyone claims the friendship of those who give out favors.
7 Even the relatives of a poor person have no use for him; no wonder he has no friends. No matter how hard he tries, he cannot win any.[a]
8 Do yourself a favor and learn all you can; then remember what you learn and you will prosper.
9 No one who tells lies in court can escape punishment; he is doomed.
10 Fools should not live in luxury, and slaves should not rule over noblemen.
11 If you are sensible, you will control your temper. When someone wrongs you, it is a great virtue to ignore it.
12 The king's anger is like the roar of a lion, but his favor is like welcome rain.
13 Stupid children can bring their parents to ruin. A nagging wife is like water going drip-drip-drip.
14 A man can inherit a house and money from his parents, but only the Lord can give him a sensible wife.
15 Go ahead and be lazy; sleep on, but you will go hungry.
16 Keep God's laws and you will live longer; if you ignore them, you will die.
17 When you give to the poor, it is like lending to the Lord, and the Lord will pay you back.
18 Discipline your children while they are young enough to learn. If you don't, you are helping them destroy themselves.[b]
19 If someone has a hot temper, let him take the consequences. If you get him out of trouble once, you will have to do it again.[c]
20 If you listen to advice and are willing to learn, one day you will be wise.
21 People may plan all kinds of things, but the Lord's will is going to be done.
22 It is a disgrace to be greedy;[d] poor people are better off than liars.
23 Obey the Lord and you will live a long life, content and safe from harm.
24 Some people are too lazy to put food in their own mouths.
25 Arrogance should be punished, so that people who don't know any better can learn a lesson. If you are wise, you will learn when you are corrected.
26 Only a shameful, disgraceful person would mistreat his father or turn his mother away from his home.
27 My child, when you stop learning, you will soon neglect what you already know.
28 There is no justice where a witness is determined to hurt someone. Wicked people love the taste of evil.
29 A conceited fool is sure to get a beating.
Footnotes
- Proverbs 19:7 Probable text No matter … any; Hebrew unclear.
- Proverbs 19:18 If you … themselves; or But don't punish them so hard that you kill them.
- Proverbs 19:19 get him out … again; or try to get him out of trouble, you only make things worse.
- Proverbs 19:22 It … greedy; or Loyalty is what is desired in a person.
Proverbs 19
The Message
Proverbs 19
The Message
If You Quit Listening
19 Better to be poor and honest
than a rich person no one can trust.
2 Ignorant zeal is worthless;
haste makes waste.
3 People ruin their lives by their own stupidity,
so why does God always get blamed?
4 Wealth attracts friends as honey draws flies,
but poor people are avoided like a plague.
5 Perjury won’t go unpunished.
Would you let a liar go free?
6 Lots of people flock around a generous person;
everyone’s a friend to the philanthropist.
7 When you’re down on your luck, even your family avoids you—
yes, even your best friends wish you’d get lost.
If they see you coming, they look the other way—
out of sight, out of mind.
8 Grow a wise heart—you’ll do yourself a favor;
keep a clear head—you’ll find a good life.
9 The person who tells lies gets caught;
the person who spreads rumors is ruined.
10 Blockheads shouldn’t live on easy street
any more than workers should give orders to their boss.
11 Smart people know how to hold their tongue;
their grandeur is to forgive and forget.
12 Mean-tempered leaders are like mad dogs;
the good-natured are like fresh morning dew.
13 A parent is worn to a frazzle by an irresponsible child;
a nagging spouse is a leaky faucet.
14 House and land are handed down from parents,
but a congenial spouse comes straight from God.
15 Life collapses on loafers;
lazybones go hungry.
16 Keep the rules and keep your life;
careless living kills.
17 Mercy to the needy is a loan to God,
and God pays back those loans in full.
18 Discipline your children while you still have the chance;
indulging them destroys them.
19 Let angry people endure the backlash of their own anger;
if you try to make it better, you’ll only make it worse.
20 Take good counsel and accept correction—
that’s the way to live wisely and well.
21 We humans keep brainstorming options and plans,
but God’s purpose prevails.
22 It’s only human to want to make a buck,
but it’s better to be poor than a liar.
23 Fear-of-God is life itself,
a full life, and serene—no nasty surprises.
24 Some people dig a fork into the pie
but are too lazy to raise it to their mouth.
25 Punish the insolent—make an example of them.
Who knows? Somebody might learn a good lesson.
26 Kids who lash out against their parents
are an embarrassment and disgrace.
27 If you quit listening, dear child, and strike off on your own,
you’ll soon be out of your depth.
28 An unprincipled witness desecrates justice;
the mouths of the wicked spew malice.
29 The irreverent have to learn reverence the hard way;
only a slap in the face brings fools to attention.
Proverbs 19
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
Proverbs 19
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
19 Better the poor walking in integrity
than one perverse of speech who is a fool.(A)
2 Desire without knowledge is not good,
and one who moves too hurriedly misses the way.
3 One’s own folly leads to ruin,
yet the heart rages against the Lord.(B)
4 Wealth brings many friends,
but the poor are left friendless.(C)
5 A false witness will not go unpunished,
and a liar will not escape.(D)
6 Many seek the favor of the generous,
and everyone is a friend to a giver of gifts.(E)
7 If the poor are hated even by their kin,
how much more are they shunned by their friends!
When they call after them, they are not there.[a](F)
8 To get wisdom is to love oneself;
to keep understanding is to prosper.(G)
9 A false witness will not go unpunished,
and the liar will perish.
10 It is not fitting for a fool to live in luxury,
much less for a slave to rule over princes.(H)
11 Those with good sense are slow to anger,
and it is their glory to overlook an offense.(I)
12 A king’s anger is like the growling of a lion,
but his favor is like dew on the grass.(J)
13 A stupid child is ruin to a father,
and a wife’s quarreling is a continual dripping of rain.(K)
14 House and wealth are inherited from parents,
but a prudent wife is from the Lord.(L)
15 Laziness brings on deep sleep;
an idle person will suffer hunger.(M)
16 Those who keep the commandment will live;
those who are heedless of their ways will die.(N)
17 Whoever is kind to the poor lends to the Lord
and will be repaid in full.(O)
18 Discipline your children while there is hope;
do not set your heart on their destruction.(P)
19 A violent-tempered person will pay the penalty;
if you effect a rescue, you will only have to do it again.[b]
20 Listen to advice and accept instruction,
that you may gain wisdom for the future.(Q)
21 The human mind may devise many plans,
but it is the purpose of the Lord that will be established.(R)
22 What is desirable in a person is loyalty,
and it is better to be poor than a liar.
23 The fear of the Lord is life indeed;
filled with it one rests secure
and suffers no harm.(S)
24 The lazy person buries a hand in the dish
and will not even bring it back to the mouth.(T)
25 Strike a scoffer, and the simple will learn prudence;
reprove the intelligent, and they will gain knowledge.(U)
26 Those who do violence to their father and chase away their mother
are children who cause shame and bring reproach.
27 My child, stop ignoring instruction,
straying[c] from words of knowledge.
28 A worthless witness mocks at justice,
and the mouth of the wicked devours iniquity.(V)
29 Punishments are prepared for scoffers
and flogging for the backs of fools.(W)
New International Version (NIV) 
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NIV Reverse Interlinear Bible: English to Hebrew and English to Greek. Copyright © 2019 by Zondervan.
Good News Translation (GNT) 
Good News Translation® (Today’s English Version, Second Edition) © 1992 American Bible Society. All rights reserved. For more information about GNT, visit www.bibles.com and www.gnt.bible.
The Message (MSG)
Copyright © 1993, 2002, 2018 by Eugene H. Peterson
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition (NRSVUE)
New Revised Standard Version, Updated Edition. Copyright © 2021 National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.