Add parallel Print Page Options

11 An evil person will seek only rebellion,
    and a cruel messenger will be sent against him.

Read full chapter

11 A rebellious person seeks evil;
    a cruel emissary will be sent to oppose him.

Read full chapter

19 He who loves transgression loves strife;
    he who builds his high thresholds seeks destruction.
20 He who is crooked of heart[a] will not find goodness,
    and he who is perverse, by his tongue he will fall into calamity.

Read full chapter

Footnotes

  1. Proverbs 17:20 Or “mind”

19 The person who loves transgression loves strife;
    the person who builds a high gate invites destruction.

20 The person whose mind[a] is perverse does not find good,
    and anyone with perverted speech falls into trouble.

Read full chapter

Footnotes

  1. Proverbs 17:20 Lit. heart

24 He who understands sets his face toward wisdom,
    but the eyes of a fool, to the end of the earth.[a]

Read full chapter

Footnotes

  1. Proverbs 17:24 Or “land”

24 A person with understanding has wisdom as his objective,
    but a fool looks only[a] to earthly goals.

Read full chapter

Footnotes

  1. Proverbs 17:24 The Heb. lacks only

18 He who is selfish seeks a craving;[a]
    against all sound judgment he shows contempt.
A fool will not take pleasure in understanding,
    but in expressing his heart.[b]

Read full chapter

Footnotes

  1. Proverbs 18:1 Or “boundary”
  2. Proverbs 18:2 Or “mind”

How Fools Talk

18 Whoever isolates himself pursues selfish ends;
he resists all sound advice.

A fool finds no satisfaction in trying to understand,
    for he would rather express his own opinion.

Read full chapter

14 “Bad, bad,” the buyer will say,
    but when one goes to him, then he will boast.

Read full chapter

14 “This is bad, bad,” says whoever is buying—
    but then he brags as he walks away after the sale.[a]

Read full chapter

Footnotes

  1. Proverbs 20:14 The Heb. lacks after the sale

29 A wicked man is strong in his countenance,[a]
    but the upright will appoint his paths.

Read full chapter

Footnotes

  1. Proverbs 21:29 Literally “his face”

29 The wicked man puts up a bold appearance,
    but the upright thinks about what he is doing.[a]

Read full chapter

Footnotes

  1. Proverbs 21:29 Lit. about his ways

10 Drive out a scoffer and strife will go out;
    quarrel and abuse will cease.

Read full chapter

10 Throw out the mocker and strife departs, too;[a]
    furthermore, quarrels[b] and discord will end.

Read full chapter

Footnotes

  1. Proverbs 22:10 The Heb. lacks too
  2. Proverbs 22:10 Or litigation

He who sows injustice will reap calamity,
    and the rod of his anger will fail.

Read full chapter

Whoever sows wickedness reaps trouble,
    and the anger he uses for a weapon[a] will be destroyed.

Read full chapter

Footnotes

  1. Proverbs 22:8 Lit. rod

26 Do not be with those who give a pledge[a]
    by becoming[b] surety.

Read full chapter

Footnotes

  1. Proverbs 22:26 Literally “strike a hand”
  2. Proverbs 22:26 Literally “in the becomings of”

26 Don’t be one of those who make promises
    to guarantee loans for debts.

Read full chapter

23 When you sit to eat with a ruler,
    you shall surely observe what is before you,
and you shall put a knife to your throat
    if you have a big appetite.[a]
Do not desire his delicacies,
    for[b] it is food of deception.

Read full chapter

Footnotes

  1. Proverbs 23:2 Literally “lord/master of life”
  2. Proverbs 23:3 Hebrew “and”

Things to Avoid in Life

23 Whenever you sit down to dine with a ruler,
carefully think about what is before you.
Put a knife to your own throat,
    if you have a big appetite.[a]
Don’t crave his delicacies,
    because the meal is deceptive.

Read full chapter

Footnotes

  1. Proverbs 23:2 Lit. a master of an appetite

Do not eat the bread of the stingy,[a]
    and do not desire his delicacies.
For, like hair in his throat,[b] so it is.[c]
    “Eat and drink!” he will say to you,
    but his heart will not be with you.
Your morsel you have eaten, you will vomit it up,
    and you will waste your pleasant words.
In the ears of a fool do not speak,
    for he will despise the wisdom of your words.

Read full chapter

Footnotes

  1. Proverbs 23:6 Literally “stingy of eye”
  2. Proverbs 23:7 Literally “soul,” or “inner self”
  3. Proverbs 23:7 Or “is he”

Don’t consume food provided by a miserly[a] person,
    and don’t desire his delicacies,
for as he thinks within himself, so he is.
    “Eat and drink!” he’ll say to you,
        but his heart won’t be with you.
You’ll vomit up what little you’ve eaten,
    and your compliments will have been wasted.

Don’t speak when a fool is listening,
    because he’ll despise your wise words.

Read full chapter

Footnotes

  1. Proverbs 23:6 Lit. by the evil eyed

Like cutting off feet or drinking violence,
    so is he who sends messages in the hand of a fool.

Read full chapter

Whoever sends a message by the hand of a fool
    cuts off his own[a] feet and drinks violence.

Read full chapter

Footnotes

  1. Proverbs 26:6 The Heb. lacks his own