Chronological
19 Better is a poor man who walks in his integrity than a rich man who is perverse in his speech and is a [self-confident] fool.
2 Desire without knowledge is not good, and to be overhasty is to sin and miss the mark.
3 The foolishness of man subverts his way [ruins his affairs]; then his heart is resentful and frets against the Lord.
4 Wealth makes many friends, but the poor man is avoided by his neighbor.(A)
5 A false witness shall not be unpunished, and he who breathes out lies shall not escape.(B)
6 Many will entreat the favor of a liberal man, and every man is a friend to him who gives gifts.
7 All the brothers of a poor man detest him—how much more do his friends go far from him! He pursues them with words, but they are gone.
8 He who gains Wisdom loves his own life; he who keeps understanding shall prosper and find good.
9 A false witness shall not be unpunished, and he who breathes forth lies shall perish.
10 Luxury is not fitting for a [self-confident] fool—much less for a slave to rule over princes.
11 Good sense makes a man restrain his anger, and it is his glory to overlook a transgression or an offense.
12 The king’s wrath is as terrifying as the roaring of a lion, but his favor is as [refreshing as] dew upon the grass.(C)
13 A self-confident and foolish son is the [multiplied] calamity of his father, and the contentions of a wife are like a continual dripping [of water through a chink in the roof].
14 House and riches are the inheritance from fathers, but a wise, understanding, and prudent wife is from the Lord.(D)
15 Slothfulness casts one into a deep sleep, and the idle person shall suffer hunger.
16 He who keeps the commandment [of the Lord] keeps his own life, but he who despises His ways shall die.(E)
17 He who has pity on the poor lends to the Lord, and that which he has given He will repay to him.(F)
18 Discipline your son while there is hope, but do not [indulge your angry resentments by undue chastisements and] set yourself to his ruin.
19 A man of great wrath shall suffer the penalty; for if you deliver him [from the consequences], he will [feel free to] cause you to do it again.
20 Hear counsel, receive instruction, and accept correction, that you may be wise in the time to come.
21 Many plans are in a man’s mind, but it is the Lord’s purpose for him that will stand.(G)
22 That which is desired in a man is loyalty and kindness [and his glory and delight are his giving], but a poor man is better than a liar.
23 The reverent, worshipful fear of the Lord leads to life, and he who has it rests satisfied; he cannot be visited with [actual] evil.(H)
24 The sluggard buries his hand in the dish, and will not so much as bring it to his mouth again.
25 Strike a scoffer, and the simple will learn prudence; reprove a man of understanding, and he will increase in knowledge.
26 He who does violence to his father and chases away his mother is a son who causes shame and brings reproach.
27 Cease, my son, to hear instruction only to ignore it and stray from the words of knowledge.
28 A worthless witness scoffs at justice, and the mouth of the wicked swallows iniquity.
29 Judgments are prepared for scoffers, and stripes for the backs of [self-confident] fools.(I)
20 Wine is a mocker, strong drink a riotous brawler; and whoever errs or reels because of it is not wise.(J)
2 The terror of a king is as the roaring of a lion; whoever provokes him to anger or angers himself against him sins against his own life.
3 It is an honor for a man to cease from strife and keep aloof from it, but every fool will quarrel.
4 The sluggard does not plow when winter sets in; therefore he begs in harvest and has nothing.
5 Counsel in the heart of man is like water in a deep well, but a man of understanding draws it out.(K)
6 Many a man proclaims his own loving-kindness and goodness, but a faithful man who can find?
7 The righteous man walks in his integrity; blessed (happy, fortunate, enviable) are his children after him.
8 A king who sits on the throne of judgment winnows out all evil [like chaff] with his eyes.
9 Who can say, I have made my heart clean, I am pure from my sin?(L)
10 Diverse weights [one for buying and another for selling] and diverse measures—both of them are exceedingly offensive and abhorrent to the Lord.(M)
11 Even a child is known by his acts, whether [or not] what he does is pure and right.
12 The hearing ear and the seeing eye—the Lord has made both of them.
13 Love not sleep, lest you come to poverty; open your eyes and you will be satisfied with bread.
14 It is worthless, it is worthless! says the buyer; but when he goes his way, then he boasts [about his bargain].
15 There is gold, and a multitude of pearls, but the lips of knowledge are a vase of preciousness [the most precious of all].(N)
16 [The judge tells the creditor] Take the garment of one who is security for a stranger; and hold him in pledge when he is security for foreigners.
17 Food gained by deceit is sweet to a man, but afterward his mouth will be filled with gravel.
18 Purposes and plans are established by counsel; and [only] with good advice make or carry on war.
19 He who goes about as a talebearer reveals secrets; therefore associate not with him who talks too freely.(O)
20 Whoever curses his father or his mother, his lamp shall be put out in complete darkness.
21 An inheritance hastily gotten [by greedy, unjust means] at the beginning, in the end it will not be blessed.(P)
22 Do not say, I will repay evil; wait [expectantly] for the Lord, and He will rescue you.(Q)
23 Diverse and deceitful weights are shamefully vile and abhorrent to the Lord, and false scales are not good.
24 Man’s steps are ordered by the Lord. How then can a man understand his way?
25 It is a snare to a man to utter a vow [of consecration] rashly and [not until] afterward inquire [whether he can fulfill it].
26 A wise king winnows out the wicked [from among the good] and brings the threshing wheel over them [to separate the chaff from the grain].
27 The spirit of man [that factor in human personality which proceeds immediately from God] is the lamp of the Lord, searching all his innermost parts.(R)
28 Loving-kindness and mercy, truth and faithfulness, preserve the king, and his throne is upheld by [the people’s] loyalty.
29 The glory of young men is their strength, and the beauty of old men is their gray head [suggesting wisdom and experience].
30 Blows that wound cleanse away evil, and strokes [for correction] reach to the innermost parts.
21 The king’s heart is in the hand of the Lord, as are the watercourses; He turns it whichever way He wills.
2 Every way of a man is right in his own eyes, but the Lord weighs and tries the hearts.(S)
3 To do righteousness and justice is more acceptable to the Lord than sacrifice.(T)
4 Haughtiness of eyes and a proud heart, even the tillage of the wicked or the lamp [of joy] to them [whatever it may be], are sin [in the eyes of God].
5 The thoughts of the [steadily] diligent tend only to plenteousness, but everyone who is impatient and hasty hastens only to want.
6 Securing treasures by a lying tongue is a vapor driven to and fro; those who seek them seek death.
7 The violence of the wicked shall sweep them away, because they refuse to do justice.
8 The way of the guilty is exceedingly crooked, but as for the pure, his work is right and his conduct is straight.
9 It is better to dwell in a corner of the housetop [on the flat oriental roof, exposed to all kinds of weather] than in a house shared with a nagging, quarrelsome, and faultfinding woman.
10 The soul or life of the wicked craves and seeks evil; his neighbor finds no favor in his eyes.(U)
11 When the scoffer is punished, the fool gets a lesson in being wise; but men of [godly] Wisdom and good sense learn by being instructed.
12 The [uncompromisingly] righteous man considers well the house of the wicked—how the wicked are cast down to ruin.
13 Whoever stops his ears at the cry of the poor will cry out himself and not be heard.(V)
14 A gift in secret pacifies and turns away anger, and a bribe in the lap, strong wrath.
15 When justice is done, it is a joy to the righteous (the upright, in right standing with God), but to the evildoers it is dismay, calamity, and ruin.
16 A man who wanders out of the way of understanding shall abide in the congregation of the spirits (of the dead).
17 He who loves pleasure will be a poor man; he who loves wine and oil will not be rich.
18 The wicked become a ransom for the [uncompromisingly] righteous, and the treacherous for the upright [because the wicked themselves fall into the traps and pits they have dug for the good].
19 It is better to dwell in a desert land than with a contentious woman and with vexation.
20 There are precious treasures and oil in the dwelling of the wise, but a self-confident and foolish man swallows it up and wastes it.
21 He who earnestly seeks after and craves righteousness, mercy, and loving-kindness will find life in addition to righteousness (uprightness and right standing with God) and honor.(W)
22 A wise man scales the city walls of the mighty and brings down the stronghold in which they trust.
23 He who guards his mouth and his tongue keeps himself from troubles.(X)
24 The proud and haughty man—Scoffer is his name—deals and acts with overbearing pride.
25 The desire of the slothful kills him, for his hands refuse to labor.
26 He covets greedily all the day long, but the [uncompromisingly] righteous gives and does not withhold.(Y)
27 The sacrifice of the wicked is exceedingly disgusting and abhorrent [to the Lord]—how much more when he brings it with evil intention?
28 A false witness will perish, but the word of a man who hears attentively will endure and go unchallenged.
29 A wicked man puts on the bold, unfeeling face [of guilt], but as for the upright, he considers, directs, and establishes his way [with the confidence of integrity].
30 There is no [human] wisdom or understanding or counsel [that can prevail] against the Lord.
31 The horse is prepared for the day of battle, but deliverance and victory are of the Lord.
Copyright © 1954, 1958, 1962, 1964, 1965, 1987 by The Lockman Foundation