¹ Better the poor whose walk is blameless
than a fool whose lips are perverse.
² Desire without knowledge is not good—
how much more will hasty feet miss the way!
³ A person’s own folly leads to their ruin,
yet their heart rages against the Lord.
⁴ Wealth attracts many friends,
but even the closest friend of the poor person deserts them.
⁵ A false witness will not go unpunished,
and whoever pours out lies will not go free.
⁶ Many curry favor with a ruler,
and everyone is the friend of one who gives gifts.
⁷ The poor are shunned by all their relatives—
how much more do their friends avoid them!
Though the poor pursue them with pleading,
they are nowhere to be found.
⁸ The one who gets wisdom loves life;
the one who cherishes understanding will soon prosper.
⁹ A false witness will not go unpunished,
and whoever pours out lies will perish.
¹⁰ It is not fitting for a fool to live in luxury—
how much worse for a slave to rule over princes!
¹¹ A person’s wisdom yields patience;
it is to one’s glory to overlook an offense.
¹² A king’s rage is like the roar of a lion,
but his favor is like dew on the grass.
¹³ A foolish child is a father’s ruin,
and a quarrelsome wife is like
the constant dripping of a leaky roof.
¹⁴ Houses and wealth are inherited from parents,
but a prudent wife is from the Lord.
¹⁵ Laziness brings on deep sleep,
and the shiftless go hungry.
¹⁶ Whoever keeps commandments keeps their life,
but whoever shows contempt for their ways will die.
¹⁷ Whoever is kind to the poor lends to the Lord,
and he will reward them for what they have done.
¹⁸ Discipline your children, for in that there is hope;
do not be a willing party to their death.
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,
and at the end you will be counted among the wise.
²¹ Many are the plans in a person’s heart,
but it is the Lord’s purpose that prevails.
²² What a person desires is unfailing love;
better to be poor than a liar.
²³ The fear of the Lord leads to life;
then one rests content, untouched by trouble.
²⁴ A sluggard buries his hand in the dish;
he will not even bring it back to his mouth!
²⁵ Flog a mocker, and the simple will learn prudence;
rebuke the discerning, and they will gain knowledge.
²⁶ Whoever robs their father and drives out their mother
is a child who brings shame and disgrace.
²⁷ Stop listening to instruction, my son,
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.
²⁹ Penalties are prepared for mockers,
and beatings for the backs of fools.