1A good name is to be chosen rather than great riches,
Loving favor rather than silver and gold.
2The rich and the poor have this in common,
The Lord is the maker of them all.
3A prudent man foresees evil and hides himself,
But the simple pass on and are punished.
Are riches and honor and life.
He who guards his soul will be far from them.
6Train up a child in the way he should go,
22:6 EvenAnd when he is old he will not depart from it.
7The rich rules over the poor,
And the borrower is servant to the lender.
8He who sows iniquity will reap sorrow,22:8 trouble
And the rod of his anger will fail.
9He who has a 22:9 Lit. goodgenerous eye will be blessed,
For he gives of his bread to the poor.
10Cast out the scoffer, and contention will leave;
Yes, strife and reproach will cease.
11He who loves purity of heart
And has grace on his lips,
The king will be his friend.
12The eyes of the Lord preserve knowledge,
But He overthrows the words of the faithless.
I shall be slain in the streets!”
14The mouth of an immoral woman is a deep pit;
He who is abhorred by the Lord will fall there.
15Foolishness is bound up in the heart of a child;
The rod of correction will drive it far from him.
16He who oppresses the poor to increase his riches,
And he who gives to the rich, will surely come to poverty.
Sayings of the Wise
17Incline your ear and hear the words of the wise,
And apply your heart to my knowledge;
18For it is a pleasant thing if you keep them within you;
Let them all be fixed upon your lips,
19So that your trust may be in the Lord;
I have instructed you today, even you.
20Have I not written to you excellent things
Of counsels and knowledge,
21That I may make you know the certainty of the words of truth,
That you may answer words of truth
To those who 22:21 Or send yousend to you?
22Do not rob the poor because he is poor,
Nor oppress the afflicted at the gate;
23For the Lord will plead their cause,
And plunder the soul of those who plunder them.
24Make no friendship with an angry man,
And with a furious man do not go,
25Lest you learn his ways
And set a snare for your soul.
26Do not be one of those who 22:26 Lit. strikesshakes hands in a pledge,
One of those who is 22:26 guarantysurety for debts;
27If you have nothing with which to pay,
Why should he take away your bed from under you?
28Do not remove the ancient 22:28 boundarylandmark
Which your fathers have set.
He will stand before kings;
He will not stand before 22:29 obscureunknown men.
New King James Version®, Copyright© 1982, Thomas Nelson. All rights reserved.