¹As rivulets of water is the heart of a king in the hand of the Lord ;

wherever He pleases is where He directs it.

²Every way of a man is right in his own eyes,

but the Lord weighs the hearts.

³To do righteousness and justice

is more acceptable to the Lord than sacrifice.

⁴A haughty eye and a proud heart,[#Pr 6:17]

and the lamp of the wicked are sin.

⁵The plans of the diligent lead surely to profit,

but of everyone who is hasty, surely to poverty.

⁶The getting of treasures by a lying tongue

is a fleeting vapor, the pursuit of death.

⁷The violence of the wicked will drag them away,

because they refuse to do justice.

⁸Crooked is the way of a guilty man,[#Pr 2:15]

but as for the pure, his conduct is right.

⁹It is better to live in a corner of the housetop

than in a house shared with a quarrelsome wife.

¹⁰The soul of the wicked desires evil;

his neighbor finds no mercy in his eyes.

¹¹When a mocker is punished, the simple becomes wise;

when the wise is instructed, he receives knowledge.

¹²The Righteous One considers the house of the wicked;

He hurls the wicked down to ruin.

¹³He who shuts his ears to the cry of the poor,

he also will cry out, but will not be heard.

¹⁴A gift in secret pacifies anger,

and a bribe under cover, strong wrath.

¹⁵To do justice is joy to the righteous,

but terror to the workers of iniquity.

¹⁶A man who strays from the road of understanding

will rest in the congregation of the dead.

¹⁷The lover of pleasure will be a man of poverty;

he who loves wine and oil will not be rich.

¹⁸The wicked will be a ransom for the righteous,

and the unfaithful for the upright.

¹⁹It is better to live in the wilderness,

than with a quarrelsome and angry wife.

²⁰Precious treasure and oil are in the house of the wise,[#Ps 112:3]

but a foolish man squanders it.

²¹He who pursues righteousness and mercy

finds life, righteousness, and honor.

²²A wise man scales the city of the mighty,[#Ecc 7:19]

and casts down its stronghold.

²³He who keeps his mouth and his tongue

keeps his soul from trouble.

²⁴A proud and haughty man—“Scoffer” is his name,[#Ps 1:1; Pr 1:22]

who acts with insolent pride.

²⁵The desire of the sluggard kills him,

for his hands refuse to work.

²⁶He covets greedily all day long,

but the righteous gives and does not spare.

²⁷The sacrifice of the wicked is an abomination;

how much more when he brings it with evil intent!

²⁸A lying witness will perish,[#Pr 19:5, 9]

but a man who listens will speak forever.

²⁹A wicked man defiantly hardens his face,

but the upright establishes his way.

³⁰No wisdom or understanding or counsel

can stand against the Lord .

³¹The horse is prepared for the day of battle,

but victory is from the Lord .