Proverbs 10

The Wise Sayings of Solomon

¹Wise son, glad father;

stupid son, sad mother.

²Ill-gotten gain gets you nowhere;

an honest life is immortal.

³God won’t starve an honest soul,

but he frustrates the appetites of the wicked.

⁴Sloth makes you poor;

diligence brings wealth.

⁵Make hay while the sun shines—that’s smart;

go fishing during harvest—that’s stupid.

⁶Blessings accrue on a good and honest life,

but the mouth of the wicked is a dark cave of abuse.

⁷A good and honest life is a blessed memorial;

a wicked life leaves a rotten stench.

⁸A wise heart takes orders;

an empty head will come unglued.

⁹Honesty lives confident and carefree,

but Shifty is sure to be exposed.

¹⁰An evasive eye is a sign of trouble ahead,

but an open, face-to-face meeting results in peace.

¹¹The mouth of a good person is a deep, life-giving well,

but the mouth of the wicked is a dark cave of abuse.

¹²Hatred starts fights,

but love pulls a quilt over the bickering.

¹³You’ll find wisdom on the lips of a person of insight,

but the shortsighted needs a slap in the face.

¹⁴The wise accumulate knowledge—a true treasure;

know-it-alls talk too much—a sheer waste.

The Road to Life Is a Disciplined Life

¹⁵The wealth of the rich is their security;

the poverty of the indigent is their ruin.

¹⁶The wage of a good person is exuberant life;

an evil person ends up with nothing but sin.

¹⁷The road to life is a disciplined life;

ignore correction and you’re lost for good.

¹⁸Liars secretly hoard hatred;

fools openly spread slander.

¹⁹The more talk, the less truth;

the wise measure their words.

²⁰The speech of a good person is worth waiting for;

the blabber of the wicked is worthless.

²¹The talk of a good person is rich fare for many,

but chatterboxes die of an empty heart.

Fear-of-God Expands Your Life

²²God ’s blessing makes life rich;

nothing we do can improve on God.

²³An empty-head thinks mischief is fun,

but a mindful person relishes wisdom.

²⁴The nightmares of the wicked come true;

what the good people desire, they get.

²⁵When the storm is over, there’s nothing left of the wicked;

good people, firm on their rock foundation, aren’t even fazed.

²⁶A lazy employee will give you nothing but trouble;

it’s vinegar in the mouth, smoke in the eyes.

²⁷The Fear-of-God expands your life;

a wicked life is a puny life.

²⁸The aspirations of good people end in celebration;

the ambitions of bad people crash.

²⁹God is solid backing to a well-lived life,

but he calls into question a shabby performance.

³⁰Good people last —they can’t be moved;

the wicked are here today, gone tomorrow.

³¹A good person’s mouth is a clear fountain of wisdom;

a foul mouth is a stagnant swamp.

³²The speech of a good person clears the air;

the words of the wicked pollute it.