Proverbs 22

On Life and Conduct

¹A good name is to be more desired than great wealth;

Favor is better than silver and gold.

²The rich and the poor have a common bond,[#22:2 Lit meet together]

The Lord is the Maker of them all.

³A prudent person sees evil and hides himself,

But the naive proceed, and pay the penalty.

⁴The reward of humility and the fear of the Lord[#22:4 Or reverence for]

Are riches, honor, and life.

⁵Thorns and snares are in the way of the perverse;

One who guards himself will be far from them.

⁶Train up a child in the way he should go,[#22:6 Lit according to his way]

Even when he grows older he will not abandon it.

⁷The rich rules over the poor,

And the borrower becomes the lender’s slave.

⁸One who sows injustice will reap disaster,

And the rod of his fury will perish.

⁹One who is generous will be blessed,[#22:9 Lit has a good eye]

Because he gives some of his food to the poor.

¹⁰Drive out the scoffer, and strife will leave,

Even quarreling and dishonor will cease.

¹¹One who loves purity of heart

And whose speech is gracious, the king is his friend.

¹²The eyes of the Lord protect knowledge,

But He overthrows the words of the treacherous person.

¹³The lazy one says, “There is a lion outside;[#22:13 Lit idle]

I will be killed in the streets!”

¹⁴The mouth of an adulteress is a deep pit;[#22:14 Lit strange woman]

He who is cursed of the Lord will fall into it.

¹⁵Foolishness is bound up in the heart of a child;

The rod of discipline will remove it far from him.

¹⁶One who oppresses the poor to make more for himself,[#22:16 Lit much]

Or gives to the rich, will only come to poverty.

¹⁷¶Extend your ear and hear the words of the wise,

And apply your mind to my knowledge;

¹⁸For it will be pleasant if you keep them within you,

So that they may be ready on your lips.

¹⁹So that your trust may be in the Lord ,

I have taught you today, you indeed.

²⁰Have I not written to you excellent things[#22:20 Or previous]

Of counsels and knowledge,

²¹To make you know the certainty of the words of truth,[#22:21 Lit truth]

So that you may correctly answer him who sent you?

²²¶Do not rob the poor because he is poor,

Nor crush the needy at the gate;

²³For the Lord will plead their case

And take the life of those who rob them.

²⁴¶Do not make friends with a person given to anger,

Or go with a hot-tempered person,

²⁵Or you will learn his ways

And find a snare for yourself.

²⁶¶Do not be among those who shake hands,

Among those who become guarantors for debts.

²⁷If you have nothing with which to repay,

Why should he take your bed from under you?

²⁸¶Do not move the ancient boundary

Which your fathers have set.

²⁹¶Do you see a person skilled in his work?

He will stand before kings;

He will not stand before obscure people.