Proverbs 16

¹The plans of the heart belong to man;

But the answer of the tongue is from Jehovah.

²All the ways of a man are clean in his own eyes;

But Jehovah weigheth the spirits.

³Commit thy works unto Jehovah,

And thy purposes shall be established.

⁴Jehovah hath made everything for its own end;

Yea, even the wicked for the day of evil.

⁵Every one that is proud in heart is an abomination to Jehovah:

Though hand join in hand, he shall not be unpunished.

⁶By mercy and truth iniquity is atoned for;

And by the fear of Jehovah men depart from evil.

⁷When a man’s ways please Jehovah,

He maketh even his enemies to be at peace with him.

⁸Better is a little, with righteousness,

Than great revenues with injustice.

⁹A man’s heart deviseth his way;

But Jehovah directeth his steps.

¹⁰A divine sentence is in the lips of the king;

His mouth shall not transgress in judgment.

¹¹A just balance and scales are Jehovah’s;

All the weights of the bag are his work.

¹²It is an abomination to kings to commit wickedness;

For the throne is established by righteousness.

¹³Righteous lips are the delight of kings;

And they love him that speaketh right.

¹⁴The wrath of a king is as messengers of death;

But a wise man will pacify it.

¹⁵In the light of the king’s countenance is life;

And his favor is as a cloud of the latter rain.

¹⁶How much better is it to get wisdom than gold!

Yea, to get understanding is rather to be chosen than silver.

¹⁷The highway of the upright is to depart from evil:

He that keepeth his way preserveth his soul.

¹⁸Pride goeth before destruction,

And a haughty spirit before a fall.

¹⁹Better it is to be of a lowly spirit with the poor,

Than to divide the spoil with the proud.

²⁰He that giveth heed unto the word shall find good;

And whoso trusteth in Jehovah, happy is he.

²¹The wise in heart shall be called prudent;

And the sweetness of the lips increaseth learning.

²²Understanding is a well-spring of life unto him that hath it;

But the correction of fools is their folly.

²³The heart of the wise instructeth his mouth,

And addeth learning to his lips.

²⁴Pleasant words are as a honeycomb,

Sweet to the soul, and health to the bones.

²⁵There is a way which seemeth right unto a man,

But the end thereof are the ways of death.

²⁶The appetite of the laboring man laboreth for him;

For his mouth urgeth him thereto.

²⁷A worthless man deviseth mischief;

And in his lips there is as a scorching fire.

²⁸A perverse man scattereth abroad strife;

And a whisperer separateth chief friends.

²⁹A man of violence enticeth his neighbor,

And leadeth him in a way that is not good.

³⁰He that shutteth his eyes, it is to devise perverse things:

He that compresseth his lips bringeth evil to pass.

³¹The hoary head is a crown of glory;

It shall be found in the way of righteousness.

³²He that is slow to anger is better than the mighty;

And he that ruleth his spirit, than he that taketh a city.

³³The lot is cast into the lap;

But the whole disposing thereof is of Jehovah.