Proverbs 19

¹Better is the poor that walketh in his integrity

Than he that is perverse in his lips and is a fool.

²Also, that the soul be without knowledge is not good;

And he that hasteth with his feet sinneth.

³The foolishness of man subverteth his way;

And his heart fretteth against Jehovah.

⁴Wealth addeth many friends;

But the poor is separated from his friend.

⁵A false witness shall not be unpunished;

And he that uttereth lies shall not escape.

⁶Many will entreat the favor of the liberal man;

And every man is a friend to him that giveth gifts.

⁷All the brethren of the poor do hate him:

How much more do his friends go far from him!

He pursueth them with words, but they are gone.

⁸He that getteth wisdom loveth his own soul:

He that keepeth understanding shall find good.

⁹A false witness shall not be unpunished;

And he that uttereth lies shall perish.

¹⁰Delicate living is not seemly for a fool;

Much less for a servant to have rule over princes.

¹¹The discretion of a man maketh him slow to anger;

And it is his glory to pass over a transgression.

¹²The king’s wrath is as the roaring of a lion;

But his favor is as dew upon the grass.

¹³A foolish son is the calamity of his father;

And the contentions of a wife are a continual dropping.

¹⁴House and riches are an inheritance from fathers;

But a prudent wife is from Jehovah.

¹⁵Slothfulness casteth into a deep sleep;

And the idle soul shall suffer hunger.

¹⁶He that keepeth the commandment keepeth his soul;

But he that is careless of his ways shall die.

¹⁷He that hath pity upon the poor lendeth unto Jehovah,

And his good deed will he pay him again.

¹⁸Chasten thy son, seeing there is hope;

and set not thy heart on his destruction.

¹⁹A man of great wrath shall bear the penalty;

For if thou deliver him, thou must do it yet again.

²⁰Hear counsel, and receive instruction,

That thou mayest be wise in thy latter end.

²¹There are many devices in a man’s heart;

But the counsel of Jehovah, that shall stand.

²²That which maketh a man to be desired is his kindness;

And a poor man is better than a liar.

²³The fear of Jehovah tendeth to life;

And he that hath it shall abide satisfied;

He shall not be visited with evil.

²⁴The sluggard burieth his hand in the dish,

And will not so much as bring it to his mouth again.

²⁵Smite a scoffer, and the simple will learn prudence;

And reprove one that hath understanding, and he will understand knowledge.

²⁶He that doeth violence to his father, and chaseth away his mother,

Is a son that causeth shame and bringeth reproach.

²⁷Cease, my son, to hear instruction

Only to err from the words of knowledge.

²⁸A worthless witness mocketh at justice;

And the mouth of the wicked swalloweth iniquity.

²⁹Judgments are prepared for scoffers,

And stripes for the back of fools.