Proverbs 22

¹A good name is more desirable than great riches;

to be esteemed is better than silver or gold.

²Rich and poor have this in common:

The Lord is the Maker of them all.

³The prudent see danger and take refuge,

but the simple keep going and pay the penalty.

⁴Humility is the fear of the Lord;

its wages are riches and honor and life.

⁵In the paths of the wicked are snares and pitfalls,

but those who would preserve their life stay far from them.

⁶Start children off on the way they should go,

and even when they are old they will not turn from it.

⁷The rich rule over the poor,

and the borrower is slave to the lender.

⁸Whoever sows injustice reaps calamity,

and the rod they wield in fury will be broken.

⁹The generous will themselves be blessed,

for they share their food with the poor.

¹⁰Drive out the mocker, and out goes strife;

quarrels and insults are ended.

¹¹One who loves a pure heart and who speaks with grace

will have the king for a friend.

¹²The eyes of the Lord keep watch over knowledge,

but he frustrates the words of the unfaithful.

¹³The sluggard says, “There’s a lion outside!

I’ll be killed in the public square!”

¹⁴The mouth of an adulterous woman is a deep pit;

a man who is under the Lord’s wrath falls into it.

¹⁵Folly is bound up in the heart of a child,

but the rod of discipline will drive it far away.

¹⁶One who oppresses the poor to increase his wealth

and one who gives gifts to the rich—both come to poverty.

Thirty Sayings of the Wise

Saying 1

¹⁷Pay attention and turn your ear to the sayings of the wise;

apply your heart to what I teach,

¹⁸for it is pleasing when you keep them in your heart

and have all of them ready on your lips.

¹⁹So that your trust may be in the Lord,

I teach you today, even you.

²⁰Have I not written thirty sayings for you,

sayings of counsel and knowledge,

²¹teaching you to be honest and to speak the truth,

so that you bring back truthful reports

to those you serve?

Saying 2

²²Do not exploit the poor because they are poor

and do not crush the needy in court,

²³for the Lord will take up their case

and will exact life for life.

Saying 3

²⁴Do not make friends with a hot-tempered person,

do not associate with one easily angered,

²⁵or you may learn their ways

and get yourself ensnared.

Saying 4

²⁶Do not be one who shakes hands in pledge

or puts up security for debts;

²⁷if you lack the means to pay,

your very bed will be snatched from under you.

Saying 5

²⁸Do not move an ancient boundary stone

set up by your ancestors.

Saying 6

²⁹Do you see someone skilled in their work?

They will serve before kings;

they will not serve before officials of low rank.