| New Living Translation | King James Bible |
| 1Choose a good reputation over great riches; being held in high esteem is better than silver or gold. | 1A good name is rather to be chosen than great riches, and loving favour rather than silver and gold. |
| 2The rich and poor have this in common: The LORD made them both. | 2The rich and poor meet together: the LORD is the maker of them all. |
| 3A prudent person foresees danger and takes precautions. The simpleton goes blindly on and suffers the consequences. | 3A prudent man foreseeth the evil, and hideth himself: but the simple pass on, and are punished. |
| 4True humility and fear of the LORD lead to riches, honor, and long life. | 4By humility and the fear of the LORD are riches, and honour, and life. |
| 5Corrupt people walk a thorny, treacherous road; whoever values life will avoid it. | 5Thorns and snares are in the way of the froward: he that doth keep his soul shall be far from them. |
| 6Direct your children onto the right path, and when they are older, they will not leave it. | 6Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it. |
| 7Just as the rich rule the poor, so the borrower is servant to the lender. | 7The rich ruleth over the poor, and the borrower is servant to the lender. |
| 8Those who plant injustice will harvest disaster, and their reign of terror will come to an end. | 8He that soweth iniquity shall reap vanity: and the rod of his anger shall fail. |
| 9Blessed are those who are generous, because they feed the poor. | 9He that hath a bountiful eye shall be blessed; for he giveth of his bread to the poor. |
| 10Throw out the mocker, and fighting goes, too. Quarrels and insults will disappear. | 10Cast out the scorner, and contention shall go out; yea, strife and reproach shall cease. |
| 11Whoever loves a pure heart and gracious speech will have the king as a friend. | 11He that loveth pureness of heart, for the grace of his lips the king shall be his friend. |
| 12The LORD preserves those with knowledge, but he ruins the plans of the treacherous. | 12The eyes of the LORD preserve knowledge, and he overthroweth the words of the transgressor. |
| 13The lazy person claims, “There’s a lion out there! If I go outside, I might be killed!” | 13The slothful man saith, There is a lion without, I shall be slain in the streets. |
| 14The mouth of an immoral woman is a dangerous trap; those who make the LORD angry will fall into it. | 14The mouth of strange women is a deep pit: he that is abhorred of the LORD shall fall therein. |
| 15A youngster’s heart is filled with foolishness, but physical discipline will drive it far away. | 15Foolishness is bound in the heart of a child; but the rod of correction shall drive it far from him. |
| 16A person who gets ahead by oppressing the poor or by showering gifts on the rich will end in poverty. Sayings of the Wise | 16He that oppresseth the poor to increase his riches, and he that giveth to the rich, shall surely come to want. |
| 17Listen to the words of the wise; apply your heart to my instruction. | 17Bow down thine ear, and hear the words of the wise, and apply thine heart unto my knowledge. |
| 18For it is good to keep these sayings in your heart and always ready on your lips. | 18For it is a pleasant thing if thou keep them within thee; they shall withal be fitted in thy lips. |
| 19I am teaching you today—yes, you— so you will trust in the LORD. | 19That thy trust may be in the LORD, I have made known to thee this day, even to thee. |
| 20I have written thirty sayings for you, filled with advice and knowledge. | 20Have not I written to thee excellent things in counsels and knowledge, |
| 21In this way, you may know the truth and take an accurate report to those who sent you. | 21That I might make thee know the certainty of the words of truth; that thou mightest answer the words of truth to them that send unto thee? |
| 22Don’t rob the poor just because you can, or exploit the needy in court. | 22Rob not the poor, because he is poor: neither oppress the afflicted in the gate: |
| 23For the LORD is their defender. He will ruin anyone who ruins them. | 23For the LORD will plead their cause, and spoil the soul of those that spoiled them. |
| 24Don’t befriend angry people or associate with hot-tempered people, | 24Make no friendship with an angry man; and with a furious man thou shalt not go: |
| 25or you will learn to be like them and endanger your soul. | 25Lest thou learn his ways, and get a snare to thy soul. |
| 26Don’t agree to guarantee another person’s debt or put up security for someone else. | 26Be not thou one of them that strike hands, or of them that are sureties for debts. |
| 27If you can’t pay it, even your bed will be snatched from under you. | 27If thou hast nothing to pay, why should he take away thy bed from under thee? |
| 28Don’t cheat your neighbor by moving the ancient boundary markers set up by previous generations. | 28Remove not the ancient landmark, which thy fathers have set. |
| 29Do you see any truly competent workers? They will serve kings rather than working for ordinary people. | 29Seest thou a man diligent in his business? he shall stand before kings; he shall not stand before mean men. |
| Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved. | King James Bible, text courtesy of BibleProtector.com. |
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