Proverbs 22:1-18 ▼

1 A good name is more desirable than great riches; favor is better than silver and gold.

2 The rich and the poor have this in common: The LORD is Maker of them all.

3 The prudent see danger and take cover, but the simple keep going and suffer the consequences.

4 The rewards of humility and the fear of the LORD are wealth and honor and life.

5 Thorns and snares lie on the path of the perverse; he who guards his soul stays far from them.

6 Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not depart from it.

7 The rich rule over the poor, and the borrower is slave to the lender.

8 He who sows injustice will reap disaster, and the rod of his fury will be destroyed.

9 A generous man will be blessed, for he shares his bread with the poor.

10 Drive out the mocker, and conflict will depart; even quarreling and insults will cease.

11 He who loves a pure heart and gracious lips will have the king for a friend.

12 The LORD’s eyes keep watch over knowledge, but He frustrates the words of the faithless.

13 The slacker says, “There is a lion outside! I will be slain in the streets!”

14 The mouth of an adulteress is a deep pit; he who is under the wrath of the LORD will fall into it.

15 Foolishness is bound up in the heart of a child, but the rod of discipline drives it far from him.

16 Oppressing the poor to enrich oneself or giving gifts to the rich will surely lead to poverty.

17 Incline your ear and hear the words of the wise— apply your mind to my knowledge—

18 for it is pleasing when you keep them within you and they are constantly on your lips.