Proverbs 22
22
1You should want a good name more than you want great riches.
To be highly respected is better than having silver or gold.
2The Lord made rich people and poor people.
That’s what they have in common.
3Wise people see danger and go to a safe place.
But childish people keep going and suffer for it.
4Being humble comes from having respect for the Lord.
This will bring you wealth and honor and life.
5Thorns and traps lie in the paths of evil people.
But those who value their lives stay far away from them.
6Start children off on the right path.
And even when they are old, they will not turn away from it.
7Rich people rule over those who are poor.
Borrowers are slaves to lenders.
8Anyone who plants evil gathers a harvest of trouble.
Their power to treat others badly will be destroyed.
9Those who give freely will be blessed.
That’s because they share their food with those who are poor.
10If you drive away those who make fun of others, fighting also goes away.
Arguing and unkind words will stop.
11A person who has a pure and loving heart and speaks kindly
will be a friend of the king.
12The eyes of the Lord keep watch over knowledge.
But he does away with the words of those who aren’t faithful.
13People who don’t want to work say, “There’s a lion outside!”
Or they say, “I’ll be murdered if I go out into the streets!”
14The mouth of a woman who commits adultery is like a deep pit.
Any man the Lord is angry with falls into it.
15Children are going to do foolish things.
But correcting them will drive that foolishness far away.
16You might treat poor people badly or give gifts to rich people.
Trying to get rich in these ways will instead make you poor.
30 Sayings of Wise People
Saying 1
17Pay attention and listen to the sayings of wise people.
Apply your heart to the sayings I teach.
18It is pleasing when you keep them in your heart.
Have all of them ready on your lips.
19You are the one I am teaching today.
That’s because I want you to trust in the Lord.
20I have written 30 sayings for you.
They will give you knowledge and good advice.
21I am teaching you to be honest and to speak the truth.
Then you can give honest reports to those you serve.
Saying 2
22Don’t take advantage of poor people just because they are poor.
Don’t treat badly those who are in need by taking them to court.
23The Lord will stand up for them in court.
He will require the lives of people who have taken the lives of those in need.
Saying 3
24Don’t be a friend of a person who has a bad temper.
Don’t go around with a person who gets angry easily.
25You might learn their habits.
And then you will be trapped by them.
Saying 4
26Don’t agree to pay for what someone else owes.
And don’t agree to pay their bills for them.
27If you don’t have the money to pay,
your bed will be taken right out from under you!
Saying 5
28Don’t move old boundary stones
set up by your people of long ago.
Saying 6
29Do you see someone who does good work?
That person will serve kings.
That person won’t serve officials of lower rank.
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Holy Bible, New International Reader’s Version®, NIrV®
Copyright © 1995, 1996, 1998, 2014 by Biblica, Inc.®
Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
Proverbs 22
22
1 A GOOD name is rather to be chosen than great riches, and loving favor rather than silver and gold.
2 The rich and poor meet together; the Lord is the Maker of them all. [Job 31:15; Prov. 14:31.]
3 A prudent man sees the evil and hides himself, but the simple pass on and are punished [with suffering].
4 The reward of humility and the reverent and worshipful fear of the Lord is riches and honor and life.
5 Thorns and snares are in the way of the obstinate and willful; he who guards himself will be far from them.
6 Train up a child in the way he should go [and in keeping with his individual gift or bent], and when he is old he will not depart from it. [Eph. 6:4; II Tim. 3:15.]
7 The rich rule over the poor, and the borrower is servant to the lender.
8 He who sows iniquity will reap calamity and futility, and the rod of his wrath [with which he smites others] will fail.
9 He who has a bountiful eye shall be blessed, for he gives of his bread to the poor. [II Cor. 9:6-10.]
10 Drive out the scoffer, and contention will go out; yes, strife and abuse will cease.
11 He who loves purity and the pure in heart and who is gracious in speech–because of the grace of his lips will he have the king for his friend.
12 The eyes of the Lord keep guard over knowledge and him who has it, but He overthrows the words of the treacherous.
13 The sluggard says, There is a lion outside! I shall be slain in the streets!
14 The mouth of a loose woman is a deep pit [for ensnaring wild animals]; he with whom the Lord is indignant and who is abhorrent to Him will fall into it.
15 Foolishness is bound up in the heart of a child, but the rod of discipline will drive it far from him.
16 He who oppresses the poor to get gain for himself and he who gives to the rich–both will surely come to want.
17 Listen (consent and submit) to the words of the wise, and apply your mind to my knowledge;
18 For it will be pleasant if you keep them in your mind [believing them]; your lips will be accustomed to [confessing] them.
19 So that your trust (belief, reliance, support, and confidence) may be in the Lord, I have made known these things to you today, even to you.
20 Have I not written to you [long ago] excellent things in counsels and knowledge,
21 To make you know the certainty of the words of truth, that you may give a true answer to those who sent you? [Luke 1:3, 4.]
22 Rob not the poor [being tempted by their helplessness], neither oppress the afflicted at the gate [where the city court is held], [Exod. 23:6; Job 31:16, 21.]
23 For the Lord will plead their cause and deprive of life those who deprive [the poor or afflicted]. [Zech. 7:10; Mal. 3:5.]
24 Make no friendships with a man given to anger, and with a wrathful man do not associate,
25 Lest you learn his ways and get yourself into a snare.
26 Be not one of those who strike hands and pledge themselves, or of those who become security for another's debts.
27 If you have nothing with which to pay, why should he take your bed from under you?
28 Remove not the ancient landmark which your fathers have set up.
29 Do you see a man diligent and skillful in his business? He will stand before kings; he will not stand before obscure men.
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