Proverbs 19:1-14

Better a poor person who lives with integrity than someone who has deceitful lips and is a fool. Even zeal is not good without knowledge, and the one who acts hastily sins. A person’s own foolishness leads him astray, yet his heart rages against the LORD. Wealth attracts many friends, but a poor person is separated from his friend. A false witness will not go unpunished, and one who utters lies will not escape. Many seek a ruler’s favor, and everyone is a friend of one who gives gifts. All the brothers of a poor person hate him; how much more do his friends keep their distance from him! He may pursue them with words, but they are not there. The one who acquires good sense loves himself; one who safeguards understanding finds success. A false witness will not go unpunished, and one who utters lies perishes. Luxury is not appropriate for a fool — how much less for a slave to rule over princes! A person’s insight gives him patience, and his virtue is to overlook an offense. A king’s rage is like the roaring of a lion, but his favor is like dew on the grass. A foolish son is his father’s ruin, and a wife’s nagging is an endless dripping. A house and wealth are inherited from fathers, but a prudent wife is from the LORD.