Proverbs 22:6-18
Proverbs 22:6-21 The Message (MSG)
Point your kids in the right direction— when they’re old they won’t be lost. The poor are always ruled over by the rich, so don’t borrow and put yourself under their power. Whoever sows sin reaps weeds, and bullying anger sputters into nothing. Generous hands are blessed hands because they give bread to the poor. Kick out the troublemakers and things will quiet down; you need a break from bickering and griping! GOD loves the pure-hearted and well-spoken; good leaders also delight in their friendship. GOD guards knowledge with a passion, but he’ll have nothing to do with deception. The loafer says, “There’s a lion on the loose! If I go out I’ll be eaten alive!” The mouth of a prostitute is a bottomless pit; you’ll fall in that pit if you’re on the outs with GOD. Young people are prone to foolishness and fads; the cure comes through tough-minded discipline. Exploit the poor or glad-hand the rich—whichever, you’ll end up the poorer for it. Listen carefully to my wisdom; take to heart what I can teach you. You’ll treasure its sweetness deep within; you’ll give it bold expression in your speech. To make sure your foundation is trust in GOD, I’m laying it all out right now just for you. I’m giving you thirty sterling principles— tested guidelines to live by. Believe me—these are truths that work, and will keep you accountable to those who sent you.
Proverbs 22:6-18 King James Version (KJV)
Train up a child in the way he should go: And when he is old, he will not depart from it. The rich ruleth over the poor, And the borrower is servant to the lender. He that soweth iniquity shall reap vanity: And the rod of his anger shall fail. He that hath a bountiful eye shall be blessed; For he giveth of his bread to the poor. Cast out the scorner, and contention shall go out; Yea, strife and reproach shall cease. He that loveth pureness of heart, For the grace of his lips the king shall be his friend. The eyes of the LORD preserve knowledge, And he overthroweth the words of the transgressor. The slothful man saith, There is a lion without, I shall be slain in the streets. The mouth of strange women is a deep pit: He that is abhorred of the LORD shall fall therein. Foolishness is bound in the heart of a child; But the rod of correction shall drive it far from him. He that oppresseth the poor to increase his riches, And he that giveth to the rich, shall surely come to want. Bow down thine ear, and hear the words of the wise, And apply thine heart unto my knowledge. For it is a pleasant thing if thou keep them within thee; They shall withal be fitted in thy lips.
Proverbs 22:6-18 New American Standard Bible - NASB 1995 (NASB1995)
Train up a child in the way he should go, Even when he is old he will not depart from it. The rich rules over the poor, And the borrower becomes the lender’s slave. He who sows iniquity will reap vanity, And the rod of his fury will perish. He who is generous will be blessed, For he gives some of his food to the poor. Drive out the scoffer, and contention will go out, Even strife and dishonor will cease. He who loves purity of heart And whose speech is gracious, the king is his friend. The eyes of the LORD preserve knowledge, But He overthrows the words of the treacherous man. The sluggard says, “There is a lion outside; I will be killed in the streets!” The mouth of an adulteress is a deep pit; He who is cursed of the LORD will fall into it. Foolishness is bound up in the heart of a child; The rod of discipline will remove it far from him. He who oppresses the poor to make more for himself Or who gives to the rich, will only come to poverty. Incline your ear and hear the words of the wise, And apply your mind to my knowledge; For it will be pleasant if you keep them within you, That they may be ready on your lips.
Proverbs 22:6-18 New Century Version (NCV)
Train children to live the right way, and when they are old, they will not stray from it. The rich rule over the poor, and borrowers are servants to lenders. Those who plan evil will receive trouble. Their cruel anger will come to an end. Generous people will be blessed, because they share their food with the poor. Get rid of the one who makes fun of wisdom. Then fighting, quarrels, and insults will stop. Whoever loves pure thoughts and kind words will have even the king as a friend. The LORD guards knowledge, but he destroys false words. The lazy person says, “There’s a lion outside! I might get killed out in the street!” The words of an unfaithful wife are like a deep trap. Those who make the LORD angry will get caught by them. Every child is full of foolishness, but punishment can get rid of it. Whoever gets rich by mistreating the poor, and gives presents to the wealthy, will become poor. Listen carefully to what wise people say; pay attention to what I am teaching you. It will be good to keep these things in mind so that you are ready to repeat them.
Proverbs 22:6-18 American Standard Version (ASV)
Train up a child in the way he should go, And even when he is old he will not depart from it. The rich ruleth over the poor; And the borrower is servant to the lender. He that soweth iniquity shall reap calamity; And the rod of his wrath shall fail. He that hath a bountiful eye shall be blessed; For he giveth of his bread to the poor. Cast out the scoffer, and contention will go out; Yea, strife and ignominy will cease. He that loveth pureness of heart, For the grace of his lips the king will be his friend. The eyes of Jehovah preserve him that hath knowledge; But he overthroweth the words of the treacherous man. The sluggard saith, There is a lion without; I shall be slain in the streets. The mouth of strange women is a deep pit; He that is abhorred of Jehovah shall fall therein. Foolishness is bound up in the heart of a child; But the rod of correction shall drive it far from him. He that oppresseth the poor to increase his gain, And he that giveth to the rich, shall come only to want. Incline thine ear, and hear the words of the wise, And apply thy heart unto my knowledge. For it is a pleasant thing if thou keep them within thee, If they be established together upon thy lips.
Proverbs 22:6-18 New International Version (NIV)
Start children off on the way they should go, and even when they are old they will not turn from it. The rich rule over the poor, and the borrower is slave to the lender. Whoever sows injustice reaps calamity, and the rod they wield in fury will be broken. The generous will themselves be blessed, for they share their food with the poor. Drive out the mocker, and out goes strife; quarrels and insults are ended. One who loves a pure heart and who speaks with grace will have the king for a friend. The eyes of the LORD keep watch over knowledge, but he frustrates the words of the unfaithful. The sluggard says, “There’s a lion outside! I’ll be killed in the public square!” The mouth of an adulterous woman is a deep pit; a man who is under the LORD’s wrath falls into it. Folly is bound up in the heart of a child, but the rod of discipline will drive it far away. One who oppresses the poor to increase his wealth and one who gives gifts to the rich—both come to poverty. Pay attention and turn your ear to the sayings of the wise; apply your heart to what I teach, for it is pleasing when you keep them in your heart and have all of them ready on your lips.
Proverbs 22:6-18 New King James Version (NKJV)
Train up a child in the way he should go, And when he is old he will not depart from it. The rich rules over the poor, And the borrower is servant to the lender. He who sows iniquity will reap sorrow, And the rod of his anger will fail. He who has a generous eye will be blessed, For he gives of his bread to the poor. Cast out the scoffer, and contention will leave; Yes, strife and reproach will cease. He who loves purity of heart And has grace on his lips, The king will be his friend. The eyes of the LORD preserve knowledge, But He overthrows the words of the faithless. The lazy man says, “There is a lion outside! I shall be slain in the streets!” The mouth of an immoral woman is a deep pit; He who is abhorred by the LORD will fall there. Foolishness is bound up in the heart of a child; The rod of correction will drive it far from him. He who oppresses the poor to increase his riches, And he who gives to the rich, will surely come to poverty. Incline your ear and hear the words of the wise, And apply your heart to my knowledge; For it is a pleasant thing if you keep them within you; Let them all be fixed upon your lips
Proverbs 22:6-18 Amplified Bible (AMP)
Train up a child in the way he should go [teaching him to seek God’s wisdom and will for his abilities and talents], Even when he is old he will not depart from it. [Eph 6:4; 2 Tim 3:15] The rich rules over the poor, And the borrower is servant to the lender. He who sows injustice will reap [a harvest of] trouble, And the rod of his wrath [with which he oppresses others] will fail. He who is generous will be blessed, For he gives some of his food to the poor. [2 Cor 9:6-10] Drive out the scoffer, and contention will go away; Even strife and dishonor will cease. He who loves purity of heart And whose speech is gracious will have the king as his friend. The eyes of the LORD keep guard over knowledge and the one who has it, But He overthrows the words of the treacherous. The lazy one [manufactures excuses and] says, “There is a lion outside! I will be killed in the streets [if I go out to work]!” The mouth of an immoral woman is a deep pit [deep and inescapable]; He who is cursed by the LORD [because of his adulterous sin] will fall into it. Foolishness is bound up in the heart of a child; The rod of discipline [correction administered with godly wisdom and lovingkindness] will remove it far from him. He who oppresses or exploits the poor to get more for himself Or who gives to the rich [to gain influence and favor], will only come to poverty. ¶Listen carefully and hear the words of the wise, And apply your mind to my knowledge; For it will be pleasant if you keep them in mind [incorporating them as guiding principles]; Let them be ready on your lips [to guide and strengthen yourself and others].
Proverbs 22:6-18 New Living Translation (NLT)
Direct your children onto the right path, and when they are older, they will not leave it. Just as the rich rule the poor, so the borrower is servant to the lender. Those who plant injustice will harvest disaster, and their reign of terror will come to an end. Blessed are those who are generous, because they feed the poor. Throw out the mocker, and fighting goes, too. Quarrels and insults will disappear. Whoever loves a pure heart and gracious speech will have the king as a friend. The LORD preserves those with knowledge, but he ruins the plans of the treacherous. The lazy person claims, “There’s a lion out there! If I go outside, I might be killed!” The mouth of an immoral woman is a dangerous trap; those who make the LORD angry will fall into it. A youngster’s heart is filled with foolishness, but physical discipline will drive it far away. A person who gets ahead by oppressing the poor or by showering gifts on the rich will end in poverty. Listen to the words of the wise; apply your heart to my instruction. For it is good to keep these sayings in your heart and always ready on your lips.
Proverbs 22:6-18 The Passion Translation (TPT)
Dedicate your children to God and point them in the way that they should go, and the values they’ve learned from you will be with them for life. If you borrow money with interest, you’ll end up serving the interests of your creditors, for the rich rule over the poor. Sin is a seed that brings a harvest; you’ll reap a heap of trouble with every seed you plant. For your investment in sins pays a full return— the full punishment you deserve! When you are generous to the poor, you are enriched with blessings in return. Say goodbye to a troublemaker and you’ll say goodbye to quarrels, strife, tension, and arguments, for a troublemaker traffics in shame. The Lord loves those whose hearts are holy, and he is the friend of those whose ways are pure. God passionately watches over his deep reservoir of revelation-knowledge, but he subverts the lies of those who pervert the truth. A slacker always has an excuse for not working— like “I can’t go to work. There’s a lion outside! And murderers too!” Sex with an adulteress is like falling into the abyss. Those under God’s curse jump right in to their own destruction. Although rebellion is woven into a young man’s heart, tough discipline can make him into a man. There are two kinds of people headed toward poverty: those who exploit the poor and those who bribe the rich. Listen carefully and open your heart. Drink in the wise revelation that I impart. You’ll become winsome and wise when you treasure the beauty of my words. And always be prepared to share them at the appropriate time.
Proverbs 22:6-18 English Standard Version 2025 (ESV)
Train up a child in the way he should go; even when he is old he will not depart from it. The rich rules over the poor, and the borrower is the slave of the lender. Whoever sows injustice will reap calamity, and the rod of his fury will fail. Whoever has a bountiful eye will be blessed, for he shares his bread with the poor. Drive out a scoffer, and strife will go out, and quarreling and abuse will cease. He who loves purity of heart, and whose speech is gracious, will have the king as his friend. The eyes of the LORD keep watch over knowledge, but he overthrows the words of the traitor. The sluggard says, “There is a lion outside! I shall be killed in the streets!” The mouth of forbidden women is a deep pit; he with whom the LORD is angry will fall into it. Folly is bound up in the heart of a child, but the rod of discipline drives it far from him. Whoever oppresses the poor to increase his own wealth, or gives to the rich, will only come to poverty. Incline your ear, and hear the words of the wise, and apply your heart to my knowledge, for it will be pleasant if you keep them within you, if all of them are ready on your lips.
