Proverbs 22

1 A good name is to be chosen over great wealth; favor is better than silver and gold.[a]
2 The rich and the poor have this in common:[b] the Lord made them both.[c] [d]
3 A sensible person sees danger and takes cover, but the inexperienced keep going and are punished.[e]
4 The result of humility is fear of the Lord, along with wealth, honor, and life.[f]
5 There are thorns and snares on the path of the crooked;[g] the one who guards himself stays far from them.
6 Teach a youth about the way he should go; even when he is old he will not depart from it.
7 The rich rule over the poor, and the borrower is a slave to the lender.[h]
8 The one who sows injustice will reap disaster,[i] and the rod of his fury will be destroyed.
9 A generous person[j] will be blessed, for he shares his food with the poor.
10 Drive out a mocker, and conflict goes too; then lawsuits and dishonor will cease.
11 The one who loves a pure heart and gracious lips-the king is his friend.
12 The Lord's eyes keep watch over knowledge, but He overthrows the words of the treacherous.
13 The slacker says, "There's a lion outside! I'll be killed in the streets!"[k]
14 The mouth of the forbidden woman is a deep pit; a man cursed by the Lord will fall into it.[l]
15 Foolishness is tangled up in the heart of a youth; the rod of discipline will drive it away from him.[m]
16 Oppressing the poor to enrich oneself, and giving to the rich-both lead only to poverty.[n]

Words of the Wise

17 Listen closely,[o] pay attention to the words of the wise, and apply your mind to my knowledge.
18 For it is pleasing if you keep them within you[p] and if[q] they are constantly on your lips.
19 I have instructed you today-even you- so that your confidence may be in the Lord.
20 Haven't I written for you thirty sayings[r] about counsel and knowledge,
21 in order to teach you true and reliable words, so that you may give a dependable report[s] to those who sent you?[t]
22 Don't rob a poor man because he is poor, and don't crush the oppressed at the gate,[u]
23 for the Lord will take up their case and will plunder those who plunder them.[v]
24 Don't make friends with an angry man,[w] and don't be a companion of a hot-tempered man,
25 or you will learn his ways and entangle yourself in a snare.[x]
26 Don't be one of those who enter agreements,[y] who put up security for loans.[z]
27 If you have no money to pay, even your bed will be taken from under you.
28 Don't move an ancient property line that your fathers set up.[aa]
29 Do you see a man skilled in his work? He will stand in the presence of kings. He will not stand in the presence of unknown men.[ab]

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Footnotes 28

Proverbs 22 Commentaries

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