Proverbs 22 (New American Standard)

On Life and Conduct

1 A ¹good name is to be more desired than great wealth, Favor is better than silver and gold. 2 The rich and the poor ^ahave a common bond, The LORD is the ²maker of them all. 3 The ³prudent sees the evil and hides himself, But the ^bnaive go on, and are punished for it. 4 The reward of humility and the ^cfear of the LORD Are riches, honor and life. 5 ⁴Thorns and snares are in the way of the perverse ; He who guards himself will be far from them. 6 ⁵Train up a child ^din the way he should go, Even when he is old he will not depart from it. 7 The ⁶rich rules over the poor, And the borrower becomes the lender's slave. 8 He who ⁷sows iniquity will reap vanity, And the ⁸rod of his fury will perish. 9 He who ^eis ⁹generous will be blessed, For he ¹⁰gives some of his food to the poor. 10 ¹¹Drive out the scoffer, and contention will go out, Even strife and dishonor will cease. 11 He who loves ¹²purity of heart And ^fwhose speech is ¹³gracious, the king is his friend. 12 The eyes of the LORD preserve knowledge, But He overthrows the words of the treacherous man. 13 The ¹⁴sluggard says, "There is a lion outside ; I will be killed in the streets !" 14 The mouth of ^g15an adulteress is a deep pit ; He who is ¹⁶cursed of the LORD will fall ^hinto it. 15 Foolishness is bound up in the heart of a child ; The ¹⁷rod of discipline will remove it far from him. 16 He ¹⁸who oppresses the poor to make ⁱmore for himself Or who gives to the rich, ¹⁹will only come to poverty. 17 ²⁰Incline your ear and hear the words of the wise, And apply your mind to my knowledge ; 18 For it will be ²¹pleasant if you keep them within you, ^jThat they may be ready on your lips. 19 So that your ²²trust may be in the LORD, I have ^ktaught you today, even you. 20 Have I not written to you ^l23excellent things Of counsels and knowledge, 21 To make you ²⁴know the ^mcertainty of the words of truth That you may ⁿ²⁵correctly answer him who sent you? 22 ²⁶Do not rob the poor because he is poor, Or ²⁷crush the afflicted at the gate ; 23 For the LORD will ²⁸plead their case And ^otake the life of those who rob them. 24 Do not associate with a man given to anger ; Or go with a ²⁹hot-tempered man, 25 Or you will ³⁰learn his ways And ^pfind a snare for yourself. 26 Do not be among those who ³¹give ^qpledges , Among those who become guarantors for debts. 27 If you have nothing with which to pay, Why should he ³²take your bed from under you? 28 ³³Do not move the ancient boundary Which your fathers have set. 29 Do you see a man skilled in his work ? He will ³⁴stand before kings ; He will not stand before obscure men.