Proverbs 22:1-18

1 A good name is to be chosen rather than great riches, and favor is better than silver or gold.

2 The rich and the poor meet together; the LORD is the maker of them all.

3 A prudent man sees danger and hides himself; but the simple go on, and suffer for it.

4 The reward for humility and fear of the LORD is riches and honor and life.

5 Thorns and snares are in the way of the perverse; he who guards himself will keep far from them.

6 Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not depart from it.

7 The rich rules over the poor, and the borrower is the slave of the lender.

8 He who sows injustice will reap calamity, and the rod of his fury will fail.

9 He who has a bountiful eye will be blessed, for he shares his bread with the poor.

10 Drive out a scoffer, and strife will go out, and quarreling and abuse will cease.

11 He who loves purity of heart, and whose speech is gracious, will have the king as his friend.

12 The eyes of the LORD keep watch over knowledge, but he overthrows the words of the faithless.

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; he with whom the LORD is angry will fall into it.

15 Folly is bound up in the heart of a child, but the rod of discipline drives it far from him.

16 He who oppresses the poor to increase his own wealth, or gives to the rich, will only come to want.

17 Incline your ear, and hear the words of the wise, and apply your mind to my knowledge;

18 for it will be pleasant if you keep them within you, if all of them are ready on your lips.

Proverbs 22:1-18 Meaning and Commentary

INTRODUCTION TO 1 KINGS 10

This chapter contains an account of the queen of Sheba's visit to King Solomon to her great satisfaction, 1Ki 10:1-13, of Solomon's merchandise and riches, and the magnificence of his court, 1Ki 10:14-23, of the rich presents sent to him, and of the purchase of chariots and horses, and other things, he made, 1Ki 10:24-29.