Proverbs 18:5-16

5 It is not good to be partial to the wicked and so deprive the innocent of justice.

6 The lips of fools bring them strife, and their mouths invite a beating.

7 The mouths of fools are their undoing, and their lips are a snare to their very lives.

8 The words of a gossip are like choice morsels; they go down to the inmost parts.

9 One who is slack in his work is brother to one who destroys.

10 The name of the LORD is a fortified tower; the righteous run to it and are safe.

11 The wealth of the rich is their fortified city; they imagine it a wall too high to scale.

12 Before a downfall the heart is haughty, but humility comes before honor.

13 To answer before listening— that is folly and shame.

14 The human spirit can endure in sickness, but a crushed spirit who can bear?

15 The heart of the discerning acquires knowledge, for the ears of the wise seek it out.

16 A gift opens the way and ushers the giver into the presence of the great.

Cross References

• 1. Leviticus 19:15; Proverbs 24:23-25; Proverbs 28:21
• 2. S Psalms 82:2; S Proverbs 17:15
• 3. S Proverbs 10:14
• 4. Psalms 140:9
• 5. S Psalms 64:8; S Proverbs 10:14; S Proverbs 12:13; S Proverbs 13:3; Ecclesiastes 10:12
• 6. Proverbs 26:22
• 7. Proverbs 28:24
• 8. 2 Samuel 22:3; S Psalms 61:3
• 9. S Psalms 20:1; Proverbs 14:26
• 10. Proverbs 10:15
• 11. S Proverbs 11:2; Proverbs 15:33; S Proverbs 16:18
• 12. Proverbs 20:25; John 7:51
• 13. S Proverbs 15:13; S Proverbs 17:22
• 14. S Proverbs 15:14
• 15. S Genesis 32:13; S 1 Samuel 10:4; Proverbs 19:6; Genesis 32:20