Proverbs 10; Proverbs 11; Proverbs 12; 2 Corinthians 4

1 These are Solomon's proverbs: Wise children make their fathers proud of them; foolish ones bring their mothers grief.

2 Wealth you get by dishonesty will do you no good, but honesty can save your life.

3 The Lord will not let good people go hungry, but he will keep the wicked from getting what they want.

4 Being lazy will make you poor, but hard work will make you rich.

5 A sensible person gathers the crops when they are ready; it is a disgrace to sleep through the time of harvest.

6 Good people will receive blessings. The words of the wicked hide a violent nature.

7 Good people will be remembered as a blessing, but the wicked will soon be forgotten.

8 Sensible people accept good advice. People who talk foolishly will come to ruin.

9 Honest people are safe and secure, but the dishonest will be caught.

10 Someone who holds back the truth causes trouble, but one who openly criticizes works for peace.

11 A good person's words are a fountain of life, but a wicked person's words hide a violent nature.

12 Hate stirs up trouble, but love forgives all offenses.

13 Intelligent people talk sense, but stupid people need to be punished.

14 The wise get all the knowledge they can, but when fools speak, trouble is not far off.

15 Wealth protects the rich; poverty destroys the poor.

16 The reward for doing good is life, but sin leads only to more sin.

17 People who listen when they are corrected will live, but those who will not admit that they are wrong are in danger.

18 Anyone who hides hatred is a liar. Anyone who spreads gossip is a fool.

19 The more you talk, the more likely you are to sin. If you are wise, you will keep quiet.

20 A good person's words are like pure silver; a wicked person's ideas are worthless.

21 A good person's words will benefit many people, but you can kill yourself with stupidity.

22 It is the Lord's blessing that makes you wealthy. Hard work can make you no richer.

23 It is foolish to enjoy doing wrong. Intelligent people take pleasure in wisdom.

24 The righteous get what they want, but the wicked will get what they fear most.

25 Storms come, and the wicked are blown away, but honest people are always safe.

26 Never get a lazy person to do something for you; he will be as irritating as vinegar on your teeth or smoke in your eyes.

27 Obey the Lord, and you will live longer. The wicked die before their time.

28 The hopes of good people lead to joy, but wicked people can look forward to nothing.

29 The Lord protects honest people, but destroys those who do wrong.

30 Righteous people will always have security, but the wicked will not survive in the land.

31 Righteous people speak wisdom, but the tongue that speaks evil will be stopped.

32 Righteous people know the kind thing to say, but the wicked are always saying things that hurt.

1 The Lord hates people who use dishonest scales. He is happy with honest weights.

2 People who are proud will soon be disgraced. It is wiser to be modest.

3 If you are good, you are guided by honesty. People who can't be trusted are destroyed by their own dishonesty.

4 Riches will do you no good on the day you face death, but honesty can save your life.

5 Honesty makes a good person's life easier, but the wicked will cause their own downfall.

6 Righteousness rescues those who are honest, but those who can't be trusted are trapped by their own greed.

7 When the wicked die, their hope dies with them. Confidence placed in riches comes to nothing.

8 The righteous are protected from trouble; it comes to the wicked instead.

9 You can be ruined by the talk of godless people, but the wisdom of the righteous can save you.

10 A city is happy when honest people have good fortune, and there are joyful shouts when the wicked die.

11 A city becomes great when the righteous give it their blessing; but a city is brought to ruin by the words of the wicked.

12 It is foolish to speak scornfully of others. If you are smart, you will keep quiet.

13 No one who gossips can be trusted with a secret, but you can put confidence in someone who is trustworthy.

14 A nation will fall if it has no guidance. Many advisers mean security.

15 If you promise to pay a stranger's debt, you will regret it. You are better off if you don't get involved.

16 A gracious woman is respected, but a woman without virtue is a disgrace. Lazy people will never have money, but aggressive people will get rich.

17 You do yourself a favor when you are kind. If you are cruel, you only hurt yourself.

18 Wicked people do not really gain anything, but if you do what is right, you are certain to be rewarded.

19 Anyone who is determined to do right will live, but anyone who insists on doing wrong will die.

20 The Lord hates evil-minded people, but loves those who do right.

21 You can be sure that evil people will be punished, but the righteous will escape.

22 Beauty in a woman without good judgment is like a gold ring in a pig's snout.

23 What good people want always results in good; when the wicked get what they want, everyone is angry.

24 Some people spend their money freely and still grow richer. Others are cautious, and yet grow poorer.

25 Be generous, and you will be prosperous. Help others, and you will be helped.

26 People curse someone who hoards grain, waiting for a higher price, but they praise the one who puts it up for sale.

27 If your goals are good, you will be respected, but if you are looking for trouble, that is what you will get.

28 Those who depend on their wealth will fall like the leaves of autumn, but the righteous will prosper like the leaves of summer.

29 Those who bring trouble on their families will have nothing at the end. Foolish people will always be servants to the wise.

30 Righteousness gives life, but violence takes it away.

31 Those who are good are rewarded here on earth, so you can be sure that wicked and sinful people will be punished.

1 Any who love knowledge want to be told when they are wrong. It is stupid to hate being corrected.

2 The Lord is pleased with good people, but condemns those who plan evil.

3 Wickedness does not give security, but righteous people stand firm.

4 A good wife is her husband's pride and joy; but a wife who brings shame on her husband is like a cancer in his bones.

5 Honest people will treat you fairly; the wicked only want to deceive you.

6 The words of the wicked are murderous, but the words of the righteous rescue those who are threatened.

7 The wicked meet their downfall and leave no descendants, but the families of the righteous live on.

8 If you are intelligent, you will be praised; if you are stupid, people will look down on you.

9 It is better to be an ordinary person working for a living than to play the part of someone great but go hungry.

10 Good people take care of their animals, but wicked people are cruel to theirs.

11 A hard-working farmer has plenty to eat, but it is stupid to waste time on useless projects.

12 All that wicked people want is to find evil things to do, but the righteous stand firm.

13 The wicked are trapped by their own words, but honest people get themselves out of trouble.

14 Your reward depends on what you say and what you do; you will get what you deserve.

15 Stupid people always think they are right. Wise people listen to advice.

16 When a fool is annoyed, he quickly lets it be known. Smart people will ignore an insult.

17 When you tell the truth, justice is done, but lies lead to injustice.

18 Thoughtless words can wound as deeply as any sword, but wisely spoken words can heal.

19 A lie has a short life, but truth lives on forever.

20 Those who plan evil are in for a rude surprise, but those who work for good will find happiness.

21 Nothing bad happens to righteous people, but the wicked have nothing but trouble.

22 The Lord hates liars, but is pleased with those who keep their word.

23 Smart people keep quiet about what they know, but stupid people advertise their ignorance.

24 Hard work will give you power; being lazy will make you a slave.

25 Worry can rob you of happiness, but kind words will cheer you up.

26 The righteous person is a guide to his friend, but the path of the wicked leads them astray.

27 If you are lazy, you will never get what you are after, but if you work hard, you will get a fortune.

28 Righteousness is the road to life; wickedness is the road to death.

1 God in his mercy has given us this work to do, and so we do not become discouraged.

2 We put aside all secret and shameful deeds; we do not act with deceit, nor do we falsify the word of God. In the full light of truth we live in God's sight and try to commend ourselves to everyone's good conscience.

3 For if the gospel we preach is hidden, it is hidden only from those who are being lost.

4 They do not believe, because their minds have been kept in the dark by the evil god of this world. He keeps them from seeing the light shining on them, the light that comes from the Good News about the glory of Christ, who is the exact likeness of God.

5 For it is not ourselves that we preach; we preach Jesus Christ as Lord, and ourselves as your servants for Jesus' sake.

6 The God who said, "Out of darkness the light shall shine!" is the same God who made his light shine in our hearts, to bring us the knowledge of God's glory shining in the face of Christ.

7 Yet we who have this spiritual treasure are like common clay pots, in order to show that the supreme power belongs to God, not to us.

8 We are often troubled, but not crushed; sometimes in doubt, but never in despair;

9 there are many enemies, but we are never without a friend; and though badly hurt at times, we are not destroyed.

10 At all times we carry in our mortal bodies the death of Jesus, so that his life also may be seen in our bodies.

11 Throughout our lives we are always in danger of death for Jesus' sake, in order that his life may be seen in this mortal body of ours.

12 This means that death is at work in us, but life is at work in you.

13 The scripture says, "I spoke because I believed." In the same spirit of faith we also speak because we believe.

14 We know that God, who raised the Lord Jesus to life, will also raise us up with Jesus and take us, together with you, into his presence.

15 All this is for your sake; and as God's grace reaches more and more people, they will offer to the glory of God more prayers of thanksgiving.

16 For this reason we never become discouraged. Even though our physical being is gradually decaying, yet our spiritual being is renewed day after day.

17 And this small and temporary trouble we suffer will bring us a tremendous and eternal glory, much greater than the trouble.

18 For we fix our attention, not on things that are seen, but on things that are unseen. What can be seen lasts only for a time, but what cannot be seen lasts forever.