Proverbs 22:1-16

1 A good name is more desirable than great riches; to be esteemed is better than silver or gold.

2 Rich and poor have this in common: The LORD is the Maker of them all.

3 The prudent see danger and take refuge, but the simple keep going and pay the penalty.

4 Humility is the fear of the LORD; its wages are riches and honor and life.

5 In the paths of the wicked are snares and pitfalls, but those who would preserve their life stay far from them.

6 Start children off on the way they should go, and even when they are old they will not turn from it.

7 The rich rule over the poor, and the borrower is slave to the lender.

8 Whoever sows injustice reaps calamity, and the rod they wield in fury will be broken.

9 The generous will themselves be blessed, for they share their food with the poor.

10 Drive out the mocker, and out goes strife; quarrels and insults are ended.

11 One who loves a pure heart and who speaks with grace will have the king for a friend.

12 The eyes of the LORD keep watch over knowledge, but he frustrates the words of the unfaithful.

13 The sluggard says, “There’s a lion outside! I’ll be killed in the public square!”

14 The mouth of an adulterous woman is a deep pit; a man who is under the LORD’s wrath falls into it.

15 Folly is bound up in the heart of a child, but the rod of discipline will drive it far away.

16 One who oppresses the poor to increase his wealth and one who gives gifts to the rich—both come to poverty.

Proverbs 22:1-16 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.

Cross References

• 1. Ecclesiastes 7:1
• 2. S Job 31:15; Proverbs 29:13; Matthew 5:45
• 3. S Proverbs 14:16
• 4. Proverbs 27:12
• 5. S Proverbs 15:33
• 6. S Proverbs 10:27; Daniel 4:36
• 7. Proverbs 15:19
• 8. S Genesis 14:14
• 9. Ephesians 6:4
• 10. S Deuteronomy 6:7
• 11. S Exodus 1:20; S Job 4:8; Galatians 6:7-8
• 12. Psalms 125:3; Hosea 8:7
• 13. S Deuteronomy 14:29; 2 Corinthians 9:6
• 14. S Proverbs 11:25; S Proverbs 19:17; Proverbs 28:27
• 15. Proverbs 18:6; Proverbs 26:20
• 16. Proverbs 16:13; Matthew 5:8
• 17. Proverbs 26:13
• 18. S Proverbs 2:16; Proverbs 5:3-5; Proverbs 7:5; Proverbs 23:27
• 19. Ecclesiastes 7:26
• 20. S Proverbs 13:24; Proverbs 23:14; S Proverbs 20:30