Proverbs 13:12-18

12 Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but a longing fulfilled is a tree of life.

13 Whoever scorns instruction will pay for it, but whoever respects a command is rewarded.

14 The teaching of the wise is a fountain of life, turning a person from the snares of death.

15 Good judgment wins favor, but the way of the unfaithful leads to their destruction.^[a]

16 All who are prudent act with^[b] knowledge, but fools expose their folly.

17 A wicked messenger falls into trouble, but a trustworthy envoy brings healing.

18 Whoever disregards discipline comes to poverty and shame, but whoever heeds correction is honored.

Cross References

• 1. S Proverbs 10:11
• 2. S Numbers 15:31; 2 Chronicles 36:16
• 3. Exodus 9:20
• 4. Proverbs 16:20
• 5. S Proverbs 10:11
• 6. Proverbs 14:27
• 7. Ecclesiastes 10:3
• 8. Esther 5:11; S Psalms 38:5; Proverbs 12:23
• 9. S Proverbs 10:26
• 10. Proverbs 25:13
• 11. S Proverbs 1:7; S Proverbs 12:1
• 12. Psalms 141:5; Proverbs 25:12; Ecclesiastes 7:5; Pr 15:5,31-32

Footnotes

• [a] Septuagint and Syriac; the meaning of the Hebrew for this phrase is uncertain.
• [b] Or "prudent protect themselves through"