Why Read Books Read You 为什么读书？书会读你。Pourquoi lire des livres vous lit ?

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Books are important for the mind, heart, and soul. But don’t take it from us: These quotes about reading speak for themselves.  书籍对人的思想、心灵和灵魂都至关重要。但这并非我们的一面之词：这些关于阅读的名言警句本身就足以说明一切。Les livres sont importants pour l'esprit, le cœur et l'âme. Mais ne nous croyez pas sur parole : ces citations sur la lecture parlent d'elles-mêmes.

The power to be found between the pages of a book is formidable, indeed. And these inspiring quotes about books and importance of reading are here to remind you of that. 书页间蕴藏的力量的确令人敬畏。这些关于书籍和阅读重要性的励志名言，正是为了提醒你这一点。Le pouvoir que recèlent les pages d'un livre est véritablement formidable. Et ces citations inspirantes sur les livres et l'importance de la lecture sont là pour vous le rappeler.

From these quotes exemplify the benefits of reading and of a good books to comfort, challenge, and inspire you. 这些引言体现了阅读的好处，以及一本好书如何安慰你、挑战你、激励你。Ces citations illustrent les bienfaits de la lecture et le pouvoir réconfortant, stimulant et inspirant des bons livres.

Cozy comfort: a person wrapped in a chunky knit blanket sips a warm drink while reading a book, embodying a peaceful and relaxed moment. 舒适惬意：一个人裹着厚厚的针织毯，一边啜饮着热饮，一边读书，体现了平静放松的时刻。Confort douillet : une personne enveloppée dans une couverture en grosse maille sirote une boisson chaude en lisant un livre, incarnant un moment de paix et de détente.

One. For,“Books are the plane, and the train, and the road. They are the destination, and the journey. They are home.”  一、因为，“书籍就是飞机、火车和公路。它们既是目的地，也是旅程。它们就是家。” Un. Car « les livres sont l’avion, le train et la route. Ils sont la destination et le voyage. Ils sont le foyer. »

Two. ”Today a reader, tomorrow a leader.” 二、“今日读者，明日领袖。” Deux. « Aujourd’hui lecteur, demain leader. »

Three. ”A word after a word after a word is power.”  三、“一个字接着一个字，这就是力量。” Trois. « Un mot après l'autre, c'est du pouvoir. »

Four. ”One glance at a book and you hear the voice of another person, perhaps someone dead for 1,000 years. To read is to voyage through time.”  四，《只需瞥一眼书，你就能听到另一个人的声音，也许是一个已经去世一千年的人。阅读就是穿越时空的旅行。》Quatre. « Un simple coup d’œil à un livre et vous entendez la voix d’une autre personne, peut-être quelqu’un mort depuis mille ans. Lire, c’est voyager dans le temps. »

Five. ”Show me a family of readers, and I will show you the people who move the world.”  五、“给我一个爱读书的家庭，我就能给你展示那些改变世界的人。”  Cinq. « Montrez-moi une famille de lecteurs, et je vous montrerai les personnes qui font bouger le monde. »

Six. ”A book is a garden, an orchard, a storehouse, a party, a company by the way, a counselor, a multitude of counselors.” 六、“一本书就是一座花园，一个果园，一个仓库，一场聚会，顺便说一句，一个伙伴，一位顾问，众多顾问。”  Six. « Un livre est un jardin, un verger, un entrepôt, une fête, une compagnie au passage, un conseiller, une multitude de conseillers. »

Seven. ”When I look back, I am so impressed again with the life-giving power of literature. If I were a young person today, trying to gain a sense of myself in the world, I would do that again by reading, just as I did when I was young.”  七、“回首往事，我再次被文学赋予生命的力量深深打动。如果我今天还是个年轻人，想要在世上找到自我认同，我依然会像年轻时那样，通过阅读来做到这一点。” Sept. « Quand je repense à tout cela, je suis à nouveau profondément impressionné par le pouvoir vivifiant de la littérature. Si j’étais un jeune aujourd’hui, cherchant ma place dans le monde, je le ferais à nouveau en lisant, comme je le faisais dans ma jeunesse. »

Eight. ”Reading should not be presented to children as a chore, a duty. It should be offered as a gift.”  八、“阅读不应该被视为孩子的苦差事或义务，而应该被视为一份礼物。”  Huit. « La lecture ne doit pas être présentée aux enfants comme une corvée, un devoir. Elle doit leur être offerte comme un cadeau. »

Nine. ”I think books are like people, in the sense that they’ll turn up in your life when you most need them.”  九、“我认为书就像人一样，它们会在你最需要的时候出现在你的生活中。”

Neuf. « Je pense que les livres sont comme les gens, dans le sens où ils apparaissent dans votre vie au moment où vous en avez le plus besoin. »

Ten. ”It wasn’t until I started reading and found books they wouldn’t let us read in school that I discovered you could be insane and happy and have a good life without being like everybody else.”  十.“直到我开始阅读，并发现了一些学校不让我们读的书，我才发现，即使你疯了，你也可以快乐地生活，而无需像其他人一样。”  Dix. « Ce n’est que lorsque j’ai commencé à lire et que j’ai découvert des livres qu’on ne nous laissait pas lire à l’école que j’ai compris qu’on pouvait être fou et heureux, et avoir une belle vie sans être comme tout le monde. »

Eleven. ”Books are a uniquely portable magic.”  十一。“书籍是一种独一无二、便于携带的魔法。” Onze. « Les livres sont une magie unique et portable. »

A cozy reading nook with an open book resting on a soft blanket, accompanied by a cup of hot beverage on a bedside table, inviting relaxation and leisure. 舒适的阅读角落，一本打开的书放在柔软的毯子上，床头柜上放着一杯热饮，让人感到放松和休闲。 Un coin lecture douillet avec un livre ouvert posé sur une couverture moelleuse, accompagné d'une tasse de boisson chaude sur une table de chevet, invitant à la détente et aux loisirs.

Twelve. ”Books are mirrors: You only see in them what you already have inside you.”  十二、“书就像镜子：你只能从中看到你内心已有的东西。”  Douze. « Les livres sont des miroirs : on n’y voit que ce que l’on a déjà en soi. »

Thirteen. “Think before you speak. Read before you think.”  十三、“说话前先思考。阅读后再思考。” Treize. « Réfléchissez avant de parler. Lisez avant de réfléchir. »

Fourteen. ”Let’s be reasonable and add an eighth day to the week that is devoted exclusively to reading.” 十四、“让我们合理一点，每周增加一天，专门用于阅读。”  Quatorze. « Soyons raisonnables et ajoutons un huitième jour à la semaine, consacré exclusivement à la lecture. »

Fifteen. ”If you don’t like to read, you haven’t found the right book.”      十五。“如果你不喜欢读书，说明你还没找到合适的书。” Quinze. « Si vous n’aimez pas lire, c’est que vous n’avez pas encore trouvé le bon livre. »

Sixteen. ”I can feel infinitely alive curled up on the sofa reading a book.”  十六。“蜷缩在沙发上看书，我感觉自己无比鲜活。” Seize . « Je me sens infiniment vivante, blottie sur le canapé en train de lire un livre. »

Seventeen. ”Some books leave us free and some books make us free.” 十七。“有些书让我们自由，有些书使我们自由。” Dix-sept. « Certains livres nous laissent libres, d'autres nous rendent libres. »

Eighteen. ”Writing and reading decrease our sense of isolation. They deepen and widen and expand our sense of life: They feed the soul. When writers make us shake our heads with the exactness of their prose and their truths, and even make us laugh about ourselves or life, our buoyancy is restored. We are given a shot at dancing with, or at least clapping along with, the absurdity of life, instead of being squashed by it over and over again. It’s like singing on a boat during a terrible storm at sea. You can’t stop the raging storm, but singing can change the hearts and spirits of the people who are together on that ship.” 十八。“写作和阅读能减少我们的孤独感。它们加深、拓宽、扩展我们对生活的理解：它们滋养灵魂。当作家们用他们精准的文字和真知灼见让我们摇头叹息，甚至让我们开怀大笑，反思自身或生活时，我们便重获活力。我们有机会与生活的荒诞共舞，或者至少为之鼓掌，而不是一次又一次地被它压垮。这就像在海上遭遇暴风雨时，在船上歌唱。你无法阻止狂风暴雨，但歌声却能改变船上所有人的心灵和精神。” Dix-huit. « Écrire et lire diminuent notre sentiment d’isolement. Ces activités approfondissent, élargissent et enrichissent notre perception de la vie : elles nourrissent l’âme. Lorsque les écrivains nous interpellent par la justesse de leur prose et la vérité de leurs propos, et même nous font rire de nous-mêmes ou de la vie, nous retrouvons notre optimisme. On nous offre la possibilité de danser avec l’absurdité de la vie, ou du moins d’applaudir avec elle, au lieu de la subir sans cesse. C’est comme chanter sur un bateau en pleine tempête. On ne peut pas arrêter la tempête, mais chanter peut transformer le cœur et l’esprit des personnes qui se trouvent à bord. »

Nineteen. ”We tell ourselves stories in order to live.”  十九。“我们讲述故事是为了生存。” Dix-neuf. « Nous nous racontons des histoires pour vivre. »

Twenty. ”Books and doors are the same thing. You open them, and you go through into another world.”  二十。“书和门是一样的。你打开它们，就进入了另一个世界。” Vingt. « Les livres et les portes, c’est la même chose. On les ouvre et on entre dans un autre monde. »

Twenty-one. ”A good book would take me out of myself and then stuff me back in, outsized, now, and uneasy with the fit.” 二十一。“一本好书会让我暂时忘却自我，然后再把我塞回现实，让我感觉格格不入，很不自在。”  Vingt-et-un. « Un bon livre me sortirait de moi-même, puis me remettrait dedans, désormais surdimensionné et mal à l'aise dans cette nouvelle position. »

”Books are, let’s face it, better than everything else. If we played Cultural Fantasy Boxing League, and made books go fifteen rounds in the ring against the best that any other art form had to offer, then books would win pretty much every time.” 

“We read to know we are not alone.” 

”As you read a book word by word and page by page, you participate in its creation, just as a cellist playing a Bach suite participates, note by note, in the creation, the coming-to-be, the existence, of the music. And, as you read and re-read, the book of course participates in the creation of you, your thoughts and feelings, the size and temper of your soul.”

”It is really hard to be lonely very long in a world of words. Even if you don’t have friends somewhere, you still have language, and it will find you and wrap its little syllables around you and suddenly there will be a story to live in.” 

A person's hand reaching for sheets of paper on a wooden shelf.

”Read a lot. Expect something big, something exalting or deepening from a book. No book is worth reading that isn’t worth re-reading.” 

”Have books ‘happened’ to you? Unless your answer to that question is ‘yes,’ I’m unsure how to talk to you.” 

”A story can always break into pieces while it sits inside a book on a shelf; and, decades after we have read it even twenty times, it can open us up, by cut or caress, to a new truth.” 

”Once you learn to read, you will be forever free.” 

”Literature is the safe and traditional vehicle through which we learn about the world and pass on values from one generation to the next. Books save lives.” 

”Reading fiction is important. It is a vital means of imagining a life other than our own, which in turn makes us more empathetic beings. Following complex story lines stretches our brains beyond the 140 characters of sound-bite thinking, and staying within the world of a novel gives us the ability to be quiet and alone, two skills that are disappearing faster than the polar icecaps.” 

”Both reading and writing are experiences – lifelong – in the course of which we who encounter words used in certain ways are persuaded by them to be brought mind and heart within the presence, the power, of the imagination.” 

“A room without books is like a body without a soul.” 

”The reading of all good books is like a conversation with the finest minds of past centuries.” 

”That’s the thing about books. They let you travel without moving your feet.” 

”I love the way that each book — any book — is its own journey. You open it, and off you go…” 

”Reading is an exercise in empathy; an exercise in walking in someone else’s shoes for a while.” 

”Reading is a form of prayer, a guided meditation that briefly makes us believe we’re someone else, disrupting the delusion that we’re permanent and at the center of the universe. Suddenly (we’re saved!) other people are real again, and we’re fond of them.” 

A woman reads a book on a grassy hill at sunset, overlooking a river and distant landscape, lost in inspiring quotes about books.

”A great book should leave you with many experiences, and slightly exhausted at the end. You live several lives while reading.” 

”I guess a big part of serious fiction’s purpose is to give the reader, who like all of us is sort of marooned in her own skull, to give her imaginative access to other selves.” – David Foster Wallace

Black and white drawing of five books standing upright and stacked together in a row.

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”Reading is escape, and the opposite of escape; it’s a way to make contact with reality after a day of making things up, and it’s a way of making contact with someone else’s imagination after a day that’s all too real.” – Nora Ephron

”Reading makes immigrants of us all. It takes us away from home, but more important, it finds homes for us everywhere.” – Jean Rhys

”Salvation is certainly among the reasons I read. Reading and writing have always pulled me out of the darkest experiences in my life. Stories have given me a place in which to lose myself. They have allowed me to remember. They have allowed me to forget. They have allowed me to imagine different endings and better possible worlds.” – Roxane Gay, Bad Feminist

”You think your pain and your heartbreak are unprecedented in the history of the world, but then you read. It was books that taught me that the things that tormented me most were the very things that connected me with all the people who were alive, who had ever been alive.” – James Baldwin

”Reading is important. If you know how to read, then the whole world opens up to you.” – Barack Obama

”That is part of the beauty of all literature. You discover that your longings are universal longings, that you’re not lonely and isolated from anyone. You belong.” – F. Scott Fitzgerald

”We don’t need a list of rights and wrongs, tables of dos and don’ts: We need books, time, and silence. Thou shalt not is soon forgotten, but Once upon a time lasts forever.” – Philip Pullman

”Books may well be the only true magic.” – Alice Hoffman, Magic Lessons

”Maybe this is why we read, and why in moments of darkness we return to books: to find words for what we already know.” – Alberto Manguel, A Reading Diary: A Passionate Reader’s Reflections on a Year of Books

”A book lying idle on a shelf is wasted ammunition. Like money, books must be kept in constant circulation… A book is not only a friend, it makes friends for you. When you have possessed a book with mind and spirit, you are enriched. But when you pass it on, you are enriched threefold.” – Henry Miller, The Books in My Life

”Reading is an active, imaginative act; it takes work.” – Khaled Hosseini

”It is known that reading quickens the growth of a heart like nothing else.” – Catherynne M. Valente, The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland in a Ship of Her Own Making

”If you would tell me the heart of a man, tell me not what he reads, but what he rereads.” – François Mauriac

A steaming mug, open book, and plaid scarf on a windowsill overlooking a snowy winter landscape invite you to enjoy inspiring quotes about reading.

”To acquire the habit of reading is to construct for yourself a refuge from almost all the miseries of life.” – W. Somerset Maugham, Books And You

”I don’t read a book; I hold a conversation with the author.” – Elbert Hubbard

”Some books are so familiar that reading them is like being home again.” – Louisa May Alcott, Little Women

”A reader lives a thousand lives before he dies… The man who never reads lives only one.” – George R.R. Martin, A Dance with Dragons

”Some books should be tasted, some devoured, but only a few should be chewed and digested thoroughly.” – Sir Francis Bacon

”Reading is the sole means by which we slip, involuntarily, often helplessly, into another’s skin, another’s voice, another’s soul.” – Joyce Carol Oates

”A book, too, can be a star, a living fire to lighten the darkness, leading out into the expanding universe.” – Madeleine L’Engle

”Books have a unique way of stopping time in a particular moment and saying: Let’s not forget this.” – Dave Eggers

”Isn’t it odd how much fatter a book gets when you’ve read it several times? As if something were left between the pages every time you read it. Feelings, thoughts, sounds, smells… and then, when you look at the book again many years later, you find yourself there, too, a slightly younger self, slightly different, as if the book had preserved you like pressed flower… both strange and familiar.” – Cornelia Funke, Inkspell

”The best books… are those that tell you what you know already.” – George Orwell, 1984

”Many a book is like a key to unknown chambers within the castle of one’s own self.” – Franz Kafka

”Reading was my escape and my comfort, my consolation, my stimulant of choice: reading for the pure pleasure of it, for the beautiful stillness that surrounds you when you hear an author’s words reverberating in your head.” – Paul Auster, The Brooklyn Follies

”Books can be dangerous. The best ones should be labelled ‘This could change your life.’” – Helen Exley

”There are some books that reached through the noise of life to grab you by the collar and speak only of the truest things.” – Jeffrey Eugenides, The Marriage Plot

”Sometimes, you read a book and it fills you with this weird evangelical zeal, and you become convinced that the shattered world will never be put back together unless and until all living humans read the book.” – John Green, The Fault in Our Stars

”The best moments in reading are when you come across something–a thought, a feeling, a way of looking at things–which you had thought special and particular to you. Now here it is, set down by someone else, a person you have never met, someone even who is long dead. And it is as if a hand has come out and taken yours.” – Alan Bennett, The History Boys

”Reading is essential for those who seek to rise about the ordinary.” – Jim Rohn

”The story is truly finished–and meaning is made–not when the author adds the last period, but when the reader enters.” – Celeste Ng

”One must always be careful of books, and what is inside them, for words have the power to change us.” – Cassandra Clare, Clockwork Angel

”A book is a gift you can open again and again.” – Garrison Kellor

”Books are the quietest and most constant of friends; they are the most accessible and wisest of counselors, and the most patient of teachers.” – Charles W. Eliot

”Books should go where they will be most appreciated, and not sit unread, gathering dust on a forgotten shelf, don’t you agree?” – Christopher Paolini

”Once you’ve read a book you care about, some part of it is always with you.” – Louis L’Amour

”The magic is only in what books say, how they stitched the patches of the universe together into one garment for us.” – Ray Bradbury, Fahrenheit 451

”That’s what I love about reading: one tiny thing will interest you in a book, and that tiny thing will lead you to another book, and another bit there will lead you onto a third book. It’s geometrically progressive–all with no end in sight, and for no other reason than sheer enjoyment.” – Mary Ann Shaffer, The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Society

 That's what I would say.

The Bible is God's love letter to us. I always when I teach children, I will hold it up and I go, "This is a GPS, global positioning system. This book will show you where you've been, where you are, and where you're going. Give it a chance. Just open the Bible. Read it, and ask God any question you have in your heart. You know, we're all told this lie that we can't understand it, but God wrote it as a love letter to humanity. You can understand it. You can get it free on your phone. You can get it from Amazon. Go to a library. Just open the scripture and let it speak to your  heart. That's what I would say. It's bread for life. 

Why Book of Proverbs ?

 You know, a lot of miracles followed here that you don't hear. You've had miracles in your life. 

We're a walking miracle to start with anyway. 

It's a miracle. You're sitting here tonight. You just This is not a happen stance. It's a miracle that really I'm here.   Everything about us is miraculous. 

Everything about us should be and is supernatural. 

We're a supernatural people. Believe that. Understand that. Don't think of yourself just as an ordinary person. 

You're not an ordinary person. You're a special person. You're the bride of Jesus Christ. One of these days, you're going to sit co-regent in the palace with Jesus and you're going to rule and you're going to reign. You better be reading the book of Proverbs because that is for rulers and for princes , the 31 chapters. And if you're going to rule, you better know how you're going to rule. And you better know the substance that makes a ruler. So read Proverbs. You're going to have to use them.

Get that old book out and begin to memorize those rules for rulers and for princes. Now, come on. Does that make sense?  You don't just sit there and say,"Look at me. I'm a ruler."

Folks, you're going to rule co-regent. 

PROVERBS 12

1 Whoever loves discipline loves knowledge, but whoever hates correction is stupid.

2 Good people obtain favor from the LORD, but he condemns those who devise wicked schemes.

3 No one can be established through wickedness, but the righteous cannot be uprooted.

4 A wife of noble character is her husband’s crown, but a disgraceful wife is like decay in his bones.

5 The plans of the righteous are just, but the advice of the wicked is deceitful.

6 The words of the wicked lie in wait for blood, but the speech of the upright rescues them.

7 The wicked are overthrown and are no more, but the house of the righteous stands firm.

8 A person is praised according to their prudence, and one with a warped mind is despised.

9 Better to be a nobody and yet have a servant than pretend to be somebody and have no food.

10 The righteous care for the needs of their animals, but the kindest acts of the wicked are cruel.

11 Those who work their land will have abundant food, but those who chase fantasies have no sense.

12 The wicked desire the stronghold of evildoers, but the root of the righteous endures.

13 Evildoers are trapped by their sinful talk, and so the innocent escape trouble.

14 From the fruit of their lips people are filled with good things, and the work of their hands brings them reward.

15 The way of fools seems right to them, but the wise listen to advice.

16 Fools show their annoyance at once, but the prudent overlook an insult.

17 An honest witness tells the truth, but a false witness tells lies.

18 The words of the reckless pierce like swords, but the tongue of the wise brings healing.

19 Truthful lips endure forever, but a lying tongue lasts only a moment.

20 Deceit is in the hearts of those who plot evil, but those who promote peace have joy.

21 No harm overtakes the righteous, but the wicked have their fill of trouble.

22 The LORD detests lying lips, but he delights in people who are trustworthy.

23 The prudent keep their knowledge to themselves, but a fool’s heart blurts out folly.

24 Diligent hands will rule, but laziness ends in forced labor.

25 Anxiety weighs down the heart, but a kind word cheers it up.

26 The righteous choose their friends carefully, but the way of the wicked leads them astray.

27 The lazy do not roast any game, but the diligent feed on the riches of the hunt.

28 In the way of righteousness there is life; along that path is immortality.

Proverbs 13 

1 A wise son heeds his father’s instruction, but a mocker does not respond to rebukes.

2 From the fruit of their lips people enjoy good things, but the unfaithful have an appetite for violence.

3 Those who guard their lips preserve their lives, but those who speak rashly will come to ruin.

4 A sluggard’s appetite is never filled, but the desires of the diligent are fully satisfied.

5 The righteous hate what is false, but the wicked make themselves a stench and bring shame on themselves.

6 Righteousness guards the person of integrity, but wickedness overthrows the sinner.

7 One person pretends to be rich, yet has nothing; another pretends to be poor, yet has great wealth.

8 A person’s riches may ransom their life, but the poor cannot respond to threatening rebukes.

9 The light of the righteous shines brightly, but the lamp of the wicked is snuffed out.

10 Where there is strife, there is pride, but wisdom is found in those who take advice.

11 Dishonest money dwindles away, but whoever gathers money little by little makes it grow.

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.

16 All who are prudent act with 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.

19 A longing fulfilled is sweet to the soul, but fools detest turning from evil.

20 Walk with the wise and become wise, for a companion of fools suffers harm.

21 Trouble pursues the sinner, but the righteous are rewarded with good things.

22 A good person leaves an inheritance for their children’s children, but a sinner’s wealth is stored up for the righteous.

23 An unplowed field produces food for the poor, but injustice sweeps it away.

24 Whoever spares the rod hates their children, but the one who loves their children is careful to discipline them.

25 The righteous eat to their hearts’ content, but the stomach of the wicked goes hungry.

Proverbs 14 

1 The wise woman builds her house, but with her own hands the foolish one tears hers down.

2 Whoever fears the LORD walks uprightly, but those who despise him are devious in their ways.

3 A fool’s mouth lashes out with pride, but the lips of the wise protect them.

4 Where there are no oxen, the manger is empty, but from the strength of an ox come abundant harvests.

5 An honest witness does not deceive, but a false witness pours out lies.

6 The mocker seeks wisdom and finds none, but knowledge comes easily to the discerning.

7 Stay away from a fool, for you will not find knowledge on their lips.

8 The wisdom of the prudent is to give thought to their ways, but the folly of fools is deception.

9 Fools mock at making amends for sin, but goodwill is found among the upright.

10 Each heart knows its own bitterness, and no one else can share its joy.

11 The house of the wicked will be destroyed, but the tent of the upright will flourish.

12 There is a way that appears to be right, but in the end it leads to death.

13 Even in laughter the heart may ache, and rejoicing may end in grief.

14 The faithless will be fully repaid for their ways, and the good rewarded for theirs.

15 The simple believe anything, but the prudent give thought to their steps.

16 The wise fear the LORD and shun evil, but a fool is hotheaded and yet feels secure.

17 A quick-tempered person does foolish things, and the one who devises evil schemes is hated.

18 The simple inherit folly, but the prudent are crowned with knowledge.

19 Evildoers will bow down in the presence of the good, and the wicked at the gates of the righteous.

20 The poor are shunned even by their neighbors, but the rich have many friends.

21 It is a sin to despise one’s neighbor, but blessed is the one who is kind to the needy.

22 Do not those who plot evil go astray? But those who plan what is good find love and faithfulness.

23 All hard work brings a profit, but mere talk leads only to poverty.

24 The wealth of the wise is their crown, but the folly of fools yields folly.

25 A truthful witness saves lives, but a false witness is deceitful.

26 Whoever fears the LORD has a secure fortress, and for their children it will be a refuge.

27 The fear of the LORD is a fountain of life, turning a person from the snares of death.

28 A large population is a king’s glory, but without subjects a prince is ruined.

29 Whoever is patient has great understanding, but one who is quick-tempered displays folly.

30 A heart at peace gives life to the body, but envy rots the bones.

31 Whoever oppresses the poor shows contempt for their Maker, but whoever is kind to the needy honors God.

32 When calamity comes, the wicked are brought down, but even in death the righteous seek refuge in God.

33 Wisdom reposes in the heart of the discerning and even among fools she lets herself be known.

34 Righteousness exalts a nation, but sin condemns any people.

35 A king delights in a wise servant, but a shameful servant arouses his fury.

PROVERBS 15 

1 A gentle answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger.

2 The tongue of the wise adorns knowledge, but the mouth of the fool gushes folly.

3 The eyes of the LORD are everywhere, keeping watch on the wicked and the good.

4 The soothing tongue is a tree of life, but a perverse tongue crushes the spirit.

5 A fool spurns a parent’s discipline, but whoever heeds correction shows prudence.

6 The house of the righteous contains great treasure, but the income of the wicked brings ruin.

7 The lips of the wise spread knowledge, but the hearts of fools are not upright.

8 The LORD detests the sacrifice of the wicked, but the prayer of the upright pleases him.

9 The LORD detests the way of the wicked, but he loves those who pursue righteousness.

10 Stern discipline awaits anyone who leaves the path; the one who hates correction will die.

11 Death and Destruction lie open before the LORD— how much more do human hearts!

12 Mockers resent correction, so they avoid the wise.

13 A happy heart makes the face cheerful, but heartache crushes the spirit.

14 The discerning heart seeks knowledge, but the mouth of a fool feeds on folly.

15 All the days of the oppressed are wretched, but the cheerful heart has a continual feast.

16 Better a little with the fear of the LORD than great wealth with turmoil.

17 Better a small serving of vegetables with love than a fattened calf with hatred.

18 A hot-tempered person stirs up conflict, but the one who is patient calms a quarrel.

19 The way of the sluggard is blocked with thorns, but the path of the upright is a highway.

20 A wise son brings joy to his father, but a foolish man despises his mother.

21 Folly brings joy to one who has no sense, but whoever has understanding keeps a straight course.

22 Plans fail for lack of counsel, but with many advisers they succeed.

23 A person finds joy in giving an apt reply— and how good is a timely word!

24 The path of life leads upward for the prudent to keep them from going down to the realm of the dead.

25 The LORD tears down the house of the proud, but he sets the widow’s boundary stones in place.

26 The LORD detests the thoughts of the wicked, but gracious words are pure in his sight.

27 The greedy bring ruin to their households, but the one who hates bribes will live.

28 The heart of the righteous weighs its answers, but the mouth of the wicked gushes evil.

29 The LORD is far from the wicked, but he hears the prayer of the righteous.

30 Light in a messenger’s eyes brings joy to the heart, and good news gives health to the bones.

31 Whoever heeds life-giving correction will be at home among the wise.

32 Those who disregard discipline despise themselves, but the one who heeds correction gains understanding.

33 Wisdom’s instruction is to fear the LORD, and humility comes before honor.

PROVERBS 16 

1 To humans belong the plans of the heart, but from the LORD comes the proper answer of the tongue.

2 All a person’s ways seem pure to them, but motives are weighed by the LORD.

3 Commit to the LORD whatever you do, and he will establish your plans.

4 The LORD works out everything to its proper end— even the wicked for a day of disaster.

5 The LORD detests all the proud of heart. Be sure of this: They will not go unpunished.

6 Through love and faithfulness sin is atoned for; through the fear of the LORD evil is avoided.

7 When the LORD takes pleasure in anyone’s way, he causes their enemies to make peace with them.

8 Better a little with righteousness than much gain with injustice.

9 In their hearts humans plan their course, but the LORD establishes their steps.

10 The lips of a king speak as an oracle, and his mouth does not betray justice.

11 Honest scales and balances belong to the LORD; all the weights in the bag are of his making.

12 Kings detest wrongdoing, for a throne is established through righteousness.

13 Kings take pleasure in honest lips; they value the one who speaks what is right.

14 A king’s wrath is a messenger of death, but the wise will appease it.

15 When a king’s face brightens, it means life; his favor is like a rain cloud in spring.

16 How much better to get wisdom than gold, to get insight rather than silver!

17 The highway of the upright avoids evil; those who guard their ways preserve their lives.

18 Pride goes before destruction, a haughty spirit before a fall.

19 Better to be lowly in spirit along with the oppressed than to share plunder with the proud.

20 Whoever gives heed to instruction prospers,and blessed is the one who trusts in the LORD.

21 The wise in heart are called discerning, and gracious words promote instruction.

22 Prudence is a fountain of life to the prudent, but folly brings punishment to fools.

23 The hearts of the wise make their mouths prudent, and their lips promote instruction.

24 Gracious words are a honeycomb, sweet to the soul and healing to the bones.

25 There is a way that appears to be right, but in the end it leads to death.

26 The appetite of laborers works for them; their hunger drives them on.

27 A scoundrel plots evil, and on their lips it is like a scorching fire.

28 A perverse person stirs up conflict, and a gossip separates close friends.

29 A violent person entices their neighbor and leads them down a path that is not good.

30 Whoever winks with their eye is plotting perversity; whoever purses their lips is bent on evil.

31 Gray hair is a crown of splendor; it is attained in the way of righteousness.

32 Better a patient person than a warrior, one with self-control than one who takes a city.

33 The lot is cast into the lap, but its every decision is from the LORD.

PROVERBS 17

1 Better a dry crust with peace and quiet than a house full of feasting, with strife.

2 A prudent servant will rule over a disgraceful son and will share the inheritance as one of the family.

3 The crucible for silver and the furnace for gold, but the LORD tests the heart.

4 A wicked person listens to deceitful lips; a liar pays attention to a destructive tongue.

5 Whoever mocks the poor shows contempt for their Maker; whoever gloats over disaster will not go unpunished.

6 Children’s children are a crown to the aged, and parents are the pride of their children.

7 Eloquent lips are unsuited to a godless fool— how much worse lying lips to a ruler!

8 A bribe is seen as a charm by the one who gives it; they think success will come at every turn.

9 Whoever would foster love covers over an offense, but whoever repeats the matter separates close friends.

10 A rebuke impresses a discerning person more than a hundred lashes a fool.

11 Evildoers foster rebellion against God; the messenger of death will be sent against them.

12 Better to meet a bear robbed of her cubs than a fool bent on folly.

13 Evil will never leave the house of one who pays back evil for good.

14 Starting a quarrel is like breaching a dam; so drop the matter before a dispute breaks out.

15 Acquitting the guilty and condemning the innocent— the LORD detests them both.

16 Why should fools have money in hand to buy wisdom, when they are not able to understand it?

17 A friend loves at all times, and a brother is born for a time of adversity.

18 One who has no sense shakes hands in pledge and puts up security for a neighbor.

19 Whoever loves a quarrel loves sin; whoever builds a high gate invites destruction.

20 One whose heart is corrupt does not prosper; one whose tongue is perverse falls into trouble.

21 To have a fool for a child brings grief; there is no joy for the parent of a godless fool.

22 A cheerful heart is good medicine, but a crushed spirit dries up the bones.

23 The wicked accept bribes in secret to pervert the course of justice.

24 A discerning person keeps wisdom in view, but a fool’s eyes wander to the ends of the earth.

25 A foolish son brings grief to his father and bitterness to the mother who bore him.

26 If imposing a fine on the innocent is not good, surely to flog honest officials is not right.

27 The one who has knowledge uses words with restraint, and whoever has understanding is even-tempered.

28 Even fools are thought wise if they keep silent, and discerning if they hold their tongues.

PROVERBS 18 

1 Better a dry crust with peace and quiet than a house full of feasting, with strife.

2 A prudent servant will rule over a disgraceful son and will share the inheritance as one of the family.

3 The crucible for silver and the furnace for gold, but the LORD tests the heart.

4 A wicked person listens to deceitful lips; a liar pays attention to a destructive tongue.

5 Whoever mocks the poor shows contempt for their Maker; whoever gloats over disaster will not go unpunished.

6 Children’s children are a crown to the aged, and parents are the pride of their children.

7 Eloquent lips are unsuited to a godless fool— how much worse lying lips to a ruler!

8 A bribe is seen as a charm by the one who gives it; they think success will come at every turn.

9 Whoever would foster love covers over an offense, but whoever repeats the matter separates close friends.

10 A rebuke impresses a discerning person more than a hundred lashes a fool.

11 Evildoers foster rebellion against God; the messenger of death will be sent against them.

12 Better to meet a bear robbed of her cubs than a fool bent on folly.

13 Evil will never leave the house of one who pays back evil for good.

14 Starting a quarrel is like breaching a dam; so drop the matter before a dispute breaks out.

15 Acquitting the guilty and condemning the innocent— the LORD detests them both.

16 Why should fools have money in hand to buy wisdom, when they are not able to understand it?

17 A friend loves at all times, and a brother is born for a time of adversity.

18 One who has no sense shakes hands in pledge and puts up security for a neighbor.

19 Whoever loves a quarrel loves sin; whoever builds a high gate invites destruction.

20 One whose heart is corrupt does not prosper; one whose tongue is perverse falls into trouble.

21 To have a fool for a child brings grief; there is no joy for the parent of a godless fool.

22 A cheerful heart is good medicine, but a crushed spirit dries up the bones.

23 The wicked accept bribes in secret to pervert the course of justice.

24 A discerning person keeps wisdom in view, but a fool’s eyes wander to the ends of the earth.

25 A foolish son brings grief to his father and bitterness to the mother who bore him.

26 If imposing a fine on the innocent is not good, surely to flog honest officials is not right.

27 The one who has knowledge uses words with restraint, and whoever has understanding is even-tempered.

28 Even fools are thought wise if they keep silent, and discerning if they hold their tongues.

PROVERBS 19

1 Better the poor whose walk is blameless than a fool whose lips are perverse.

2 Desire without knowledge is not good— how much more will hasty feet miss the way!

3 A person’s own folly leads to their ruin, yet their heart rages against the LORD.

4 Wealth attracts many friends, but even the closest friend of the poor person deserts them.

5 A false witness will not go unpunished, and whoever pours out lies will not go free.

6 Many curry favor with a ruler, and everyone is the friend of one who gives gifts.

7 The poor are shunned by all their relatives— how much more do their friends avoid them! Though the poor pursue them with pleading, they are nowhere to be found.

8 The one who gets wisdom loves life; the one who cherishes understanding will soon prosper.

9 A false witness will not go unpunished, and whoever pours out lies will perish.

10 It is not fitting for a fool to live in luxury— how much worse for a slave to rule over princes!

11 A person’s wisdom yields patience; it is to one’s glory to overlook an offense.

12 A king’s rage is like the roar of a lion, but his favor is like dew on the grass.

13 A foolish child is a father’s ruin, and a quarrelsome wife is like the constant dripping of a leaky roof.

14 Houses and wealth are inherited from parents, but a prudent wife is from the LORD.

15 Laziness brings on deep sleep, and the shiftless go hungry.

16 Whoever keeps commandments keeps their life, but whoever shows contempt for their ways will die.

17 Whoever is kind to the poor lends to the LORD, and he will reward them for what they have done.

18 Discipline your children, for in that there is hope; do not be a willing party to their death.

19 A hot-tempered person must pay the penalty; rescue them, and you will have to do it again.

20 Listen to advice and accept discipline, and at the end you will be counted among the wise.

21 Many are the plans in a person’s heart, but it is the LORD’s purpose that prevails.

22 What a person desires is unfailing love ; better to be poor than a liar.

23 The fear of the LORD leads to life; then one rests content, untouched by trouble.

24 A sluggard buries his hand in the dish; he will not even bring it back to his mouth!

25 Flog a mocker, and the simple will learn prudence; rebuke the discerning, and they will gain knowledge.

26 Whoever robs their father and drives out their mother is a child who brings shame and disgrace.

27 Stop listening to instruction, my son, and you will stray from the words of knowledge.

28 A corrupt witness mocks at justice, and the mouth of the wicked gulps down evil.

29 Penalties are prepared for mockers, and beatings for the backs of fools.

PROVERBS 20

 1 Wine is a mocker and beer a brawler;  whoever is led astray by them   is  not wise.

 ( It seems hard to believe that men of the greatest abilities, as well as     the ignorant, should render themselves fools and madmen, merely for   the taste or excitement produced by strong liquors. )

 2 A king’s wrath strikes terror like the roar of a lion; those who anger   him forfeit their lives.

  (How formidable kings are to those who provoke them! how much   more foolish then is it to provoke the King of kings! )

 3  It is to one’s honor to avoid strife, but every fool is quick to quarrel.

 ( To engage in quarrels is the greatest folly that can be. Yield, and even   give up just demands, for peace' sake. )

 4 Sluggards do not plow in season; so at harvest time they look but find   nothing. ( He who labours and endures hardship in his seed-time for   eternity, will be properly diligent as to his earthly business. )

 5 The purposes of a person’s heart are deep waters, but one who has   insight draws them out. (Though many capable of giving wise counsel   are silent, yet something may be drawn from them, which will reward   those who obtain it.)

 6 Many claim to have unfailing love, but a faithful person who can find?   ( It is hard to find those that have done, and will do more good than   they speak, or care to hear spoken of. )

 7 The righteous lead blameless lives; blessed are their children after   them. (A good man is not liable to uneasiness in contriving what he   shall do, or in reflecting on what he has done, as those who walk in   deceit. And his family fare better for his sake.)

 8 When a king sits on his throne to judge, he winnows out all evil with   his eyes. ( If great men are good men, they may do much good, and prevent very much evil. )

 9 Who can say, “I have kept my heart pure; I am clean and without sin”? 

  ( Some can say, Through grace, we are cleaner than we have been; but   it was the work of the Holy Spirit. )

 

 10 Differing weights and differing measures— the LORD detests them   both. ( See the various deceits men use, of which the love of money is   the root. The Lord will not bless what is thus gotten. )

 11 Even small children are known by their actions, so is their conduct   really pure and upright? (Parents should observe their children, that they may manage them accordingly.)

 12 Ears that hear and eyes that see— the LORD has made them both. ( All our powers and faculties are from God, and are to be employed for him. )

 13 Do not love sleep or you will grow poor; stay awake and you will   have  food to spare. (Those that indulge themselves, may expect to want necessaries, which should have been gotten by honest labour.)

 14 “It’s no good, it’s no good!” says the buyer— then goes off and   boasts  about the purchase. ( Men use arts to get a good bargain, and   to buy cheap; whereas a man ought to be ashamed of a fraud and a lie. )

 15 Gold there is, and rubies in abundance, but lips that speak   knowledge are a rare jewel.

16 Take the garment of one who puts up security for a stranger; hold it   in pledge if it is done for an outsider.

17 Food gained by fraud tastes sweet, but one ends up with a mouth full   of gravel.

18 Plans are established by seeking advice; so if you wage war, obtain   guidance.

19 A gossip betrays a confidence; so avoid anyone who talks too much.

20 If someone curses their father or mother, their lamp will be snuffed   out in pitch darkness.

21 An inheritance claimed too soon will not be blessed at the end.

22 Do not say, “I’ll pay you back for this wrong!” Wait for the LORD, and   he will avenge you.

23 The LORD detests differing weights, and dishonest scales do not   please him.

24 A person’s steps are directed by the LORD. How then can anyone   understand their own way?

25 It is a trap to dedicate something rashly and only later to consider   one’s vows.

26 A wise king winnows out the wicked; he drives the threshing wheel   over them.

 27 The human spirit is the lamp of the LORD that sheds light on one’s   inmost being.

 28 Love and faithfulness keep a king safe; through love his throne is   made secure.

 29 The glory of young men is their strength, gray hair the splendor of   the old.

 30 Blows and wounds scrub away evil, and beatings purge the inmost   being.

PROVERBS 21

1 In the LORD’s hand the king’s heart is a stream of water that he channels toward all who please him.

2 A person may think their own ways are right, but the LORD weighs the heart.

3 To do what is right and just is more acceptable to the LORD than sacrifice.

4 Haughty eyes and a proud heart— the unplowed field of the wicked—produce sin.

5 The plans of the diligent lead to profit as surely as haste leads to poverty.

6 A fortune made by a lying tongue is a fleeting vapor and a deadly snare.

7 The violence of the wicked will drag them away, for they refuse to do what is right.

8 The way of the guilty is devious, but the conduct of the innocent is upright.

9 Better to live on a corner of the roof than share a house with a quarrelsome wife.

10 The wicked crave evil; their neighbors get no mercy from them.

11 When a mocker is punished, the simple gain wisdom; by paying attention to the wise they get knowledge.

12 The Righteous One takes note of the house of the wicked and brings the wicked to ruin.

13 Whoever shuts their ears to the cry of the poor will also cry out and not be answered.

14 A gift given in secret soothes anger, and a bribe concealed in the cloak pacifies great wrath.

15 When justice is done, it brings joy to the righteous but terror to evildoers.

16 Whoever strays from the path of prudence comes to rest in the company of the dead.

17 Whoever loves pleasure will become poor; whoever loves wine and olive oil will never be rich.

18 The wicked become a ransom for the righteous, and the unfaithful for the upright.

19 Better to live in a desert than with a quarrelsome and nagging wife.

20 The wise store up choice food and olive oil, but fools gulp theirs down.

21 Whoever pursues righteousness and love finds life, prosperity and honor.

22 One who is wise can go up against the city of the mighty and pull down the stronghold in which they trust.

23 Those who guard their mouths and their tongues keep themselves from calamity.

24 The proud and arrogant person—“Mocker” is his name— behaves with insolent fury.

25 The craving of a sluggard will be the death of him, because his hands refuse to work.

26 All day long he craves for more, but the righteous give without sparing.

27 The sacrifice of the wicked is detestable— how much more so when brought with evil intent!

28 A false witness will perish, but a careful listener will testify successfully.

29 The wicked put up a bold front, but the upright give thought to their ways.

30 There is no wisdom, no insight, no plan that can succeed against the LORD.

31 The horse is made ready for the day of battle, but victory rests with the LORD.

PROVERBS 22

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.

Thirty Sayings of the Wise

Saying 1

17 Pay attention and turn your ear to the sayings of the wise; apply your heart to what I teach,

18 for it is pleasing when you keep them in your heart and have all of them ready on your lips.

19 So that your trust may be in the LORD, I teach you today, even you.

20 Have I not written thirty sayings for you, sayings of counsel and knowledge,

21 teaching you to be honest and to speak the truth, so that you bring back truthful reports to those you serve?

Saying 2

22 Do not exploit the poor because they are poor and do not crush the needy in court,

23 for the LORD will take up their case and will exact life for life.

Saying 3

24 Do not make friends with a hot-tempered person, do not associate with one easily angered,

25 or you may learn their ways and get yourself ensnared.

Saying 4

26 Do not be one who shakes hands in pledge or puts up security for debts;

27 if you lack the means to pay, your very bed will be snatched from under you.

Saying 5

28 Do not move an ancient boundary stone set up by your ancestors.

Saying 6

29 Do you see someone skilled in their work? They will serve before kings; they will not serve before officials of low rank.

PROVERBS 23

Saying 7

1 When you sit to dine with a ruler, note well what is before you,

2 and put a knife to your throat if you are given to gluttony.

3 Do not crave his delicacies, for that food is deceptive.

Saying 8

4 Do not wear yourself out to get rich; do not trust your own cleverness.

5 Cast but a glance at riches, and they are gone, for they will surely sprout wings and fly off to the sky like an eagle.

Saying 9

6 Do not eat the food of a begrudging host, do not crave his delicacies;

7 for he is the kind of person who is always thinking about the cost.“Eat and drink,” he says to you, but his heart is not with you.

8 You will vomit up the little you have eaten and will have wasted your compliments.

Saying 10

9 Do not speak to fools, for they will scorn your prudent words.

Saying 11

10 Do not move an ancient boundary stone or encroach on the fields of the fatherless,

11 for their Defender is strong; he will take up their case against you.

Saying 12

12 Apply your heart to instruction and your ears to words of knowledge.

Saying 13

13 Do not withhold discipline from a child; if you punish them with the rod, they will not die.

14 Punish them with the rod and save them from death.

Saying 14

15 My son, if your heart is wise, then my heart will be glad indeed;

16 my inmost being will rejoice when your lips speak what is right.

Saying 15

17 Do not let your heart envy sinners, but always be zealous for the fear of the LORD.

18 There is surely a future hope for you, and your hope will not be cut off.

Saying 16

19 Listen, my son, and be wise, and set your heart on the right path:

20 Do not join those who drink too much wine or gorge themselves on meat,

21 for drunkards and gluttons become poor, and drowsiness clothes them in rags.

Saying 17

22 Listen to your father, who gave you life, and do not despise your mother when she is old.

23 Buy the truth and do not sell it— wisdom, instruction and insight as well.

24 The father of a righteous child has great joy; a man who fathers a wise son rejoices in him.

25 May your father and mother rejoice; may she who gave you birth be joyful!

Saying 18

26 My son, give me your heart and let your eyes delight in my ways,

27 for an adulterous woman is a deep pit, and a wayward wife is a narrow well.

28 Like a bandit she lies in wait and multiplies the unfaithful among men.

Saying 19

29 Who has woe? Who has sorrow? Who has strife? Who has complaints? Who has needless bruises? Who has bloodshot eyes?

30 Those who linger over wine, who go to sample bowls of mixed wine.

31 Do not gaze at wine when it is red, when it sparkles in the cup, when it goes down smoothly!

32 In the end it bites like a snake and poisons like a viper.

33 Your eyes will see strange sights, and your mind will imagine confusing things.

34 You will be like one sleeping on the high seas, lying on top of the rigging.

35 “They hit me,” you will say, “but I’m not hurt! They beat me, but I don’t feel it! When will I wake up so I can find another drink?”

PROVERBS 24

Saying 20

1 Do not envy the wicked, do not desire their company;

2 for their hearts plot violence, and their lips talk about making trouble.

Saying 21

3 By wisdom a house is built, and through understanding it is established;

4 through knowledge its rooms are filled with rare and beautiful treasures.

Saying 22

5 The wise prevail through great power, and those who have knowledge muster their strength.

6 Surely you need guidance to wage war, and victory is won through many advisers.

Saying 23

7 Wisdom is too high for fools; in the assembly at the gate they must not open their mouths.

Saying 24

8 Whoever plots evil will be known as a schemer.

9 The schemes of folly are sin, and people detest a mocker.

Saying 25

10 If you falter in a time of trouble, how small is your strength!

11 Rescue those being led away to death; hold back those staggering toward slaughter.

12 If you say, “But we knew nothing about this,” does not he who weighs the heart perceive it? Does not he who guards your life know it? Will he not repay everyone according to what they have done?

Saying 26

13 Eat honey, my son, for it is good; honey from the comb is sweet to your taste.

14 Know also that wisdom is like honey for you: If you find it, there is a future hope for you, and your hope will not be cut off.

Saying 27

15 Do not lurk like a thief near the house of the righteous, do not plunder their dwelling place;

16 for though the righteous fall seven times, they rise again, but the wicked stumble when calamity strikes.

Saying 28

17 Do not gloat when your enemy falls; when they stumble, do not let your heart rejoice,

18 or the LORD will see and disapprove and turn his wrath away from them.

Saying 29

19 Do not fret because of evildoers or be envious of the wicked,

20 for the evildoer has no future hope, and the lamp of the wicked will be snuffed out.

Saying 30

21 Fear the LORD and the king, my son, and do not join with rebellious officials,

22 for those two will send sudden destruction on them, and who knows what calamities they can bring?

Further Sayings of the Wise

23 These also are sayings of the wise: To show partiality in judging is not good:

24 Whoever says to the guilty, “You are innocent,” will be cursed by peoples and denounced by nations.

25 But it will go well with those who convict the guilty, and rich blessing will come on them.

26 An honest answer is like a kiss on the lips.

27 Put your outdoor work in order and get your fields ready; after that, build your house.

28 Do not testify against your neighbor without cause— would you use your lips to mislead?

29 Do not say, “I’ll do to them as they have done to me; I’ll pay them back for what they did.”

30 I went past the field of a sluggard, past the vineyard of someone who has no sense;

31 thorns had come up everywhere, the ground was covered with weeds, and the stone wall was in ruins.

32 I applied my heart to what I observed and learned a lesson from what I saw:

33 A little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to rest—

34 and poverty will come on you like a thief and scarcity like an armed man.

PROVERBS 25

More Proverbs of Solomon

1 These are more proverbs of Solomon, compiled by the men of Hezekiah king of Judah:

2 It is the glory of God to conceal a matter; to search out a matter is the glory of kings.

3 As the heavens are high and the earth is deep, so the hearts of kings are unsearchable.

4 Remove the dross from the silver, and a silversmith can produce a vessel;

5 remove wicked officials from the king’s presence, and his throne will be established through righteousness.

6 Do not exalt yourself in the king’s presence, and do not claim a place among his great men;

7 it is better for him to say to you, “Come up here,” than for him to humiliate you before his nobles. What you have seen with your eyes

8 do not bring hastily to court, for what will you do in the end if your neighbor puts you to shame?

9 If you take your neighbor to court, do not betray another’s confidence,

10 or the one who hears it may shame you and the charge against you will stand.

11 Like apples of gold in settings of silver is a ruling rightly given.

12 Like an earring of gold or an ornament of fine gold is the rebuke of a wise judge to a listening ear.

13 Like a snow-cooled drink at harvest time is a trustworthy messenger to the one who sends him; he refreshes the spirit of his master.

14 Like clouds and wind without rain is one who boasts of gifts never given.

15 Through patience a ruler can be persuaded, and a gentle tongue can break a bone.

16 If you find honey, eat just enough— too much of it, and you will vomit.

17 Seldom set foot in your neighbor’s house— too much of you, and they will hate you.

18 Like a club or a sword or a sharp arrow is one who gives false testimony against a neighbor.

19 Like a broken tooth or a lame foot is reliance on the unfaithful in a time of trouble.

20 Like one who takes away a garment on a cold day, or like vinegar poured on a wound, is one who sings songs to a heavy heart.

21 If your enemy is hungry, give him food to eat; if he is thirsty, give him water to drink.

22 In doing this, you will heap burning coals on his head, and the LORD will reward you.

23 Like a north wind that brings unexpected rain is a sly tongue—which provokes a horrified look.

24 Better to live on a corner of the roof than share a house with a quarrelsome wife.

25 Like cold water to a weary soul is good news from a distant land.

26 Like a muddied spring or a polluted well are the righteous who give way to the wicked.

27 It is not good to eat too much honey, nor is it honorable to search out matters that are too deep.

28 Like a city whose walls are broken through is a person who lacks self-control.

PROVERBS 26

1 Like snow in summer or rain in harvest, honor is not fitting for a fool.

2 Like a fluttering sparrow or a darting swallow, an undeserved curse does not come to rest.

3 A whip for the horse, a bridle for the donkey, and a rod for the backs of fools!

4 Do not answer a fool according to his folly, or you yourself will be just like him.

5 Answer a fool according to his folly, or he will be wise in his own eyes.

6 Sending a message by the hands of a fool is like cutting off one’s feet or drinking poison.

7 Like the useless legs of one who is lame is a proverb in the mouth of a fool.

8 Like tying a stone in a sling is the giving of honor to a fool.

9 Like a thornbush in a drunkard’s hand is a proverb in the mouth of a fool.

10 Like an archer who wounds at random is one who hires a fool or any passer-by.

11 As a dog returns to its vomit, so fools repeat their folly.

12 Do you see a person wise in their own eyes? There is more hope for a fool than for them.

13 A sluggard says, “There’s a lion in the road, a fierce lion roaming the streets!”

14 As a door turns on its hinges, so a sluggard turns on his bed.

15 A sluggard buries his hand in the dish; he is too lazy to bring it back to his mouth.

16 A sluggard is wiser in his own eyes than seven people who answer discreetly.

17 Like one who grabs a stray dog by the ears is someone who rushes into a quarrel not their own.

18 Like a maniac shooting flaming arrows of death

19 is one who deceives their neighbor and says, “I was only joking!”

20 Without wood a fire goes out; without a gossip a quarrel dies down.

21 As charcoal to embers and as wood to fire, so is a quarrelsome person for kindling strife.

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

23 Like a coating of silver dross on earthenware are fervent lips with an evil heart.

24 Enemies disguise themselves with their lips, but in their hearts they harbor deceit.

25 Though their speech is charming, do not believe them, for seven abominations fill their hearts.

26 Their malice may be concealed by deception, but their wickedness will be exposed in the assembly.

27 Whoever digs a pit will fall into it; if someone rolls a stone, it will roll back on them.

28 A lying tongue hates those it hurts, and a flattering mouth works ruin.

PROVERBS 27

1 Do not boast about tomorrow, for you do not know what a day may bring.

2 Let someone else praise you, and not your own mouth; an outsider, and not your own lips.

3 Stone is heavy and sand a burden, but a fool’s provocation is heavier than both.

4 Anger is cruel and fury overwhelming, but who can stand before jealousy?

5 Better is open rebuke than hidden love.

6 Wounds from a friend can be trusted, but an enemy multiplies kisses.

7 One who is full loathes honey from the comb, but to the hungry even what is bitter tastes sweet.

8 Like a bird that flees its nest is anyone who flees from home.

9 Perfume and incense bring joy to the heart, and the pleasantness of a friend springs from their heartfelt advice.

10 Do not forsake your friend or a friend of your family, and do not go to your relative’s house when disaster strikes you— better a neighbor nearby than a relative far away.

11 Be wise, my son, and bring joy to my heart; then I can answer anyone who treats me with contempt.

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

13 Take the garment of one who puts up security for a stranger; hold it in pledge if it is done for an outsider.

14 If anyone loudly blesses their neighbor early in the morning, it will be taken as a curse.

15 A quarrelsome wife is like the dripping of a leaky roof in a rainstorm;

16 restraining her is like restraining the wind or grasping oil with the hand.

17 As iron sharpens iron, so one person sharpens another.

18 The one who guards a fig tree will eat its fruit, and whoever protects their master will be honored.

19 As water reflects the face, so one’s life reflects the heart.

20 Death and Destruction are never satisfied, and neither are human eyes.

21 The crucible for silver and the furnace for gold, but people are tested by their praise.

22 Though you grind a fool in a mortar, grinding them like grain with a pestle, you will not remove their folly from them.

23 Be sure you know the condition of your flocks, give careful attention to your herds;

24 for riches do not endure forever, and a crown is not secure for all generations.

25 When the hay is removed and new growth appears and the grass from the hills is gathered in,

26 the lambs will provide you with clothing, and the goats with the price of a field.

27 You will have plenty of goats’ milk to feed your family and to nourish your female servants.

PROVERBS 28

1 The wicked flee though no one pursues, but the righteous are as bold as a lion.

2 When a country is rebellious, it has many rulers, but a ruler with discernment and knowledge maintains order.

3 A ruler who oppresses the poor is like a driving rain that leaves no crops.

4 Those who forsake instruction praise the wicked, but those who heed it resist them.

5 Evildoers do not understand what is right, but those who seek the LORD understand it fully.

6 Better the poor whose walk is blameless than the rich whose ways are perverse.

7 A discerning son heeds instruction, but a companion of gluttons disgraces his father.

8 Whoever increases wealth by taking interest or profit from the poor amasses it for another, who will be kind to the poor.

9 If anyone turns a deaf ear to my instruction, even their prayers are detestable.

10 Whoever leads the upright along an evil path will fall into their own trap, but the blameless will receive a good inheritance.

11 The rich are wise in their own eyes; one who is poor and discerning sees how deluded they are.

12 When the righteous triumph, there is great elation; but when the wicked rise to power, people go into hiding.

13 Whoever conceals their sins does not prosper, but the one who confesses and renounces them finds mercy.

14 Blessed is the one who always trembles before God, but whoever hardens their heart falls into trouble.

15 Like a roaring lion or a charging bear is a wicked ruler over a helpless people.

16 A tyrannical ruler practices extortion, but one who hates ill-gotten gain will enjoy a long reign.

17 Anyone tormented by the guilt of murder will seek refuge in the grave; let no one hold them back.

18 The one whose walk is blameless is kept safe, but the one whose ways are perverse will fall into the pit.

19 Those who work their land will have abundant food, but those who chase fantasies will have their fill of poverty.

20 A faithful person will be richly blessed, but one eager to get rich will not go unpunished.

21 To show partiality is not good— yet a person will do wrong for a piece of bread.

22 The stingy are eager to get rich and are unaware that poverty awaits them.

23 Whoever rebukes a person will in the end gain favor rather than one who has a flattering tongue.

24 Whoever robs their father or mother and says, “It’s not wrong,” is partner to one who destroys.

25 The greedy stir up conflict, but those who trust in the LORD will prosper.

26 Those who trust in themselves are fools, but those who walk in wisdom are kept safe.

27 Those who give to the poor will lack nothing, but those who close their eyes to them receive many curses.

28 When the wicked rise to power, people go into hiding; but when the wicked perish, the righteous thrive.

PROVERBS 29

1 Whoever remains stiff-necked after many rebukes will suddenly be destroyed—without remedy.

2 When the righteous thrive, the people rejoice; when the wicked rule, the people groan.

3 A man who loves wisdom brings joy to his father, but a companion of prostitutes squanders his wealth.

4 By justice a king gives a country stability, but those who are greedy for bribes tear it down.

5 Those who flatter their neighbors are spreading nets for their feet.

6 Evildoers are snared by their own sin, but the righteous shout for joy and are glad.

7 The righteous care about justice for the poor, but the wicked have no such concern.

8 Mockers stir up a city, but the wise turn away anger.

9 If a wise person goes to court with a fool, the fool rages and scoffs, and there is no peace.

10 The bloodthirsty hate a person of integrity and seek to kill the upright.

11 Fools give full vent to their rage, but the wise bring calm in the end.

12 If a ruler listens to lies, all his officials become wicked.

13 The poor and the oppressor have this in common: The LORD gives sight to the eyes of both.

14 If a king judges the poor with fairness, his throne will be established forever.

15 A rod and a reprimand impart wisdom, but a child left undisciplined disgraces its mother.

16 When the wicked thrive, so does sin, but the righteous will see their downfall.

17 Discipline your children, and they will give you peace; they will bring you the delights you desire.

18 Where there is no revelation, people cast off restraint; but blessed is the one who heeds wisdom’s instruction.

19 Servants cannot be corrected by mere words; though they understand, they will not respond.

20 Do you see someone who speaks in haste? There is more hope for a fool than for them.

21 A servant pampered from youth will turn out to be insolent.

22 An angry person stirs up conflict, and a hot-tempered person commits many sins.

23 Pride brings a person low, but the lowly in spirit gain honor.

24 The accomplices of thieves are their own enemies; they are put under oath and dare not testify.

25 Fear of man will prove to be a snare, but whoever trusts in the LORD is kept safe.

26 Many seek an audience with a ruler, but it is from the LORD that one gets justice.

27 The righteous detest the dishonest; the wicked detest the upright.

PROVERBS 30

1 The sayings of Agur son of Jakeh—an inspired utterance. This man’s utterance to Ithiel: “I am weary, God, but I can prevail.

2 Surely I am only a brute, not a man; I do not have human understanding.

3 I have not learned wisdom, nor have I attained to the knowledge of the Holy One.

4 Who has gone up to heaven and come down? Whose hands have gathered up the wind? Who has wrapped up the waters in a cloak? Who has established all the ends of the earth? What is his name, and what is the name of his son? Surely you know!

5 “Every word of God is flawless; he is a shield to those who take refuge in him.

6 Do not add to his words, or he will rebuke you and prove you a liar.

7 “Two things I ask of you, LORD; do not refuse me before I die:

8 Keep falsehood and lies far from me; give me neither poverty nor riches, but give me only my daily bread.

9 Otherwise, I may have too much and disown you and say, ‘Who is the LORD?’ Or I may become poor and steal, and so dishonor the name of my God.

10 “Do not slander a servant to their master, or they will curse you, and you will pay for it.

11 “There are those who curse their fathers and do not bless their mothers;

12 those who are pure in their own eyes and yet are not cleansed of their filth;

13 those whose eyes are ever so haughty, whose glances are so disdainful;

14 those whose teeth are swords and whose jaws are set with knives to devour the poor from the earth and the needy from among mankind.

15 “The leech has two daughters. ‘Give! Give!’ they cry. “There are three things that are never satisfied, four that never say, ‘Enough!’:

16 the grave, the barren womb, land, which is never satisfied with water, and fire, which never says, ‘Enough!’

17 “The eye that mocks a father, that scorns an aged mother, will be pecked out by the ravens of the valley, will be eaten by the vultures.

18 “There are three things that are too amazing for me, four that I do not understand:

19 the way of an eagle in the sky, the way of a snake on a rock, the way of a ship on the high seas, and the way of a man with a young woman.

20 “This is the way of an adulterous woman: She eats and wipes her mouth and says, ‘I’ve done nothing wrong.’

21 “Under three things the earth trembles, under four it cannot bear up:

22 a servant who becomes king, a godless fool who gets plenty to eat,

23 a contemptible woman who gets married, and a servant who displaces her mistress.

24 “Four things on earth are small, yet they are extremely wise:

25 Ants are creatures of little strength, yet they store up their food in the summer;

26 hyraxes are creatures of little power, yet they make their home in the crags;

27 locusts have no king, yet they advance together in ranks;

28 a lizard can be caught with the hand, yet it is found in kings’ palaces.

29 “There are three things that are stately in their stride, four that move with stately bearing:

30 a lion, mighty among beasts, who retreats before nothing;

31 a strutting rooster, a he-goat, and a king secure against revolt.

32 “If you play the fool and exalt yourself, or if you plan evil, clap your hand over your mouth!

33 For as churning cream produces butter, and as twisting the nose produces blood, so stirring up anger produces strife.”

PROVERBS 31

1 The sayings of King Lemuel—an inspired utterance his mother taught him.

2 Listen, my son! Listen, son of my womb! Listen, my son, the answer to my prayers!

3 Do not spend your strength on women, your vigor on those who ruin kings.

4 It is not for kings, Lemuel— it is not for kings to drink wine, not for rulers to crave beer,

5 lest they drink and forget what has been decreed, and deprive all the oppressed of their rights.

6 Let beer be for those who are perishing, wine for those who are in anguish!

7 Let them drink and forget their poverty and remember their misery no more.

8 Speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves, for the rights of all who are destitute.

9 Speak up and judge fairly; defend the rights of the poor and needy.

Epilogue: The Wife of Noble Character

10 A wife of noble character who can find? She is worth far more than rubies.

11 Her husband has full confidence in her and lacks nothing of value.

12 She brings him good, not harm, all the days of her life.

13 She selects wool and flax and works with eager hands.

14 She is like the merchant ships, bringing her food from afar.

15 She gets up while it is still night; she provides food for her family and portions for her female servants.

16 She considers a field and buys it; out of her earnings she plants a vineyard.

17 She sets about her work vigorously; her arms are strong for her tasks.

18 She sees that her trading is profitable, and her lamp does not go out at night.

19 In her hand she holds the distaff and grasps the spindle with her fingers.

20 She opens her arms to the poor and extends her hands to the needy.

21 When it snows, she has no fear for her household; for all of them are clothed in scarlet.

22 She makes coverings for her bed; she is clothed in fine linen and purple.

23 Her husband is respected at the city gate, where he takes his seat among the elders of the land.

24 She makes linen garments and sells them, and supplies the merchants with sashes.

25 She is clothed with strength and dignity; she can laugh at the days to come.

26 She speaks with wisdom, and faithful instruction is on her tongue.

27 She watches over the affairs of her household and does not eat the bread of idleness.

28 Her children arise and call her blessed; her husband also, and he praises her:

29 “Many women do noble things, but you surpass them all.”

30 Charm is deceptive, and beauty is fleeting; but a woman who fears the LORD is to be praised.

31 Honor her for all that her hands have done, and let her works bring her praise at the city gate.