Proverbs 22 - Modern English Version

¹ A good name is to be chosen rather than great riches, and favor rather than silver and gold.

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

³ A prudent man foresees the evil and hides himself, but the simple pass on and are punished.

⁴ By humility and the fear of the Lord are riches and honor and life.

⁵ Thorns and snares are in the way of the perverse; he who guards his soul will be far from them.

⁶ Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not depart from it.

⁷ The rich rules over the poor, and the borrower is the slave of the lender.

⁸ He who sows injustice will reap iniquity, and the rod of his wrath will disappear.

⁹ He who has a generous eye will be blessed, for he gives of his bread to the poor.

¹⁰ Cast out the scoffer, and contention will leave; indeed, strife and shame will cease.

¹¹ He who loves a pure heart and speaks gracefully, the king will be his friend.

¹² The eyes of the Lord preserve knowledge, and He overthrows the words of the unfaithful.

¹³ The sluggard says, “There is a lion outside! I will be killed in the streets!”

¹⁴ The mouth of an immoral woman is a deep pit; he who is under the wrath of the Lord will fall into it.

¹⁵ Folly is bound up in the heart of a child, but the rod of correction will drive it far from him.

¹⁶ He who oppresses the poor to increase his wealth, and he who gives to the rich, will surely come to poverty.

Thirty Sayings of the Wise Saying 1

¹⁷ Incline your ear, and hear the words of the wise, and apply your heart to my teaching,

¹⁸ for it is a pleasant thing if you keep them within you, and if all of them are ready on your lips.

¹⁹ So that your trust may be in the Lord, I have instructed you today, even you.

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

²¹ to make you know the certainty of the sayings of truth, that you might answer sayings of truth to those who sent you?

Saying 2

²² Exploit not the poor, because he is poor, and oppress not the afflicted at the gate,

²³ for the Lord will plead their cause, and plunder the soul of those who plunder them.

Saying 3

²⁴ Make no friendship with a man of anger, and with a man of fury do not associate,

²⁵ lest you learn his ways and ensnare your soul.

Saying 4

²⁶ Be not one of those who shakes hands in a pledge, or of those who are collateral for loans.

²⁷ If you have nothing with which to pay, why should he take away your bed from under you?

Saying 5

²⁸ Remove not the ancient landmark that your fathers have set.

Saying 6

²⁹ Do you see a man who excels in his work? He will stand before kings; he will not stand before obscure men.