Proverbs 19
New Revised Standard Version Catholic Edition
19 Better the poor walking in integrity
than one perverse of speech who is a fool.
2 Desire without knowledge is not good,
and one who moves too hurriedly misses the way.
3 One’s own folly leads to ruin,
yet the heart rages against the Lord.
4 Wealth brings many friends,
but the poor are left friendless.
5 A false witness will not go unpunished,
and a liar will not escape.
6 Many seek the favor of the generous,
and everyone is a friend to a giver of gifts.
7 If the poor are hated even by their kin,
how much more are they shunned by their friends!
When they call after them, they are not there.[a]
8 To get wisdom is to love oneself;
to keep understanding is to prosper.
9 A false witness will not go unpunished,
and the liar will perish.
10 It is not fitting for a fool to live in luxury,
much less for a slave to rule over princes.
11 Those with good sense are slow to anger,
and it is their glory to overlook an offense.
12 A king’s anger is like the growling of a lion,
but his favor is like dew on the grass.
13 A stupid child is ruin to a father,
and a wife’s quarreling is a continual dripping of rain.
14 House and wealth are inherited from parents,
but a prudent wife is from the Lord.
15 Laziness brings on deep sleep;
an idle person will suffer hunger.
16 Those who keep the commandment will live;
those who are heedless of their ways will die.
17 Whoever is kind to the poor lends to the Lord,
and will be repaid in full.
18 Discipline your children while there is hope;
do not set your heart on their destruction.
19 A violent tempered person will pay the penalty;
if you effect a rescue, you will only have to do it again.[b]
20 Listen to advice and accept instruction,
that you may gain wisdom for the future.
21 The human mind may devise many plans,
but it is the purpose of the Lord that will be established.
22 What is desirable in a person is loyalty,
and it is better to be poor than a liar.
23 The fear of the Lord is life indeed;
filled with it one rests secure
and suffers no harm.
24 The lazy person buries a hand in the dish,
and will not even bring it back to the mouth.
25 Strike a scoffer, and the simple will learn prudence;
reprove the intelligent, and they will gain knowledge.
26 Those who do violence to their father and chase away their mother
are children who cause shame and bring reproach.
27 Cease straying, my child, from the words of knowledge,
in order that you may hear instruction.
28 A worthless witness mocks at justice,
and the mouth of the wicked devours iniquity.
29 Condemnation is ready for scoffers,
and flogging for the backs of fools.
Footnotes
- Proverbs 19:7 Meaning of Heb uncertain
- Proverbs 19:19 Meaning of Heb uncertain
Proverbs 19
Contemporary English Version
It's Wise To Be Patient
19 It's better to be poor
and live right
than to be a stupid liar.
2 Willingness and stupidity
don't go well together.
If you are too eager,
you will miss the road.
3 We are ruined
by our own stupidity,
though we blame the Lord.
4 The rich have many friends;
the poor have none.
5 Dishonest witnesses and liars
won't escape punishment.
6 Everyone tries to be friends
of those who can help them.
7 If you are poor,
your own relatives reject you,
and your friends are worse.
When you really need them,
they are not there.[a]
8 Do yourself a favor
by having good sense—
you will be glad you did.
9 Dishonest witnesses and liars
will be destroyed.
10 It isn't right for a fool
to live in luxury
or for a slave to rule
in place of a king.
11 It's wise to be patient
and show what you are like
by forgiving others.
12 An angry king roars
like a lion,
but when a king is pleased,
it's like dew on the crops.
13 Foolish children bring disgrace
to their fathers.
A nagging wife goes on and on
like the drip, drip, drip
of the rain.
14 You may inherit all you own
from your parents,
but a sensible wife
is a gift from the Lord.
15 If you are lazy
and sleep your time away,
you will starve.
16 Obey the Lord's teachings
and you will live—
disobey and you will die.
17 Caring for the poor
is lending to the Lord,
and you will be well repaid.
18 Correct your children
before it's too late;
if you don't punish them,
trouble will come their way.[b]
19 People with bad tempers
are always in trouble,
and they need help
over and over again.[c]
20 Pay attention to advice
and accept correction,
so you can live sensibly.
21 We may make a lot of plans,
but the Lord will do
what he has decided.
22 What matters most is loyalty.
It's better to be poor
than to be a liar.
23 Showing respect to the Lord
brings true life—
if you do it, you can relax
without fear of danger.
24 Some people are too lazy
to lift a hand
to feed themselves.
25 Stupid fools learn good sense
by seeing others punished;
a sensible person learns
by being corrected.
26 Disgraceful children
rob their father
and chase their mother away.
27 If you stop learning,
you will forget
what you already know.
28 A lying witness makes fun
of the court system,
and criminals think crime
is really delicious.
29 A stupid fool should expect
to be punished.
Proverbs 19
Authorized (King James) Version
19 Better is the poor that walketh in his integrity,
than he that is perverse in his lips, and is a fool.
2 Also, that the soul be without knowledge, it is not good;
and he that hasteth with his feet sinneth.
3 The foolishness of man perverteth his way:
and his heart fretteth against the Lord.
4 Wealth maketh many friends;
but the poor is separated from his neighbour.
5 A false witness shall not be unpunished,
and he that speaketh lies shall not escape.
6 Many will intreat the favour of the prince:
and every man is a friend to him that giveth gifts.
7 All the brethren of the poor do hate him:
how much more do his friends go far from him?
he pursueth them with words,
yet they are wanting to him.
8 He that getteth wisdom loveth his own soul:
he that keepeth understanding shall find good.
9 A false witness shall not be unpunished,
and he that speaketh lies shall perish.
10 Delight is not seemly for a fool;
much less for a servant to have rule over princes.
11 The discretion of a man deferreth his anger;
and it is his glory to pass over a transgression.
12 The king’s wrath is as the roaring of a lion;
but his favour is as dew upon the grass.
13 A foolish son is the calamity of his father:
and the contentions of a wife are a continual dropping.
14 House and riches are the inheritance of fathers:
and a prudent wife is from the Lord.
15 Slothfulness casteth into a deep sleep;
and an idle soul shall suffer hunger.
16 He that keepeth the commandment keepeth his own soul;
but he that despiseth his ways shall die.
17 He that hath pity upon the poor lendeth unto the Lord;
and that which he hath given will he pay him again.
18 Chasten thy son while there is hope,
and let not thy soul spare for his crying.
19 A man of great wrath shall suffer punishment:
for if thou deliver him, yet thou must do it again.
20 Hear counsel, and receive instruction,
that thou mayest be wise in thy latter end.
21 There are many devices in a man’s heart;
nevertheless the counsel of the Lord, that shall stand.
22 The desire of a man is his kindness:
and a poor man is better than a liar.
23 The fear of the Lord tendeth to life: and he that hath it shall abide satisfied;
he shall not be visited with evil.
24 A slothful man hideth his hand in his bosom,
and will not so much as bring it to his mouth again.
25 Smite a scorner, and the simple will beware:
and reprove one that hath understanding, and he will understand knowledge.
26 He that wasteth his father, and chaseth away his mother,
is a son that causeth shame, and bringeth reproach.
27 Cease, my son, to hear the instruction
that causeth to err from the words of knowledge.
28 An ungodly witness scorneth judgment:
and the mouth of the wicked devoureth iniquity.
29 Judgments are prepared for scorners,
and stripes for the back of fools.
New Revised Standard Version Bible: Catholic Edition, copyright © 1989, 1993 the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Copyright © 1995 by American Bible Society For more information about CEV, visit www.bibles.com and www.cev.bible.
KJV reproduced by permission of Cambridge University Press, the Crown’s patentee in the UK.