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Proverbs 22
Easy-to-Read Version
Proverbs 22
Easy-to-Read Version
22 It is better to be respected than to be rich. A good name is worth more than silver or gold.
2 The rich and the poor are the same. The Lord made them all.
3 Wise people see trouble coming and get out of its way, but fools go straight to it and suffer for it.
4 Respect the Lord and be humble. Then you will have wealth, honor, and true life.
5 Evil people are trapped by many troubles, but those who want to live avoid them.
6 Teach children in a way that fits their needs, and even when they are old, they will not leave the right path.
7 The rich rule over the poor. The one who borrows is a slave to the one who lends.
8 Those who spread trouble will harvest trouble. In the end, they will be destroyed for the trouble they caused.
9 Generous people will be blessed, because they share their food with the poor.
10 Get rid of the proud who laugh at what is right, and trouble will leave with them. All arguments and insults will end.
11 Love a pure heart and kind words, and the king will be your friend.
12 The Lord watches over true knowledge, and he opposes those who try to deceive others.
13 A person who is lazy and wants to stay home says, “There is a lion outside, and I might be killed in the streets!”
14 The sin of adultery is a trap, and the Lord gets very angry with those who fall into it.
15 Children do foolish things, but if you punish them, they will learn not to do them.
16 These two things will make you poor: hurting the poor to make yourself rich and giving gifts to the rich.
Thirty Wise Sayings
17 Listen carefully to these words from the wise. Pay attention to what I have learned. 18 It will be good for you to remember these words and have them ready when they are needed. 19 I will teach you these things now. I want you to trust the Lord. 20 I have written 30 sayings for you.[a] These are words of advice and wisdom. 21 They will teach you things that you can know for sure to be true. Then you can give good answers to the one who sent you.
— 1 —
22 It is easy to steal from the poor, but don’t do it. And don’t take advantage of them in court. 23 The Lord is on their side. He supports the poor, and he will take from those who take from them.
— 2 —
24 Don’t be friends with people who become angry easily. Don’t stay around quick-tempered people. 25 If you do, you may learn to be like them. Then you will have the same problems they do.
— 3 —
26 Don’t promise to pay someone else’s debt. 27 If you cannot pay, you will lose everything you have. So why should you lose the bed you sleep on?
— 4 —
28 Never move an old property line that was marked long ago by your ancestors.
— 5 —
29 Skilled workers will always serve kings. They will never have to work for less important people.
Footnotes
- Proverbs 22:20 I have … for you Or “I wrote this for you earlier.”
Proverbs 22
New International Version
Proverbs 22
New International Version
22 A good name is more desirable than great riches;
to be esteemed is better than silver or gold.(A)
2 Rich and poor have this in common:
The Lord is the Maker of them all.(B)
5 In the paths of the wicked are snares and pitfalls,(G)
but those who would preserve their life stay far from them.
6 Start(H) children off on the way they should go,(I)
and even when they are old they will not turn from it.(J)
7 The rich rule over the poor,
and the borrower is slave to the lender.
10 Drive out the mocker, and out goes strife;
quarrels and insults are ended.(O)
11 One who loves a pure heart and who speaks with grace
will have the king for a friend.(P)
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!(Q)
I’ll be killed in the public square!”
14 The mouth of an adulterous woman is a deep pit;(R)
a man who is under the Lord’s wrath falls into it.(S)
15 Folly is bound up in the heart of a child,
but the rod of discipline will drive it far away.(T)
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(U) and turn your ear to the sayings of the wise;(V)
apply your heart to what I teach,(W)
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,(X)
so that you bring back truthful reports
to those you serve?
Saying 2
22 Do not exploit the poor(Y) because they are poor
and do not crush the needy in court,(Z)
23 for the Lord will take up their case(AA)
and will exact life for life.(AB)
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.(AC)
Saying 4
26 Do not be one who shakes hands in pledge(AD)
or puts up security for debts;
27 if you lack the means to pay,
your very bed will be snatched from under you.(AE)
Saying 5
28 Do not move an ancient boundary stone(AF)
set up by your ancestors.
Saying 6
Proverbs 22
King James Version
Proverbs 22
King James Version
22 A good name is rather to be chosen than great riches, and loving favour rather than silver and gold.
2 The rich and poor meet together: the Lord is the maker of them all.
3 A prudent man foreseeth the evil, and hideth himself: but the simple pass on, and are punished.
4 By humility and the fear of the Lord are riches, and honour, and life.
5 Thorns and snares are in the way of the froward: he that doth keep his soul shall 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 ruleth over the poor, and the borrower is servant to the lender.
8 He that soweth iniquity shall reap vanity: and the rod of his anger shall fail.
9 He that hath a bountiful eye shall be blessed; for he giveth of his bread to the poor.
10 Cast out the scorner, and contention shall go out; yea, strife and reproach shall cease.
11 He that loveth pureness of heart, for the grace of his lips the king shall be his friend.
12 The eyes of the Lord preserve knowledge, and he overthroweth the words of the transgressor.
13 The slothful man saith, There is a lion without, I shall be slain in the streets.
14 The mouth of strange women is a deep pit: he that is abhorred of the Lord shall fall therein.
15 Foolishness is bound in the heart of a child; but the rod of correction shall drive it far from him.
16 He that oppresseth the poor to increase his riches, and he that giveth to the rich, shall surely come to want.
17 Bow down thine ear, and hear the words of the wise, and apply thine heart unto my knowledge.
18 For it is a pleasant thing if thou keep them within thee; they shall withal be fitted in thy lips.
19 That thy trust may be in the Lord, I have made known to thee this day, even to thee.
20 Have not I written to thee excellent things in counsels and knowledge,
21 That I might make thee know the certainty of the words of truth; that thou mightest answer the words of truth to them that send unto thee?
22 Rob not the poor, because he is poor: neither oppress the afflicted in the gate:
23 For the Lord will plead their cause, and spoil the soul of those that spoiled them.
24 Make no friendship with an angry man; and with a furious man thou shalt not go:
25 Lest thou learn his ways, and get a snare to thy soul.
26 Be not thou one of them that strike hands, or of them that are sureties for debts.
27 If thou hast nothing to pay, why should he take away thy bed from under thee?
28 Remove not the ancient landmark, which thy fathers have set.
29 Seest thou a man diligent in his business? he shall stand before kings; he shall not stand before mean men.
Easy-to-Read Version (ERV)
Copyright © 2006 by Bible League International
New International Version (NIV) 
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