Add parallel Print Page Options

10 The proverbs of Solomon:
A wise son makes his father glad,
    but a foolish one fills his mother with sorrow.

Solomon’s proverbs were originally short, pithy, easily remembered sayings brought together around certain themes. They started as oral traditions and were eventually written in a Hebrew poetic form known as parallelism. Chapters 10–15 are dominated by antithetical parallelism, meaning a statement is made in line 1 and then contrasted in line 2. Chapters 16–22 contain both synonymous and synthetic parallelism. In synonymous parallelism, the ideas in line 1 are repeated in line 2 using different words. In synthetic parallelism, later lines serve to expand, define, and elaborate the first lines.

Riches gained through dishonest means will eventually vanish,
    but doing what is right avoids a deadly consequence.
The Eternal does not allow the right-living to go hungry,
    but He will frustrate the plans of the wicked.
A slack hand produces nothing but poverty,
    but an industrious hand soon takes hold of riches.
A wise son stores up for the winter months while it is still summer,
    but a shameful son lies around even during the harvest.
Blessings come to those who do what is right,
    but words spoken by the wicked cover up violent schemes.
The memory of one who lived with integrity brings joy,
    but the legacy of a wrongdoer will rot away.
The wise at heart will gladly obey direction,
    but one who fills the air with meaningless talk will fall into ruin.
The path of integrity is always safe,
    but a person who follows a crooked way will be exposed.
10 Whoever winks his eye signals trouble,
    and whoever fills the air with meaningless talk will fall into ruin.
11 The mouth of the righteous is a spring of life,
    but words spoken by the wicked cover up violent schemes.
12 Hatred fuels dissension,
    but love calms all rebellions.
13 Wisdom lives where insightful words are spoken,
    but harsh punishment awaits the senseless.
14 The wise store up knowledge as a safeguard,
    but the meaningless chatter of fools means that chaos is near.
15 The wealth of the rich is their powerful fortress;
    the poverty of the poor reduces them to rubble.
16 The reward of those who do right is a satisfied life,
    but the profits gained by those who do wrong is used to sin.
17 Those who accept instruction are travelers on the road to a meaningful life,
    but those who refuse correction wander off and pave a path to ruin.
18 Lips that lie cover deep-seated hatred,
    and whoever spreads a libelous rumor is acting as a fool.
19 The more you talk, the more likely you will cross the line and say the wrong thing;
    but if you are wise, you’ll speak less and with restraint.
20 The speech of those who do right is of greater value than the finest silver,
    but the thoughts of wrongdoers are worthless.
21 The right-living teach many,
    but fools die with no clue how to live well.

Perhaps the ancients knew the power of words better than we do. Words can conceal, reveal, destroy, and encourage. Words are extremely powerful, so Wisdom urges us to use a few carefully chosen words and to pick our conversations equally well.

22 The blessing of the Eternal is what makes someone rich,
    and He doesn’t add pain to it.
23 Mischief is the sport of fools,
    but wise actions bring joy to a person with insight.
24 Whatever wrongdoers fear the most will happen to them,
    but those who do right will receive what they long for.
25 After the storm passes, the wrongdoers are blown away,
    but those who do right are safe and sound on their firm foundations forever.
26 As vinegar vexes the teeth, and as smoke irritates the eyes,
    so a slacker annoys his boss.
27 Reverence for the Eternal makes for a long and peaceful life,
    but a wrongdoer will have years taken away.
28 The hope of those who do right is joy and celebration,
    but the only prospect for those who do wrong is futility.
29 The way of the Eternal offers safety to those who love justice,
    but it destroys those who perpetrate evil.
30 The right-living will never have their land taken away,
    but wrongdoers will be uprooted.
31 Wisdom flows from the mouths of those who do right,
    but tongues that twist the truth will be cut out.
32 The lips of the right-living understand what is proper,
    but the mouths of wrongdoers twist and pervert the truth.

Proverbs of Solomon

10 The proverbs(A) of Solomon:(B)

A wise son brings joy to his father,(C)
    but a foolish son brings grief to his mother.

Ill-gotten treasures have no lasting value,(D)
    but righteousness delivers from death.(E)

The Lord does not let the righteous go hungry,(F)
    but he thwarts the craving of the wicked.(G)

Lazy hands make for poverty,(H)
    but diligent hands bring wealth.(I)

He who gathers crops in summer is a prudent son,
    but he who sleeps during harvest is a disgraceful son.(J)

Blessings crown the head of the righteous,
    but violence overwhelms the mouth of the wicked.[a](K)

The name of the righteous(L) is used in blessings,[b]
    but the name of the wicked(M) will rot.(N)

The wise in heart accept commands,
    but a chattering fool comes to ruin.(O)

Whoever walks in integrity(P) walks securely,(Q)
    but whoever takes crooked paths will be found out.(R)

10 Whoever winks maliciously(S) causes grief,
    and a chattering fool comes to ruin.

11 The mouth of the righteous is a fountain of life,(T)
    but the mouth of the wicked conceals violence.(U)

12 Hatred stirs up conflict,
    but love covers over all wrongs.(V)

13 Wisdom is found on the lips of the discerning,(W)
    but a rod is for the back of one who has no sense.(X)

14 The wise store up knowledge,(Y)
    but the mouth of a fool invites ruin.(Z)

15 The wealth of the rich is their fortified city,(AA)
    but poverty is the ruin of the poor.(AB)

16 The wages of the righteous is life,(AC)
    but the earnings of the wicked are sin and death.(AD)

17 Whoever heeds discipline shows the way to life,(AE)
    but whoever ignores correction leads others astray.

18 Whoever conceals hatred with lying lips(AF)
    and spreads slander is a fool.

19 Sin is not ended by multiplying words,
    but the prudent hold their tongues.(AG)

20 The tongue of the righteous is choice silver,
    but the heart of the wicked is of little value.

21 The lips of the righteous nourish many,
    but fools die for lack of sense.(AH)

22 The blessing of the Lord(AI) brings wealth,(AJ)
    without painful toil for it.(AK)

23 A fool finds pleasure in wicked schemes,(AL)
    but a person of understanding delights in wisdom.

24 What the wicked dread(AM) will overtake them;(AN)
    what the righteous desire will be granted.(AO)

25 When the storm has swept by, the wicked are gone,
    but the righteous stand firm(AP) forever.(AQ)

26 As vinegar to the teeth and smoke(AR) to the eyes,
    so are sluggards to those who send them.(AS)

27 The fear of the Lord adds length to life,(AT)
    but the years of the wicked are cut short.(AU)

28 The prospect of the righteous is joy,
    but the hopes of the wicked come to nothing.(AV)

29 The way of the Lord is a refuge for the blameless,
    but it is the ruin of those who do evil.(AW)

30 The righteous will never be uprooted,
    but the wicked will not remain in the land.(AX)

31 From the mouth of the righteous comes the fruit of wisdom,(AY)
    but a perverse tongue(AZ) will be silenced.

32 The lips of the righteous know what finds favor,(BA)
    but the mouth of the wicked only what is perverse.(BB)

Footnotes

  1. Proverbs 10:6 Or righteous, / but the mouth of the wicked conceals violence
  2. Proverbs 10:7 See Gen. 48:20.