1BETTER IS a poor man who walks in his integrity than a rich man who is perverse in his speech and is a [self-confident] fool.
2Desire without knowledge is not good, and to be overhasty is to sin and miss the mark.
3The foolishness of man subverts his way [ruins his affairs]; then his heart is resentful and frets against the Lord.
4Wealth makes many friends, but the poor man is avoided by his neighbor. [Prov. 14:20.]
5A false witness shall not be unpunished, and he who breathes out lies shall not escape. [Exod. 23:1; Deut. 19:16-19; Prov. 6:19; 21:28.]
6Many will entreat the favor of a liberal man, and every man is a friend to him who gives gifts.
7All the brothers of a poor man detest him--how much more do his friends go far from him! He pursues them with words, but they are gone.
8He who gains Wisdom loves his own life; he who keeps understanding shall prosper and find good.
9A false witness shall not be unpunished, and he who breathes forth lies shall perish.
10Luxury is not fitting for a [self-confident] fool--much less for a slave to rule over princes.
11Good sense makes a man restrain his anger, and it is his glory to overlook a transgression or an offense.
12The king's wrath is as terrifying as the roaring of a lion, but his favor is as [refreshing as] dew upon the grass. [Hos. 14:5.]
13A self-confident and foolish son is the [multiplied] calamity of his father, and the contentions of a wife are like a continual dripping [of water through a chink in the roof].
14House and riches are the inheritance from fathers, but a wise, understanding, and prudent wife is from the Lord. [Prov. 18:22.]
15Slothfulness casts one into a deep sleep, and the idle person shall suffer hunger.
16He who keeps the commandment [of the Lord] keeps his own life, but he who despises His ways shall die. [Luke 10:28; 11:28.]
17He who has pity on the poor lends to the Lord, and that which he has given He will repay to him. [Prov. 28:27; Eccl. 11:1; Matt. 10:42; 25:40; II Cor. 9:6-8; Heb. 6:10.]
18Discipline your son while there is hope, but do not [indulge your angry resentments by undue chastisements and] set yourself to his ruin.
19A man of great wrath shall suffer the penalty; for if you deliver him [from the consequences], he will [feel free to] cause you to do it again.
20Hear counsel, receive instruction, and accept correction, that you may be wise in the time to come.
21Many plans are in a man's mind, but it is the Lord's purpose for him that will stand. [Job 23:13; Ps. 33:10, 11; Isa. 14:26, 27; 46:10; Acts 5:39; Heb. 6:17.]
22That which is desired in a man is loyalty and kindness [and his glory and delight are his giving], but a poor man is better than a liar.
23The reverent, worshipful fear of the Lord leads to life, and he who has it rests satisfied; he cannot be visited with [actual] evil. [Job 5:19; Ps. 91:3; Prov. 12:13; Isa. 46:4; Jer. 1:8; Dan. 6:27; II Tim. 4:8.]
24The sluggard buries his hand in the dish, and will not so much as bring it to his mouth again.
25Strike a scoffer, and the simple will learn prudence; reprove a man of understanding, and he will increase in knowledge.
26He who does violence to his father and chases away his mother is a son who causes shame and brings reproach.
27Cease, my son, to hear instruction only to ignore it and stray from the words of knowledge.
28A worthless witness scoffs at justice, and the mouth of the wicked swallows iniquity.
29Judgments are prepared for scoffers, and stripes for the backs of [self-confident] fools. [Isa. 32:6.]