22
A Good Name
1 A good name is more desirable than great riches;
favor is better than silver and gold.
2 The rich and the poor have this in common:
The LORD is Maker of them all.
3 The prudent see danger and take cover,
but the simple keep going and suffer the consequences.
4 The rewards of humility and the fear of the LORD
are wealth and honor and life.
5 Thorns and snares lie on the path of the perverse;
he who guards his soul stays 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 rule over the poor,
and the borrower is slave to the lender.
8 He who sows injustice will reap disaster,
and the rod of his fury will be destroyed.* 22:8 LXX includes God blesses a cheerful and generous man, but foolish works will come to an end; see also 2 Corinthians 9:7.
9 A generous man † 22:9 Literally He whose eye is good will be blessed,
for he shares his bread with the poor.
10 Drive out the mocker, and conflict will depart;
even quarreling and insults will cease.
11 He who loves a pure heart and gracious lips
will have the king for a friend.
12 The LORD’s eyes keep watch over knowledge,
but He frustrates the words of the faithless.
13 The slacker says, “There is a lion outside!
I will be slain in the streets!”
14 The mouth of an adulteress is a deep pit;
he who is under the wrath of the LORD will fall into it.
15 Foolishness is bound up in the heart of a child,
but the rod of discipline drives it far from him.
16 Oppressing the poor to enrich oneself or giving gifts to the rich
will surely lead to poverty.
Thirty Sayings of the Wise
Saying 1
17 Incline your ear and hear the words of the wise-
apply your mind to my knowledge-
18 for it is pleasing when you keep them within you
and they are constantly on your lips.
19 So that your trust may be in the LORD,
I instruct you today-yes, you.
20 Have I not written for you thirty sayings ‡ 22:20 Or written for you excellent sayings or written for you three times
about counsel and knowledge,
21 to show you true and reliable words,
that you may soundly answer those who sent you?
Saying 2
22 Do not rob a poor man because he is poor,
and do not crush the afflicted at the gate,
23 for the LORD will take up their case
and will plunder those who rob them.
Saying 3
24 Do not make friends with an angry man,
and do not associate with a hot-tempered man,
25 or you may learn his ways
and entangle yourself in a snare.
Saying 4
26 Do not be one who gives pledges,
who puts up security for debts.
27 If you have nothing with which to pay,
why should your bed be taken from under you?
Saying 5
28 Do not move an ancient boundary stone
which your fathers have placed.
Saying 6
29 Do you see a man skilled in his work?
He will be stationed in the presence of kings;
he will not stand before obscure men.