First Collection of Proverbs

10 The Proverbs of Solomon:

A wise son makes his father glad,

but a foolish son is a grief to his mother.

2 Treasures wrongly acquired profit nothing,

but righteousness saves from death.

3 The Lord will not suffer the righteous to hunger,

but He will frustrate the desire of the wicked.

4 A slack hand creates poverty,

but a diligent hand makes rich.

5 He that gathers in summer acts wisely;

he that sleeps in harvest acts shamefully.

6 The blessing of God is on the head of the righteous,

but sorrow will cover the face of the wicked.

7 The memory of the righteous is blessed,

but the name of the wicked will rot.

8 A wise man gives heed to commands,

but a foolish talker will fall.

9 He whose life is blameless walks safely,

but he who lives crookedly smarts for it.

10 He who winks the eye makes trouble,

but frank reproof makes peace.

11 A fountain of life is the mouth of the righteous,

but the mouth of the wicked is wrapped in violence.

12 Hatred stirs up strife,

but love hides all transgressions.

13 On the lips of a prudent man wisdom is found,

but a man without sense needs a rod for his back.

14 Wise men keep what they know to themselves,

but the mouth of the fool is impending destruction.

15 The rich man’s wealth is his fortified city;

but the poor, by their poverty, come to destruction.

16 The wage of the righteous conduces to life,

but their revenue brings the wicked to ruin.

17 The way to life is to heed instruction,

but to turn from reproof is to go astray.

18 Righteous lips cover up hatred,

but the slanderer is a fool.

19 Where words are many, offences are certain;

But he who controls his tongue does wisely.

20 The tongue of the just is like choicest silver,

but the mind of the wicked is little worth.

21 The speech of the righteous is sustenance to many,

but lack of sense is the death of fools.

22 It is only the blessing of God that brings wealth,

and He adds no sorrow therewith.

23 To a fool the doing of wrong is as sport,

but a man of sense abhors it.

24 What the wicked feared will befall him,

but the desire of the righteous will be granted.

25 When the whirlwind passes, the wicked will vanish,

but the righteous is firmly established forever.

26 As vinegar to the teeth, and as smoke to the eyes,

even so is the sluggard to them that send him.

27 The fear of the Lord prolongs life,

but the years of the wicked are shortened.

28 The hope of the righteous will end in gladness,

but the wicked will fail of their expectation.

29 To the man that is blameless the Lord is a strong-hold,

but terror and ruin to those that do evil.

30 The righteous will be unmoved forever,

but the wicked will have no home in the land.

31 The mouth of the righteous brings forth wisdom,

but the man of false tongue will be rooted out.

32 The lips of the righteous utter good-will;

but the mouth of the wicked, malice.