Proverbs 19

Proverbs 19:1-29

[1]BETTER 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.

[2]Desire without knowledge is not good, and to be overhasty is to sin and miss the mark.

[3]The foolishness of man subverts his way [ruins his affairs]; then his heart is resentful and frets against the Lord.

[4]Wealth makes many friends, but the poor man is avoided by his neighbor. [Prov. 14:20.]

[5]A 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.] [

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6]Many will entreat the favor of a liberal man, and every man is a friend to him who gives gifts.

[7]All 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. [8]He who gains Wisdom loves his own life; he who keeps understanding shall prosper and find good.

[9]A false witness shall not be unpunished, and he who breathes forth lies shall perish.

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[10]Luxury is not fitting for a [self-confident] fool–much less for a slave to rule over princes.

[11]Good sense makes a man restrain his anger, and it is his glory to overlook a transgression or an offense.

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[12]The 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.]

[13]A 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].

[14]House and riches are the inheritance from fathers, but a wise, understanding, and prudent wife is from the Lord. [Prov. 18:22.]

[15]Slothfulness casts one into a deep sleep, and the idle person shall suffer hunger.

[16]He who keeps the commandment [of the Lord] keeps his own life, but he who despises His ways shall die. [Luke 10:28; 11:28.]

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[17]He 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.]

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[18]Discipline your son while there is hope, but do not [indulge your angry resentments by undue chastisements and] set yourself to his ruin.

[19]A 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.

[20]Hear counsel, receive instruction, and accept correction, that you may be wise in the time to come.

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[21]Many 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.]

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[22]That 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.

[23]The 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.]

[24]The sluggard buries his hand in the dish, and will not so much as bring it to his mouth again.

[25]Strike a scoffer, and the simple will learn prudence; reprove a man of understanding, and he will increase in knowledge.

[26]He who does violence to his father and chases away his mother is a son who causes shame and brings reproach.

[27]Cease, my son, to hear instruction only to ignore it and stray from the words of knowledge.

[28]A worthless witness scoffs at justice, and the mouth of the wicked swallows iniquity.

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[29]Judgments are prepared for scoffers, and stripes for the backs of [self-confident] fools. [Isa. 32:6.]