22 A good name is to be chosen rather than great riches,Loving favor rather than silver and gold.

² The rich and the poor have this in common,The Lord is the maker of them all.

³ A prudent man foresees evil and hides himself,But the simple pass on and are punished.

⁴ By humility and the fear of the LordAre riches and honor and life.

⁵ Thorns and snares are in the way of the perverse;He who guards his soul will be 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 rules over the poor,And the borrower is servant to the lender.

⁸ He who sows iniquity will reap sorrow,And the rod of his anger will fail.

⁹ He who has a generous eye will be blessed,For he gives of his bread to the poor.

¹⁰ Cast out the scoffer, and contention will leave;Yes, strife and reproach will cease.

¹¹ He who loves purity of heartAnd has grace on his lips,The king will be his friend.

¹² The eyes of the Lord preserve knowledge,But He overthrows the words of the faithless.

¹³ The lazy man says, “There is a lion outside!I shall be slain in the streets!”

¹⁴ The mouth of an immoral woman is a deep pit;He who is abhorred by the Lord will fall there.

¹⁵ Foolishness is bound up in the heart of a child;The rod of correction will drive it far from him.

¹⁶ He who oppresses the poor to increase his riches,And he who gives to the rich, will surely come to poverty.

Sayings of the Wise

¹⁷ Incline your ear and hear the words of the wise,And apply your heart to my knowledge;¹⁸ For it is a pleasant thing if you keep them within you;Let them all be fixed upon your lips,¹⁹ So that your trust may be in the Lord;I have instructed you today, even you.²⁰ Have I not written to you excellent thingsOf counsels and knowledge,²¹ That I may make you know the certainty of the words of truth,That you may answer words of truthTo those who send to you?

²² Do not rob the poor because he is poor,Nor oppress the afflicted at the gate;²³ For the Lord will plead their cause,And plunder the soul of those who plunder them.

²⁴ Make no friendship with an angry man,And with a furious man do not go,²⁵ Lest you learn his waysAnd set a snare for your soul.

²⁶ Do not be one of those who shakes hands in a pledge,One of those who is surety for debts;²⁷ If you have nothing with which to pay,Why should he take away your bed from under you?

²⁸ Do not remove the ancient landmarkWhich your fathers have set.

²⁹ Do you see a man who excels in his work?He will stand before kings;He will not stand before unknown men.