1 |
The proverbs of Solomon the son of David, king of Israel; |
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To know wisdom and instruction; to perceive the words of understanding; |
3 |
To receive the instruction of wisdom, justice, and judgment, and equity; |
4 |
To give subtilty to the simple, to the young man knowledge and discretion. |
5 |
A wise man will hear, and will increase learning; and a man of understanding shall attain unto wise
counsels: |
6 |
To understand a proverb, and the interpretation; the words of the wise, and their dark sayings. |
7 |
The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge: but fools despise wisdom and instruction. |
8 |
My son, hear the instruction of thy father, and forsake not the law of thy mother: |
9 |
For they shall be an ornament of grace unto thy head, and chains about thy neck. |
10 |
My son, if sinners entice thee, consent thou not. |
11 |
If they say, Come with us, let us lay wait for blood, let us lurk privily for the innocent without
cause: |
12 |
Let us swallow them up alive as the grave; and whole, as those that go down into the pit: |
13 |
We shall find all precious substance, we shall fill our houses with spoil: |
14 |
Cast in thy lot among us; let us all have one purse: |
15 |
My son, walk not thou in the way with them; refrain thy foot from their path: |
16 |
For their feet run to evil, and make haste to shed blood. |
17 |
Surely in vain the net is spread in the sight of any bird. |
18 |
And they lay wait for their own blood; they lurk privily for their own lives. |
19 |
So are the ways of every one that is greedy of gain; which taketh away the life of the owners thereof. |
20 |
Wisdom crieth without; she uttereth her voice in the streets: |
21 |
She crieth in the chief place of concourse, in the openings of the gates: in the city she uttereth
her words, saying, |
22 |
How long, ye simple ones, will ye love simplicity? and the scorners delight in their scorning, and
fools hate knowledge? |
23 |
Turn you at my reproof: behold, I will pour out my spirit unto you, I will make known my words unto
you. |
24 |
Because I have called, and ye refused; I have stretched out my hand, and no man regarded; |
25 |
But ye have set at nought all my counsel, and would none of my reproof: |
26 |
I also will laugh at your calamity; I will mock when your fear cometh; |
27 |
When your fear cometh as desolation, and your destruction cometh as a whirlwind; when distress and
anguish cometh upon you. |
28 |
Then shall they call upon me, but I will not answer; they shall seek me early, but they shall not
find me: |
29 |
For that they hated knowledge, and did not choose the fear of the LORD: |
30 |
They would none of my counsel: they despised all my reproof. |
31 |
Therefore shall they eat of the fruit of their own way, and be filled with their own devices. |
32 |
For the turning away of the simple shall slay them, and the prosperity of fools shall destroy them. |
33 |
But whoso hearkeneth unto me shall dwell safely, and shall be quiet from fear of evil. |
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My son, if thou wilt receive my words, and hide my commandments with thee; |
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So that thou incline thine ear unto wisdom, and apply thine heart to understanding; |
3 |
Yea, if thou criest after knowledge, and liftest up thy voice for understanding; |
4 |
If thou seekest her as silver, and searchest for her as for hid treasures; |
5 |
Then shalt thou understand the fear of the LORD, and find the knowledge of God. |
6 |
For the LORD giveth wisdom: out of his mouth cometh knowledge and understanding. |
7 |
He layeth up sound wisdom for the righteous: he is a buckler to them that walk uprightly. |
8 |
He keepeth the paths of judgment, and preserveth the way of his saints. |
9 |
Then shalt thou understand righteousness, and judgment, and equity; yea, every good path. |
10 |
When wisdom entereth into thine heart, and knowledge is pleasant unto thy soul; |
11 |
Discretion shall preserve thee, understanding shall keep thee: |
12 |
To deliver thee from the way of the evil man, from the man that speaketh froward things; |
13 |
Who leave the paths of uprightness, to walk in the ways of darkness; |
14 |
Who rejoice to do evil, and delight in the frowardness of the wicked; |
15 |
Whose ways are crooked, and they froward in their paths: |
16 |
To deliver thee from the strange woman, even from the stranger which flattereth with her words; |
17 |
Which forsaketh the guide of her youth, and forgetteth the covenant of her God. |
18 |
For her house inclineth unto death, and her paths unto the dead. |
19 |
None that go unto her return again, neither take they hold of the paths of life. |
20 |
That thou mayest walk in the way of good men, and keep the paths of the righteous. |
21 |
For the upright shall dwell in the land, and the perfect shall remain in it. |
22 |
But the wicked shall be cut off from the earth, and the transgressors shall be rooted out of it. |
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My son, forget not my law; but let thine heart keep my commandments: |
2 |
For length of days, and long life, and peace, shall they add to thee. |
3 |
Let not mercy and truth forsake thee: bind them about thy neck; write them upon the table of thine
heart: |
4 |
So shalt thou find favour and good understanding in the sight of God and man. |
5 |
Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. |
6 |
In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths. |
7 |
Be not wise in thine own eyes: fear the LORD, and depart from evil. |
8 |
It shall be health to thy navel, and marrow to thy bones. |
9 |
Honour the LORD with thy substance, and with the firstfruits of all thine increase: |
10 |
So shall thy barns be filled with plenty, and thy presses shall burst out with new wine. |
11 |
My son, despise not the chastening of the LORD; neither be weary of his correction: |
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For whom the LORD loveth he correcteth; even as a father the son in whom he delighteth. |
13 |
Happy is the man that findeth wisdom, and the man that getteth understanding. |
14 |
For the merchandise of it is better than the merchandise of silver, and the gain thereof than fine
gold. |
15 |
She is more precious than rubies: and all the things thou canst desire are not to be compared unto
her. |
16 |
Length of days is in her right hand; and in her left hand riches and honour. |
17 |
Her ways are ways of pleasantness, and all her paths are peace. |
18 |
She is a tree of life to them that lay hold upon her: and happy is every one that retaineth her. |
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The LORD by wisdom hath founded the earth; by understanding hath he established the heavens. |
20 |
By his knowledge the depths are broken up, and the clouds drop down the dew. |
21 |
My son, let not them depart from thine eyes: keep sound wisdom and discretion: |
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So shall they be life unto thy soul, and grace to thy neck. |
23 |
Then shalt thou walk in thy way safely, and thy foot shall not stumble. |
24 |
When thou liest down, thou shalt not be afraid: yea, thou shalt lie down, and thy sleep shall be
sweet. |
25 |
Be not afraid of sudden fear, neither of the desolation of the wicked, when it cometh. |
26 |
For the LORD shall be thy confidence, and shall keep thy foot from being taken. |
27 |
Withhold not good from them to whom it is due, when it is in the power of thine hand to do it. |
28 |
Say not unto thy neighbour, Go, and come again, and to morrow I will give; when thou hast it by
thee. |
29 |
Devise not evil against thy neighbour, seeing he dwelleth securely by thee. |
30 |
Strive not with a man without cause, if he have done thee no harm. |
31 |
Envy thou not the oppressor, and choose none of his ways. |
32 |
For the froward is abomination to the LORD: but his secret is with the righteous. |
33 |
The curse of the LORD is in the house of the wicked: but he blesseth the habitation of the just. |
34 |
Surely he scorneth the scorners: but he giveth grace unto the lowly. |
35 |
The wise shall inherit glory: but shame shall be the promotion of fools. |
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Hear, ye children, the instruction of a father, and attend to know understanding. |
2 |
For I give you good doctrine, forsake ye not my law. |
3 |
For I was my father's son, tender and only beloved in the sight of my mother. |
4 |
He taught me also, and said unto me, Let thine heart retain my words: keep my commandments, and
live. |
5 |
Get wisdom, get understanding: forget it not; neither decline from the words of my mouth. |
6 |
Forsake her not, and she shall preserve thee: love her, and she shall keep thee. |
7 |
Wisdom is the principal thing; therefore get wisdom: and with all thy getting get understanding. |
8 |
Exalt her, and she shall promote thee: she shall bring thee to honour, when thou dost embrace her. |
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She shall give to thine head an ornament of grace: a crown of glory shall she deliver to thee. |
10 |
Hear, O my son, and receive my sayings; and the years of thy life shall be many. |
11 |
I have taught thee in the way of wisdom; I have led thee in right paths. |
12 |
When thou goest, thy steps shall not be straitened; and when thou runnest, thou shalt not stumble. |
13 |
Take fast hold of instruction; let her not go: keep her; for she is thy life. |
14 |
Enter not into the path of the wicked, and go not in the way of evil men. |
15 |
Avoid it, pass not by it, turn from it, and pass away. |
16 |
For they sleep not, except they have done mischief; and their sleep is taken away, unless they cause
some to fall. |
17 |
For they eat the bread of wickedness, and drink the wine of violence. |
18 |
But the path of the just is as the shining light, that shineth more and more unto the perfect day. |
19 |
The way of the wicked is as darkness: they know not at what they stumble. |
20 |
My son, attend to my words; incline thine ear unto my sayings. |
21 |
Let them not depart from thine eyes; keep them in the midst of thine heart. |
22 |
For they are life unto those that find them, and health to all their flesh. |
23 |
Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life. |
24 |
Put away from thee a froward mouth, and perverse lips put far from thee. |
25 |
Let thine eyes look right on, and let thine eyelids look straight before thee. |
26 |
Ponder the path of thy feet, and let all thy ways be established. |
27 |
Turn not to the right hand nor to the left: remove thy foot from evil. |
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My son, attend unto my wisdom, and bow thine ear to my understanding: |
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That thou mayest regard discretion, and that thy lips may keep knowledge. |
3 |
For the lips of a strange woman drop as an honeycomb, and her mouth is smoother than oil: |
4 |
But her end is bitter as wormwood, sharp as a two-edged sword. |
5 |
Her feet go down to death; her steps take hold on hell. |
6 |
Lest thou shouldest ponder the path of life, her ways are moveable, that thou canst not know them. |
7 |
Hear me now therefore, O ye children, and depart not from the words of my mouth. |
8 |
Remove thy way far from her, and come not nigh the door of her house: |
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Lest thou give thine honour unto others, and thy years unto the cruel: |
10 |
Lest strangers be filled with thy wealth; and thy labours be in the house of a stranger; |
11 |
And thou mourn at the last, when thy flesh and thy body are consumed, |
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And say, How have I hated instruction, and my heart despised reproof; |
13 |
And have not obeyed the voice of my teachers, nor inclined mine ear to them that instructed me! |
14 |
I was almost in all evil in the midst of the congregation and assembly. |
15 |
Drink waters out of thine own cistern, and running waters out of thine own well. |
16 |
Let thy fountains be dispersed abroad, and rivers of waters in the streets. |
17 |
Let them be only thine own, and not strangers' with thee. |
18 |
Let thy fountain be blessed: and rejoice with the wife of thy youth. |
19 |
Let her be as the loving hind and pleasant roe; let her breasts satisfy thee at all times; and be
thou ravished always with her love. |
20 |
And why wilt thou, my son, be ravished with a strange woman, and embrace the bosom of a stranger? |
21 |
For the ways of man are before the eyes of the LORD, and he pondereth all his goings. |
22 |
His own iniquities shall take the wicked himself, and he shall be holden with the cords of his sins. |
23 |
He shall die without instruction; and in the greatness of his folly he shall go astray. |
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My son, if thou be surety for thy friend, if thou hast stricken thy hand with a stranger, |
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Thou art snared with the words of thy mouth, thou art taken with the words of thy mouth. |
3 |
Do this now, my son, and deliver thyself, when thou art come into the hand of thy friend; go, humble
thyself, and make sure thy friend. |
4 |
Give not sleep to thine eyes, nor slumber to thine eyelids. |
5 |
Deliver thyself as a roe from the hand of the hunter, and as a bird from the hand of the fowler. |
6 |
Go to the ant, thou sluggard; consider her ways, and be wise: |
7 |
Which having no guide, overseer, or ruler, |
8 |
Provideth her meat in the summer, and gathereth her food in the harvest. |
9 |
How long wilt thou sleep, O sluggard? when wilt thou arise out of thy sleep? |
10 |
Yet a little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to sleep: |
11 |
So shall thy poverty come as one that travelleth, and thy want as an armed man. |
12 |
A naughty person, a wicked man, walketh with a froward mouth. |
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He winketh with his eyes, he speaketh with his feet, he teacheth with his fingers; |
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Frowardness is in his heart, he deviseth mischief continually; he soweth discord. |
15 |
Therefore shall his calamity come suddenly; suddenly shall he be broken without remedy. |
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These six things doth the LORD hate: yea, seven are an abomination unto him: |
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A proud look, a lying tongue, and hands that shed innocent blood, |
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An heart that deviseth wicked imaginations, feet that be swift in running to mischief, |
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A false witness that speaketh lies, and he that soweth discord among brethren. |
20 |
My son, keep thy father's commandment, and forsake not the law of thy mother: |
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Bind them continually upon thine heart, and tie them about thy neck. |
22 |
When thou goest, it shall lead thee; when thou sleepest, it shall keep thee; and when thou awakest,
it shall talk with thee. |
23 |
For the commandment is a lamp; and the law is light; and reproofs of instruction are the way of
life: |
24 |
To keep thee from the evil woman, from the flattery of the tongue of a strange woman. |
25 |
Lust not after her beauty in thine heart; neither let her take thee with her eyelids. |
26 |
For by means of a whorish woman a man is brought to a piece of bread: and the adultress will hunt
for the precious life. |
27 |
Can a man take fire in his bosom, and his clothes not be burned? |
28 |
Can one go upon hot coals, and his feet not be burned? |
29 |
So he that goeth in to his neighbour's wife; whosoever toucheth her shall not be innocent. |
30 |
Men do not despise a thief, if he steal to satisfy his soul when he is hungry; |
31 |
But if he be found, he shall restore sevenfold; he shall give all the substance of his house. |
32 |
But whoso committeth adultery with a woman lacketh understanding: he that doeth it destroyeth his
own soul. |
33 |
A wound and dishonour shall he get; and his reproach shall not be wiped away. |
34 |
For jealousy is the rage of a man: therefore he will not spare in the day of vengeance. |
35 |
He will not regard any ransom; neither will he rest content, though thou givest many gifts. |
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My son, keep my words, and lay up my commandments with thee. |
2 |
Keep my commandments, and live; and my law as the apple of thine eye. |
3 |
Bind them upon thy fingers, write them upon the table of thine heart. |
4 |
Say unto wisdom, Thou art my sister; and call understanding thy kinswoman: |
5 |
That they may keep thee from the strange woman, from the stranger which flattereth with her words. |
6 |
For at the window of my house I looked through my casement, |
7 |
And beheld among the simple ones, I discerned among the youths, a young man void of understanding, |
8 |
Passing through the street near her corner; and he went the way to her house, |
9 |
In the twilight, in the evening, in the black and dark night: |
10 |
And, behold, there met him a woman with the attire of an harlot, and subtil of heart. |
11 |
(She is loud and stubborn; her feet abide not in her house: |
12 |
Now is she without, now in the streets, and lieth in wait at every corner.) |
13 |
So she caught him, and kissed him, and with an impudent face said unto him, |
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I have peace offerings with me; this day have I payed my vows. |
15 |
Therefore came I forth to meet thee, diligently to seek thy face, and I have found thee. |
16 |
I have decked my bed with coverings of tapestry, with carved works, with fine linen of Egypt. |
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I have perfumed my bed with myrrh, aloes, and cinnamon. |
18 |
Come, let us take our fill of love until the morning: let us solace ourselves with loves. |
19 |
For the goodman is not at home, he is gone a long journey: |
20 |
He hath taken a bag of money with him, and will come home at the day appointed. |
21 |
With her much fair speech she caused him to yield, with the flattering of her lips she forced him. |
22 |
He goeth after her straightway, as an ox goeth to the slaughter, or as a fool to the correction
of the stocks; |
23 |
Till a dart strike through his liver; as a bird hasteth to the snare, and knoweth not that it is
for his life. |
24 |
Hearken unto me now therefore, O ye children, and attend to the words of my mouth. |
25 |
Let not thine heart decline to her ways, go not astray in her paths. |
26 |
For she hath cast down many wounded: yea, many strong men have been slain by her. |
27 |
Her house is the way to hell, going down to the chambers of death. |
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Doth not wisdom cry? and understanding put forth her voice? |
2 |
She standeth in the top of high places, by the way in the places of the paths. |
3 |
She crieth at the gates, at the entry of the city, at the coming in at the doors. |
4 |
Unto you, O men, I call; and my voice is to the sons of man. |
5 |
O ye simple, understand wisdom: and, ye fools, be ye of an understanding heart. |
6 |
Hear; for I will speak of excellent things; and the opening of my lips shall be right things. |
7 |
For my mouth shall speak truth; and wickedness is an abomination to my lips. |
8 |
All the words of my mouth are in righteousness; there is nothing froward or perverse in them. |
9 |
They are all plain to him that understandeth, and right to them that find knowledge. |
10 |
Receive my instruction, and not silver; and knowledge rather than choice gold. |
11 |
For wisdom is better than rubies; and all the things that may be desired are not to be compared
to it. |
12 |
I wisdom dwell with prudence, and find out knowledge of witty inventions. |
13 |
The fear of the LORD is to hate evil: pride, and arrogancy, and the evil way, and the froward mouth,
do I hate. |
14 |
Counsel is mine, and sound wisdom: I am understanding; I have strength. |
15 |
By me kings reign, and princes decree justice. |
16 |
By me princes rule, and nobles, even all the judges of the earth. |
17 |
I love them that love me; and those that seek me early shall find me. |
18 |
Riches and honour are with me; yea, durable riches and righteousness. |
19 |
My fruit is better than gold, yea, than fine gold; and my revenue than choice silver. |
20 |
I lead in the way of righteousness, in the midst of the paths of judgment: |
21 |
That I may cause those that love me to inherit substance; and I will fill their treasures. |
22 |
The LORD possessed me in the beginning of his way, before his works of old. |
23 |
I was set up from everlasting, from the beginning, or ever the earth was. |
24 |
When there were no depths, I was brought forth; when there were no fountains abounding with water. |
25 |
Before the mountains were settled, before the hills was I brought forth: |
26 |
While as yet he had not made the earth, nor the fields, nor the highest part of the dust of the
world. |
27 |
When he prepared the heavens, I was there: when he set a compass upon the face of the depth: |
28 |
When he established the clouds above: when he strengthened the fountains of the deep: |
29 |
When he gave to the sea his decree, that the waters should not pass his commandment: when he appointed
the foundations of the earth: |
30 |
Then I was by him, as one brought up with him: and I was daily his delight, rejoicing always before
him; |
31 |
Rejoicing in the habitable part of his earth; and my delights were with the sons of men. |
32 |
Now therefore hearken unto me, O ye children: for blessed are they that keep my ways. |
33 |
Hear instruction, and be wise, and refuse it not. |
34 |
Blessed is the man that heareth me, watching daily at my gates, waiting at the posts of my doors. |
35 |
For whoso findeth me findeth life, and shall obtain favour of the LORD. |
36 |
But he that sinneth against me wrongeth his own soul: all they that hate me love death. |
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Wisdom hath builded her house, she hath hewn out her seven pillars: |
2 |
She hath killed her beasts; she hath mingled her wine; she hath also furnished her table. |
3 |
She hath sent forth her maidens: she crieth upon the highest places of the city, |
4 |
Whoso is simple, let him turn in hither: as for him that wanteth understanding, she saith to him, |
5 |
Come, eat of my bread, and drink of the wine which I have mingled. |
6 |
Forsake the foolish, and live; and go in the way of understanding. |
7 |
He that reproveth a scorner getteth to himself shame: and he that rebuketh a wicked man getteth
himself a blot. |
8 |
Reprove not a scorner, lest he hate thee: rebuke a wise man, and he will love thee. |
9 |
Give instruction to a wise man, and he will be yet wiser: teach a just man, and he will increase
in learning. |
10 |
The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom: and the knowledge of the holy is understanding. |
11 |
For by me thy days shall be multiplied, and the years of thy life shall be increased. |
12 |
If thou be wise, thou shalt be wise for thyself: but if thou scornest, thou alone shalt bear it. |
13 |
A foolish woman is clamorous: she is simple, and knoweth nothing. |
14 |
For she sitteth at the door of her house, on a seat in the high places of the city, |
15 |
To call passengers who go right on their ways: |
16 |
Whoso is simple, let him turn in hither: and as for him that wanteth understanding, she saith to
him, |
17 |
Stolen waters are sweet, and bread eaten in secret is pleasant. |
18 |
But he knoweth not that the dead are there; and that her guests are in the depths of hell. |
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1 |
The proverbs of Solomon. A wise son maketh a glad father: but a foolish son is the heaviness of
his mother. |
2 |
Treasures of wickedness profit nothing: but righteousness delivereth from death. |
3 |
The LORD will not suffer the soul of the righteous to famish: but he casteth away the substance
of the wicked. |
4 |
He becometh poor that dealeth with a slack hand: but the hand of the diligent maketh rich. |
5 |
He that gathereth in summer is a wise son: but he that sleepeth in harvest is a son that causeth
shame. |
6 |
Blessings are upon the head of the just: but violence covereth the mouth of the wicked. |
7 |
The memory of the just is blessed: but the name of the wicked shall rot. |
8 |
The wise in heart will receive commandments: but a prating fool shall fall. |
9 |
He that walketh uprightly walketh surely: but he that perverteth his ways shall be known. |
10 |
He that winketh with the eye causeth sorrow: but a prating fool shall fall. |
11 |
The mouth of a righteous man is a well of life: but violence covereth the mouth of the wicked. |
12 |
Hatred stirreth up strifes: but love covereth all sins. |
13 |
In the lips of him that hath understanding wisdom is found: but a rod is for the back of him that
is void of understanding. |
14 |
Wise men lay up knowledge: but the mouth of the foolish is near destruction. |
15 |
The rich man's wealth is his strong city: the destruction of the poor is their poverty. |
16 |
The labour of the righteous tendeth to life: the fruit of the wicked to sin. |
17 |
He is in the way of life that keepeth instruction: but he that refuseth reproof erreth. |
18 |
He that hideth hatred with lying lips, and he that uttereth a slander, is a fool. |
19 |
In the multitude of words there wanteth not sin: but he that refraineth his lips is wise. |
20 |
The tongue of the just is as choice silver: the heart of the wicked is little worth. |
21 |
The lips of the righteous feed many: but fools die for want of wisdom. |
22 |
The blessing of the LORD, it maketh rich, and he addeth no sorrow with it. |
23 |
It is as sport to a fool to do mischief: but a man of understanding hath wisdom. |
24 |
The fear of the wicked, it shall come upon him: but the desire of the righteous shall be granted. |
25 |
As the whirlwind passeth, so is the wicked no more: but the righteous is an everlasting foundation. |
26 |
As vinegar to the teeth, and as smoke to the eyes, so is the sluggard to them that send him. |
27 |
The fear of the LORD prolongeth days: but the years of the wicked shall be shortened. |
28 |
The hope of the righteous shall be gladness: but the expectation of the wicked shall perish. |
29 |
The way of the LORD is strength to the upright: but destruction shall be to the workers of iniquity. |
30 |
The righteous shall never be removed: but the wicked shall not inhabit the earth. |
31 |
The mouth of the just bringeth forth wisdom: but the froward tongue shall be cut out. |
32 |
The lips of the righteous know what is acceptable: but the mouth of the wicked speaketh frowardness. |
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