Font Size
Proverbs 11
Contemporary English Version
Proverbs 11
Contemporary English Version
Watch What You Say and Do
11 The Lord hates anyone
who cheats,
but he likes everyone
who is honest.
2 Too much pride
can put you to shame.
It's wiser to be humble.
3 If you do the right thing,
honesty will be your guide.
But if you are crooked,
you will be trapped
by your own dishonesty.
4 When God is angry,
money won't help you.
Obeying God is the only way
to be saved from death.
5 If you are truly good,
you will do right;
if you are wicked,
you will be destroyed
by your own sin.
6 Honesty can keep you safe,
but if you can't be trusted,
you trap yourself.
7 When the wicked die,
their hopes die with them.
8 Trouble goes right past
the Lord's people
and strikes the wicked.
9 Dishonest people use gossip
to destroy their neighbors;
good people are protected
by their own good sense.
10 When honest people prosper
and the wicked disappear,
the whole city celebrates.
11 Good people bring prosperity
to their city,
but deceitful liars
can destroy a city.
12 It's stupid to say bad things
about your neighbors.
If you are sensible,
you will keep quiet.
13 A gossip tells everything,
but a true friend
will keep a secret.
14 (A) A city without wise leaders
will end up in ruin;
a city with many wise leaders
will be kept safe.
15 It's a dangerous thing
to guarantee payment
for someone's debts.
Don't do it!
16 A gracious woman
will be respected,
but a ruthless man
will only get rich.
17 Kindness is rewarded—
but if you are cruel,
you hurt yourself.
18 Meanness gets you nowhere,
but goodness is rewarded.
19 Always do the right thing,
and you will live;
keep on doing wrong,
and you will die.
20 The Lord hates sneaky people,
but he likes everyone
who lives right.
21 You can be sure of this:
All crooks will be punished,
but God's people won't.
22 A beautiful woman
who acts foolishly
is like a gold ring
on the snout of a pig.
23 Good people want what is best,
but troublemakers
hope to stir up trouble.[a]
24 Sometimes you can become rich
by being generous
or poor by being greedy.
25 Generosity will be rewarded:
Give a cup of water,
and you will receive
a cup of water in return.
26 Charge too much for grain,
and you will be cursed;
sell it at a fair price,
and you will be praised.
27 Try hard to do right,
and you will win friends;
go looking for trouble,
and you will find it.
28 Trust in your wealth,
and you will be a failure,
but God's people will prosper
like healthy plants.
29 Fools who cause trouble
in the family
won't inherit a thing.
They will end up as slaves
of someone with good sense.
30 Live right, and you will eat
from the life-giving tree.
And if you act wisely,
others will follow.[b]
31 (B) If good people are rewarded[c]
here on this earth,
all who are cruel and mean
will surely be punished.
Proverbs 11
New International Version
Proverbs 11
New International Version
3 The integrity of the upright guides them,
but the unfaithful are destroyed by their duplicity.(E)
5 The righteousness of the blameless makes their paths straight,(I)
but the wicked are brought down by their own wickedness.(J)
6 The righteousness of the upright delivers them,
but the unfaithful are trapped by evil desires.(K)
8 The righteous person is rescued from trouble,
and it falls on the wicked instead.(N)
9 With their mouths the godless destroy their neighbors,
but through knowledge the righteous escape.(O)
10 When the righteous prosper, the city rejoices;(P)
when the wicked perish, there are shouts of joy.(Q)
11 Through the blessing of the upright a city is exalted,(R)
but by the mouth of the wicked it is destroyed.(S)
12 Whoever derides their neighbor has no sense,(T)
but the one who has understanding holds their tongue.(U)
15 Whoever puts up security(Z) for a stranger will surely suffer,
but whoever refuses to shake hands in pledge is safe.(AA)
16 A kindhearted woman gains honor,(AB)
but ruthless men gain only wealth.
17 Those who are kind benefit themselves,
but the cruel bring ruin on themselves.
18 A wicked person earns deceptive wages,
but the one who sows righteousness reaps a sure reward.(AC)
20 The Lord detests those whose hearts are perverse,(AF)
but he delights(AG) in those whose ways are blameless.(AH)
21 Be sure of this: The wicked will not go unpunished,
but those who are righteous will go free.(AI)
22 Like a gold ring in a pig’s snout
is a beautiful woman who shows no discretion.
23 The desire of the righteous ends only in good,
but the hope of the wicked only in wrath.
24 One person gives freely, yet gains even more;
another withholds unduly, but comes to poverty.
26 People curse the one who hoards grain,
but they pray God’s blessing on the one who is willing to sell.
27 Whoever seeks good finds favor,
but evil comes to one who searches for it.(AL)
28 Those who trust in their riches will fall,(AM)
but the righteous will thrive like a green leaf.(AN)
29 Whoever brings ruin on their family will inherit only wind,
and the fool will be servant to the wise.(AO)
30 The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life,(AP)
and the one who is wise saves lives.
31 If the righteous receive their due(AQ) on earth,
how much more the ungodly and the sinner!
Footnotes
- Proverbs 11:7 Two Hebrew manuscripts; most Hebrew manuscripts, Vulgate, Syriac and Targum When the wicked die, their hope perishes; / all they expected from
Contemporary English Version (CEV) 
Copyright © 1995 by American Bible Society For more information about CEV, visit www.bibles.com and www.cev.bible.
New International Version (NIV) 
Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
NIV Reverse Interlinear Bible: English to Hebrew and English to Greek. Copyright © 2019 by Zondervan.