Proverbs 22  Holman Christian Standard Bible

22 A good name is to be chosen over great wealth;
favor is better than silver and gold.^(A)

² The rich and the poor have this in common:^[a]
the Lord made them both.^[b](B)

³ A sensible person sees danger and takes cover,
but the inexperienced keep going and are punished.^(C)

⁴ The result of humility is fear of the Lord,
along with wealth, honor, and life.^(D)

⁵ There are thorns and snares on the path of the crooked;^(E)
the one who guards himself stays far from them.

⁶ Teach a youth about the way he should go;^(F)
even when he is old he will not depart from it.

⁷ The rich rule over the poor,^(G)
and the borrower is a slave to the lender.^(H)

⁸ The one who sows injustice will reap disaster,^(I)
and the rod of his fury will be destroyed.

⁹ A generous person^[c] will be blessed,^(J)
for he shares his food with the poor.^(K)

¹⁰ Drive out a mocker,^(L) and conflict goes too;
then quarreling and dishonor will cease.^(M)

¹¹ The one who loves a pure heart
and gracious lips—the king is his friend.^(N)

¹² The Lord’s eyes keep watch over knowledge,
but He overthrows the words of the treacherous.

¹³ The slacker says, “There’s a lion outside!
I’ll be killed in the public square!”^(O)

¹⁴ The mouth of the forbidden woman is a deep pit;
a man cursed by the Lord will fall into it.^(P)

¹⁵ Foolishness is tangled up in the heart of a youth;
the rod of discipline will drive it away from him.^(Q)

¹⁶ Oppressing the poor to enrich oneself,
and giving to the rich—both lead only to poverty.^(R)

²² Don’t rob a poor man because he is poor,
and don’t crush the oppressed^(V) at the gate,^(W)
23 for the Lord will take up their case^(X)
and will plunder those who plunder them.

²⁴ Don’t make friends with an angry man,^[h]
and don’t be a companion of a hot-tempered man,^(Y)
25 or you will learn his ways^(Z)
and entangle yourself in a snare.

²⁶ Don’t be one of those who enter agreements,^[i]
who put up security for loans.^(AA)
27 If you have no money to pay,
even your bed will be taken from under you.^(AB)

²⁸ Don’t move an ancient boundary marker
that your fathers set up.^(AC)

²⁹ Do you see a man skilled in his work?
He will stand in the presence of kings.
He will not stand in the presence of unknown men.^(AD)