Read the Bible

On Life and Conduct

¹ A ^(C1)good name is to be more desired than great wealth,
Favor is better than silver and gold.

² The rich and the poor ^(F1)have a common bond,
The LORD is the ^(C1)maker of them all.

³ The ^(C1)prudent sees the evil and hides himself,
But the ^(F1)naive go on, and are punished for it.

⁴ The reward of humility and the ^(F1)fear of the LORD
Are riches, honor and life.

^5 (C1)Thorns and snares are in the way of the perverse;
He who guards himself will be far from them.

^6 (C1)Train up a child ^(F1)in the way he should go,
Even when he is old he will not depart from it.

⁷ The ^(C1)rich rules over the poor,
And the borrower becomes the lender's slave.

⁸ He who ^(C1)sows iniquity will reap vanity,
And the ^(C2)rod of his fury will perish.

⁹ He who ^(F1)is ^(C1)generous will be blessed,
For he ^(C2)gives some of his food to the poor.

^10 (C1)Drive out the scoffer, and contention will go out,
Even strife and dishonor will cease.

¹¹ He who loves ^(C1)purity of heart
And ^(F1)whose speech is ^(C2)gracious, the king is his friend.

¹² The eyes of the LORD preserve knowledge,
But He overthrows the words of the treacherous man.

¹³ The ^(C1)sluggard says, "There is a lion outside;
I will be killed in the streets!"

¹⁴ The mouth of ^(F1)(C1)an adulteress is a deep pit;
He who is ^(C2)cursed of the LORD will fall ^(F2)into it.

¹⁵ Foolishness is bound up in the heart of a child;
The ^(C1)rod of discipline will remove it far from him.

¹⁶ He ^(C1)who oppresses the poor to make ^(F1)more for himself
Or who gives to the rich, ^(C2)will only come to poverty.

^17 (C1)Incline your ear and hear the words of the wise,
And apply your mind to my knowledge;

¹⁸ For it will be ^(C1)pleasant if you keep them within you,
^(F1)That they may be ready on your lips.

¹⁹ So that your ^(C1)trust may be in the LORD,
I have ^(F1)taught you today, even you.

²⁰ Have I not written to you ^(F1)(C1)excellent things
Of counsels and knowledge,

²¹ To make you ^(C1)know the ^(F1)certainty of the words of truth
That you may ^(F2)(C2)correctly answer him who sent you?

^22 (C1)Do not rob the poor because he is poor,
Or ^(C2)crush the afflicted at the gate;

²³ For the LORD will ^(C1)plead their case
And ^(F1)take the life of those who rob them.

²⁴ Do not associate with a man given to anger;
Or go with a ^(C1)hot-tempered man,

²⁵ Or you will ^(C1)learn his ways
And ^(F1)find a snare for yourself.

²⁶ Do not be among those who ^(C1)give ^(F1)pledges,
Among those who become guarantors for debts.

²⁷ If you have nothing with which to pay,
Why should he ^(C1)take your bed from under you?

^28 (C1)Do not move the ancient boundary
Which your fathers have set.

²⁹ Do you see a man skilled in his work?
He will ^(C1)stand before kings;
He will not stand before obscure men.