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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 A ^(C1)prudent person sees evil and hides himself,
But the naive proceed, and pay the penalty.

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

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

^6 (C1)Train up a child ^(F1)in the way he should go,
Even when he grows older he will not abandon it.

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

⁸ One who ^(C1)sows injustice will reap disaster,
And the ^(C2)rod of his fury will perish.

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

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

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

¹² The eyes of the LORD protect knowledge,
But He overthrows the words of the treacherous person.

¹³ The ^(F1)(C1)lazy one 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 One ^(C1)who oppresses the poor to make ^(F1)more for himself,
Or gives to the rich, ^(C2)will only come to poverty.

^17 (C1)Extend 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)So 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, you indeed.

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,
So that you may ^(F2)(C2)correctly answer him who sent you?

^22 (C1)Do not rob the poor because he is poor,
Nor ^(C2)crush the needy 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 make friends with a person given to anger,
Or go with a ^(C1)hot-tempered person,

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

²⁶ Do not be among those who ^(C1)shake hands,
Among those who become guarantors for debts.

²⁷ If you have nothing with which to repay,
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 person skilled in his work?
He will ^(C1)stand before kings;
He will not stand before obscure people.