The Proverbs of Solomon

Proverbs 22

¹ A good name is to be chosen rather than great riches,

and favor is better than silver or gold.
² The rich and the poor have this in common:
the Lord is the maker of them all.
³ The clever see danger and hide;
but the simple go on, and suffer for it.
⁴ The reward for humility and fear of the Lord
is riches and honor and life.
⁵ Thorns and snares are in the way of the perverse;
the cautious will keep far from them.
⁶ Train children in the right way,
and when old, they will not stray.
⁷ The rich rule over the poor,
and the borrower is the slave of the lender.
⁸ Whoever sows injustice will reap calamity,
and the rod of anger will fail.
⁹ Those who are generous are blessed,
for they share their bread with the poor.
¹⁰ Drive out a scoffer, and strife goes out;
quarreling and abuse will cease.
¹¹ Those who love a pure heart and are gracious in speech
will have the king as a friend.
¹² The eyes of the Lord keep watch over knowledge,
but he overthrows the words of the faithless.
¹³ The lazy person says, "There is a lion outside!
I shall be killed in the streets!"
¹⁴ The mouth of a loose ₁ woman is a deep pit;
he with whom the Lord is angry falls into it.
¹⁵ Folly is bound up in the heart of a boy,
but the rod of discipline drives it far away.
¹⁶ Oppressing the poor in order to enrich oneself,
and giving to the rich, will lead only to loss.