1  A wise son hears his father’s ^uinstruction,

but a scoffer does not listen to rebuke.

2  ^vFrom the fruit of his mouth a man eats what is good,

but the desire of the treacherous is for violence.

3  Whoever ^wguards his mouth preserves his life;

he who opens wide his lips comes to ruin.

4  ^xThe soul of the sluggard craves and gets nothing,

^ywhile the soul of the diligent is richly supplied.

5  The righteous ^zhates falsehood,

but the wicked brings shame¹ and disgrace.

6  ^aRighteousness ^bguards him whose way is blameless,

but sin overthrows the wicked.

7  ^cOne ^dpretends to be rich,² yet has nothing;

another pretends to be poor,³ yet has great wealth.

8  The ransom of a man’s life is his wealth,

but a poor man hears no threat.

9  The light of the righteous rejoices,

but the ^elamp of the wicked will be put out.

10  By insolence comes nothing but strife,

but with those who take advice is wisdom.

11  Wealth gained ^fhastily⁴ will dwindle,

but whoever gathers little by little will increase it.

12  Hope deferred makes the heart sick,

but ^ga desire fulfilled is a ^htree of life.

13  Whoever ⁱdespises the word⁵ brings destruction on himself,

but he who reveres the commandment⁶ will be rewarded.

14  The teaching of the wise ^jis a fountain of life,

that one may turn away from the snares of death.

15  ^kGood sense wins favor,

but the way of the ^ltreacherous is their ruin.⁷

16  ^mEvery prudent man acts with knowledge,

ⁿbut a fool flaunts his folly.

17  A wicked messenger falls into trouble,

but a faithful envoy brings healing.

18  Poverty and ^odisgrace come to him who ^pignores instruction,

but whoever ^qheeds reproof is honored.

19  A desire fulfilled is sweet to the soul,

but to turn away from evil is an abomination to fools.

20  ^rWhoever walks with the wise becomes wise,

^sbut the ^tcompanion of fools will suffer harm.

21  Disaster⁸ pursues sinners,

but the righteous are rewarded with good.

22  A good man leaves an inheritance to his children’s children,

^ubut the sinner’s wealth is laid up for the righteous.

23  The fallow ground of the poor would yield much food,

but it is swept away through injustice.

24  ^vWhoever spares the rod hates his son,

^wbut he who loves him is diligent to discipline him.⁹

25  ^xThe righteous has enough to satisfy his appetite,

but the belly of the wicked suffers want.