1  The king’s heart is a stream of water in the hand of the Lord;

he ^yturns it wherever he will.

2  ^zEvery way of a man is right in his own eyes,

but the Lord ^aweighs the heart.

3  ^bTo do righteousness and justice

is more acceptable to the Lord than sacrifice.

4  ^cHaughty eyes and a proud heart,

^dthe lamp¹ of the wicked, are sin.

5  The plans of ^ethe diligent lead surely to abundance,

but everyone who is ^fhasty comes ^gonly to poverty.

6  ^hThe getting of treasures by a lying tongue

is a ⁱfleeting ^jvapor and a ^ksnare of death.²

7  The violence of the wicked will ^lsweep them away,

because they refuse to do what is just.

8  The way of the guilty ^mis crooked,

but the conduct of the pure is upright.

9  It is ⁿbetter to live in a corner of the housetop

than in a house shared with a quarrelsome wife.

10  The soul of the wicked desires evil;

his neighbor finds no mercy in his eyes.

11  When ^oa scoffer is punished, the simple becomes wise;

when a wise man is instructed, he gains knowledge.

12  The Righteous One ^pobserves the house of the wicked;

he throws the wicked down to ruin.

13  ^qWhoever closes his ear to the cry of the poor

will himself call out and not be answered.

14  ^rA gift in secret averts anger,

and a concealed bribe,³ strong wrath.

15  When justice is done, it is a joy to the righteous

^sbut terror to evildoers.

16  One who wanders from the way of good sense

^twill rest in the assembly of the dead.

17  Whoever loves pleasure will be a poor man;

he who loves wine and oil will not be rich.

18  ^uThe wicked is a ^vransom for the righteous,

and the traitor for the upright.

19  It is ^wbetter to live in a desert land

than with a quarrelsome and fretful woman.

20  ^xPrecious treasure and oil are in a wise man’s dwelling,

but a foolish man ^ydevours it.

21  Whoever ^zpursues righteousness and kindness

will find ^alife, righteousness, and honor.

22  ^bA wise man scales the city of the mighty

and brings down the stronghold in which they trust.

23  ^cWhoever keeps his mouth and his tongue

^dkeeps himself out of ^etrouble.

24  ^f“Scoffer” is the name of the arrogant, haughty man

who acts with arrogant pride.

25  The desire of ^gthe sluggard kills him,

for his hands refuse to labor.

26  All day long he craves and craves,

but the righteous ^hgives and does not hold back.

27  ⁱThe sacrifice of the wicked is an abomination;

how much more ^jwhen he brings it with evil intent.

28  ^kA false witness will perish,

but the word of a man who hears will endure.

29  A wicked man puts on a bold face,

but the upright ^lgives thought to⁴ his ways.

30  ^mNo wisdom, no understanding, no counsel

can avail against the Lord.

31  ⁿThe horse is made ready for the day of battle,

but ^othe victory belongs to the Lord.

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

and favor is better than silver or gold.

2  ^qThe rich and the poor meet together;

the Lord is ^rthe Maker of them all.

3  ^sThe prudent sees danger and hides himself,

but the simple go on and suffer for it.

4  The reward for humility and fear of the Lord

is ^triches and honor and life.⁵

5  ^uThorns and snares are in the way of the crooked;

whoever ^vguards his soul will keep far from them.

6  ^wTrain up a child in the way he should go;

even when he is old he will not depart from it.

7  ^xThe rich rules over the poor,

and the borrower is the slave of the lender.

8  Whoever ^ysows injustice will reap calamity,

and ^zthe rod of his fury will fail.

9  ^aWhoever has a bountiful⁶ eye will be blessed,

for he ^bshares his bread with the poor.

10  ^cDrive out a scoffer, ^dand strife will go out,

and ^equarreling and abuse will cease.

11  He who ^floves purity of heart,

and whose ^gspeech is gracious, ^hwill have the king as his friend.

12  The eyes of the Lord keep watch over knowledge,

but he ⁱoverthrows the words of the traitor.

13  ^jThe sluggard says, “There is a lion outside!

I shall be killed in the streets!”

14  The mouth of ^kforbidden⁷ women is ^la deep pit;

^mhe with whom the Lord is angry will fall into it.

15  Folly is bound up in the heart of a child,

but ⁿthe rod of discipline drives it far from him.

16  Whoever oppresses the poor to increase his own wealth,

or gives to the rich, ^owill only come to poverty.

17  ^pIncline your ear, and hear ^qthe words of the wise,

^rand apply your heart to my knowledge,

18  for it will be pleasant if you keep them within you,

if all of them are ready on your lips.

19  That your trust may be in the Lord,

I have made them known to you today, even to you.

20  Have I not written for you ^sthirty sayings

of counsel and knowledge,

21  to ^tmake you know what is right and true,

that you may give a true answer to those who sent you?

22  ^uDo not rob the poor, because he is poor,

or ^vcrush the afflicted at ^wthe gate,

23  for ^xthe Lord will plead their cause

and rob of life those who rob them.

24  Make no friendship with a man given to anger,

nor go with a wrathful man,

25  lest you learn his ways

and entangle yourself in a snare.

26  Be not one of those who ^ygive pledges,

who put up security for debts.

27  If you have nothing with which to pay,

why should ^zyour bed be taken from under you?

28  Do not move the ancient ^alandmark

that your fathers have set.

29  Do you see a man skillful in his work?

He will ^bstand before kings;

he will not stand before obscure men.

1  ⁱIn you, O Lord, do I take refuge;

let me never be put to shame!

2  In your righteousness deliver me and rescue me;

incline your ear to me, and save me!

3  Be to me a rock of ^jrefuge,

to which I may continually come;

you have ^kgiven the command to save me,

for you are my ^lrock and my fortress.

4  ^mRescue me, O my God, from the hand of the wicked,

from the grasp of the unjust and cruel man.

5  For you, O Lord, are my ⁿhope,

my trust, O Lord, from my youth.

6  Upon you I have leaned ^ofrom before my birth;

you are he who ^ptook me from my mother’s womb.

My praise is continually of you.

7  I have been as ^qa portent to many,

but you are my strong refuge.

8  My ^rmouth is filled with your praise,

and with your glory all the day.

9  ^sDo not cast me off in the time of old age;

forsake me not when my strength is spent.

10  For my enemies speak concerning me;

those who ^twatch for my life ^uconsult together

11  and say, “God has forsaken him;

pursue and seize him,

for there is none to deliver him.”

12  O God, be not ^vfar from me;

O my God, ^wmake haste to help me!

13  May my accusers be ^xput to shame and consumed;

^ywith scorn and disgrace may they be covered

who ^zseek my hurt.

14  But I will ^ahope continually

and will ^bpraise you yet more and more.

15  My ^cmouth will tell of your righteous acts,

of your deeds of salvation all the day,

for ^dtheir number is past my knowledge.

16  With the mighty deeds of the Lord God I will come;

I will remind them of your righteousness, yours alone.

17  O God, from my youth you have taught me,

and I still proclaim your wondrous deeds.

18  So even to ^eold age and gray hairs,

O God, ^fdo not forsake me,

until I proclaim your might to another generation,

your power to all those to come.

19  Your ^grighteousness, O God,

reaches the high heavens.

You who have done ^hgreat things,

O God, ⁱwho is like you?

20  You who have ^jmade me see many troubles and calamities

will ^krevive me again;

from the depths of the earth

you will bring me up again.

21  You will increase my greatness

and comfort me again.

22  I will also praise you with ^lthe harp

for your faithfulness, O my God;

I will sing praises to you with the lyre,

O ^mHoly One of Israel.

23  My lips will shout for joy,

when I sing praises to you;

my soul also, which you have ⁿredeemed.

24  And my ^otongue will talk of your righteous help all the day long,

for they have been ^pput to shame and disappointed

who sought to do me hurt.