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

he turns it wherever he will.

2  Every way of a man is ^hright in his own eyes,

but the Lord weighs the heart.

3  ⁱTo do righteousness and justice

is more acceptable to the Lord than sacrifice.

4  Haughty eyes and a proud heart,

the lamp¹ of the wicked, are sin.

5  ^jThe plans of the diligent lead surely to abundance,

but ^keveryone who is hasty comes only to poverty.

6  The getting of treasures ^lby a lying tongue

is a fleeting vapor and a snare of death.²

7  ^mThe violence of the wicked will sweep them away,

because they refuse to do what is just.

8  The way of the guilty is ⁿcrooked,

but the conduct of the pure is upright.

9  ^oIt is better 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 a scoffer is punished, the ^psimple becomes wise;

when a wise man is instructed, he gains knowledge.

12  The Righteous One observes 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.