Proverbs 14:1-27 ▼

1 A WISE woman builds her house; but the foolish tears it down with her own hands.

2 He who walks in uprightness has reverence for the LORD; but he who is perverse in his ways despises him.

3 In the mouth of the foolish is provocation and disgrace; but the lips of wise men shall preserve them.

4 Where there are no oxen, the cribs are clean; but abundant crops come by the strength of the ox.

5 A faithful witness will not deceive; but a false witness will utter lies.

6 An evil man seeks wisdom, and finds it not; but knowledge is easy to a man of understanding.

7 Everything is a hindrance to a foolish man; but the lips of a wise man are like a weapon.

8 The wisdom of the prudent is to understand his way; but the way of fools is deceit.

9 Truly the households of the wicked need purifying; but the households of the righteous are acceptable.

10 Fools commit sins; but the children of the upright have good will.

11 A heart which has understanding knows its own bitterness; and a stranger does not share in its joy. The house of the wicked shall be destroyed; but the tabernacle of the upright shall flourish.

12 There is a way which seems right to a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death.

13 Even in laughter the heart is sorrowful; and the end of joy is grief.

14 The insolent in heart shall be filled with the fruit of his ways; and a good man shall be satisfied with the respect he receives.

15 The simple man believes every word; but the prudent discerns between good and evil.

16 A wise man is cautious, and departs from evil; but the fool tampers with it confidently.

17 A man hasty in whatever he does never seeks counsel; but a wise man is moderate.

18 Fools inherit folly; but the prudent dispense knowledge.

19 Evil men shall prostrate themselves before good men; and the wicked shall come to beg at the gates of the righteous.

20 The poor is hated even of his own neighbors; but the rich has many friends.

21 He who despises his neighbor sins; but he who has mercy on the poor, happy is he.

22 The wicked err when they devise evil; but compassionate and righteous men do all kinds of good. The workers of iniquity do not understand truth and mercy; kindness and truth are with the workers of good things.

23 In all your labor there is profit; but he who is young is carefree and at ease. The LORD heals every wound; but the talk of the lips of the wicked tends only to poverty.

24 The crown of the wise is their riches; but the perverseness of fools is their folly.

25 A true witness delivers lives; but a deceitful witness speaks falsehood.

26 in reverence for the LORD is strong confidence, and his children shall have a place of refuge.

27 Reverence for the LORD is a fountain of life to those who turn away from the snares of death.