Proverbs 19
Contemporary English Version
It's Wise To Be Patient
19 It's better to be poor
and live right
than to be a stupid liar.
2 Willingness and stupidity
don't go well together.
If you are too eager,
you will miss the road.
3 We are ruined
by our own stupidity,
though we blame the Lord.
4 The rich have many friends;
the poor have none.
5 Dishonest witnesses and liars
won't escape punishment.
6 Everyone tries to be friends
of those who can help them.
7 If you are poor,
your own relatives reject you,
and your friends are worse.
When you really need them,
they are not there.[a]
8 Do yourself a favor
by having good sense—
you will be glad you did.
9 Dishonest witnesses and liars
will be destroyed.
10 It isn't right for a fool
to live in luxury
or for a slave to rule
in place of a king.
11 It's wise to be patient
and show what you are like
by forgiving others.
12 An angry king roars
like a lion,
but when a king is pleased,
it's like dew on the crops.
13 Foolish children bring disgrace
to their fathers.
A nagging wife goes on and on
like the drip, drip, drip
of the rain.
14 You may inherit all you own
from your parents,
but a sensible wife
is a gift from the Lord.
15 If you are lazy
and sleep your time away,
you will starve.
16 Obey the Lord's teachings
and you will live—
disobey and you will die.
17 Caring for the poor
is lending to the Lord,
and you will be well repaid.
18 Correct your children
before it's too late;
if you don't punish them,
trouble will come their way.[b]
19 People with bad tempers
are always in trouble,
and they need help
over and over again.[c]
20 Pay attention to advice
and accept correction,
so you can live sensibly.
21 We may make a lot of plans,
but the Lord will do
what he has decided.
22 What matters most is loyalty.
It's better to be poor
than to be a liar.
23 Showing respect to the Lord
brings true life—
if you do it, you can relax
without fear of danger.
24 Some people are too lazy
to lift a hand
to feed themselves.
25 Stupid fools learn good sense
by seeing others punished;
a sensible person learns
by being corrected.
26 Disgraceful children
rob their father
and chase their mother away.
27 If you stop learning,
you will forget
what you already know.
28 A lying witness makes fun
of the court system,
and criminals think crime
is really delicious.
29 A stupid fool should expect
to be punished.
Proverbs 19
New International Version
19 Better the poor whose walk is blameless
than a fool whose lips are perverse.(A)
2 Desire without knowledge is not good—
how much more will hasty feet miss the way!(B)
4 Wealth attracts many friends,
but even the closest friend of the poor person deserts them.(E)
7 The poor are shunned by all their relatives—
how much more do their friends avoid them!(K)
Though the poor pursue them with pleading,
they are nowhere to be found.[a](L)
8 The one who gets wisdom loves life;
the one who cherishes understanding will soon prosper.(M)
9 A false witness will not go unpunished,
and whoever pours out lies will perish.(N)
10 It is not fitting for a fool(O) to live in luxury—
how much worse for a slave to rule over princes!(P)
11 A person’s wisdom yields patience;(Q)
it is to one’s glory to overlook an offense.
13 A foolish child is a father’s ruin,(U)
and a quarrelsome wife is like
the constant dripping of a leaky roof.(V)
15 Laziness brings on deep sleep,
and the shiftless go hungry.(Y)
16 Whoever keeps commandments keeps their life,
but whoever shows contempt for their ways will die.(Z)
17 Whoever is kind to the poor lends to the Lord,(AA)
and he will reward them for what they have done.(AB)
18 Discipline your children, for in that there is hope;
do not be a willing party to their death.(AC)
19 A hot-tempered person must pay the penalty;
rescue them, and you will have to do it again.
20 Listen to advice and accept discipline,(AD)
and at the end you will be counted among the wise.(AE)
21 Many are the plans in a person’s heart,
but it is the Lord’s purpose that prevails.(AF)
22 What a person desires is unfailing love[b];
better to be poor than a liar.
23 The fear of the Lord leads to life;
then one rests content, untouched by trouble.(AG)
24 A sluggard buries his hand in the dish;
he will not even bring it back to his mouth!(AH)
25 Flog a mocker, and the simple will learn prudence;
rebuke the discerning,(AI) and they will gain knowledge.(AJ)
26 Whoever robs their father and drives out their mother(AK)
is a child who brings shame and disgrace.
27 Stop listening to instruction, my son,(AL)
and you will stray from the words of knowledge.
28 A corrupt witness mocks at justice,
and the mouth of the wicked gulps down evil.(AM)
29 Penalties are prepared for mockers,
and beatings for the backs of fools.(AN)
Footnotes
- Proverbs 19:7 The meaning of the Hebrew for this sentence is uncertain.
- Proverbs 19:22 Or Greed is a person’s shame
Copyright © 1995 by American Bible Society For more information about CEV, visit www.bibles.com and www.cev.bible.
Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
NIV Reverse Interlinear Bible: English to Hebrew and English to Greek. Copyright © 2019 by Zondervan.