16 The plans of the heart belong to man;
But the answer of the tongue is from Jehovah.
² All the ways of a man are clean in his own eyes;
But Jehovah weigheth the spirits.
^3 [a]Commit thy works unto Jehovah,
And thy purposes shall be established.
⁴ Jehovah hath made everything for ^[b]its own end;
Yea, even the wicked for the day of evil.
⁵ Every one that is proud in heart is an abomination to Jehovah:
Though hand join in hand, he shall not be unpunished.
⁶ By mercy and truth iniquity is atoned for;
And by the fear of Jehovah men depart from evil.
⁷ When a man’s ways please Jehovah,
He maketh even his enemies to be at peace with him.
⁸ Better is a little, with righteousness,
Than great revenues with injustice.
⁹ A man’s heart deviseth his way;
But Jehovah directeth his steps.
^10 [c]A divine sentence is in the lips of the king;
His mouth shall not transgress in judgment.
¹¹ A just balance and scales are Jehovah’s;
All the weights of the bag are his work.
¹² It is an abomination to kings to commit wickedness;
For the throne is established by righteousness.
¹³ Righteous lips are the delight of kings;
And they love him that speaketh right.
¹⁴ The wrath of a king is as messengers of death;
But a wise man will pacify it.
¹⁵ In the light of the king’s countenance is life;
And his favor is as a cloud of the latter rain.
¹⁶ How much better is it to get wisdom than gold!
Yea, to get understanding is rather to be chosen than silver.
¹⁷ The highway of the upright is to depart from evil:
He that keepeth his way preserveth his soul.
¹⁸ Pride goeth before destruction,
And a haughty spirit before a fall.
¹⁹ Better it is to be of a lowly spirit with the ^[d]poor,
Than to divide the spoil with the proud.
²⁰ He that ^[e]giveth heed unto the word shall find good;
And whoso trusteth in Jehovah, happy is he.
²¹ The wise in heart shall be called prudent;
And the sweetness of the lips increaseth learning.
²² Understanding is a well-spring of life unto him that hath it;
But the correction of fools is their folly.
²³ The heart of the wise instructeth his mouth,
And addeth learning to his lips.
²⁴ Pleasant words are as a honeycomb,
Sweet to the soul, and health to the bones.
²⁵ There is a way which ^[f]seemeth right unto a man,
But the end thereof are the ways of death.
²⁶ The appetite of the laboring man laboreth for him;
For his mouth urgeth him thereto.
²⁷ A worthless man ^[g]deviseth mischief;
And in his lips there is as a scorching fire.
²⁸ A perverse man scattereth abroad strife;
And a whisperer ^[h]separateth chief friends.
²⁹ A man of violence enticeth his neighbor,
And leadeth him in a way that is not good.
^30 [i]He that shutteth his eyes, it is to devise perverse things:
He that compresseth his lips bringeth evil to pass.
³¹ The hoary head is a crown of ^[j]glory;
^[k]It shall be found in the way of righteousness.
³² He that is slow to anger is better than the mighty;
And he that ruleth his spirit, than he that taketh a city.
³³ The lot is cast into the lap;
But the whole disposing thereof is of Jehovah.