Proverbs 22

¶ A [good] name [is] rather to be chosen than great riches, [and] loving favour rather than silver and gold.

¶ The rich and poor meet together: the LORD [is] the maker of them all.

¶ A prudent [man] foreseeth the evil, and hideth himself: but the simple pass on, and are punished.

¶ By humility [and] the fear of the LORD [are] riches, and honour, and life.

¶ Thorns [and] snares [are] in the way of the froward: he that doth keep his soul shall be far from them.

¶ Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it.

¶ The rich ruleth over the poor, and the borrower [is] servant to the lender.

¶ He that soweth iniquity shall reap vanity: and the rod of his anger shall fail.

¶ He that hath a bountiful eye shall be blessed; for he giveth of his bread to the poor.

¶ Cast out the scorner, and contention shall go out; yea, strife and reproach shall cease.

¶ He that loveth pureness of heart, [for] the grace of his lips the king [shall be] his friend.

¶ The eyes of the LORD preserve knowledge, and he overthroweth the words of the transgressor.

¶ The slothful [man] saith, [There is] a lion without, I shall be slain in the streets.

¶ The mouth of strange women [is] a deep pit: he that is abhorred of the LORD shall fall therein.

¶ Foolishness [is] bound in the heart of a child; [but] the rod of correction shall drive it far from him.

¶ He that oppresseth the poor to increase his [riches, and] he that giveth to the rich, [shall] surely [come] to want.

¶ Bow down thine ear, and hear the words of the wise, and apply thine heart unto my knowledge.

For [it is] a pleasant thing if thou keep them within thee; they shall withal be fitted in thy lips.

That thy trust may be in the LORD, I have made known to thee this day, even to thee.

Have not I written to thee excellent things in counsels and knowledge,

That I might make thee know the certainty of the words of truth; that thou mightest answer the words of truth to them that send unto thee?

¶ Rob not the poor, because he [is] poor: neither oppress the afflicted in the gate:

For the LORD will plead their cause, and spoil the soul of those that spoiled them.

¶ Make no friendship with an angry man; and with a furious man thou shalt not go:

Lest thou learn his ways, and get a snare to thy soul.

¶ Be not thou [one] of them that strike hands, [or] of them that are sureties for debts.

If thou hast nothing to pay, why should he take away thy bed from under thee?

¶ Remove not the ancient landmark, which thy fathers have set.

¶ Seest thou a man diligent in his business? he shall stand before kings; he shall not stand before mean [men].